Peanut Goes to Work with Mommy

During my office hours, there are 3 male teachers who have baby boys. Richard, a Canadian teacher, has a 2 year-old son. Rocky's son is 7 months old, and John, one of my fellow coordinators, has a 5-month-old son. Ever since I announced my pregnancy, these 3 dads have been sharing their parenting experiences, comparing the fun and funny things their sons did and do, and telling us how brave their wives were during labour. Not a single day has gone by without one of them talking about his little one.

Since I got pregnant, these dads have also seemed to take a special interest in the size of my belly, the food I eat, and the way I walk. The strong interests only intensified after they learned that we're having a boy. Many lunch-hour conversations have gone from "Oh, did I tell you what my son did the other day?" to more specific descriptions such as "Just wait until your little one is 3 months old, Kate, ...." or "Kate, you're gonna be soooooo tired 'cause your little guy's gonna....". I really enjoy these little "show-n-tell" sessions 'cause I lack this kind of interaction with other moms or pregnant women. Plus, these dads are multifunctional: aside from talking shop, they also satisfy my urge to "talk babies" (wait... that's only dual-functional....).

On the second day of this term, Richard announced that his wife is 8 weeks pregnant with their second child. We all got very excited (who doesn't get excited about more babies) and eagerly started making the (pronounced: theeee) prediction (that this is also going to be a baby boy). Then Rocky suggested that we should have a "Bring Your Kid to Work" day so all our kids can hang out and play with each other. We even got as far as talking about having different schedules so that one of us is always available to watch the kids while the others teach. In the midst of our enthusiastic discussion, we realized that I have already been taking my kid to work every day. At 19 weeks, Peanut may already be able to distinguish these dads' voices from his own dad.

The thought that Peanut goes to work with me every day has completely changed how I feel about going to work. This morning, I noticed that I was talking to Peanut about what I saw as I was getting ready for work, so I decided to document it.

*I don't seem to be able to format it well, so you'll have to excuse me for the inconsistent gaps between pictures.

Mommy's belly shot
(Oh boy, I should've photoshoped it... to blur my face and shrink my butt)

Okay, all of you (and you know who you are) can get off my back about not seeing a picture of me and my belly from now on.




Mr. Fluffypants' morning routine -- bird watch.









We got that smiley face planter from the Christmas Party. We bought that American-flag-popcorn-shaped plate at Fred Meyer in Gresham.







I love my plants, and I should spend more time with them.







A few things I really like in our apartment complex










The blue squares are so small that it makes me wonder if "No other vehicles allowed" in fact means "No other vehicles except wheel chairs are allowed".





You can feel how serious whoever wrote this meant, right?






The giant "frosted doughnut" in front of the Department of Marine Science and Climate Research.

I smile every time I see it (which is pretty much every day). It also reminds me of Bill... must be the marine science part.



The beautiful NTU campus in the spring.







Those flowers in that big tree on the left are so fragrant that you can smell them from far far away.

I love how bold this red flower is.... totally unapologetic for her beautiful existence. Love it!





I can't figure out what's going on on this tree.







The "Drunken Moon Lake" on campus, a great place for ducks and geese, lovers and people who just want a quiet moment alone.




These trees are just w.e.i.r.d.

The ones on the left look like humongous floor lamps.

The one on the right is actually quite plain on its own, but doesn't that yellowish root thing look like a snake (that's what I thought the first time I saw it... It still gives me goose bumps).



There are many of these old brick buildings on campus.

You don't see brick work like this anymore.




The trees in the courtyard of the language center.







This has to be the best find when you're out taking pictures. There was a tiny toy car parked in a parking spot in front of the language center. How cute is that?

I was amazed how many people just walked on by without even looking at it. I'm so glad I spotted and captured it.




Our final destination: the Teachers' Room.

Yes, that's a giant cheque on the upper left corner of the wall ahead. Students made it out to their teacher as one of the "Thank you for Your Teaching" gifts at the end of last term.