Things That Make Me Feel Good

1. Sunshine, blue skies, green grass, spring flowers, and gentle warm breezes. Spring is here and my mood is sky-high happy about it.
2. When I ask Gabbie what she wants to be when she grows up, and her immediate answer is, "A mommy. Just like you." It makes me feel like perhaps I am doing this mom-thing right.
3. When Sophie asks for, "More kisses. Here, and here, and here." When I oblige she giggles, and then returns the favor.
4. When Baby Brother kicks. There's nothing more comforting for a pregnant lady than good, strong, regular baby kicks.
5. When my husband looks at me over the chaos all around us, caused by two lovely, energetic children, and agrees that these girls, and the boy on the way, were absolutely the best decisions we ever made.

I'm freaking out a little

Today is my baby's last day of being two years old! How did this happen?

Also, my actual baby is now mobile. I put her down on her blanket last night, left the room to use the restroom, and came back to find her halfway across the room, pushing against a chair and yelling because she couldn't go any further (she scoots backwards by pushing her feet and aiming with her head).

These two are growing up much faster than the rate with which I am comfortable.

Nice 'Stache

We had a very 'stache-tastic birthday party for Aaron this weekend, and some more photos and details are coming soon, but I couldn't resist posting these really quick while I had almost one second:

Yeah. We had fun.

My Kid is Awesome

Backstory: We went to a birthday party for a 2-year-old friend of Gabbie's on Saturday. She received a bag of party favors which included some Dora temporary tatoos.

On Saturday night, Gabbie was playing with her favor bag and took out that tattoos. I was playing around on the computer (Ticket to Ride FTW!) and so wasn't really paying attention. She walked up to Aaron and requested something quietly, to which he responded, "I'm sorry, what?" She repeated her request, at which time I was summoned to join in on the conversation.

"Repeat for your mom what you just said to me."

Sheepishly, Gabbie replied, "Will you put these on my butt?"

And then I fell over and died of laughter.

We couldn't quite get out of her what made her ask for tattoos to be applied to her butt, but we quickly squashed the idea because:

1) Ladies don't put tattoos on their butts (at least 2-year-old ladies don't) (We had been having conversations all day about how ladies don't lift their dresses up in public and sit so their underwear isn't showing, so it seemed like a good way to frame the conversation.

and

2) If we put it on her butt, she wouldn't be able to see it.

Point number 2 won her over, and a tattoo was applied to her hand, where she could admire it the rest of the evening.

So, in summary: my kid is awesome and hilarious.

Five Gabbie-isms

Gabbie spends a good portion of her time lately making us giggle. Some ways she has been doing this:

1.
Me: Look at the bunnies outside! They must be getting ready for Easter!
Gabbie: I have a big booger. Can you get it?

2.
Gabbie: Daddy, my hands are dirty.
Aaron: No, they're not. They're fine.
Gabbie (mutters): Well, they are a little dirty.

3.
Me: Gabbie, time to get up!
Gabbie - mutters, rolls over.
Me: Okay you have five minutes.

Five minutes later -
Me: Gabrielle!
Gabbie (shoots straight up in bed): I'm up!
(She is so not old enough for that yet!)

4.
Gabbie: I wanna have a good time!
Me - puts on "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen
(My toddler roams around the house singing classic rock. Hilarious!)

5.
Gabbie: ...and Grandma's at home!
Me: No, she's not, Sweetie. I'm sorry.
Gabbie: But, I want her!
Me: She had to go to her house, Babe.
Gabbie (tears up): But, I want her!
Me: Sorry, Honey. She's not there.
Gabbie (sobs): BUT, I WANT HER!
Me (giggling because she's so adorable): You can have me.
Gabbie (sobbing): No, I want Grandma!

And now, a picture taken by Grandma yesterday morning of my two silly girls:

I just absolutely love them.

Not constant awesomeness, but pretty darn close

On a regular basis, Aaron and I remind ourselves how lucky we are to have such a good kid. Gabbie really is one of the most awesome kids I've ever met (although I am, admittedly, biased). She's kind, caring, smart, funny, cute, and just a generally great kid. She has her faults, like stubbornness and being a picky eater, for sure, but she's usually such a reliably good kid, that it makes her bad days seem so much worse.

An example of the good: she usually listens very well and is a stickler for following the rules. She follows the rules so well that we have been able to do something you wouldn't be able to do with many kids. She has a snack drawer that she can access whenever she wants, and we put all her treats in there too. Treats like sweet granola bars and all of her Valentines candy. And yet, she never once has eaten anything, not even her favorite candies, without asking first, and if we tell her no, even though she'll pout a little, she still won't do it.

Other good things include that she very rarely tantrums, she wants to cuddle almost all the time, and will do things, like her silly dance, on cue to entertain us.

Then there's the bad, which seemed to all coincide with the time change yesterday. There was a lot of bad (but it still wasn't as bad as it could be, I'm sure). There were hysterics following each and every time she was told "no." There was not listening, not even a little bit. There was using her hippity hop as a ball with an easy-launch handle, instead of for its intended use, tossing it hard right into our wood blinds, right next to the TV and her baby sister. That was one of the worst offenses for sure. She also made our house a huge mess and cried when I asked her to help pick it up.

The day ended abruptly when she did exactly the thing I had mere seconds before directed her not to do, and then when I reminded her that I had JUST TOLD HER NOT TO DO THAT, she gave me a look, a look I'm sure I'll see many times throughout the years and especially during her teenaged years, a look that pretty much said, "Gee Mom, you're stupid." And then she was deposited in her bed.

This was followed by about ten minutes of tears, but then she played in her room for a few minutes, crawled in bed, and feel asleep.

I feel like a horrible mom on days like yesterday, especially when everything finally boils over and I resort to yelling. I feel childish when I say things like, "You're ignoring what I said, so now I'm ignoring you." It's satisfying to give in and to say those things, for a second or two. Then comes the Mom Guilt.

So I'm glad that she's usually such an awesome kid. I don't have those days or that Mom Guilt very often, and for that I'm incredibly grateful. She is a blessing, no matter what. That's for sure.

Our New Normal

Now that we’re three days into our new normal (-ish, since I’m only half days for the first two weeks), I have to say, it’s going pretty well. I’m actually making it to work more on time than I have in years, and we’re all adjusting incredibly well. Of course, it has been three mornings total now, so there’s still time for it to all go to shit, but I’m going to remain optimistic.

I was worried about three things with Sophie: 1 – taking a bottle (no problem there, the girl loves to eat!), 2 – the cloth diaper thing (aside from some confusion on the first day and needing to move up to the thicker inserts, that’s going well), and 3 – Sophie’s major preference for mommy and only mommy (no issues there aside from a couple of tears the first day). I’m so glad that my worries were unjustified. I attribute that to the power of worry; if I worry enough about it, it won’t happen. Right? Surely that’s true. It’s how I roll.

In addition to Sophie starting daycare this week, Gabbie moved up to the 3-year-olds room. Since she’s completely potty trained, speaks in paragraphs (who cares if all items in the paragraph aren’t necessarily related, she’s only 2 ½), and there was an opening (a key component) we all decided it was time. Her new teacher told me yesterday that it is as if she has been in that room for forever. Talk about a good transition. That’s my girl!

I also have to say, that this easing back into it slowly thing (see: half days for the first two weeks) really is the way to go. I haven’t cried once! I’m amazed at myself, since I normally cry at the drop of a hat (ask Aaron, I’m fun to live with I’m sure).

So, other news of the girls, since I’m doing horribly at this blogging thing lately and feeling guilty about not writing things down:

Sophie really, really prefers to be held, at all hours if possible. This has contributed to a bit of an, um, well, she has a flat spot on her head. I feel absolutely horrible about this. My kid has a funny shaped head! So, we’ve been working on more time not in mommy’s arms and more tummy time. My sister bought her a little play gym and that has helped, except she peed all over it yesterday, so it’s out of commission while in the wash. She’s also working at reaching for things and grasping them. She’s a pro at holding on to fingers, but not much else yet. We’re working on it. I have say, the second child thing is crazy. We worked with Gabbie on all her “skills” all the time, but with Sophie we’re a little more lax about everything, both because we are old hat at this parenting thing and not worrying as much, and because we’re busy with the other kid and don’t have all the free time in the world to concentrate on every little detail. Poor Sophie, it sounds like she’s being all kind of neglected. She is sooooo not.

Gabbie is awesome as usual. She’s stubborn as hell, but also amazingly funny (whether she’s trying to be or not). Our favorite anecdote from late is this: The other night, as a special treat, I was letting her fall asleep in our bed (special cuddle time with mommy). I thought she was asleep, when all of the sudden she announced she had to use the potty. She’s pro at using the potty, but her wiping skills leave a little to be desired at times. Consequently, her underpants got a little wet. She didn’t realize this until she got back into our bed, and she started crying, “I peed in your bed!” I assured her that she had not, and we went and got a fresh pair of underpants, and all was well. Shortly afterwards, Aaron came upstairs and following some conversation wherein she told him “no” about something, he got stern with her about telling him “no.” Half-way through this mini-lecture, she held up her hand at him, and said, very seriously, “I only peed in my pants a little bit, Aaron.” Then she sighed, like she was thinking, “oh, man , dealing with my parents is exhausting.” As you can imagine, all sternness from Aaron flew out the window as we broke into giggles. Kids are hilarious.

I don’t know how I imagined life with two kids. It is both better and way crazier then I ever thought it would be, but I definitely wouldn’t trade it. It seems like we’re finally starting to hit our stride, and I think we’re all thankful for that. I mean, sure, Aaron and I dream daily of running away for a long weekend to someplace warm without the kids, but I’m pretty sure all parents do that. Especially this time of year. Bring on the spring!

Distractions

I cannot believe it's March already. The fact that it's March means that it's nearly time for me to go back to work. In fact, Friday is my last day of maternity leave. Although I do look forward to getting some adult interaction time, I am dreading not being home all day every day with my girls. However, this job is a large part of what allows us to live such a blessed life, so I'll go back happily.

But, I can't deny that I'll be missing these two so much it hurts.

A Million Little Updates

It has finally happened: Sophie let me put her down for more than two seconds (it's actually been over an hour now that she has been sleeping in her crib) (and I probably will hear from her in two seconds now that I've typed that), and I remembered about this blog thing I have and how I desperately want to update more for me, so that I can remember things, than for anyone else.

Since I have a ton of little things I want to put up here, it's bullet time!

• Gabbie is adorable with Sophie. She wants to help me with everything, including and especially diaper changes, giving Sophie her binky, and is constantly on the quest to get Sophie to hold her finger. She calls her Little One, Lil' Peanut, and Sophs (as do we all). She has just a little bit of jealousy happening, but it's really not too bad; just an occasional "I want you, Mom" when I have been holding onto Sophie for a while.
• Aaron is also pretty adorable with Sophie. You can tell that each of his girls hold a special place in his heart. The cutest thing is that there are things that are Gabbie's or were Gabbie's that he's insisting are just hers - her special nickname, the dress she wore for her first portraits, etc. And then he insists on bonding time with Sophie (She has a strong Mommy preference and we're working to break her of it just a little). There's nothing I love more than watching him with his daughters.
• Speaking of the strong Mommy preference, it's mostly because Mommy has "the Goods." If she could, Sophie would be attached 22-7. She needs a little time to look around, otherwise it would be 24-7. Also, "the Goods" are doing their job well. At her one month appointment yesterday (at six weeks, due to being previously cancelled for snow) she measured 9 lbs. 15 oz. (up exactly 2 pounds from birth), and 23 3/4 inches (up 2 3/4 inches from birth), landing her in the 50th percentile for weight and 98th percentile for height. Gabbie has always been about 5th to 10th percentile for weight and about 95th percentile for height, so this slightly chubbier baby thing is new to me (and I love it). And I apparently grow them tall. 
• Due to Gabbie's history of hip dysplasia, we had to take Sophie in to Gabbie's orthopedist for an ultrasound, because the condition can be genetic. The doctor doing the ultrasound said something about being able to move her right hip out of socket, and a harness, and my heart sunk. I so didn't want to deal with hip issues again! However, when we saw our actual doctor, she said everything looks fine, she's way above the threshold for acceptable, and we'll do an x-ray at 6 months just to make sure everything is still developing correctly. I think people two rooms over could hear our sighs of relief. 
• Sophie is smiling, and it melts my heart every time she does it. She's also much more alert these days and is trying to grab for things (her aim is still horrible, though). We're getting to see much more of her personality everyday, and I have to say: I'm so in love with this girl.
• It's a good thing she's mastered the smiling thing, because the six week growth spurt has hit us. Hard. She doesn't like to sleep or really do anything but be held and to nurse at least every hour for most of the day. It's rough. Even though we hadn't been swaddling her, it looks like we're going to have to start that up again, because we tried it overnight and it has allowed her to sleep on her own for much longer stretches than we had been getting out of her. Which is excellent, because we're all in desperate need of some sleep.
• We decided to do cloth diapers with Sophie, and I have to say I really like them. We've made a couple of tweaks to make the system work for us, but even Aaron is finally on board (he liked the idea if not the reality at first). The only thing we're bad at is letting her stay in one for two long from time to time, meaning that whoever is holding her gets wet. Hey, it could be worse. 

And now, for some pictures of my adorable girls:

Chilling out in her bouncy chair, which she fortunately loves.

Those cheeks! They slay me!

I think 2 1/2 is the age when they officially start goofing off for every picture ever taken of them.

I just love this picture.

Does she look like trouble, or what?

Sisters!

And finally, because it's very fun, Gabbie Dances:

Distractions

Man do these two keep me busy.

And with that, someone is demanding to be nursed again, so I'm off. I'll be back soon with something of substance.

Sophie

I feel like a horrible blogger - not updating my blog with our excellent news until nearly a week after it occurred, but I've been understandably busy.

Sophie Eloise arrived last Thursday morning at 5 in the morning. We're both doing great, and we're all a little tired, but still. Great. She's a really good baby, and I am over the moon about her.

Then of course, there was Christmas and a houseful of guests.

I don't think we've ever been so blessed at Christmastime.

Gabbie is an excellent big sister, and I'm so proud of how well she's doing. There have been a few additional tantrums, and, just to make things a little more interesting, she came down with a cold on Christmas eve, so she hasn't been able to hold and play with her baby sister as much as she wants.

Thankfully, there are plenty of new toys in the house to keep her busy. Her favorites include her toy kitchen:

And chapstick:

(I'm glad she's so easy to please.)

But now, I'm going back to my favorite activity - baby cuddling.

Tantrums

Last night at bedtime we experienced the most epic 2-year-old tantrum to date. Gabbie is definitely not the kind of kid who calms down through crying; she just gets more and more upset until she's practically hyperventilating and we need to step in to calm her down. This kind of sucks because she gets the attention she wants which doesn't help to discourage the tantrums. But, she was over-tired (she has had short naps two days in a row, plus she refused to nap over the weekend), over-sugared, and over-indulged (it's hard not to give her what she wants these days because I feel guilty about how much her world is about to change without her having a choice in the matter), and she just lost it.

Also not helping the situation was the fact that Aaron and I couldn't help but laugh, something that sets her off even more because she gets embarrassed.

We finally got her calmed down and she was, of course, asleep two minutes later. Oh, Two. Two is interesting to say the least.

She's not the only one who regularly loses it these days, either. I am having a very hard time with concentration and patience, which doesn't lend itself well to finishing up tasks at home and work, or when dealing with a two-year-old. Last week I was feeling overwhelmed, over-tired (she's definitely not the only one; we're all exhausted these days), and it was my turn to lose it. Aaron laughed at me a little as I burst in to tears, exclaiming, "Everything is going to change!" (um, duh), and "How is my baby (Gabbie) going to handle it?" (As Aaron pointed out, we (both oldest children) and several million other oldest children have handled it just fine for thousands of years).

Someone else in our house, who shall not be named here, also threw a mini-fit about potato chips (or, really, the lack of) and how I need to replace what I finish off when I go shopping.

We're all clearly a little anxious. Even though I want the baby to show up now (GET OUT BABY!), I'll be fine with her coming next week, because then at least I'll be done with work (2.5 days left!) and then some of the anxiety will be alleviated. We're also reducing Gabbie's days in daycare during my leave, so hopefully that will also help her relax. I'm looking forward to a day of just the two of us together if we get it. If not, well, of course I have something else I can be excited about.

Ways in Which my Weekend Sucked

1. Experiencing pregnancy hormones that make me weepy at the drop of a hat
2. Carrying a baby that likes to bounce on my bladder making running errands quite interesting.
3. Wanting to eat out on Saturday night but being thwarted by the large crowds brought into town by the MSU/Purdue game (GO STATE!) causing hour plus waits at every restaurant in town.
4. Dealing with the worst heartburn I've ever had.
5. Aaron having an issue that makes it hard for him to move/lift things and causes him a lot of pain, but also having him not listen to me and do three hours plus of yard work that just made things worse.
6. Gabbie not using her listening ears. At all.
7. Burning the batch of granola I made that I had been looking forward to all week.
8. Not having ingredients I needed to make dinner yesterday (I fudged the recipe and it still turned out pretty darn delicious)
9. Slicing through my fingernail (near the cuticle) with a sharp serrated knife while trying to slice bread. (OUCH!)
10. Having my back go out last night.

However, my weekend was spent hanging out with my family, engaging in lots of cuddling and smiling a lot despite all the suckage, and really, no amount of suckage outweighs those things.

Leaving babyhood behind, far too quickly for my taste

Intellectually I understand that Gabbie is not a "baby" anymore. However, every time we start to leave a babyish habit behind, I am a little bit sad. Currently she is without diapers, eats on our regular plates with our regular silverware, drinks out of a regular cup, and falls asleep by herself in her big girl bed. The only baby habit we had left was the binky, and it was far past time when the binky needed to go.

Gabbie, 5 months old, with The Bink

The Bink, as we called it, has been a fairly constant companion to Gabbie since we finally gave in and gave it to her when she was 10 weeks old (we are not planning to hold out this time). It has been easy to let her have it. We limited it to nights and naps (and in the car on long trips) only when she was about 18 months old, and that system has worked well for us, unless she's hurt and then it's hard not to give her something that helps comfort her so quickly. Sure, she got plenty of hugs and cuddles too, but The Bink has been our ace in the hole for all kinds of situations.

But she's closing in quickly on 2 1/2, and we are now fairly committed. The Bink has to go. Gabbie helped us along in this process last week at daycare. We had one Bink for daycare and one Bink for home. After her nap one day they couldn't find The Daycare Bink. Searching high and low yielded nothing, but they figured it would turn up when they cleaned the classroom at the end of the day. When it didn't, they gave her a loaner binky for nap the next day, and after nap they caught her about to put the loaner binky in the trash. When they asked if she had thrown away The Bink the day before, and she answered, "Yep!" before running off to play.

So, down to one Bink, we decided it was now or never. She didn't use The Bink for most of her naps at daycare last week, but I gave in a lot this weekend due to the whole single parenting gig while Aaron was at deer camp. Yesterday she went down for nap without The Bink with no problem, but then some noise by the school's maintenance crew woke her up and scared her, so they gave it to her. Last night, Aaron lied to her (and I told him it was all on him now if she caught him in the lie, which is something she's really good at) and told her that he left The Bink at school and so it would be a little while before he could go get it, and then he asked her to lay there and try to go to sleep in the meantime.

Five minutes later she was asleep and slept soundly all night with no Bink. Success! For one night at least.

This morning we sat her down for a little chat and told her that if she went all week without using The Bink, that the Binky Fairy would bring her a big present this weekend. She will do pretty much anything for even a little present, so we'll probably be heading out to the store soon to buy her the promised present. I'm so proud of my girl for being so big, but I'm still a little sad that yet another artifact from her babyhood is going away.

I'm also preparing for the battles that are likely to occur when or if she sees the baby using a bink.

She Sure is Cute!

I know you all know the saying, "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." Yeah. That's why you're getting these pictures today.

Updates of the Random Variety

Gabbie actually ate food last week! Real food! Without really any battles. It's amazing how much better my week goes when I don't have to fight with my child several times a day in order to get her to ingest a few calories. She even ate turkey pineapple chili and chicken spaghetti without a fight. It was amazing! Yesterday I was making pulled pork nachos for lunch (delicious!) and I knew she wouldn't eat those, but I gave her a plate with separate piles of chips, pork, cole slaw, and cheese sauce and she dug right in. There was a little bit of a battle to get her to try the cheese sauce, but once she did she loved it (who wouldn't?). Then she kept quoting Yo Gabba Gabba over and over again: "I tried it and I liked it!"

Of course, all of this eating doesn't come without consequence, and of course the pants that fit last week are flood pants this week.

As a reward for being so good last week, we took a family outing to local kids' science museum on Saturday morning, and she loved it. It was a blast, and we went early enough that we beat out the crowds, which were starting to get massive by the time we left. She, of course, loved it. (Especially the Bubble Room.)

Baby #2 provided all kinds of good news this morning at my OB appointment. My blood pressure was good, I didn't gain any weight since my last appointment (we've been eating healthy and avoiding take out as much as possible), Baby's heart rate was the same as always (it has been at 158 at every appointment), and the best news of all: she's head down! Now as long as she stays that way we're in business. I'm still not at the point where I'm uncomfortable all day (although I know that's not too far off), and I definitely have some limitations on what I can do, but I really can't complain all that much, which is awesome.

Lastly, I know it's only Monday, but I really can't wait until this weekend. Aaron is headed off to Beer Camp (aka Deer Camp, even though he doesn't hunt, he goes to hang out, eat fattening food, and drink good beer), and wanted to make sure someone was with me in case anything baby related went down, so my sister is spending the weekend with Gabbie and me. I'm especially excited, because I'm soaking in as much sister time as possible these days. Right now she lives with my parents (she works 60+ hours a week, and therefore would never see an apartment if she rented one) just 90 minutes away, but come March she's moving across the country to live with her boyfriend of five years (who is working on his PhD so is unable to move back here for another five years or so). I can't blame her, but I am going to miss her horribly. A girls' weekend with her sounds great right about now.

My Family is Nuts

This week all my whole family has wanted to do is stay in bed and cuddle all day. None of us has wanted to go to work or daycare, or spend time apart from one another.

Of course, now that the weekend is here, Aaron and I have made all kinds of plans that will keep us from doing that much, if at all. We're planning on breakfast out, a trip to a museum and local city market, a couple of shopping trips for things for the house, and various other items on our to-do list. I don't know what it is about the weekends, but we seem to fit in as much as humanly possible and then spend the days we need to be out of the house craving to do the opposite. We're obviously nuts.

Still, it has been a fantastic (if not quick enough) week, and it's nice when we're not all sick of each other. I mean, really, how could I ever be sick of spending time these two goofballs?

I can't wait until I have three of these nuts to deal with!

Some Gabbie-isms

This weekend was full of Gabbie-isms.

Gabbie-ism 1: She was mad at me on Saturday morning, so she pointed her finger at me accusingly, scowled, and declared, "You're not a princess!" I laughed which made her even more mad.

Gabbie-ism 2: Also on Saturday, I was upset in the morning. Gabbie grabbed my hand, rubbed it, and said, "It gonna be okay Mama." Cue the cute-induced melting right there.

Gabbie-ism 3: On Sunday we were lounging in bed watching a movie. Mid-movie, she looked at me and said, "I love you soooo much." And then I melted yet again.

Gabbie-ism 4: She has been asking "Why?" a lot lately, and it often gets to the point of the "because I said so" answer. We needed to clip her nails this weekend and she refused us several times (by throwing a fit). I finally asked her why she wouldn't let us cut her nails, and she answered, "Because I said so." I think that was the two-year-old version of getting lawyered.

Not quite a Gabbie-ism, but more a reminder to watch what I say: Gabbie said "Dammit" appropriately on three separate occasions this weekend. Thankfully they were all when we were alone.

Between these, the "Har Har Baby" pirating, and too many others to count, she definitely keeps us on our toes (and laughing heartily) these days.

Vacations

It is a little bit sad that attending a conference feels like vacation to me, but right now it does. I'm sitting in a cafe, working, drinking some coffee (decaf, sadly), and it's QUIET. And wonderful. Tonight I have a hotel room to myself, and even if I don't sleep well, I don't have to worry about disturbing anyone else while tossing and turning. I can even go to bed at eight and not feel guilty, like I should be doing something else with my family or that I'm leaving too many things for Aaron to do.

Aaron and Gabbie are also on "vacation" this week. Aaron has the house to himself, with no one else constantly messing it up. He can come and go as he pleases, and has a man-date scheduled for tonight to go out for beer and burgers. Gabbie is at my parents' house - we arrived last night and she has already been spoiled rotten. She literally pushed me out the door this morning. She wants her "Gwama" all to herself, thankyouverymuch.

It has definitely been a LONG past few months and we were all in desperate need for a break from one another. I'd like to say that things will be slowing down after this week, but I can't. I have another project ramping up at work (plus a new one we just landed that has to be fully set up and ready to go before I go on leave), and then of course finishing getting ready for the baby. I've always told Aaron that maternity leave is emphatically not a vacation, but it's kind of starting to look like one. Add in a brand new baby to snuggle all warm and cozy when it's so cold outside, and it's looking downright luxurious. I know once reality sets in those first few weeks, it will be far from the idyllic scene I imagine right now, but I'm really, really, looking forward to it.

The Weeks are Flying By

I'm pretty sure that Gabbie has noticed something is going to change in our house. It's not just that we keep telling her about the baby and talking about it with her, watching babies on TV so she knows they cry a lot, and reading books about being a big sister. She seems to sense that something is different and she's having a bit of a hard time with this feeling. She has been extra clingy, crying at daycare drop off, when usually she runs into the school and jumps up to give her teachers a hug. She has wanted to sit on my lap nearly constantly or if I'm standing, be holding on to me in some way. It's adorable, but also makes it hard to accomplish nearly anything.

So we've been paying her lots of attention, and doing lots of fun things with her. Like going to the "kids park" (she calls it a kids park, not just a park, apparently so we know which park she means?) and playing on the swings and slide:

We have a small neighborhood park right near our house, but her favorite park is a little further down the road. We went last Friday, which is apparently the time all the neighborhood moms take their two-year-olds to the park. It was a blast, and I got to talk to another mom for a while. I've been meaning to make more mom friends, so I think we're going to have to head to this park on Fridays more often.

For a while now, Gabbie has been very into singing and music. She sings fairly constantly, and no matter where we are. A couple of weeks ago she was belting out the ABCs at the grocery store and some older gentleman gave me a dirty look. I returned the look, since she could have been doing something much more annoying, and she was being fairly adorable, actually. We encourage the singing, since my side of the family is fairly musical, and every once in a while she loses her camera shyness and lets us record her (and then wants to watch it over, and over, and over again). Just last weekend, we managed to capture one of her current favorites, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:

She is so fun, and beginning to stress about what having a new baby will be like for her. I'm so excited she gets to have a sister, and I know it will be awesome in the long run. I just don't want it to be too hard on her now (like that's possible, or like we have a choice - it's a little late for that). It helps a lot that she LOVES babies, or else I'd be a lot more worried.

(And yes, this was mostly an excuse to post even more evidence of how cute I think she is.)