I present to you a direct quote from What to Expect When You’re Expecting: “Researchers have found that a woman’s brain-cell volume actually decreases during pregnancy.” This is why a lot of pregnant women have trouble remembering things. I find a little comfort in knowing there’s some science behind it. Even if it’s that my brain cells have shrunk. Here’s a few examples:

Last week, I was waiting for my stove top coffee maker to work. It usually works after 3 or 4 minutes. I waited about 20 minutes before I finally investigated. Yeah, you knew it- I had the wrong burner going the whole time.

I walked into the Osh Kosh store and a girl walked up to me and asked, “Hello, how are you?” And instead of saying, “Oh, I’m good, thanks. You?” like a normal person, I stood there and tried to figure out how she knew me and if I should know her name. There was a nice long awkward pause as I stared at her before it f i n a l l y clicked that she wasn’t someone I knew. She was a salesperson welcoming me to the store. Then I way overcompensated by saying with far too much inflection, “Oh! I’m good. Sorry, I just had a moment there.” She did that little that-was-weird-but-I-will-act-like-it’s-okay-however-I’ll-be-leaving-now laugh.

I spilled a glass of ice water on the dining room table, left to get a towel and totally forgot all about it. About an hour later, Josh asked what the large puddle was doing on the table.

4 way stops terrify me. I have to turn down the music and focus with all my brain power when I’m still two cars deep in the line. If I do forget to do this prep work, I just let everyone else go ahead of me because if I have an accident and it’s my fault, I don’t think the insurance company will accept the excuse of Pregnancy Brain. (Valid as it may be.)

I was supposed to pick up some dry cleaning last Saturday. I remembered on Wednesday.

And finally, it’s taking me way longer to pack than I planned since I continuously go into a room to get something and then can’t remember what it was. I’m spending double the amount of time walking back and forth trying to remember that I was going to get the tape/bubble wrap/that little vase that would fit perfectly in this small space I have left.

In other moving news, we have made a few decisions. We will most likely all drive together through the Thanksgiving holiday so Josh will have to take fewer days off work. We’re still house hunting. We thought we had a house picked out but that door closed. Our second choice is already under contract from someone else. We’re still looking in the Marietta area.

The cross country road trip might be a little easier due to Nora’s use of the iPad. She’s learned how to work the interface of the videos and is able to pick out, stop, or repeat play movies of her choice. Sometimes she ends up in iTunes (thank goodness for password protection before purchasing) but is scarily accurate most of the time. I’m a little embarrassed about it. But it will be very convenient on the road!

We’ve had some moving companies come to give estimates. Our last representative came about an hour before Nora was due for a nap. We’ll call him Mr. Thorough. Mr. Thorough was very proud of his company and had lots of good points (and I really didn’t mind hearing them, though it sounds like I’m making fun of him.) As the time came and went for when I would have laid Nora down, he was still explaining some of the benefits of choosing his company. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore, curled up on the carpet, and passed out. I was trying to subtly tickle her with my toes to wake her up and she didn’t stir. So when he asked, “Can we sit down while I explain the insurance pricing options?” I had to admit that my daughter was asleep at our feet. (He hadn’t noticed.) I carried her to her bed, where she went down without a peep and slept for three hours. (The last time she fell asleep on the floor, I think she was about three months old.)

We are slowly but steadily figuring this move out as we go. I’m helping as best I can with my smaller brain. =) Poor Josh.

Needless to say, we had a great time in the Zoo Gift Shop.

More tomorrow — with pictures of real live animals on display.

In case you haven’t heard, we’re moving back to Atlanta! A position has opened up for Josh in the Atlanta office, so get ready, fellow Southerners! We think we’ll be moving back late November or early December and will probably be living in Marietta.

The move is bittersweet since the Lord has provided such a blessed life for us the past two years in Seattle. We’ve made some great friends, been part of such a loving and serving community, as well as a church where it’s easy to see that lives are being changed by Christ. We will truly miss our friends and community from our time in the Pacific Northwest.

At the same time, we are so thankful and thrilled to be coming back to our families and southern friends! We love the idea that Nora will have chance to really get to know her (many) aunts, uncles, cousins, as well as her grandparents. There’s also so many awesome friends back in Atlanta who have been so great about making time for us during our visits and keeping up with us through the past two years. We are so excited to think about being able to make plans to come visit and hang out with you all again! We’re looking forward to being able to travel to see those of you who live outside Atlanta that we haven’t been able to see during our visits.

So now all we have to do is pack up! And find a place to live. And figure out if it’s worth it to ship the car and try to ship Remy as air cargo. (He may never recover.) Or if poor Josh should drive across the country with Remy in the backseat (again) while I attempt to fly with Nora on my lap with a 6 month baby bump. Or if we should all drive together even though Nora is not a huge fan of the car. And if Josh (or all of us) do drive, is it safe to drive the short route across the northern states when it’s getting really cold? Or do we lose a day and drive south first? So maybe there’s a few details we are still trying to work out…

Meanwhile, Nora’s so excited about spending more time with her extended family! Well, she would be if she understood what was about to happen. We’ve been working on everyone’s names for awhile now, but she’s finally learning a few. She’s says:
Poppa- Poppy and/or Panzy
G- g- g- Gran
Nee Nee- Aunt Annie
Ay ya ya ya- Ally
Caca Blaboe – Uncle Beau
Jee- Aunt Jeanine
EE- Aunt Tiffany

If she hasn’t learned your name yet, Family Members, don’t take it personally. A lot depends on which home movie she’s currently obsessed with and how often you’re featured in it. Right now it’s the Mexican Vacation movie from a Teague trip a few years back and she doesn’t recognize Uncles Kemble or Royal. But she’s learned almost everyone else from that movie. She’ll learn the rest of the Petrellas and Robinsons as soon as she gets back into those movies.

In other Nora news:

-She calls for me anytime she doesn’t see me. “Maaaaaa!” Yes, it sounds like someone from New Jersey.

-Her newest hobby is collecting rocks from the backyard. She brings them over to me to hold, leaves them in a pile on the steps, and balances them on top of her play lawn mower and pushes them around the yard. Like she’s throwing them a little parade.

- As a result of pregnancy, my complexion isn’t exactly porcelain-like . Nora gets very concerned about my “boo boos.” She stares at my face with a totally serious expression, puts one hand on each of my cheeks, and turns my head to inspect each and every blemish. It’s a fairly humbling experience that I get to endure several times a day. Especially when she catches ones I haven’t noticed yet.

- Nora was lifting her baby doll into a chair with a loud grunt. Josh correctly identified that she is mimicking me when I put her into her car seat. (She is 26 pounds and I have the upper arm strength of a ten year old.)

-The other day she was playing in her room and I kept hearing her saying something that ended in “eee.” For the whole afternoon I tried to figure out what she was saying. It was something like, “Uh, oo, EEE!” I finally realized she was counting to three. We made a big deal about it and now she does it because she loves our reactions. Sometimes she tries to build it up by saying about four two’s. And gets totally distracted in the process and never makes it to the big ‘three!’

-She likes to pat Remy and say, “Goo gah” for ‘good boy.’

-She gets really excited to go pick up Josh from work. She starts calling for him when we pull up to the building. “Daaaa!” As soon as she sees him, she just giggles.

-She calls stars “uh abo ya,” (‘up above the’) from her Twinkle Twinkle Little Star book. (Her favorite page reads “Up above the world so high”.) If only she knew they have a much simpler name.

-I think she thinks the word for running is go go. Because that’s what she says whenever she sees a jogger on the road. Or maybe she’s just cheering them on.

And finally, in pregnancy news, everything seems to be going really well! I’m so thankful that I’m in the second trimester and have a lot more energy. (Very helpful for packing.) I’ve been feeling the baby move at least once a day. Yay!

I have to watch what I do around Nora the Mimicker. Here she is copying my hands-on-hips study of the kitchen and packing progress.

This was a particularly bad/memorable mess. Straight into the tub she goes…

Nora and her buddy Zoraida.

She’s come a long way.