Sapphire's baptism and recent events

This last Saturday, we were up with Seth's family as it was his niece, Sapphire's baptism that afternoon. The whole day was really lovely, we had a bit of a lay in (always much needed, especially because my 37 week pregnant self is finding it hard to sleep these days!) and when we got up and got ready, we were just hanging out with the family. Between all of the brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, nephews and nieces, there are so many of them that it's always really nice just chatting to everyone!

As everyone began to get changed for the baptism, Seth and I went up to our room to get changed and we noticed that my dress wasn't there. That would be because it was hanging on the wardrobe door at our house. Due to some miscommunication I had thought that he had packed it but alas it was not there. Usually it wouldn't have been a massive dilemma, I would have just borrowed something from one of my sisters in law, but my rather large stomach made that a but difficult! Luckily we managed to leave with enough time to swing by Mothercare, where I managed to find something to wear (I think Seth left my dress behind on purpose because he actually just wanted to buy me something new!) and we got to the church with about 5 minutes to spare.

The baptismal service was lovely, Sapphire was smiling throughout and looked so happy! Laura (her Mum - just in case you ever get confused reading this, Seth and I both have sisters called Laura - this Laura is Seth's sister) and April sang a lovely song. They were both really nervous and I have no idea why as they sang beautifully! When it had all finished, we headed back to the Mannings for food and to play. Well, the kids played, as there was a bouncy castle in the back garden. It was such a nice day and really lovely to be able to spend it with Seth's family. Sadly, even though I took my camera, I didn't take any photos of the weekend - sometimes, it's nicer just to soak it all up and enjoy it rather than take pictures of it all!

In other news......

Last week I had my grade 5 piano theory exam. I have no idea how I did, all I know is that it was a lot harder than any of the past papers that I had done when I was practising, so I am hoping that I have done enough to pass! I worked pretty hard in the run up to doing it and it was a bit of a "crash course" in piano theory - I only started to have theory lessons at Easter time, so I'm just glad that I even managed to take the exam! I know I've put in the work though so now I will just have to wait and see what happens. Apparently it takes around 6 weeks to get the results. My which time, this little one should be here:

This photo was taken at 36 weeks

Crazy thought! And in terms of baby news, all is going well. I am starting to feel quite heavy and walking is getting to be harder and harder. It's funny because before I was pregnant, I would see or hear certain things and promise myself never to be like that. I would see pregnant women waddle and I was determined that I wouldn't. Whilst I can still manage to walk without waddling, since the bump has dropped, it is getting increasingly hard to walk normally! I would also see pregnant women with their hands on their bumps quite a lot. I would sometimes wonder why they did that, as they know that the baby is there. I have become one such person on many an occasion and I have discovered that we do it for the following reasons.

1. It is fun to feel our babies moving around. It's pretty amazing to know that there is a little person growing inside you and why not make the most of it while it lasts?
2. The baby can feel it when you touch your stomach so it's nice to have that contact with them. Seth always tells me that this does not extend to poking them to get a reaction though. Or shining a torch on my stomach to see it reacting to light, but that's a whole different matter.
3. It stops you from hurting your stomach when you walk into things. Point 3 is a very important one. I can't tell you how many times I have overestimated how much space I have and underestimated how big I am, resulting in my banging my stomach on many an occasion and it hurts! It's not like it's an area that is used to being knocked!

We still have a few things to get done before the baby arrives, but I am starting to get restless now. I think the reason for that is probably because my friend Katie (3 weeks ahead of me), had her baby on Friday. She had a little girl, Vivienne Mae. We had been discussing our pregnancies so much the whole way along that now that she has her baby, I want ours to be here! I am so impatient, and I have a feeling that this baby is going to keep me waiting! Mum has decided to keep a chart of everyone in the family's guesses as to when the baby will be born, the sex and the weight. Any ideas, anyone?