Funny Kid

I want to make sure I write down more of the funny things Charlotte says so I don't forget them later.   We heard these comments this weekend when Fred fixed some leaky plumbing and a broken hot water valve.

Fred's facebook status:

Fred Sanchez When ever I pick up my tools to fix things around the house, my 2 year old daughter says the funniest things: "Daddy, don't hurt yourself." and "You broke it, AGAIN!" I guess daddy's home improvement skills need improving.

I must also point out that she also says things like, "Good job!" when helping Daddy work.

Tuesday "would be Better"

One of Charlotte's sayings when we are talking about alternatives between ABC and XYZ is XYZ "would be better."

So for me, Tuesday would be better.  Definitely.

MC and I knocked out the rest of my last minute Holiday shopping (which of course, has been rendered null and void as I had to add something minor back to the list after a Charlotte-related mishap this afternoon) this morning, took my virus-ridden, blue screen computer to the IS department at work (okay, a bad note), had lunch with Helen and Ernest, and wrapped everything left to wrap.  The only thing left for tomorrow is baking!  Yay!

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I'm not brave enough to let MC out of the house without a pull-up or diaper on, but she's getting better about going on the potty when home.  She loves to wear her panties but generally needs reminding to go sit on the potty on a regular basis (unless she wants to get out of sitting at the dinner table).  I can always tell when she's had an accident because she comes running in to me saying, "You not sad. You not sad, Mommy."  Ummm, why am I not sad, exactly, Charlotte?

Tonight she was playing nearby while I wrapped a Christmas that the UPS man had just delivered.  I said, "Charlotte, do you need to go potty?" Of course the answer was, "No."  To which I had to reply, "Charlotte, you didn't go earlier, I think you need to go to the potty." 

She scampered off quickly while I finished taping the edge I was working on and hoisted my big round body off the floor.  Charlotte came running to meet me halfway to the bathroom saying, "Mommy, I tinkled!"  Her panties were obviously soaking wet, but she still seemed so excited.  I checked the potty.  Yup, tinkle in the potty.  

"Good job for tinkling in the potty, Charlotte!  Next time, though, let's remember to pull your panties down, okay?"

Monday

I just need a space to vent.

So I woke up this morning with that feeling.  You know the sore-throat, coughing, heavy-chested, feeling after you've spent a whole day trying to convince yourself that you are NOT getting sick and that it is JUST allergies?  Yeah, that one.

Thankfully, Charlotte slept in until 8 (a small Christmas Miracle), which allowed me a few minutes to lay in bed feeling sorry for myself.    I may have also experienced a contraction and instructed Little Bug to stay put where he is; there is no way I would have been able to manage THAT today as well.

Around 9 I decided that with only 3 days left to get ready for Christmas celebrating, and the lack of milk in the fridge, that we needed to get out and do some shopping.  By 10 we are both dressed and walking out the door.  I carry my things to the car as Charlotte stops to investigate something left in the cup holder of a lawn chair.  She doesn't come when I call.

Guess what?  She found and opened a bottle of bubbles, and in the process spilled the soapy liquid all over her pants.  I must confess that my first thought was, "It will dry, it will be okay," and picked her up to carry her to the car.  At the car, however, I saw the damage really couldn't be ignored, turned off the car, locked my stuff inside, and ran back into the house to change her pants. 

In the car and on our way 20 minutes after first setting about walking out the door, I decide to swing by the mall first to pick up that last gift card.  Charlotte and I like to go to this mall, because it has a great indoor germ play castle.  We usually go early, shop a little, play a little, maybe even eat lunch and go home.  Today we only made it into the parking lot.  I forgot that while 10:20 may be not long after the doors open on a normal day, December 21st is NOT a normal day.  Who are all these people, and why are they jacking with my everyday life? So we skip off to HEB.

And find more of the same.  While it isn't too crazy, every Mom is there with her 3 kids who are off for Christmas Break. 

Blueberries and strawberries are on sale; I ask MC which she'd like.  "Blueberries!" and then she demands to hold them.  I cave.  Then I remember I haven't asked my Mom what she needs me to bring for Christmas Dinner.  On the phone with her I find out all the easy stuff is already taken.  I opt for squash casserole, but can't remember the recipe.  As Mom tries to help me remember what's in it (all I could come up with is carrots and pimento), Charlotte drops the blueberry carton on the floor.

Blueberries go everywhere. 

I should have seen that coming, I know.

I get my 8.5 month pregnant body down on the ground in the middle of the produce section and start scooping up the blueberries that haven't already been squashed by passing carts.  One lady kindly tells me that I should just call someone to come clean it up for me.  However, no HEB employee in sight, I figured my way would be faster and result in less squashed blueberries.  I gratefully thanked one of the Christmas Break kids who gave me a hand.

I spend 10 minutes with the olives and pickles looking for a jar of pimentos, no luck.  Again, no nearby employee to ask.  Fred doesn't know it yet, but I decide to send him to the store later for pimentos. 

The phone rings, and I bite Fred's head off when he says he thought I was going to stay home in bed.  He just wanted to know if he could bring me lunch.  Poor Fred.

Headed to checkout I forgot to look through HEB's gift card selection, something I'd decided to do after skipping the mall.  Oops.

In the parking lot I call Fred back to apologize and take him up on his lunch offer.  Charlotte loses a shoe and her hair bow at the same time.  Shoe and bow restored, cart unloaded, I push the cart between two cars towards the nearest cart return.

And squash Charlotte's finger between the car and the cart.  I abandon the cart (something I never do with a cart return nearby) and buckle a crying MC into the car seat.  Though there is no blood, only a band-aid will make it better.  Band-Aid secure, we leave the parking lot.

And then spend 5 minutes getting back into the busy parking lot because I realize I've left my cell phone in the shopping cart.

Anything else on the list got scratched and we came home.  I found a big stain on the side of my shirt, apparently transferred bubble solution from Charlotte's earlier mishap.  Glad I only walked around HEB like that and not the Mall too.  Fred brought bun which always makes me feel better.   I napped and did little else with the rest of my day.

So let's now say good night to Monday. 

Good Night!

A Christmas Conversation

On the subject of Santa (though still slightly confused on the difference between Santa and a snowman.  Go figure).

Charlotte: (looking out the window from her rear-facing car seat) I see Santa!
Me: (not seeing said santa because I'm looking the other direction at the road) Wow, you do?  Great!
Charlotte:  Santa come to Mommy's house? (note: never HER house or Daddy's house, but Mommy's.  Apparently I own everything, Daddy nothing :-P )
Me: Yes!  Santa is coming to our house!  What is he going to bring?
Charlotte: A present for Charlotte!
Me: (In yet another attempt to discover if there is anything she wants for Christmas) What kind of present?
Charlotte: A GREEN one!

Note to Santa: make sure to buy some green wrapping paper.

To the Theater!

Last night I went with my Mom and sisters (minus Christy - we missed you!) to dinner and the Sound of Music.  As I was obviously getting dressed to go out, Charlotte asked me, "Where you go-in, Mommy?" and I responded, "Aunt Michele (who was here to pick me up) and I are going to a play."  Charlotte then said, "I want to go with Aunt Michele!" but I told her she was going to stay and play with Daddy.

While I was off eating yummy food and singing along (in my head) to "My Favorite Things," Charlotte found her dress up clothes and made Fred help her get all dressed up, including her purse and cell phone.  When asked where she was going, her response, "I'm going to a play!"

I guess she was a little bummed to find out she wasn't going after all!

Settled in for the Wait

Tomorrow marks the first day of my 38th week of pregnancy; with 37 full weeks behind me, I'll be considered full term.  YAY!  Unfortunately, Charlotte and medical science had different opinions on full term, so I am all too aware that "full term" means 5 weeks of "this baby could come at any time!"  This time, however, I'm prepared not to expect a baby until my due date or beyond.  Except for the part where I secretly hope he'll* come sooner.   The regular braxton hicks contractions that started around week 16 and have only gotten more frequent and stronger, manage to keep that hope alive (blast it).  *or she!

There is nothing like a few hours of contractions 10 minutes apart to convince me that indeed, it is time to make sure the hospital bag is (mostly) packed.  Unfortunately, having my bags "ready to go" doesn't seem to work for me, as there are last minute things that I'll need to pull together, but the important things are all now neatly piled either in a bag or on top of it.

Mostly I can hardly believe we are at the end.  Some days it feels like I've been pregnant forever!  I'm dying to know if the little monkey in there is a boy or a girl.  I must have been comfortably certain Charlotte would be a girl, because I don't recall quite the suspense.   Mostly I think of this baby as a boy, but I don't know why, so that has me second guessing myself.  Either way, I'm quite sure I'll do some gender-related shopping for this peanut as soon as I feel up to getting out of the house.  :-)

Ouch! Those are my ribs!

Seriously, my ribs hurt right now. I'm not sure HOW this kiddo did it, but I feel bruised from his little feet!  What the heck, kiddo?  Mexican food too spicy for you?  It hurt when he started kicking - almost like on the OUTSIDE of my ribs rather from the inside.  I'm not sure that is possible or if it makes any sense.  Like my belly is SO big now that when I'm sitting in front of the computer, (or dinner table) leaning over, it extends past my ribs enough that he can get his little foot up on the outside of my rib cage.  That sounds crazy, someone please tell me it isn't.

So anyway, as if being 8 months pregnant isn't discomfort enough, it now hurts to move.

In other news there are still ticks in my house, though less than before, I think.  Poor Maddie no longer has her beautiful long coat, so, hopefully, any ticks that find her we can remove.  I'm not sure WHAT else to do at this point.  These blasted ticks seem to be resistant to everything I've tried.   They creep me out!

I also did some shopping at Goodwill this weekend and will have to go check out some other thrifty places.  Like to make little gift baskets for the holiday season like me?  I got a whole bunch of cute little ones for 79 pennies each, and a big, heavy duty one for $2.  I love baskets for organizing stuff, so I'll have to go back for more.  I was less impressed with the newborn clothes, but bought a couple of boy things, just because it's cheap and I, with my end of summer little girl, don't have much with long sleeves that is gender-neutral.

And now we're at less than 4 weeks till Due Date.  crazy.

Snow Day!

One Month

January 3 is this baby's "due date."  Not that I put much stock in such things.

This week the nesting has started.  I'm not sure if it's because of the ticks, which prompted a lot of extra cleaning both before and after treating the house, or if it's bonafide nesting.  I feel like I spend all day dead on my feet only to spend my evenings doing "just one more thing" before bed.  Next thing I know, it's midnight (or later) when I finally close my poor tired eyes.  The house is looking pretty good, though, with all the cleaning and organizing.  It still needs more, but I'm pretty sure I'll have several more weeks to attack it all.  Then I need to plan to have people over to enjoy it all.  Wouldn't that be a crazy pregnant lady thing to do?

Today was the beginning of weekly visits to the OB.  Fun times.  My pregnancies are pretty boring, and I'll keep it that way, thank you very much.  Today though, I had a quick, exam room ultrasound because I'm measuring a touch small.  Apparently my amniotic fluid is on the low end of average for the 3rd trimester.  Time to drink up and keep myself over hydrated and running to the restroom every hour! Otherwise everything looks good.  Baby is head down with his feet in my ribs (as was kindly pointed out to me, as if I can't tell :-P)

I also had the scariest moment of my life today.  The exterminator ended up coming today, since the ground was wet yesterday.  As soon as we got home I went to work vacuuming and/or mopping every inch of exposed floor in the house.  I also opened up windows and turned on fans.   Charlotte was running around eating an apple and singing her ABCs as I moved from mopping the dining room at the front of the house to the bathroom.  Suddenly I realized I didn't hear her anymore and went to check on her.  She didn't answer my call at all and I didn't see her in any of the rooms she'd just been in.  As I'd been mopping, several chairs were pushed up next to the open window, and earlier she'd curiously peeked her head outside. I started calling her name frantically through the house, and all I could think was that she'd climbed out the window.  I ran outside in a panic, but there was not a soul in sight.  I called her name and ran down the driveway to the back yard, but she wasn't there.  Back inside I called her name loudly and began to imagine the worst.  I pulled down my sweater and started to dig through my purse for my cell phone.  As I was spreading the contents of my bag on the floor in a panic, she came trotting, all smiles, out of the laundry room with Fred's big flashlight.

I've never been so freaking relieved in my whole life.  I don't think I'll be opening the front windows without screens again, unless my eyes are on her the whole time.  It does give me more incentive to replace them - something that had been far down my list of to-dos for this house.

On a more cheerful note, MC and Fred had the cutest phone conversation this evening as he drove home from the airport.  The phone rang and MC was going to bring it to me, but then decided, "It's Daddy!" and decided to answer it herself.

"Hi, Daddy! You wanna play blocks?" 
"This blocks?" (pointing to her logo style, mega blocks)
"How 'bout this blocks?" (pointing to her wooden blocks)
"Christmas tree!" (running and pointing at the Christmas tree)
"Snow man!" (running to point at a Santa Claus - okay, so she's a little off)
"Maddie!" (pointing at maddie) "Maddie go groover!" (groomer)
(over to nativity set she'd been playing with when the phone rang) "Baby, Mommy, Daddy, Joeseph, sheep, 2 sheeps!"

The whole time I keep asking her if I can talk to Daddy.  "No, I talk to Daddy."

Finally I hear, "Bye, bye, Daddy" about 10 times in a row (apparently Fred was at the front door and trying to get her to come see him).  As sadly clicked the phone shut she said softly, "I love you."

She's totally precious!

November Nutshell

I am a bad blogger this month.  Here is the recap.

1) This baby began sapping all of the energy from my body.  I want to nap when Charlotte naps, and go to bed when Charlotte goes to bed.  This makes it hard to fit in things like work, dinner, dishes, and blogging, especially when I'm busy doing #2...

2) Fighting Ticks.  Sometime around the end of October we found three little ticks nestled together in the thick of Maddie's fur.  Since that finding, we've been battling an infestation.  At first, we thought we had it under control - flea and tick bath, spray the yard, an additional Advantix application, pitch her bedding in the trash can, vacuume nearly every day.  All seemed well (or I was just blissfully ignorant or in denial) for about 2 weeks. And then I found more.

Did I mention that my sweet hubby is on the exact kind of DIY kick that our budget is mostly (or not yet!) thankful for?  Since professional intervention costs money, upon the increased appearance of ticks on Maddie, we tried it all again.  He even started researching chemicals he'd want to buy to do the house ourselves.  After finding them in the house NOT attached to the dog several times this past week, I told him that I'm moving out until the problem is solved he relented and let me call in the big boys. Previously, the only place we'd seen live ticks was on the dog.  I'm so glad that dog ticks prefer dogs to humans! 

Anyway, Wednesday is operation KILL THE TICKS day.  The dog goes to get treated and shaved at the while the house and yard are being sprayed.  Right now an hour and a half of each day gets spent on picking ticks off of the dog and vacuuming the floors AND baseboards of the whole freaking house.  That is a lot of time for a pregnant lady!

3)We're working on potty training.  Around the house MC now wears big girl panties, of which she claims to be very proud.  At first I was cleaning messes up off of the floor seveal times a day.  We were finally having some success and then, over the holiday weekend, I stuck her back int pull-ups.  Today, I was back to cleaning the floor, changing clothes, and doing laundry.  Feels like square one.

4) Charlotte moved up into a big girl bed earlier this month.  At first she didn't try to get out.  And then she realized she could.  Sometimes this isn't a problem.  Others, she'll play on the floor with her toys all through nap time or for ages (it seems) after bedtime.  Right now, I try not to care what she's doing so long as she's in her room and quiet.  She hasn't quite figured out doorknobs yet, so I'm comfortable with that.

5) I love and hate the first cold snap we've had this year.  I always enjoy the little bit of "winter" we get in Houston.  This year, however, my personal heater has kept me from even wanting to wear long sleeves most of the time.  Less than 5 weeks to my due date and I own 2 long sleeve maternity shirts, a cardigan, an old coat that's normally too large and now barely buttons, and one of my friend's hoodies that looks like it might still zip, though I haven't tried.  I REALLY don't want to shell out money this late in the game - maybe I'll do some more digging through Fred's old clothes...or hit up Goodwill.

6) I'm totally done with pregnancy.  Just done.  I loved breastfeeding MC; it came so naturally, but I'm almost dreading it this time around.  I'm ready for my body to be MINE again.  The 3 months that it belonged to me between MC weaning and this pregnancy seem like a figment of my imagination.  I want to go out and stay out late without madly missing my pillow and have a glass of wine and not care if it turns into 2 or 3.  Some women love being pregnant.  Me, not so much. I enjoy bits of pregnancy, but won't miss it one bit when I'm holding my baby in my arms.

7) MC visited her great-grandmother and namesake on her 93rd birthday.   Charlotte seemed pretty enthusiastic to be there, "birthday cake" and all.  "Mom," showed a little less excitement, but we loved seeing her all the same.

And that pretty much sums up whats going on around here.  Maybe I'll have more energy for photos and posting in December...maybe.

Chatterbox

I was totally unprepared for how quickly Charlotte would turn into a chatterbox.  In only a short few months she has gone from three word sentences to holding more complicated conversations.  She often peppers these little conversations with little things that I'm surprised she remembers.  Sometimes the conversations are just amusing.  Today in the car, for example:

MC: I take my shoes off.  I take my socks off.
Me: Yes! You took your shoes and socks off.  Your feet are bare.  Now you have bare feet!
MC: I have barefeet!
Me: Yup!
MC: I am a tiger, ROAR!
Me: Oh, you are a tiger?
MC: I am a tiger, not a bear! Not bear! ROAR!

I am also occasionally hearing a word I thought she'd NEVER pick up, "yes!"  Mostly I still hear the word "no," but until recently she was just repeating whatever it was she wanted instead of saying, "yes."  Today she pointed out that Hello Kitty has a tail.  I asked her if Mommy, Daddy, etc. had a tail and she replied with, "no."  Then I asked her, "Does Maddie have a tail?" and received a very enthusiastic, "yes!"

What a cutie; I love having conversations with my little munchkin.

Who's Walking Who, Anyway?

Oh the Boots!

These boots once trod with another pair of feet nestled in them, many, many, years ago. You guessed it, me!

Charlotte loves her "new" boots, even if she doesn't want to wear them as part of the cowgirl costume I pulled together for her.  Actually, they don't seem to go with anything she's wanted to wear them with yet, but such is the joy of being a toddler.  They totally don't fit yet, but she'll grow :-). 

In fact, my earliest memory involves these very same boots.  They were then too big for my little feet and kept falling off my feet when my little legs couldn't reach the stirrups as I rode behind my mother on a trail ride long ago.  I remember trying so hard to keep them from falling off as we rode along!

Sitting on a Big Bouncy Ball

Last week a big blue exercise ball replaced the chair that usually sits in front of my computer.  I did the same thing in my first pregnancy, and I think it works out pretty well - especially because it is REALLY easy to just roll my big body off of the ball and into a standing position.   Much easier than, say, getting up off the couch or out of bed.  The only possible side effect that I'm trying to avoid this time around?  The temptation to bounce on the ball while I browse the internet.  Charlotte came into the world with a STRONG need to be bounced and rocked.  All. The. Time.  Babies who like motion love to ride in cars, right?  Wrong!  To keep her happy I had to keep the car moving AND use a hand to reach back and jiggle the car seat for extra vibration.  Even her swing didn't rock her world quite enough.  I'd use the vibrator on the bouncy seat and then bounce the seat to the point where she'd almost bounce out of it. While I know some babies just like to jiggle, I can't help but suspect the three months I spent sitting on an exercise ball.  This time, less bouncing.

The third trimester has brought this realization that I have a long time left to be uncomfortable, but not a long time left to prepare for this new little one.  This week I went through all of my newborn items (from clothes to blankets, to burp clothes) and washed the gender neutral items.  I didn't wash anything pink, since I would love another girl but can hardly dare to hope that this little bug is a girl (I haven't had a single person, myself included, this time suggest I'm having a girl).  Perhaps i will throw a few pink items into the wash as well, just in case ;-).

As I folded receiving blankets, MC came in to see what I was up to.  I showed her how to wrap her baby doll up like a burrito.  She was thrilled.  Of course, this means that she'll want me to swaddle all of her dolls and stuffed animals.  I think she's going to be a rock star at this big sister thing.

I did come across the most bumming piece of information last night, though.  The visitor policy at St. Luke's where I'll be delivering has changed due to H1N1.  Visitors are limited to 2 at a time and no children under the age of 10 are allowed.   Most of my visitors last time came in droves, so I'm a little bummed about the Fred + 1 that I'll be reduced to, but I'm really unhappy about the 10 year old age cut off.  I'm finding it really hard to let go of all of my daydreams of Charlotte meeting Little Bug in my hospital room (or delivery room if the timing worked well).  I briefly wondered if I could still switch to a midwife and have this baby at home or in a birthing center, but decided I need a better reason than to get around a single hospital policy!  Mostly, I think my frustration stems from the fact that since Charlotte already had swine flu, she isn't going to pass it on to another patient.  Unfortunately, I don't see anyone at the hospital giving a flip about this relevant little fact.

I keep trying to be rational and understanding about the policy, but every time I think about it I just get aggitated.  The website touts family-centered maternity care, which obviously doesn't apply to my whole family, so they should remove it, right?  Is it crazy to wonder how the best thing for my whole family would be to keep our young daughter from being part of such a wonderful and life changing occasion?  Will she transition just as easily to the new baby if we walk in the front door with our new little one as if she'd come up to the hospital to see where Mommy had the baby?  I am afraid that she'll just think that Mommy vanished suddenly for days on end and then feel resentful when I walk in with a new baby. 

While I know it will all be oaky, I'm still NOT okay with it yet.  I'll get there, only because I don't think I have much choice...

Babymoon

well, sort of.  Fred had a conference in Monterey, CA last week, so Charlotte packed a bag to stay with my parents and Fred's parents for the week while the two of us had a relaxing time by the Pacific.  Okay, so I did most of the relaxing while Fred worked, but it was great!  The weather was mostly beautiful, except for a large storm that came ashore Tuesday.  I've never seen more commotion over a few inches of rain!  I know they worry about things like mudslides that we don't get here, but it was amusing to see the fuss.

I had a prenatal massage, read my book in the sunshine, ate a lot of seafood, spent time at the Fisherman's Warf, walked along the ocean, bought a few souvenirs at Cannery Row, and took a drive to Carmel and Big Sur.  I must confess that the drive wasn't as long as would have been nice, but pregnant me has less ability to ward off motion sickness.  The roads wind crazily along the mountains and coast and even driving didn't help that much!

We were able to snag lunch along the coast and dine with a gorgeous view of the Pacific.

All in all it was a great last trip before the new Sanchez arrives.  Fred even let me use his first class upgrade on the flight home.  I don't like flying while pregnant (the swelling, the seeming lack of air in the plane, the climbing over people to get to the bathroom multiple times, the general body aches from not moving much...need I continue?) so the first class seat made a BIG difference.  He's a good hubby.

I missed Charlotte at lot, and worried about her spending so much time away from both of her parents, but she hardly seemed to notice our absence with all of the attention she received.  I did get to talk to her on the phone a few times, but she was more interested in coloring or playing than talking to me for more than a few moments.  It was wonderful to see her again when we came home on Saturday.  I thought she might be more clingy following our return, but she's been her usual, two-year-old self. 

On an aside Charlotte note - yesterday she said her longest sentence yet, "Look, Mommy, I found your sunglasses for you!" Crazy!  Tomorrow I'm pulling together the rest of her Halloween costume.  She's going as a cowgirl. The only thing left to do is swap out the straw cowboy hat with pink accents for a solid pink one.  Charlotte insists on a PINK cowgirl hat, and the one I bought just won't do.  After this, she'll be all set for the rodeo next March, too!

Dear Little Bug

Dear Little Bug,

I think there are a few things we need to clear up to make the next 3 months (or so) sail along smoothly.  For starters, let's talk about Mommy's bladder.  I know it feels nice and cushy like a pillow, but using it as such means that Mommy makes rush across the mall, pushing a complaining Charlotte past the desired water fountain, in search of a restroom, only to think, "THAT'S ALL that was in there?"  Surely there has to be another organ or placenta in there that would serve the same purpose. 

Also, please note that the very same bladder should NOT be confused with a soccer ball, or vollyball or any kind of ball.  Every time your tiny yet powerful little body thrusts out against it, I get quite nervous that I just might end up in a resulting embarrassing situation. 

Speaking of kicking and moving about in general; are you throwing a party in there?  Did you invite a friend over without asking permission, or what?  I don't remember your sister creating such crazy, total belly jiggling movements.  Don't get me wrong, she was a pretty active kiddo in utero, but I think you already have her antics beat! If you must know, that really scares me, because she's a pretty crazy kid.  I'm not sure my heart can handle two kiddos bouncing with reckless abandon across a narrow bridge high above a pit of foam at the gym.  I can only imagine that you must be a boy and my life will forever change as I know it once you figure out how to move from one place to the next.  Regardless (of your sex), I'm pretty sure the two of you are going to keep me on my toes!

The only other thing you might want to work on before you get here is sleeping.  Yes, I know you do a lot of that already, but I've noticed a slight tendency for you to bounce around in the middle of the night.  While that doesn't cause me much trouble for sleeping now (I can sleep though a lot, it seems), once you arrive it could really put a wrench in the continuous hours of sleep that I generally enjoy.  Except for the bathroom breaks of course.  Since, at 27 weeks gestation, you should be hearing all the excitement that goes on during the daytime, it shouldn't be so hard to distinguish night from day, even without the sunlight to clue you in.  If you don't hear anything, go ahead and feel free to fall right asleep, okay?  Good habits start early in life...

Daddy and I and even Charlotte are eagerly awaiting your arrival.  Maddie, not so much.  While I try to think of you as a mid-January babe, just so I'll keep my sanity if you take your sweet time like your sister, I can't help but wonder if we'll end '09 with you in our arms or start 2010 with a bang.  We just can't wait to meet you.  We wonder if you'll look a lot like your sister or all together different.  No matter who you look like, you'll be perfect.  See you when you get here...and keep in mind those few things I mentioned. 

Love Always,

Mommy

Remembering the Cooler Days

Okay, so cooler days around here just means Friday.  I can't believe how freaking hot and sticky it is today!  Friday morning was so nice; there was even a moment when I felt a slight bit chilled!  Just in case you are like me and missing walking to your car without sweating like a pig perspiring, here are some photos so you can remember cooler days... 

H1N1 - Finally an Answer!

So I'd asked BOTH my pediatrician and my OB about the swine flu vaccine.  Neither of them had a conclusive answer for me at the time as to whether or not Charlotte and I would still need the vaccine to be protected from the disease.  Both actually at first said they'd recommend the shot.  Yuck! 

Since those visits, I decided myself that our previous bout of swine flu was good enough immunity protection for me and decided not to mention it again at any doctor visit unless asked.  Well, today I didn't even have to ask, she actually simply stated that we were lucky to have such a mild case of it and now that we had better immunity than the shot would provide (for this specific strain).  SWEET! 

She does still want me to get the regular flu shot, and I might just do that... 

More Randomness

No fun pictures to post today.  I haven't been as good about pulling out my camera as I should be, I guess. Just some random fun for your day.

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Aunt Chrissy (I still call her Aunt KK, but MC seems to have almost caught on to her real name) was in town this weekend, and we joined her and her hubby at her in-laws house to watch the LSU football game.  I took a few toys to keep MC entertained, one of them being a magnadoodle and Christy drew a shape and asked MC what shape it was.  MC's response?  OVAL!  It was definitely an oval, but not the answer Aunt KK was looking for; she thought she'd drawn a circle.  Poor Aunt KK, getting your drawing skills dissed by a 2-year-old.

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Yesterday Charlotte had just out the window to see if there was rain to go with the thunder she heard when a big black Dodge truck pulled into our driveway.  She shouted excitedly, "UNCLE BRUCE!" and ran into the other room toward the front door with much enthusiasm.  Unfortunately, I know Uncle Bruce drives a  BLUE Ford truck and could see it just using our driveway to turn around.  She was so excited and kept insisting that Uncle Bruce was outside, so I told her we could call him.  He didn't pick up and I left a message.   A few minutes later the phone rang and I said, "Maybe that's Uncle Bruce," which got me the response, " Uncle Bruce!"  Of course it wasn't Uncle Bruce, but the next time the phone rang she cried, "Uncle Bruce!"

Uncle Bruce had been nearby with a truckload of drywall when he missed my call, but couldn't swing by once the rain started.  So, as to not disapoint MC any further, we drove over to Miss Alafair's house around the corner to see him.  Charlotte loves her Uncle Bruce!

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Pregnancy - I'm finally at that point in the pregnancy where I love my pregnant body.  The baby's movements can be seen through my shirt as he squirms around in there.  (I say that as I just felt a foot-or something-slip up under my rib cage. Ouch!)  I know there will be a point where I look and feel HUGE, but right now I'm at that fun stage at the end of the second trimester when everything looks well balanced.  Read - my front has started growing faster than my rear! Thank Goodness!  Did you know that most pregnant models don't work past the second trimester?  I think that gives the rest of us a warped since of  what a pretty pregnant belly should look like.  Picture soon. 

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Charlotte loves to sing, dance, color, and play with play-doh.  She has been able to say her alphabet for ages.  Counting, however, seems to elude her, but she's getting better.  It must come as no surprise then, that she's a very creative, imaginative child.  Today we were outside chalking and I drew some stairs (she said a word that kinda sound like stairs) and then she pretended to walk up them.  Fun, I thought, so I said, let's draw a bridge for you to cross.  She LOVED that idea and walked right over the bridge.  And then wanted me to draw the stream under it, complete with fish, a duck, and a boat.  Then she sat "in the boat."  So I took it a little further and drew us a big rowboat that we could both "sit in" and sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."  We "grabbed" the chalk oars and paddled away.  Then Charlotte stood up and I told her not to stand up, it would rock the boat and she might fall out into the water.  So she then rocked  back and forth and I decided to go overboard myself - but of course MC quickly extended her hand without prompting and helped me back into the boat.

I love the part of being a parent where you get to be a kid again.  It's so much fun...of course that is until MC wants to sit in a boat and fall out 20 times in a half hour...

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Talking.  What the heck?  It's like one day I had a little girl who could throw together a few commonly used 3 word sentences and today I got, "I want go see Bottie again." Last weekend it was, "I don't like it!"  Those are just the most memorable, but they just keep on coming. I can hardly believe that she was rarely using a sentence 3 months ago and now she's spewing them out all the time.  Of course, the more she talks, the more I know she understands, and thus the less she's going to be able to get away with :-P.

A Post With Too Much Orange

But there are a lot of people I love in it, and much cuteness, so it will just have to be okay for this Aggie to endure for now.

Saturday we drove up to Austin for Bruce's classic tailgate parties.  I feel bad, but he and his girlfriend, Alafair were so busy, I didn't get shots of either of them!

We did have a lot of fun though!  My cousin Luke and his wife Megan brought their 8 week old little girl, Gracie over for a little while, and Charlotte loved the baby.  She's going to be a great big sister!

Fred looks so cute with two little girls that I can't help but hope our Little Bug is a little girl.  I still think boy, though, so we'll see in January!

Really, though, this newborn yumminess makes me so excited about the new arrival we expect for the New Year.

Charlotte had a great time and played with her Aunt KK who came down from Lubbock with Uncle Brian for the game. 

Congrats to Brian who conducted Tech's half time show!

Unfortunately, though, this picture is all I saw of Brian all weekend.  They'll be here next weekend, so mabye we'll see him then!

Charlotte tried really hard all weekend to learn how to "hook 'em" but didn't have much luck.  She can gig'em though!  That's my girl!

Otherwise, Charlotte spent much of her time playing washers.  Or counting them, as it may have been.

 

Fred went to the game, but Charlotte and I headed back to the Drury Inn for some sleep time.  We splurged on a two room suite for the night and it was a good spend!  It's a lot easier to put the tot down without falling asleep yourself when you have two rooms.   This also allowed Fred to come in late and wind down without waking either of us up, and gave him a chance to sleep in when Charlotte woke up early.  I'll vote for a suite from now on whenever possible.

Denial

I won't buy myself soft drinks to keep in the house.  They are packed with huge amounts of sugar and no nutritional value, not to mention the caffeine content that I'm supposed to be avoiding in pregnancy.  As I try to clip my way to a tiny grocery budget, the price tag on a case of soft drinks just seems like a ridiculous addition, since you usually need to spend $12 to get 3-5 cases.   I rather spend my $12 on a lb of Sockeye Salmon.

But then, what do I do?  EVERY time I leave the house I wonder where I can get my Coke or Dr. Pepper fix for the day.   Buy a can at the office?  Maybe on the way out of the grocery store?  At a restaurant?  Can I snag one at my Mom's house when I swing by to pick up Charlotte?  Somehow, I usually manage to drink 1 soft drink a day (unless I splurge on a decaf Mocha from Starbucks).

So when I passed up the deal for 5 cases for $12 last week, I passed up a deal for $.20 a can.  Seeing that I manage to get my soft drink/caffeine fix every day anyway at anywhere from  $.50 to $2.50 a pop, maybe I need to re-evaluate the situation honestly.

I am a soft drink addict.   If I want to save money, I should just give them up all together buy them at the grocery store and only drink them at home.

Whew.  I feel relief to get that off my chest.

Randomness

Who invented the awful grocery carts with the attached plastic cars?  WHY?  To supposedly entertain my child while we are in the grocery store?  Sure, maybe the FIRST time Charlotte rode around in "her" green car, she was thrilled the whole time, so I endured blocking aisles, getting in other shoppers' way, running into things the whole trip, and generally not moving in the intended straight line.   Miss something I needed on aisle 3 and I'm totally debating if it's a must have so I wont' have to turn around.

Now, she's entertained for a whole five seconds, but if there is an empty car-cart, you can bet she'll insist that we use it, only to grow bored with it by the time I've run into each and every produce stand in the store.  I realized as I finally maneuvered the monstrous cart into the narrow check out lane that the front two wheels did not touch the ground at all.  That might just explain some my navigation problems.  If I almost mowed you over today, or any shopping day, I'm sorry. 

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Want to know how I know it's fall?  The acorns (and pecans too!) have started falling from the trees in our backyard.  This also means Charlotte has also started putting them in her mouth again.  Oh joy of joys.

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I am still grunting every time I bed over or squat down to pick something up or put something away.  I still think, each and every time, that I should stop doing that!

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My sister-in-law and her family rock, because they took Charlotte for an overnight this weekend.  Charlotte had lots of fun, see?

I'm so thankful that Charlotte didn't mind spending the night out at all and that her cousins were so gracious to have her!

So what were we doing while MC was busy partying it up with her cousins?  My 10 year HS reunion at El Patio.  Good times!

Yes, I DO love that brown dress, just in case you haven't figured it out.  I could use a few more in various colors...

New Cotton Babies Diaper

I just received an email about these today.  Interesting.  Especially seeing that Miss Charlotte seems not so interested in potty training and I may need to purchase something cheap to get me through with the new baby in the meantime...

http://www.cottonbabies.com/ 

The Flip design that they are touting comes with a disposable insert option, which could be very handy for traveling! 

My favorite diapers are still my OS BumGenius pocket diapers though; I am not sure I'll be up for a change!

Craft Time

Fred and I used to be very involved in Awakening retreats for Catholic Young Adult here in Houston (and elsewhere).  Over the years we have amassed  a pretty large box of craft materials, and Wednesday I pulled it out to find some puff paint while Charlotte was busy with her play doh.  Of course Charlotte spied all kinds of things in this magical box that she just had to have.  I went through it and pulled out a few things I didn't mind her playing with, and she pulled out a few that I wasn't so crazy about but let go.

This was the result:

 

Good times!

The stamp markers were pretty shot after who knows how many years, so I pitched them quietly after we played, but the play doh and foam cut outs were a big hit.  I must confess that I am wired oddly and have issues with the play doh colors getting all mixed up and then turning into gray blobs (or whatever color that is exactly), so I only pull out one canister for Charlotte to play with at a time.  She knows to put one color away before I'll give her another one - I am probably creating a monster.  I am totally boring!

The foam cut outs allow her to use different colors together and I can easily separate them out when she's done.  Some of the fancier play doh toys still require supervision, or my impateint daughter ends up screaming because something isn't coming out the way she wants it.  With the foam and play doh, no glue and only light supervision is needed - so I can do things like clean, or cook dinner, or write a blog post.

Sweet, huh?

23 Week Belly Pic

Since Helen complained and I DID already have this image on my camera, I decided to go ahead and post it.  Apparently sometime in the last few weeks I picked up the sway back pregnant lady stance.  At least there is no question I am pregnant!

I must also confess that this picture was taken after a night of yummy lobster with lots of butter.  Pretty irrelivant, but just thought I'd rub that in a little :-P. (OK so HEB was running a special for $5.99/lb.)

I figure a belly pick once a month is good enough this time around.  Sorry, Helen.

Evidence

 Either Charlotte has been here, or we have a really big mouse...

 

At least she likes her fruit!

Conversations with Charlotte

Charlotte is really beginning to talk a lot these days, and we're having more and more conversations with her. I can only imagine that these conversations will only get more interesting the older she gets, but they are already giving us a smile or a chuckle or two. (I've posted some of these on facebook, so sorry if you are seeing them twice!)

Between Daddy and Charlotte while we were making cookies:

Charlotte: (to Fred, as he's walking into the kitchen) DADDY!
Fred: Hi, Charlotte, what are you doing?
Charlotte: Making cookies!
Fred: Oh, are you helping?
Charlotte: I'm tasting!

At least she understands the most important part of the process!

Discipline:

Me: Charlotte, no pinching Mommy! That hurts Mommy. Do you want a time out?
Charlotte: (sliding down off of the bed)I go sit on stairs (her time out spot). (a short while later, running back into the room). I sorry. I sorry, Mommy.
Me: I forgive you, Charlotte, but no pinching. Can you say that?
Charlotte: No pinching.

I hope she always makes parenting this easy.

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On another note, I took a 23 week belly picture last night and will post it as soon as I manage to pull the photos off my camera. I officially can no longer see my toes while I'm standing up. I'm feeling a little bad about the pregnant body post though, as I was so sick last week that I managed to lose 4 lbs. As I'd rather not be sick, no more complaining about feeling fat!

Toilet Training

Or lack there of, as it may be in this case...

I've read a few things here and there on this topic, but nothing very long or comprehensive. Some things I've tried have totally failed (a sticker on a chart holds no excitement for my 2 year old). Promises of a sticker for sitting on the potty just send Charlotte running to sit on the potty every 5 minutes for another sticker. I know lack of consistency on my part hasn't helped things, but sometimes I think she's afraid to go on the potty.

We've spent a fair amount of bare-bottom time around the house, and she always waits until I am just around the corner to make a mess on the floor. She will literally do the "tinkle dance" with her hand on her crotch but either refuse to sit on the potty or sit on the potty and not go - only to go on the floor a minute or two later. If she's sitting down (like in her booster seat) she'll make only a little mess, go with me to the potty, do nothing, and then finish her business on the floor 2 minutes later. This morning I even put her on the potty as soon as she woke up and she cried for her diaper as she was sitting there.

For now, I've decided to go bare bottom any time we are at home. If you google potty training or look for information on it, you get a zillion different places to spend your money and end up with a potty trained kiddo. Since I'm not willing to dole out all kinds of my hard earned cash just to come up with a program that works for us, does anyone have any suggestions on a good potty training book/technique?

Pregnant Body

Some women love being pregnant. Some women love the "womanly" form their bodies take in the 9 months of pregnancy. I always think that pregnant women are cute.

But not me.

Sure, if I never had to step on a scale or look in a full length mirror for the second half of my pregnancy, I might look down at my growing baby bump and be totally in love with it. I am absolutely crazy about the little baby kicking around under my bump, so some of that transfers over to the bump itself.

I dream of being that cute pregnant woman with the bulging belly who gains only the bare minimum and still looks like a model from the back. Reality? I've never been tall enough to be a model and lately it seems like for every inch I gain in the front, I also gain in the back. While not pregnant, I lament my formless backside, but really? this has gone a little too far. Maybe It's just an issue of balance, keeping my center of gravity just a little bit more, well center.

I don't remember my body shaping out quite this way when I was pregnant with Charlotte, but I'm sure it did; stretch marks only appeared on my rear end and never my watermelon-sized belly.

The other curious thing about this body is the new noises I make every time I lean over, sit down, or stand up. It sounds a little like an, "umph," and I think Fred is already tired of the excess groaning. For now I'm still sleeping with ease, but last week suddenly found laying on my stomach to be entirely uncomfortable. Thankfully, I don't think that I have a pregnant waddle, yet.

So, until next summer, when I will hopefully have most of this baby weight off, I am going to wear lots of dresses and tunic length shirts and keep away from full length mirrors. I also pledge to smile and believe people who tell me that I have a pregnant glow. If Fred complains enough, I'll also try to keep the "umph" noises silently in my head.

Wish me luck.

4 months from today!

H1N1 Vaccine

When MC and I were diagnosed with swine flu this summer, my initial shock was followed by a good feeling as we quickly recovered. I was pleased that we both had the chance to build natural immunity. "Great!" I thought, "No little-tested vaccine for us!"

But that is not what I'm hearing from my OB's office or MC's pediatrician. My OB's office is recommending the vaccine outright, even though I've already had H1N1. Charlotte's pediatrician sill recommended it, but also promised to speak with the immunoligist at TCH about how much protection Charlotte's bout with swine flu may have given her.

Everything I've read mentions how much more likely pregnant women are to suffer extreme side effects and death from the swine flu, yet no one knows what unknown side effects the vaccine might have on an unborn baby. After spending months and months avoiding any drug other than Tylenol, I cannot get comfortable with taking a vaccine that will require 2 doses. Really? The government at medical community is eagerly pushing this on pregnant women?

If I hadn't already contracted the disease, perhaps I would be considering swine flu with more concern, but for now, it's going to take a lot of convincing to get me to take the shot or let Charlotte have it. Am I the only one who thinks this a bit hasty? Anyone else have any thoughts or information that I may not have considered?

Our Daughter, the Ham

Today Charlotte and Daddy were building a tower with blocks. They exchanged a high five as she added a block to her teetering tower and the building still stood. Finally, however, as generally happens with block towers, Charlotte added the last block the structure could manage and the whole thing came tumbling down.

Charlotte, giving her best fake cry says, "I crying," only to bust out laughing about it with Fred in the next instant.

Definitely her father's daughter.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Mary Charlotte!

Today you turn TWO! It's hard to believe that THIS was you 2 years ago.

And THIS is you now! You've grown so much in such a short time. We can hardly call you our baby any more. You run, jump, climb, throw awesome tantrums, color, paint, make designs with play doh, make towers out of blocks, sing the whole alphabet and at least half a dozen other songs, count to 11, speak in (some) complete sentences, and much more! Even if you didn't do all of those things, we'd still love you very much!

Just a Peek

We're in San Antonio, staying at the beautiful Hyatt Hill Country Resort. Yesterday, we hit up Sea World. Today we hung out in the pools and lazy river and played in the sand. Charlotte is loving it all and so are we.


Tomorrow begins the Fullness of Truth Conference that prompted this trip in the first place. However, after such a wonderful day of relaxing, I'm beginning to think about only attending the morning sessions of the conference, you know, because Charlotte is really loving the sand and water, and I'd hate to have her not get her fill! It was funny this evening though, because we could tell the catholic families were rolling in - "Gabriel, come over here." "Mary Catherine, look this way; Cecilia, smile for the camera!" Ha ha!

More photos and fun when we get back to Houston (so sometime after Sunday evening).

Our Little Piggy Bank

So today Charlotte swallowed a coin, at least based on the evidence. I'm totally torn between finding the situation hilarious and horrifying.

I was packing my toiletries bag in the bathroom while Charlotte played chased Maddie with my sarong just out of sight in the bedroom. Then I heard her kind of gagging, so I stepped out in a slight panic. Her eyes big, she had her finger in her mouth and was crying a little. I asked her what was wrong, but she just kept shoving her fingers to the back of her mouth. Finally I coaxed out of her, "coin, coin" followed by more whiny-crying.

"Charlotte, did you swallow a coin?"

Her emphatic response was, "Coin, coin!" and more shoving of her fingers into the back of her mouth as she tried to retrieve the coin. Followed by, "Where go?"

This went on for a while as I reminded her that we DO NOT put coins in our mouth. Then I told her she isn't a piggy bank. She mostly seemed pretty upset that I couldn't get the coin back! That definitely had me tickled.

Of course the mom in me rushed to the telephone to catch the pediatrician before she left the office at 5 (giving me 10 minutes, I hoped, to catch her!) . She's out this week, apparently, but the other pedi at her office was very helpful. He said that a quarter would be bothering her somewhere on the way down and she probably wouldn't be running around happily (as she was by this point). He said to take her to the emergency room tonight if she started acting like something was wrong, and gave us the all clear to travel to Sea World tomorrow as planned.

The bad news? We have to FIND this coin on it's way out or get an x-ray to make sure it's actually passed.

Good times at Sea World, oh yeah.

The part where she put something into her mouth that she shouldn't have AND swallowed it while she was out of my sight totally freaks me out. Thank God it wasn't a quarter that she probably would have choked on. What else is hiding under the couch or somewhere she can reach that I haven't noticed that she could choke on? What if she'd been in the other room where I couldn't hear her as well? Right now I can easily check on her whenever need be, but what will I do when I have a fussy newborn to tend to? I think we're going to have to add a prayer to her Guardian Angel every night!

To Bradley or not to Bradley?

So, I've been debating this with myself for a while. Well, Fred's been included in the conversations, or at least present when I debate these things out loud with myself. A refresh of Charlotte's labor and delivery for background:

For Charlotte's birth, I did a fair amount of reading about the Bradley Method and figured that as long as everything went smoothly (meaning quickly!) I would try to go without pain medication. I noticed regular contractions after a long, busy day, beginning around 11 pm. After laboring for 13 hours with wacky double-peaking type contractions (one contraction on top of another with 3-4 minutes in between) that didn't get me past 3 (or was it 4?) cm, the Dr. wanted to break my water and start pitocin. I said, "sure, but give me an epidural, because I want some rest!"

At that point, I was falling asleep between contractions. The epidural allowed me to sleep, so I was happy, but MC didn't react fabulously to the Pit, so it took a while for them to get the amount just right. They turned off the epidural as I readied to push. By the time I delivered MC an hour and a half later (at 10:02) it had worn off at least some (yes, ouch!), but I'm not sure how much. By the time I made it to my postpartum room, I was up on my feet, walking around, and thrilled with my beautiful baby girl. I wasn't dissapointed with how things had turned out at all.

But now, looking forward, I know I want this labor to be different. I want to labor longer at home (how would I have known that one contraction on top of another in any circumstance might not mean things were moving quickly?), if possible, and look for ways to progress faster on my own so I won't be encouraged to have my water broken or go on pitocin. I think that getting to the hospital once I'm farther along will help avoid additional intervention. The epidural, however, I have no problems with doing again. The question is how to do it?

Do we take the (somewhat) pricy, 12 week (24 hr) Bradley Method class, which encourages entirely un-medicated childbirth? Would I be made to feel like the decision for a likely epidural would be wrong? Would the class be worth it? Especially since the birth experience I had with Charlotte wasn't bad, just long with more interventions than ideal? Part of my hope is that the class will teach Fred to be a better "coach" and not a slave to every one of my rational or irrational desires.

Or should we simply invest in a doula to be our advocate and help with the coaching? Does a doula automatically have something against epidurals? (I don't, but considering mine wasn't at full force at the end maybe it doesn't matter as much as I think it does?!)

Second deliveries are usually shorter and easier than the first; hopefully that holds true for us!

I'm just looking for some opinions and other experiences as we try to decide how we're going to prepare for this little one's arrival. Can you believe we're at the half way mark already? Doesn't leave a whole lot of wiggle room to squeeze in a 12 week class if that's the route we decide to take!

Welcome to My World

Sunday morning I woke up with an awful crick in my back/neck that made it really painful for me to keep up with Miss Charlotte. Thankfully, Fred watched her while I spent a lot of my time flat on my back with a heating pad on the floor.

After she finally went to sleep for the night, Fred said, "Whew, I'm really tired. She just never slowed down!"

Welcome to my world, Fred, welcome to my world.

The Barrel Man

Fred's cousin slipped a wooden Filipino barrel man into our wedding gift several years ago. I haven't seen much of him since we moved; Charlotte had found him somewhere and Fred then put him back up somewhere.

Well, he turned up again last week; Charlotte found him (somewhere!). She came in holding him, sans his barrel, asking, "what's that?"

My quick response? " Oh, that's his belly button."

Which of course she had to point out and remind me that we were looking at the barrel man's "belly button" several times. Following which, I distracted her and hid barrel man away yet again.

Poor kid is going to be a little confused about anatomy if I keep that guy within playing reach...

Have no idea what the Filipino Barrel Man is? Feel free to find out on your own :-P.

Sharing, or not

Up till now, MC has been fairly good about sharing her toys. Generally if a child takes the toy she's playing with, she'll get upset, but usually she's good letting another child have a toy she's using. Today we had lunch with another mom and son in our Moms' group and I pulled out her crayons. The other little boy picked up two of them and Charlotte had a fit! I told her that if she couldn't share then she had to put the colors away.

She put them away without another peep.

10 minutes later she tried to pull them out again. I asked her to pick one out to give to Dylan. After she contemplated it for a moment, I reminded her that she needed to share or put the crayons away.

Away the crayons went.

Lovely. I'm so glad my daughter would rather not play with her toys if it means sharing them. We're going to have so much fun having two kids in the house :-P.

18 weeks, 2 days *UPDATED*

UPDATED - belly pic! I have to laugh that I am wearing the exact same thing as in the last belly pic. The best part is that I don't think I've worn this skirt since then, and I probably won't again any time soon!
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Our baby is getting bigger and so am I! Fred joined me for the baby's anatomy ultrasound today. Apparently this baby was letting his/her stuff all hang out, so the tech had to keep turning the screen away where we couldn't see it. We're going for another surprise baby, but it's still so hard to not look! This baby is measuring bigger by a week, so maybe it IS a boy. Charlotte never measured big.

We didn't get any great pictures, though - we got the tech who hasn't ever managed to give me a good pic. The baby was turned facing my back, making it hard to get images of the baby's heart and face, so we'll get to go back again in 4 weeks. Hopefully we'll get a good picture then :-)

I owe another belly bump photo; we'll work on that today...

Differences - 17 Weeks, 4 days

Every baby is different. Mine seem to be different so far even in utero. I first felt Charlotte moving in the womb at about 15 weeks along and then always felt her regularly. I began feeling this Little Bug around the same time, but this one doesn't move quite as much. At 17.5 weeks, I feel him more often now, but I was going days without feeling a thing after that first movement. Even now, I usually feel gentle little movements instead of full blown popcorn popping.

I've thought there could be many different reasons, that the placenta is attached somewhere different than it was with Charlotte, meaning I don't feel as much movement, or that I'm not sitting still working at a computer for much of the day, as I was during MC's pregnancy.

But even so, they are still different. To get MC to move, I used to drink something with caffeine. Seeing how much caffeine still affects her to this day, that makes sense. Little Bug, however, doesn't seem to mind caffeine so much, but rather gets moving every time I drink ice-cold water. This baby is in for a shock when he's born in January!

My body is definitely different this time too. I'm showing much more for being 17 weeks, but I THINK I'm keeping the weight gain a little more under control. I wonder if we can peek back at my old records on my next OB visit. It's going so fast this time.

The Cookie Monster

Ahh, yes, my very own cookie monster. Or just my very own monster, depending on her mood. While often the most loving, this little cookie dough eater also likes to throw her own tantrum. Or two or three. If I'm not going to cave to something, I ignore the tantrum, so she's usually back to sweet and happy within a minute.

Sometimes, I can't ignore the tantrum, because we're in the parking lot at Kroger, it's 100 degrees outside, and she doesn't want to get into the car and into her car seat. Mommy, who is still recovering from the swine flu, just can't handle that.

She gave up tantrums long enough today, however, to help me make cookies, although insisting on a lot of extra tasting. As I scooped out sugar and flour, she took the measuring cups in her hand and said confidently, "I do this, Mommy." What didn't end up in the bowl gave a good, "I've been baking" effect to her dress. She has a cute pink apron, given to her by Aunt KK, but cries, "No, Mommy! No Mommy!" each time I pull it from the hook.

In fact, our baby girl (who's not much of a baby any more) talks up a storm these days. Though I try to encourage things like, "Please, Mommy" and "Yes, Mommy" and "No, thank you, Mommy," her most recent sentences include the word "need." "I need milk. I need help!"

She did not, however, need any help creating the masterpiece on the table. I thought it pretty creative!

Yes, those are colored pencils sticking out of her purple play-doh.

Just so everyone knows that a sweet girl does indeed live behind the sweet smile most of the time...

• Charlotte loves to give hugs and kisses. My favorite to receive come while I'm singing her a song before putting her to sleep.
• Often when passing a crucifix on the wall, she says, "Kiss Jesus?" and then does.
• She loves to sing. While sometimes I have no idea which song she's belting out, we often hear "Jesus Loves Me," "ABCs" and "Muffin Man." She sings along to most of the 72 tracks on her Silly Songs CD. (Although sometimes she doesn't like to hear ME sing, " Mommy, no singing!")
• When she gets to rough while playing and I tell her something hurts, she gives a big hug accompanied by an, "I sowwry," that makes my heart melt.

AND she's also very cute when eating cookie dough:

PS - Did I mention this batter is made with pasteurized eggs, so Mommy had some guilt free enjoyment too? Best invention, ever.

Weedkend Fun, a few days late

So, FIRST, we've made it to 15 weeks! Time just keeps disappearing, but really I don't mind. We've been really busy around here getting ready for a shower for Christy that I'm hosting (with a little help from my sisters) at the house on Thursday. That means a lot of the boxes that are still unpacked either need to find their way to the attic or their contents need to be put away.

Anyway, first I want to post about my exciting Craigslist find, a barely used Phil & Ted's Sport buggy. No one seems to have quite the same excitement I have over this (and why would they?). I have wanted this stroller since I first laid eyes on it about a year ago, but it is pricy, so I've been combing craigslist for MONTHS. We picked it up on Friday from a couple in College Station. My favorite thing about this stroller? That it CAN be a double stroller without adding all the extra bulk. The picture below shows the setup for a toddler and an older baby, but there is an additional setup for a newborn and a toddler that I will definitely use.


For now, we will use it for just Charlotte. As our babies grow, we'll probably end up using it just for Little Bug, so it's nice that it will convert easily from a single to a double.

This photo is of us in the empty MSC at A&M. It is all ready for renovation! We didn't spend much time in CS, but did manage to stop by Shakes after a quick dinner at BWW. Yum! (Is it weird that I didn't feel like I could take my toddler to eat at Northgate on a Friday evening?)

So far, I love this stroller MUCH more than the cheap Graco stroller we registered for. It handles sidewalk cracks in the neighborhood with great ease and manuvers really easily. Charlotte likes it too.

Saturday we went to the Downtown Aquarium with Jeannette, who had a deal for $5 entry. We really enjoyed ourselves, but I can't imagine paying the full $15 on a Saturday with all of the crowds we battled! Charlotte loved all of the fish, especially Nemo and Dori, but wasn't interested in touching a sting ray.


We rode the carousel and waited in line for over an hour for the Shark Train. Apparently, only one train was running, and maybe with good reason, as later that evening when they brought it back on the track, there was a collision!



While our plans originally included eating at the Aquarium as well, Fred convinced me that the food there isn't worth the pricy menu, so we made our way to Goode Co. Seafood. LOVE that place!

I must be missing a few brain cells, because I didn't take pictures of our Sunday lunch here at the house with our friends Connie, David, and their son Augustine. Augustine and Charlotte totally entertained each other so we could visit, which was very nice. God willing, when they come over next year this time Little Bug will have his own playmate too!

Big Tub Fun

Charlotte LOVES wearing her swimsuit, so the other day I thought of the perfect way to beat the heat without venturing out into it:




Oh, yeah, and did I mention she's a ham? Gotta love her!