Number Four's blog introduction

I'll take Mark for a Mother's Day present any day.

My good kids (Mary was inside executing one of her many costume changes).

Mark was a Mother's Day baby.  This is what he wanted and got this year for his big day.  Also, he wore Alli's necklace gift to work and during a presentation. :)

Mary Tessa

Given the choice, she wanted flowers instead of balloons for her birthday.

Her princess 'do at 8am on the day of her party.  It lasted about half an hour.  She much prefers to have her hair completely down all the time.

A bit of light breakfast reading. She was taking the liberty of reading it out loud to me. Key parts of the plot were missing, but she wears that red "A" because she's a princess.  Mary takes this book around with her all the time; much beloved.

Thanks for the space Mom.

 The last few weeks I've been having fun with comments from grocery clerks, parents at the kids' school, and grannies at church.  Pregnant with a smile, that's my job in public now.

Other mom, seeing me on approach to the school: "You must be soo ready!  It's got to be soon!"
Me: Oh nope, I have til August. [her face falls] We're just going to spend the whole summer at the pool! [smile]

Clerk: Is THAT a boy or a girl?
Me: Oh, it's a surprise. [smile]
Clerk, looking like I should have planned better since I'll obviously be having to cloth THAT any day now, and crestfallen when she hears that THAT won't be born til August: [speechless].

Walking up with the three kids to sit in a pew I hear:
Church Grandma, with southern accent:  My my my dear, you must be ready. It must be close!
Me: Oh, a few more months still.  In August.
CG: Well.
We settle in in front of her, with hair all combed (triumph!), feeling like we all look pretty good.
CG: Now, honey, you're sure it's not twins.
Me: Nope, it's not. [SMILE]  I'm just nice and stretched out from these three good kids here. [SMILE]
CG: Well, honey.
Me: Plus, these are Mark Nolte's kids--these are long kids! [SMILE]
When Mark arrives a little bit later:
CG: I told your wife she looked so ready and is she sure it isn't twins?!
He swears he didn't hear a thing from this conversation.

2nd pregnancy (my brother Adam taking his sweet time in the womb)

So, since I'm at 30 weeks, planning on an early August birth, not expecting twins, and not feeling so done, I had to call my mom for some justification.  To try to keep the smile on my face.  Ironically, this was all on Mother's Day.  She told me how she had to go a different grocery store every week in her last trimester with me because the manager at her regular store was getting so alarmed.  And how she bought shoes a few weeks before I was born and the clerk helping her try them on was terrified I'd be born right there. And then she emailed me these beauties:

3rd pregnancy (my bro Aaron, first to be born at 1412 where Mom and Dad still are)

4th pregnancy (Me!  Ta Da!)

 And my favorite picture from my childhood, taken a few days before I was born.  Now that actually looks like a person inside a person! 

1st pregnancy (less space for my sister Catherine, no wonder she's such a good yogi!)

I've been telling people to just enjoy the show and watch as I grow, because it's going to get EPIC.  

After all, do you expect people like me or this baby to get to this world in any less dramatic a fashion? Plus, Mark says thinking about about womb life makes him absolutely claustrophobic.  I do what I can.

[I wanted to put the baby picture here, but new-fangled blogger be possessed].

Maybe I'll even manage to get a current photo up, but this blogging thing has already taken way too long.  There are starving 4 year olds and libraries to attend to.