Rocking Her World

I went into Elisabeth's bedroom last night and crawled into bed with her.  I scratched her back while she slept and couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.  We are about to rock this little sweetheart's world.  She is going to go from being the beloved, only child who has her parents undivided attention to having to share every moment with an incredibly needy, yet sweet newborn brother.  And that is just the beginning.

Many times these past few weeks Lance and I have looked at each other and asked ourselves (while chuckling) "What were we thinking?"  Of course we want our son to be born into our family.  But. . . I am not sure we are ready to enter into the world of parenthood for those with multiple children.

Ready or not, change is immanent.   And to our credit, we have never been ones to have lofty expectations for the future.  We just kinda jump into things, head first, taking things as they come.

I just hope this little independent girl will weather the storm of change with grace.

And this mom can shake the feeling of guilt for shattering the only life her daughter has known.

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Note:  As you probably already guessed, no baby yet.  I am going to try to do a post a day so if you notice a day goes by without a post you will know I am most likely at the hospital having a baby.

Two Nos and a Yes

No baby yet, for those who are diligently checking my blog to see what is going on.  Wait, is there anyone out there diligently checking my blog?  Maybe not.  I can only dream.

No baby name yet.  Two names are high in the running - Carsten and John.  Elisabeth is partial to Carsten.  Lance is partial to John.  And I am stuck somewhere in the middle.  Carsten was my great-grandpa who came over from Norway to the U.S.  It is a strong, good name that means "Follower of Christ" and has German roots.  And it is very unique.   John was my grandpa's name as well as one of Lance's greats, and has a lot of meaning to us because that is what Elisabeth named her son in the New Testament after waiting years and years for him to come.   Besides, who wouldn't want their son to aspire to be like John the Baptist?   So, we continue to debate and hope that our baby will come home with a name. 

Yes, I am pretty much ready.  My hospital bag was packed just tonight.  Elisabeth's clothes have been packed and sent over to her friend's house where she will stay and the dog has been bathed and her bedding washed so her caretakers won't regret offering to take her too much.  And I have baked enough zucchini bread that if I don't cook for a week or so, we can live off of that.

Ready or not, our little boy can come anytime now.  We look forward to meeting him!

 Me at 39 weeks, 5 days.  He is certainly a lot more compact than Elisabeth was.  However, my arms have definitely fattened up a bit - making me feel like a beached whale whenever I take Elisabeth to the pool or attend my bi-weekly water aerobics class.

38 weeks pregnant with Elisabeth

A Good Work Ethic

I am all about teaching a good work ethic to my family.  Nothing bothers me more than people *without* a good work ethic.  Instilling this in my family is high on my priority list.  (As high as learning the art of relaxation is on Lance's.)

Papa has his work during the day and a small laundry list of household chores that belong to him and only him.

Elisabeth is in charge of setting the table, feeding the dog (yet another reason Sofi is overweight), picking up her toys, and unloading the silverware when the dishwasher is done.  No, we are not breaking any childhood slavery laws.  She enjoys helping.  So I give into her whims to always help me cook, bake, and set the table at dinner time.  Realistically, I only have a few years before she realizes that she would rather be playing than working so I am taking full advantage of the joy she receives from helping me out.

For me, my chore list is never-ending, just like the mountain of laundry that sits at the end of our bed waiting to be folded.  One can only do so much.

Sofi is the laziest member of our household.  She sleeps most of the day and night, only waking for food, a walk, a few minutes of play every evening, and to move from the sofa to her bed to our bed throughout the day.

We have decided she needs to be assigned more responsibilities around the house.

First chore - babysitting.  As you can see, the role play with dolls seems to be going really well.

When you're the best of friends

Elisabeth and Tutti - 4th of July, 2010

Elisabeth and Taylor are the best of friends.  They have so much fun playing with each other and as of late, getting into a lot of trouble - Like drawing all over Elisabeth's nice kitchen set with pen, finger painting with bright blue fertilizer or locking themselves into my car and pretending to "drive."

Elisabeth started calling Taylor "Tutti" for some reason and it has stuck.  Taylor doesn't mind, though only Elisabeth and Elisabeth's family can call her that.

They love having matching shoes and always have to wear similar clothes.  Elisabeth likes to wear dresses daily.  Tutti - not so much.  But, whenever we get together to play, Tutti dones a dress so she can be just like her friend.

Tutti's mom, who happens to be one of my best friends, goes back to work tomorrow as a teacher, meaning that both EB and I will not be able to spend as much time with our good friends.  I think we will both go through major withdrawal. 

Friends are a true blessing, no matter how old you are. 

At a loss

The terrible twos.  Or at least this is what I am hoping it is with Elisabeth because then that means there may be an end in sight for all the temper tantrums, incessant whining, and battle of wills we have had every day as of late.

I read this online today:

Conviction, determination, and tenaciousness are all as much a part of being strong willed as are incurable temper tantrums. So my 'parenting the strong willed toddler' tip of the day is to learn to look at these battle of the wills differently. Learn to see what could become rather than what is at the immediate moment.

Hmmm, sounds a little like me, minus the tantrums part. 

I keep praying for patience, but really, I would just like someone to tell me what I need to do to see more of the sweet girl I know is hiding down inside this toddler.  Anyone got some good advice?  Or at least some parenting books I could read? 

Terrified for when we bring the new baby home. 

This time around

I can't believe I have less than two months before "Baby Brother" arrives.  With Elisabeth, I kept a detailed pregnancy journal.  With this baby, not so much.  Here is my attempt to start a journal for him.  Sorry, bub.  The curse of being the 2nd born, I guess.

• Peanut Butter - Can't get enough of it.  That and watermelon.  (Not to mention smoothies and carrot cake.)
• Where's the Beef? - Can't stand chicken at all this pregnancy.  I rarely make it and I will only order it if it is on a salad at a restaurant.
• Laid-back personality?  - His heart rate is much slower than his sister's was.  My OBGYN always claims that he likes to relax when she finds his heartbeat on the doppler.  We are hoping she is right.
• Fit Mama - I have consistently exercised three times a week.  Between Zumba, water aerobics, the eliptical, walking, swimming and prenatal yoga, I have tried to stay active.  As a result, I have gained much less weight so far than I have with Elisabeth. I think I might even be smaller.  (See picture below.  What do you think?)
• Ouch! - Those are my ribs!  This baby LOVES to stretch out and hook his toes behind my ribs.  
• Catching my ZZZZ's - I am utterly exhausted all the time.  I am convinced it has more to do with recovering from grad school, chasing after an active 2 year old all day and our recent move, but I am sure my gestating of another human being has something to do with it.  
• Name Game - We haven't decided on a name yet.  We figured we would go to the hospital with a few names we like and then decide.  Three things we did decide on - all of our children will have one family name, their names will have meaning, and their names will most likely be classic, old fashioned names.  
• Hynobaby - I am going to try to go au natural this go around.  As a result we are taking a Hypnobabies class.  Call me crazy, call me brave, call me whatever.  Let's just see how it goes.

One thing remains a constant.  I love being pregnant.  Besides the stressful first trimester when I am considered "high risk," there is nothing more that I enjoy than being able to carry and grow a miracle in my body for nine months.  Nothing is more divine or makes me feel closer to Heavenly Father.  I still feel twinges of sadness when I think of all of those women out there who want children and can't have them.  That is one question I am sure to ask after I die.

Putting off until tomorrow

Here is pretty how much every night goes for me. 

Around 7:30 p.m., I put Elisabeth to bed.
I then sit on the computer to check my email - saying I will only be on there 20 minutes.
An hour later, I start to visualize all the things that need to be done.
An hour and a half later, I give into exhaustion and decide it can all wait until tomorrow. 
Amazing how much stuff piles up when you put off today what you can do tomorrow.

But, we are moved into our new home.  Are mostly unpacked besides the non-essentials - like pictures on the walls, books on our shelves, and knick-knacks on the fireplace.  We finished planning and attended our family reunion.  Had a blast but glad to have that behind us.  And I've got 7 weeks to gather up enough energy to nest.  And dream about the relaxing vacations I can't wait to take again with Lance - like the one we took in May to the Central Coast.