Lights, Acupuncture, Anticipation...

We've been excited about a new project: getting permanent lights installed on our house. Last year, we decided to skip the traditional Christmas lights, thinking that permanent lighting might be the way to go. After considering it for about a year, the perfect opportunity came up this month, so we had Everlights install the lighting. We absolutely love the result! It’s a fantastic addition to our home, and now we're all set for the holiday season. Plus, we can't wait to light up our house in pink when our baby girl arrives.

Another fun thing we did this week was turn Alison's acupuncture session into a little date night. She's been telling me for a while that I'd enjoy acupuncture too, so I decided to tag along. We headed to Salt Lake Qi, a local community acupuncture clinic that has a super relaxed vibe. Matt, who’s been working with Alison, was our acupuncturist. He set us up in these big, comfy recliners. Alison went first since Matt's been gradually intensifying her sessions to help create some changes in her body.

When it was my turn, Matt kept things a bit lighter since I was just there for the experience. He placed about 12 needles in my arms, legs, and head, and we both relaxed for a while. It was surprisingly soothing.

Afterward, we grabbed dinner downtown at Little America's coffee shop—a place special to us. We've celebrated so many milestones there over the years, including the night we got engaged more than a decade ago. We reminisced about those memories while enjoying the cozy atmosphere and delicious food. I decided to try something new and went for the Chocolate and Pistachio Tartufo, a frozen Italian dessert with a cherry center and a crispy chocolate shell. It was delicious and unlike anything we’ve had before.

After dinner, we wrapped up the night by attending our final Mindfulness and Meditation class. On the way, Alison counted up all the pregnancy classes we’ve attended—this was our twelfth! We’ve enjoyed these classes through the University of Utah health system and learned much. Tonight’s session, led by Robbyn and her co-teacher Annika, was probably the best yet.

We reflected on how we’ve spent these last few weeks together and how we plan to support each other as we transition into parenthood, making sure not to lose sight of our relationship. The class was hands-on, allowing us to practice different labor positions and comfort techniques, with Annika and Robbyn there to guide us. We even did a mock pregnancy exercise, which was super helpful now that we’ve had more time to practice what works best for Alison. While Alison would have loved to have our baby in her arms already, we were glad to be there, making it a pretty awesome date night.

Our adventures didn’t stop there. On Saturday, while we were still eagerly awaiting Madeline's arrival, Alison opted for another acupuncture session. This time, I sat it out and seized the opportunity to do something I’d been wanting to do for a while. I headed to the Salt Lake City Cemetery to find the grave of my ancestor, Frank Colclough, a marshall who died in the line of duty. It took a bit of detective work with just rough coordinates leading me to the right section. I walked from grave to grave until I found it and added GPS coordinates on Find a Grave to help others locate it more easily. Next to Frank's monument was a large metal tablet that had become partially overgrown. Curious, I tried to lift it to read the inscription but ended up disturbing a colony of giant ants—they were none too pleased with my efforts!

When I went back to pick up Alison, I ended up waiting in the parking lot for a bit, which led to an unexpected twist. Our car’s battery chose that exact moment to die. Alison came out to a car that wouldn’t start, and to top it off, the battery was so dead that it couldn’t even power the locks to let us in. Luckily, Alison’s dad came to our rescue with Skylee in tow, which turned out to be crucial. The parking lot was hard to navigate, so I went out to guide them. Alison joined me to say hello, but when she did, the car used its last bit of power to auto-lock, leaving us stranded outside. Thankfully, Skylee’s small arms were just the right size to reach through the cracked window and unlock the door. Blake managed to jump-start the car, and we didn’t waste any time heading to the auto store for a new battery. While a dead battery is never a good thing, I was relieved it happened when it did and not while we were trying to rush to the hospital.

Later that evening, we headed to our dinner reservation at Cafe Trio. There is a local legend that their chicken mushroom pizza can induce labor—it worked for our friend Kristin—so we were eager to give it a try. I had made the reservation months in advance, and our waitress seemed to know exactly why we were there when we walked in. Alison managed to eat the entire pizza, and we had a wonderful evening, thinking it might be our last date night before becoming parents. I opted for a different pizza, but the real highlight was the olive oil cake we had for dessert. Absolutely delicious.

The next day, Alison woke up feeling like it still wasn’t quite time for Madeline to arrive. That didn’t stop her from trying everything she could to encourage labor. We went for a long walk in the cooler weather, she did some curb walking and spent a good chunk of the day on the exercise ball. But it seemed our baby girl wasn’t quite ready. We wrapped up our day by taking a Red Cross course on child and infant CPR, checking off one last item on our to-do list. In the evening, Kristin and her girls joined us for a homemade pizza night. My wood-fired BBQ chicken, Pera, and Margherita pizzas turned out perfectly, and the kids had fun making their own pepperoni pizza. After dinner, we made some rose-flavored ice cream, although Anna opted out because the ice cream had chopped pistachios, and in her world nuts taste disgusting.

As much as we would have loved to be heading to the hospital, it turned out to be another fantastic day. We continue to wait excitedly and prepare to meet our baby girl.