The Joy of the Greatest Joy

It has already been a long seven months because we were aware of our pregnancy immediately. Calmness had retreated for the time being, and I instantly become an emotional paper-weight. Zane and I only had to guess we were expecting. Since then, we have experienced the joys of these fantastic hormone imbalanced months. However, we consider ourselves very fortunate that the baby is due in February... just in time for me to finish up with my last semester of classes. It was a hard run, constantly being stressed out over homework, work, my ever bulging tummy, and acrobatic baby. But now that school is over with final grades being brighter than expected, Zane and I feel like we can enjoy the last two months. We are now looking at the last ten weeks of pregnancy which include birthing classes, more frequent doctor visits, additional weight gain and size growth, and a whole plethora of pain. However, the best part is still yet to come (thankfully! because the afore mentioned list is quite dismal). It has only been since the final days of school that I have encountered and dealt with the tummy rubbers and feared for the safety of my inny-belly-button (which I can now touch the back of). I've discovered that those who wish to feel our baby roll and kick are always disappointed because she doesn't do much on the front of my belly. She rips and tears at the vital organs while stretching me out widthwise. Yet, this movement, which is now getting more painful the bigger she gets, is greatest blessing thus far. Even in light of the nightly bathroom breaks that often wake us both up, Zane and I cannot be more excited. We have already set up the crib, changing table, and dresser. On top of the all this, we have just recently put the sheets, bumper and quilt in the crib (which has a cute matching nightlight and lamp). We await the arrival of our baby with great excitement - for now we'll just enjoy the back pains, Braxton Hicks contractions, and birthing classes

Olivia

All in the Name of Entertainment

Now don't get me wrong, banks can be very busy at times; so busy that you may not get to sit down all day. But fairly often, it can be heinously slow. If it stays slow for a while, wrinkly old man boredom might just rear his head in your direction and if he stares at you too long, you just might die. So, it is very fortunate that one of my favorite things to do is invent new games from common items. I have employed this technique various times and here are a few of the results:

The Paperclip Bow and Arrow
This one is fairly easy to make and extremely fun to use. You can tape up a hand drawn target, or if there happens to be balloons nearby, even better.

The Cardboard Basketball Hoop
Again, fairly easy to make and very entertaining. For a ball you can use a crumpled up piece of paper, a sucker (minus the stick), or even a rubber band ball. Try and sink a shot from way downtown (or a few teller stations over).

Ladderjacks (Ladderball, Laddergolf, Redneck Horseshoes, and thirty other names)
This one is a bit more complex. After having saved up plastic rolls (that are left when teller tape runs out) for over a year, I was looking for something to build with them. I tried a catapult, but that didn’t always work the best. Next I made some horseshoe poles and made some horseshoes out of paperclips. That was slightly fun, but not exactly what I was looking for. One day, one of the other tellers mentioned a game called Ladderball. I had no idea what that was but all of a sudden it showed up everywhere. After having participated in the game and tasted of its goodness, we decided that this was the direction to go. I constructed two miniature ladders and we made some makeshift bolos and began playing. We formed a league and kept tracks of stats. The ladders and the bolos may have evolved throughout the days we have been playing the game, but the fun remains.

Zane

Decorations

Nestled into the corner beside the towering shelves of entertainment and ontop of a heavy box of food storage covered in festive wrapping, sits our two foot Christmas tree. It's not large or overbearing because that is the purpose of everything else we own - even our outside lighted reindeer looms over it (this reindeer also decorates our living room). The tree only represents a small portion of our Christmas spirit, but it brightens it with its lighting. This is the second season Zane and I have decorated this edifice with red and gold bulbs, small figurines purchased from a quarter machine, and a Santa tree-topper. To us, this Tanenbaum captures some of the earliest memories together and will forever hold its position as our first Christmas tree.

Olivia

Turtle Tricks!

Say hello to my pet turtle Balthazar. It used to be that every time someone would walk into the room he would swim away as fast as possible (most of the time ramming his head repeatedly into the wall). I used to take it as proof that he had mudered numerous fish, but now I think it is just a normal turtle instinct (I still think he has murdered roughly fifteen fish and possibly one other turtle though). When I would try to take him out of the tank, so I could clean it, he would freak out and swat at me with his arms an legs. He even went so far as biting me on the hand.

As time has passed, he has warmed up to me and Olivia. Now most of the time when we enter the room, he swims at us as vigorously as he can. Whenever I pick him up, he just sits there calmly. He eventually began playing with us by chasing our fingers as we moved them back and forth. Now he does an awesome trick. Here is a video of it:

Balthazar is a true turtle friend.

Zane