12-31-14. The Pocket Grenade wallet for sale at a magic shop.

12-30-14. Stained Horcrux in the Chamber of Secrets at the end of a passageway.

12-29-14. Go-kart starting point.

12-28-14. A man holding a spool of thread in front of the Taj Mahal.

12-27-14. Caterpillar on a plant at a milk bar.

12-26-14. Paths cut into forest to make a labyrinth; cleared trees used in nearby paper mill.

12-25-14. Plumber making repairs in a locker room.

12-24-14. A "brain" on the set of "Diya Aur Toofan", a 1995 Bollywood movie.

12-23-14. A skyscraper left standing in no-man's-land.

12-22-14. A pirate flag in a high school hallway.

12-21-14. Sasquatch spotted working in a tollbooth.

12-20-14. Zigzag.

12-19-14. Activists in a canoe beside the controversial Indian Point nuclear power plant near NYC.

12-18-14. Balloon animals in a city in the clouds.

12-17-14. A tea party at an Irish pub.

12-16-14. Benjamin's nap on Nana's lap.

12-15-14. Hello to our second son, Benjamin Edward Reed.

12-14-14. Bullies at a construction site.

12-13-14. A vacuum runway sweeper at JFK airport.

12-12-14. Pomegranate juice at a Little League concession stand.

12-11-14. Friends of the Earth protest cows on the London Underground on July 13, 2010.

Countdown to our second child's birth

Me, big and bright blue.

Just like last time, I've stayed pretty quiet online through most of this pregnancy. I'm not a big fan of posting too much personal stuff. Also, specifically, I'm not wild about oversharing the big belly. But this is probably my last chance to ever do it, so here it is just this once. Time is running out. I'm due on December 19th. Even though we've been through all of this before, it still feels a little unreal, becoming parents of two instead of just one, getting ready to go through all the baby stages of development again as Maxwell also continues to mature.

Before we get to that part, there's just the whole giving birth thing again, too. I know roughly what to expect, but again it feels unreal. I'm just so stable right now. Physically uncomfortable in many of the usual ways, but I'm at a standstill. It won't last much longer. It just sort of happened one day last time. The only difference I can remember was that I was starting to feel unusually uncomfortable during the day before I went into labor. I wanted to just sit still, my hips bothered me, etc. I'm not quite there yet. Tomorrow the doctor will tell us how I'm progressing. 

I wish I knew how to describe the fetal movements better so that I can at least remember that part after the baby is born. No description I read quite captures it, all the little random thumps and bumps from within. It can be so strange, yet comforting, and it's a sensation one can only have during pregnancy. Like being poked from the wrong side of your skin, I guess? That's one way to say it...

That's all for now. Time to get to work on my current painting. I've been making art through the whole pregnancy just like last time. Hopefully I'll be able to make a sketch on the day baby is born like last time as well.

12-10-14. A unicorn in the Land of Faerie.

12-09-14. When the last drop of gasoline barely fills a thimble

12-08-14. Sitting and knitting in a tiny pyramid.

12-07-14. Maxwell, age 2 years + 5 months. With his Daddy reading Strega Nona, one of his favorite books.

12-06-14. Safety pins for decor and defense in a mouse hole.

12-05-14. Winning a marathon in shoulder pads.

12-04-14. A unicorn in the African savannah.

12-03-14. A young woman using a clapperboard during the making of a film about a haunted castle.

12-02-14. A stoplight near a multilevel tree house.

12-01-14. A nutty professor teaching at a paperboy training academy.

11-30-14. Was there any French bread at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago?

11-29-14. Checking a bird nest with a mirror.

11-28-14. A rotary phone in a mossy grove deep in the woods.

11-27-14. A wet blanket at a public swimming pool.

11-26-14. A toy loading crane in a haberdashery.

11-25-14. Eating candy necklaces in a wheat field.

11-24-14. Imagining a parade of tiny tractors under our bed.

11-23-14. A London taxi cab at Hilly Fields Park.

11-22-14. Reverse of an old 1981 quarter I found in our kitchen island drawer.

11-21-14. Orchard.

11-20-14. Keyboard.

11-19-14. Bundt cake.

11-18-14. "Lock Passage", a 2007 sculpture by Anthony Caro (1924-2013).

11-17-14. Various species of the Amazon rain forest.

11-16-14. Garden.

11-15-14. Supernova.

11-14-14. Put away your wallet. You don't need it here.

11-13-14. Our fire extinguisher.