Friends and Family: 35 weeks and 5 days in utero

We've been continuing to prepare for Pat's arrival - we want to get rid of the couch in our room and replace it with a rocker, a changing table, and a crib. We have a changing table, and as of today we have a crib lined up. Now we only need to get the rocker and take care of the minor issue of getting the couch out. When they moved in, Mom and Dad had some professional movers bring the couch up: after finally getting it in the room, they said that couch is never leaving that room. So, naturally, we want it out.

Today we also had a visit from my cousin and her family. We really enjoyed seeing Cori and David again, but the star of the visit was their 13-month-old daughter, Talia. They are in the first picture.

Talia is a lot of fun - she is walking very well, just beginning to speak (Her "hi" is very cute), very curious about everything around her, and very sweet-tempered. A real cutie. The second picture is Talia laughing at a wind-up dancing toy.

My gout is still a problem, so I'm limping about and trying not to complain about it. Too much. OK, I'm trying to keep from waking the neighbors with my complaints. Very often.

The last picture here is of Pounce, my Dad's cat. He has the softest fur I've ever felt on a cat - like rabbit fur. He's quite large, and by large I mean fat. I think he's proud of his fine feline girth: when he's feeling good he shows off his vast expanse of a belly so the world can see. I wish I could relax that much.