Easter Weekend.

I am in awe of the fact that we took Adam to two holiday meals today, and he slept quietly through both of them. That never happened to me with Ellie. I know he's still little, and he could go rouge at any time, but I am constantly amazed. All I ask of him is that he eat well and keep the crying to a minimum, and thus far he's excelling at both. Our biggest issue is that he still likes to be held while he's sleeping, which means I've been sleeping in the recliner with him on my chest at night. He'll sleep in his bassinet during the day, but not at night (for more than five minutes.) We're working on it. The good news is that once he curls up with me, he'll sleep quietly for 2-3 hours at a clip, and I'm sleeping pretty well during that time. But it's not something I want to do for the next 18 years. He's quite the snuggly bug.

We've had a very nice weekend. Mimi and Pa came for lunch on Saturday, which made Ellie happy as a clam (and Adam snuggled with both of them for extended periods of time.) That night Tim and I loaded both kids in the car and went to Gigi's house. Having two babies in the back seat is a surreal feeling. I'd also forgotten how awesome it is when your newborn screams the whole ride home, and you know there is nothing you can do to make them feel better. Point for the two year old, who can usually be placated by a Miss Elena song or a rousing chorus of Single Ladies.

Adam did get an Easter basket, even though he wasn't supposed to come until tomorrow. What baby doesn't like binkies and bunny ears? Ellie got a very cute new tutu skirt, which she of course hates. She loves her bunny ears and microphone, both from the dollar bin at Target. OF COURSE.

This morning we went out to Mimi's for a fabulous Easter brunch with the whole family. Ellie was in hog heaven chasing around with her cousins, and Adam was quiet as a mouse for the most part. I managed to stuff myself in a pair of real, non-maternity jeans and actual clothes, and felt like a human being. Still, we were all so tired that Ellie fell asleep right as we were pulling into the neighborhood, and after I fed Adam I curled up in bed until E woke up (2.5 beautiful hours later.)

She is such a sweet big sister. Her first concern when she wakes up (morning and nap) is wanting to come and see him, and snuggle with him, or have us all lay in bed together. There's no real jealousy coming through, and she's very concerned for him. The hardest thing we're dealing with is her just being two, and entering a very defiant, sassy phase. She is loving being contrary, and I am hating it. It's so arbitrary too. She'll come over and I'll be nursing Adam and she goes "what are you doing?" and I tell her I'm giving her milk, to which she responds "no you're NOT!" in this bratty voice. We have a lot of discussions about our rude words versus our kind words lately. I am also considering a sassy mouth shock collar (kidding...)

After nap time we went to Gigi's house for Easter dinner. Granny Janny was there, which meant the rest of us were all dirt to Elizabeth Beans. She was remarkably good and incredibly cute, and Adam slept in his bouncer for the entire meal. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for me to have to eat a cold meal after nursing an angry baby (who would start crying fifteen minutes later just the same.) Both children amaze me with their loveliness sometimes.

I will post pictures later - they are uploading slowly, and I have to haul myself into bed for my 10-11pm "nap."

First 24.

We've made it through our first 24 hours as a family of four, and Ellie has not yet asked us to return Adam. In fact, she has been a very sweet big sister about everything. She loves to hold him, she likes to pet his hair, and she got a kick out of the fact that he burped when she patted his back. Our only struggle is reminding her that she can't bother him, touch him or talk to him when he's in his bassinet. And she's been a little over wrought here and there, but that's normal. Also, she's a fairly spirited two year old to begin with, so the fact that she wept for fifteen minutes over not being allowed to eat cereal for lunch does not leave me stunned.

She's very excited about it all - she liked that Adam came and sat with her while she had a bath, and then she insisted on wearing her astronaut jammies so they could match. Last night as we were finishing up reading her a story and singing her a lullaby she got incredibly excited that we were all together, hugging and saying goodnight, and she yelled excitedly "this is my family!" I may have wept, just a little.

Adam's sleeping is good (for a newborn.) He eats well, but is up for close to two hours in the middle of the night, with all the eating, burping, pooping and hiccuping. He's so sweet and snuggly though that I don't blame him. I will take all the cuddles while I can get them.

Tiny astronaut bear prepares for launch!

Captain Elizabeth and her tiny copilot

Lulu is intrigued by the movement in the bassinet

Thor, who could barely stand to be in the same room with Ellie for the first 12 months, crams himself into my lap with Adam within 12 hours. Everyone around here is more confident as a second time parent.

Close up of our sweet love

Home Again Home Again.

It's official, we're a family of four, freed from the hospital. Though we are no means alone, thanks to our wonderful families, who have been amazing this entire week. I don't know what people do if they don't have family living nearby - it was such a relief for me to spend four days just taking care of myself and taking care of Adam, knowing that Tim was busy being daddy of the year to both kids, with Best Supporting Actresses Gigi and Mimi and Sara (honorable mention to Pa and Grizz, as always.)

Tim stayed home with Ellie last night, and Adam and I managed pretty well. He did do a two hour stint in the nursery so I could sleep (after he'd kept me awake eating for close to two hours) and he got himself a little sponge bath so he smelled and looked good for his big foray out into the world. It was really wonderful for me to have that time to just bond with him. Every time the nurses came in they'd remark that I was doing skin to skin yet again. I can't get enough of those warm little baby cuddles! I'm an addict. My doc signed off on me yesterday, and the pediatrician signed off on Adam this morning, so we just had to wait for all of the final paperwork and the birth certificate. It's always funny to me how they give you until the very last minute to name your child. Then again, as I've told people, it's so strange to me to hear people calling Adam by name, since it was such a big secret for so long. Like you all are cheating or something. I am just so used to calling him "the baby" or "hey you," as in "hey you, scoot your butt out of my ribs, you're hurting me."

Tim and I were home around 1. Gigi had picked up Ellie from preschool and taken her out to lunch, where Ellie proceeded to smear food and water all over herself. I got a big kick out of coming home to my kid, running around the driveway in just a pair of leggings. She was happy as a clam, the little urchin. She of course, wanted to hold the baby brother, and then we got her down for a nap. Adam had something to eat and then I went to sleep for a couple of hours as well. Gigi stocked our fridge for supper, and she and Sara stayed around long enough to welcome Ellie back from her nap, and so now it's just the four of us plus cats, figuring out how life works.

I know the real battles lay ahead of us, but I'm so thankful to be feeling so well. I don't know if it's the difference between having a routine, scheduled csection versus a semi-emergency one (I know I'm glad to not have gotten put on any of the blood pressure meds!) or just because I went into the delivery in better shape (we took our last family of three walk on Saturday morning. Since we were taking it easy, the three of us only walked 5 miles.) But either way, I'm moving slowly but moving ten times better than I was with Ellie. It helps that nursing this time is like rolling down a hill, versus a painfully steep uphill learning curve. Tim will be home with me for another week if I need him, and we've got all the grandmas on call, plus I have all of my wonderful mom friends checking in with me. To think, three years ago I came home and knew NO ONE with small kids, and now I have a dozen wonderful girlfriends who remind me on a daily basis that anything I need, they're here to do. We are so lucky to be so loved.

Hopefully Adam will enjoy the bassinet and crib more than his sister did. And Gigi still has her fancy fun cage, which I think Ellie only slept in twice.

Beans assists with crib and bassinet set up this morning.

Red Hat Redux.

Honestly, I don't think my kids look a lot like each other. But I'm hopped up on painkillers, so what do I know?

Ellie at Work.

"oh baby brother, I know it's hard, but it's okay"

Night Two.

It was a long one, as they warned us it would be. The first 24 hours babies are mostly sleeping and recovering. Then they wake up a little and start acting like they've got no manners, and have never lived outside of a uterus before. Last night was hours and hours of nursing and a lot of snuggling. Not the worst thing in the world, but I did have the nurses take him for an hour so I could get SOME sleep. And I'll be napping while he naps today. Thankfully, I have nothing else on my docket.

Tim is taking Ellie to her final session of music class today and will spend some time hanging out with her. She continues to do pretty well with mommy being gone. I'm just thankful that she has all of her wonderful grandparents so close, and so she feels like she's getting a treat in sleeping over at their house. It really takes a load off of my mind, and lets me worry about myself and my small fry for a few quiet days (the last quiet ones I will see for awhile, I suppose.) When Ellie visits us at the hospital, she's been remarkably gentle. She figured out that she can climb into bed with me by herself, so that's good (she gets crabby when someone else tries to pick her up and put her in, and I can't dead lift 35lbs at this point.) And while she's happy to see me and tell me about her day, she mostly wants to know what her brother's doing. Yesterday was very thrilling in that she got to see him drinking milk, AND he pooped himself and got his diaper changed.

Supervising!

She likes to tell him not to cry (even though he's not really crying most of the time) and she likes to tell everyone get out of her seat so she can hold him. She's 97% gentle with him (would like to give him the occasional tight squeeze) and will very sweetly clap hands with him and sing one of her music class songs. We'll see how enthused she is when she has to share the back seat of the car with him, and when he cries too loudly over her Miss Elena songs.

He's been mostly a mellow boy. Happiest when snuggling with me and visa versa. My nurse yesterday said that he's nursing like a week old baby, which I feel strangely proud of. I guess all of that hard work with Ellie is finally paying off!

In the meanwhile, we finally got a picture of him with his eyes open.

He's a cute one!

Day One.

It's been a good first twenty four hours with our sweet boy. I'm amazed at how much better the entire experience has been. First off, I dropped Ellie at preschool and for the first time ever, she went to her teachers and said goodbye without a tear. SUCCESS! It did my heart good. We came home, got our stuff packed and headed off to the hospital, where the worst part of the process was having my IV placed. I nearly passed out. We had a great nurse, and a fabulous anesthesiologist, and of course, my sometimes impossible but highly competent OB. I'd heard recently that the hospital was instituting a "baby friendly" csection policy - in most "baby friendly hospitals" if you have a normal delivery, they immediately put the baby on your chest for the first hour to encourage bonding and breastfeeding, if you so choose. Obviously, that's harder to do with a csection. With Ellie, they held her up so I could see her, cleaned her up a little and then held her so I could give her a kiss, and then she was gone to recovery to get weighed and bathed and wait for me. Tim went with her, and I just sort of laid there, waiting for it all to be over. This time, I asked if the baby could stay with me, per the new policy. Turns out, it's not official policy yet - they'd done one trial of it. But the OR nurse and the baby nurse were willing to give it a try, provided my doctor was comfortable with it, and he thankfully was. It was wonderful beyond words to get to meet Adam immediately and hold him and talk to him while they finished the surgery. He was all bundled up and I held him on my chest, and Tim helped me keep him steady. It meant the world to me, and I really appreciate the medical team making it happen.

Thus far, he's very sweet and mellow. When Ellie was born, she screamed from the minute they pulled her out until we were reunited in recovery. Dr. B even joked "what are you guys doing to that kid back there" because she was crying so hard. Adam cried when he came out, but quickly calmed down, so much so that I started asking if he was okay. Nursing Ellie was a steep, uphill learning curve. Nursing Adam has been an absolute breeze. They both came out with beautiful dark hair, but I think Adam is going to more closely resemble Tim.

I'm feeling pretty amazing. I avoided all of the blood pressure drugs this time, and so don't feel like I got hit by a caravan of sewage trucks. I was all most of the monitors by 24 hours post, and was able to get up and walk in the middle of the night last night. I'm not eager to go home or anything, but it's nice to feel like I can get out of bed without falling over from pain.

So, we've had a good day. Lots of snuggling, a visit from the most dedicated big sister (so far) and I changed my first little boy diaper. It ended up Adam peeing all over himself. I am new at this.

Adam Has Arrived!

7lbs, 12 oz, 19 inches long at 12:49pm, via an uneventful csection at 39 weeks. 

There are not words to describe how blessed we feel nor how much we love him.

Ellie is the most adorable, dedicated big sister you could hope for... for now!

Petting Zoo.

Ellie was in our room a little after seven this morning, and the first thing out of her mouth was "we're going to the petting zoo!" Yes we are, you lucky little girl!

She liked this guy

But LOVED this guy - she had really wanted to pet a fluffy white bunny even before we got there. Thankfully, this one was really tame and willing to sit with her

Still, she said this binny pig was her favorite, because she loves him

Tim loved the train ride, as you can see.

Afterwards, we went El Maguey for a delicious lunch. Having a two year old is very fun, but it's costly. She's started requiring her own meals - she ate a kids quesadilla, all her rice and beans and then most of Tim and I's beans. Should be a farty night tonight.

Park Time.

AKA: Old men get real soft in their old age.

Today on our way over to Gigi's house in the afternoon, I offered that we could either stop at the park and go on the teeter totter, or go up to the trail. Ellie picked teeter totter, of course, because it is new and novel, and I texted Gigi and Grizz to let them know that we were down the street, in case they wanted to join us. SURPRISE, they did!

Genuinely surprising: the fact that Grizz was all over the playground equipment designed for children ages 2-5.

I don't remember him being quite as big of a playground junkie when *I* was a kid. He did do a good job taking turns with Ellie though, I can't fault him for that. And she was absolutely THRILLED to have him come play with her.

Everyone should be sleeping well tonight!

I Can't Like It!

That's what Ellie tells me every time we go to preschool, or mention going. She can't like it. She's going to cry.

This is clearly the face of a miserable child. Yesterday was safari day at school, so they had hats and vest and binoculars, and went to explore for "wild antimals." There was a "binny pig" and a turtle and a lizard. Ellie told us about how they took turns petting the binny pig, and of course, how she cried.

But she's liking preschool. This week she's no longer crying at pickup, which makes me feel like less of a jerk. She's also started telling me about what she does at preschool. She's made a friend, Natalya, who she calls "the little blue girl." Yesterday she told me that Natalya had pigtails and pushed her in the swing, and that they were friends. PROGRESS! They've also taught her how to drink from an open topped cup, so my tuition fees are officially worth it.

Happy(?) First Day of Spring

 Please to compare with 2012 and 2011

Bug Farming.

Telling Grizz "no, dey not your caterpillars Gwizz, dey Gigi's caterpillars!"

"Oh, looka him!"

Making sure no one is getting into trouble.

A video explaining the life cycle of a butterfly, as understood by a 2 year old.

Busy, Fun Times!

Gigi and Grizz are on their way home from their ski vacation, so I am officially safe to go into labor, I suppose. Until then (or until my csection date) I will just continue to swan around, beautifully pregnant.

In the meanwhile, we are staying entertained. Last night Sara's club met at a local Fatburger, and we worked out that I could take her, meet Tim for dinner and then he'd stay and bring Sara home afterwards. I am not the world's hugest Fatburger fan, but I do like that they have steak fries, and I appreciate that if you order an adult combo meal, you get a free kids meal. Grizz has said that he loves Fatburger, and I think this is a perfect opportunity for him to start planning some nice dates with Itty Bitty.

Plus, if she doesn't want a burger, you can just feed her ketchup.

The only downside is Grizz does not like ketchup.

Today since I didn't have a doctors appointment, we combined Tuesdays with Mimi with our annual trip to visit the Easter Bunny. I started prepping Ellie last night about her visit. I warned her that the Easter Bunny was big, and that she was going to sit in his lap. She seemed fine with the idea, and detailed all of the things she would do with Mr. Bunny. She was going to show him her jelly shoes, and he was going to wear pink in his big house, and they would dance and play and he'd wiggle his nose. SO EXCITED!

She was thrilled when we got to the mall. We rode some escalators, ran around a bit, and then she was thrilled when she saw his house in the distance. Then we got closer and she spotted the Bunny himself. NO CAN DO. She of course, told me she didn't like him and didn't want to sit with him. I, of course, ignored her because I think the crying photos are funny, and it's not going to ruin her for life (and if it does, it was sort of worth it.) She cried when she had to sit with him and quickly dismounted and ran to me, but she was willing to give him a high five later, and Mimi had the great idea of having Ellie offer the Easter Bunny a snack.

Overall, it was not a total bust. She was very happy to try to feed Mr. Bunny, and waved goodbye to him and told him Happy Easter. Here's hoping that Year Four will get us better results. At the very least, we'll have a baby who will hopefully be small enough so as to be oblivious.

Evil Leprechaun

We had friends over for dinner tonight. Nothing fancy, just some good food and a lot of loud talking and laughing. I made brats for dinner rather than corned beef because you know, brats are the best. I did make party potatoes though. And I also made Tim wear his green shirt that says "Irish I was Taller." He hates it, but wears it once a year to indulge me.

Ellie also wore green - the same dress she wore last year. It's 24 month size, so this year I had to put leggings underneath so her whole hiney wouldn't hang out. Still, I think it was a good amount of wear for a dress that I bought for four bucks at the consignment store.

Sadly, she looked good but acted horrible. I fear for her brother, if this is her attitude towards sharing. Any time one of her friends touched a toy, Ellie would grab for it and start screaming. She was an embarrassing nightmare of a child. We also had cake, which she didn't deserve, and her need for cake also led to a ton of screaming.

Now Grizz has a new "baby cries for ice cream" photo for potential use as the background on his computer. Much to my chagrin.

Things That Amuse Me.

Ellie likes to walk on the low wall on the side of our driveway. She holds my hand and I sing a little circus song and we'll walk back and forth. The other day there was a big pile of bird poop and I told her "don't step on that big pile of poop" and so every time she stepped over it, she said "excuse me big pile of poop." Then she usually asks if she can jump to the other side of the wall and be a flower.

She also calls our drive way "the hill" and in addition to running up and down it whenever she can, she has started playing a new game where she stands in the sun, complains she's hot, then says she has to come and lay in the shade. I'm sure the neighbors think we're nuts (more nuts than they already did.)

Gigi and Grizz left for a vacation in Colorado yesterday, and we drove them to the airport. The entire ride home, Ellie told me that SHE wanted to go skiing TOO. I agreed with her that Gigi and Grizz were mean for not taking her with, but perhaps they would next year. I personally think Gigi and Grizz are pretty gutsy to leave for four days when I have approximately fourteen days of grandson gestation left. Today I was at the beach with a girlfriend and took a picture of the ocean, which I wanted to text to my mom with the caption "water breaking" but I didn't know if she would know it was a joke, and I didn't want to incite any frantic calling to change flights.

I consoled Ellie yesterday with a pair of new hot pink jellies, and a trip to the park, where she gleefully teeter tottered. And I overcame the eternal older sister impulse to dump a smaller child from the top of teeter tottering.

She is an absolute delight.

Also nice: she's now big enough to climb all the way to the top of the play structure and go down the twirly slide. I am too big to go down it with her at present, plus all that spinning makes me want to barf.

We were at the park for over an hour, and when I told Ellie it was time to go, she first climbed up onto one of the tables pictured behind her and said "okay, okay, let's talk!" Then she saw the checkerboard tiled into the top and said "let's play checkers!" How she even knows what checkers is is beyond me.

So Big!

I've heard from lots of people that your oldest child always seems like a baby until you have your new baby, and then the minute they walk into your hospital room, you realize how big they really are. Funny, I feel like I had that moment this morning.

LOOK AT THIS MONKEY!

She was so happy to climb up, and then SO MAD because she couldn't quite figure it out. She got down just fine, but then said "I can't do it!" I don't think she quite understands that the only point of that chain web is to climb up it and then climb down. There's no arrival platform or anything. I was amazed by her climbing skills, and her crazy long arms and legs. She's getting bigger every minute! As Grizz says, she'll be taller than me soon. At the park closer to our house she can now safely climb 90% of the available ladders without a spot, which is great for me, because then I can park my pregnant self on a bench and just cheer her on. That's what we did on Sunday afternoon, to the great chagrin of the hover parents who were standing right next to their four year old at every turn and arguing about whether or not their smaller child needed a spotter to head down the slide. SAFETY FIRST!

It appears that the stomach flu has left our house hold, and Gig's as well. Only the lady folk came down with it, so obviously, it's carried via estrogen. Mainly, we were all bedridden and pathetic, so not the worst virus ever. Ellie bounced back in a solid 24 hours, though I am still feeling a little draggy. This morning she woke us up at 7 and Tim got up to feed her breakfast. I figured I'd enjoy ten more minutes of lounging in bed, and when I next opened my eyes, it was 8:30. My husband, he is a dream boat.

Meanwhile, we're finally ready for our baby boy's arrival. On Saturday I was thinking to myself "self, this weekend would be about the worst for the baby to come. So he'll probably show up. You need to get the last few things done." In between washing loads of linens covered in toddler puke, I got all of the 0-6 months clothes washed and folded, and moved all of Ellie's clothes into her new dresser and closet (which as she likes to point out, Grandma Rosie made for her!) I have all of the baby's clothes (and mine) packed for the hospital, and so when we have to go, we just have to throw in toiletries and electronics. It feels good to be ready, though officially I am not allowed to go into labor until after my parents get back from their ski trip. Seems fair!

Mended.

Ellie was back up to turbo speed yesterday - when she wasn't running, she was chattering. And meanwhile, I was bed ridden with her cooties. Thank goodness for Tim!

Happy Barfday Gigi!

Subtitled: WORST BIRTHDAY EVER!

We had all of these grand plans to get up this morning, head over to Gigi's, go down to the beach and walk and throw rocks and have a grand old time, and then after nap time, head back for a dinner party with dinner by Grizz, ice cream cake and brownies and you know, partying. We were going to treat Gigi right.

Instead, Ellie woke up at 6am and when Tim went in to see if he could coax her back to sleep, she said "clean the barf out of my hair!" HOORAY BARF! And by that I mean, I love showering and starting laundry at 6:30am. At first I was hoping it was a toddler version of the ol' boot and rally - that if we gave Ellie a bland breakfast she'd recover, because it was just a one off belly ache. Yeah... I caught a lot of regurgitated bland toast in my hands today. It's a bug.

We're hoping it's just a 24 hour thing, but it meant that we couldn't get out. Gigi did stop by briefly so we were able to say happy birthday and give her the birthday cards we'd decorated, but overall, we spent most of the day moping, napping and watching TV. We did throw her in the stroller at 7:30pm for a quick walk around the block and some fresh air, and she has thus far kept down the peanut butter toast we served her for dinner. Fingers crossed that it's over in the morning... and that there's still some canned whipped cream at Gigi's house to eat tomorrow.

In the meanwhile, I'm sorry that Gigi's birthday turned out this way. She is the most excellent of Gigi's. She provides reading time:

And musical entertainment

On Friday night we had a lot of family band time. I think my favorite moment was seeing the family band in the kitchen - Gigi was singing, Ellie was dancing, and Grizz was playing the triangle. He got real mad when I tried to take his picture.

Also, thanks to Gigi, my front yard looks like this:

My favorite flowers, planted by my favorite lady. Happy Birthday!

Sleepytime.

A lot of times, when I have to go get Ellie from her nap, I find myself stopping to take a picture before waking her up, because she's definitely not in the same place I left her.

Like this.

Or this. A prime example of why we employ the bed rail.

It's funny to see her crammed into the corner or against the wall, because this is the kid who got moved out of her crib at 8 months old because if she bumped the railings, she'd wake up crying and be unable to get back to sleep.

And this is a prime example of why Tim and I don't cosleep with our human children. Sure, you may think it's just some before bed reading, but that's where Lulu has been sleeping for weeks now. When she's not awake and trying to eat my hair.

Trash Day.

The sound on this video is terrible - you can't really hear Ellie, just me and the noise of the trash truck. So I'd advise watching it on mute, or with the volume really low.

Ellie's delight at the trash truck kills me every time. And between our house and Grizz's house (sorry, Gigi's house, as she would have you know) there are two fabulous days a week that she gets to run up and down the street, dancing for joy.

When I'm having a crabby day, I sometimes imagine being the garbage collector. You sit in your car, use the robotic arm, and get waved at by kids throughout the neighborhood. Except when their moms come outside and shake their fists at you for being too loud and cutting a nap short (to which I say, the trash truck comes at almost the same time every week, perhaps it's time to change your kid's nap time.)

Last night as we were talking before bed time, I told Ellie that today was a going to preschool day. She informed me that she was going to cry, and cry she did at drop off. But when I came back for pick up, she was sitting in one of the little chairs, happily eating her lunch. Someone else's little angel was busily screaming his head off instead. Of course, the second Ellie caught sight of me, she burst into tears, but then she also told me she didn't want to go home. I think we're all going to survive! And learn! And thrive!

Hello Everybody, So Glad to See You!

Another good week at music class! Today I brought my little camera and tried to get some videos of Ellie and Lexi, acting like their usual happy, foolish selves. Sadly, they did not do their usual slow dance/snuggle fest during the lullaby song at the end, but they did get plenty of good dancing in.

Yes, Ellie is wearing a sticker on her forehead. We went to Trader Joes in the morning.

I am feeling like a pretty big jerk though. On our walk from the play ground to music class, Ellie was walking on this low rock wall, like usual. She slipped, and I basically watched her in slow mo hit the wall, then fall all the way to the ground. It was only a foot and she thankfully didn't smash her face or anything, but the way she fell, she tore up her inner/back thigh on the edge of the rocks. Poor little chunky legs! And I just sort of stood there, because I thought she was about to catch herself, and didn't grab her when I had the chance. UGH. Feeling like mother of the year. The good news is it doesn't seem to bother her much, except for when I insisted that she let me wipe it and then put Neosporin on it before her nap. We'll be wearing long pants for the rest of the week though.

Big Sister and Little Brother.

I had my 36 week check up this morning, and got what is probably my final ultrasound for this pregnancy. This time, both Ellie and Eileen got to come with me (usually I just do them alone - I made Tim come to the two most important ones, but otherwise, it's just me and the tech staring at the baby.)

I thought Ellie would be more excited about it than she was. Mostly, she was concerned with the ultrasound gel that they squeezed all over my big fat stomach, as you can see:

(excuse the lighting. And the blurriness. I can't really tell what they're looking at either.)

And here she is, listening to his heart beat drum away. It's funny because her big obsession with visiting the doctors office is listening to someone's heart. She wants them to listen to my heart, and hers, and sometimes Smelly Cat's. I get it - it's a common thing for little kids to do when trying to play doctor. Lots of times, she'll press her hand against my chest (or my throat, she is terrible with anatomy) and tell me "first, I'll listen to your heart."

All is well with Lambeau. They're estimating him over six and a half pounds, so odds are, he'll be around his sister's size at birth if I go until my due date (she was 8lbs, 6oz.) Everything looks great in my insides, so he's got a nice home to hang out in until then.

Here's his foot. It's about the only decent picture they got:

Then Eileen and Ellie went over to the mall while I had my check up with the doctor, and went and got some blood work done for my endocrinologist. The doctor spent a total of about two minutes with me, because we're at the stage now where everything looks good, the baby is big enough that if he decides to come out, he can come out, and other than that, there's not really anything more to say. Obviously, I am monitoring my blood pressure at home, keeping track of the baby's movements, and taking care of myself. But in terms of predicting labor or anything like that, there's nothing they can do. It's sort of funny - all of this fancy technology allows me to know so much more about my unborn children than my mom or grandma ever knew (I mean, forget just knowing the gender - I've seen the blood pumping through my unborn child's four chambered heart and looked at all of his major internal organs) but the rest of it is hit or miss. The weight ultrasounds are just estimates and he could be a pound more or less when he comes out. There's no test they can do to predict when labor is going to start. So we're waiting, just like generations of preggos before me.

In the meanwhile, I really need another burst of nesting energy so that I can get all Lambeau's clothes washed. Otherwise, in addition to swooping in to take care of Ellie, I am going to have to beg Mimi or Gigi to do a couple loads of tiny laundry while I'm in the hospital.

Babymoon and Preschool

We've had quite the relaxed few days, Tim and I. Meanwhile, Mimi and Pa were nearly run ragged by their little granddaughter. They have discovered that she basically has two speeds - running, and still. It goes along with her two volumes - talking, and asleep.

It was really wonderful on our end though! Mimi and Pa generously let us drop Ellie off Friday night, even though we had nowhere to be. Just to be able to wake up on Saturday and not have to get her fed and dressed and off to Yorba Linda made the day seem so much more relaxed. Friday night I drove home in traffic, listening to MY music instead of Raffi or Miss Elena songs, and then we had dinner out and rented a movie. Then Saturday we grabbed brunch and drove down to our hotel. We'd talked about all of the stuff we might do in San Diego, but after walking around for awhile in the 80 degree weather, I turned into a pregnant, swollen pumpkin and had to suck down a bunch of ice water in order to wrench my jewelry off my fat, fat fingers. And that night my flats felt too tight, just walking to and from dinner! That's what I get for bragging about how much better I feel than I did at the end with Ellie. In the end though, it was just what Tim and I needed. We lounged in our very nice hotel room, watched TV, chatted about the baby and just relaxed, knowing we won't be able to waste time like that for yeeeeeeeeears to come (but we'll have two beautiful children, so we can't really complain.) We had a very nice dinner out and then had cocktails (mocktails for me) in the hotel bar, listening to live music. And then we slept in!

I did a lot of sleeping. Sunday morning we got up late, had breakfast, and then I slept the entire drive home from San Diego, said hi to the cats and climbed into our bed for a two hour nap. I guess I'm trying to stuff in all the REM while I still can. The cats were frantic about us being gone - there was a lot of yeowling, some revenge peeing on the carpet, and just generally being butts. They are crotchety old animals, not like the young 'uns we used to ditch probably two weekends out of the month with an extra bowl of food and an admonition to behave.

Meanwhile, Ellie, Mimi and Pa had many adventures:

Making breakfast!

And lunch as well! Peeling oranges that she picked right from Mimi and Pa's tree

Going to the lake to feed the ducks

Plus some excellent fun in the wading pool!

She was happy to see us when we arrived, but when we tried to take her home she informed us that she wanted to stay at Mimi and Pa's FOREVER! But, they made us take her home.

This morning was our first real day of preschool. We got up with enough time to hang around the house for a bit, had a good breakfast, and then I took Ellie to school, arriving just as they were getting ready to go out to the play ground. I gave her a hug and a kiss, told her I'd be back, and let Miss Laurie pry E's hands from my neck. I just went to the gym, because it needed to be done, and it's only 5 minutes away, so I figured if they needed me, it'd be easy to get back to school. I kept checking my phone, but no emergency calls came. I came home and ate and showered, and then went back at 11:30, figuring that if she was happy, I'd go grab a coffee and come back at pick up time, but she was standing at the door to the play ground crying, and they suggested I take her home with me, which I was fine with. Rome wasn't built in a day. The teachers said she'd done well once she got engaged and that they thought she could stay through lunch next time. When I asked Ellie what she'd done, she told me that she'd cried, she fell outside, and she didn't like preschool. NICE WORK, NEGATIVE NANCY! While I don't doubt that she did indeed cry and fall, I will choose to believe the adults that she did not have a miserable time.

Ch-ch-changes!

We were told that the rabbits we adopted were both boys, and NOW look what's happened!

It's officially March, and tomorrow I'll be 36 weeks pregnant. So while we're hoping to hold out until April, if our little guy decides to come, he's officially far enough along that the doctors will welcome him into the world (and so will we.)

In the meanwhile, we're trying to get our lives ready for our new little life. This week it's meant having Ellie go to preschool for a "visit." We picked a Montessori close to our house, and on Tim's way to work. She'll be going two days a week for the morning session, which will give the baby and I some alone time to bond and explore and live life, and if he decides to spend Ellie's preschool hours napping, it'll give me a few hours of quiet sanity a week. Oh, and I think it'll be good for Ellie too! I feel very lucky that she's had nearly two and a half years of my constant attention, and the love and attention of her wonderful grandparents and aunt and uncle, but it'll be good for her to have to be more independent. To live by the rules of the teacher, and to learn how to get along with other students, without her mommy always there for support. Thursday morning we went in, and I introduced her around and then left. Within five minutes, they'd called me and asked me to come back. So I sat with a tearful Ellie and her teacher, and we played with blocks and books for about an hour. I talked to the teacher about what to do better, to help Ellie ease into things, and she suggested I come back today, since Fridays the classroom has less children, and so she and her co-teacher would be able to devote more one on one time to Ellie. This morning we once again packed her lunch (this time with a photo of her family tucked inside) and headed off. She started crying about as soon as we walked in, and they had to actually pry her little arms from my neck, as my heart quietly broke.

BUT during the hour I was gone, she went outside, got interested in the play ground equipment and the ducks, and enjoyed looking at pictures of animals in the classroom. When I got back an hour later she was crying again, but they assured me that she'd been fine in the interim. Both teachers remarked on how smart and verbal she is, which made me feel good, and assured me that they think she'll be fine in a few days. Monday is her first "full" day of preschool (three hours) so hopefully that will go well. Either way, she's going. Last night I was feeling like a real grade A a-hole about the whole thing, but Tim reminded me that we can't give up because she had one bad hour at preschool. We've got to really give her the chance to adjust, and trust that soon enough she'll be pushing us out of the way to get to her teachers and her activities. And if she's still miserable in a few months, then she doesn't have to go. But I think it's in everyone's best interest that she attend preschool during the first few weeks of her brother's life. It's either that or she can sit at home in front of the TV for hours, while I cry in the back ground.

It's just a lot, and I am having a lot of emotions about everything. If one can have a feeling about something, trust me, I do. IT'S HORMONE CITY UP IN HERE! I'm excited about the baby, I'm terrified to have another newborn, I'm looking forward to meeting him, I'm dreading the exhaustion and the physical strain of the first few weeks, I'm ready to have two little car seats in the car, I'm sad that we have to turn Ellie around in order to fit Tim in the car with her, I'm so ready to see her as a big sister, I feel so guilty that she won't get my undivided attention anymore... There's a lot of bursts of weeping in my house, as you can tell.

In the meanwhile, Tim and I are taking a weekend away to hang out together and enjoy some quiet time before the new baby arrives. Ellie will stay with Mimi (who she continues to tell me takes such good care of her and holds her all the time) and Pa, and Tim and I will relax in San Diego. Hopefully the weeping will be minor, for everyone.