Jennifer’s

Yesterday, Isabella, Dean, and I were able to spend the day together.  We dropped off my parents at the airport and then proceeded to run a few errands.  One such errand took us to Buffalo Exchange where the Halloween decor was in full force.

As we waited for the clerk to pass judgment look through my clothes and decide which ones to buy, Isabella became fascinated with the various arachnids scattered throughout the store.  She was very curious as to why they would choose to decorate with spiders, so I explained that it isn’t uncommon for stores to start promoting holidays that are months away.  She thought that was silly since Halloween isn’t for another two months, but clearly the overall message was not lost on her as she began to worry about what she, brother, Mommy and Daddy were going to be for Halloween.

When we got home, Halloween costumes were still on the forefront of her mind, so we decided to play Halloween for a bit.  We, of course, could not leave Dean out of the fun!  Isabella had a blast, while Dean did not appreciate being stuffed into a costume that while for 6-9 months is quickly becoming too small.  He did, however, like being held by his big sister and may have tried to nurse her before falling asleep still decked out as a vegetable.

Good heavens; they are cute kids!

Let’s take a quick moment to review just how HUGE I was just a few months ago:

(37 weeks pregnant:  BLAH!)

(40 weeks: Induction day.  Can you see the RELIEF?)

It’s been nearly three months since Dean’s birth, which means its been six weeks since I was released to resume all normal activities, which let’s be honest the only activity I really cared about was a return to exercise.  Call me vain, but after gaining 30 lbs and being so miserable at the end I was ready to whip this mound of flesh into some semblance of shape.

I gained the same amount of weight this time around as I did with Isabella, but, for me at least, this pregnancy’s weight did not pile on nor did it come off in the same way as the first.  Perhaps those differences can be attributed to age, gender of the baby, my fitness level before and during the pregnancy, stress, or the unknown, but all I know is I sprinted home from my six week’s post-partum appointment and promptly popped in Gillian Michael’s No More Trouble Zones and never looked back.

I also downloaded the Couch to 5k app and have been faithfully following the 3 day/week running program.  I had been running during this pregnancy, but at 36 weeks I was told to cease all unnecessary activity, so when it came time to start running again I thought it wise to start out slowly.  Six weeks later I know this was a really smart decision as I’ve not suffered any injuries and have been able to easily follow the program.  I dare to say it’s been a little easy since I already have years of running under my belt, but I like that I am injury free, am getting stronger, and most importantly, I love being able to cue up the music, turn on the app and Nike+, and mindlessly run while someone else dictates what I am doing and for how long. 

 In fact, I wish someone would create a marathon training app that would do the same thing.  Not that I am in any kind of shape to run another marathon yet, but I’ve got my eyes set on one late spring of 2011 or mid fall of 2011.  (It all depends on if I can talk Melissa to run Chicago with me! )

The other thing factoring into my get “hot” again pursuit is the fact that I am successfully breastfeeding this time around.  Everything I’ve read says it is okay to exercise regularly, but I think I am still a tad trepidatious about exercising as rigorously as I would like on a regular basis.  If I felt truly free to exercise as I wish I would probably be at my pre-pregnancy weight by now instead of 5lbs away.  Those 5lbs have been lingering for a few weeks now, so I suspect that a few of them, at least, are settled in my milk jugs and won’t disappear until the little one stops suckling at the teat.

I also want to try Gillian Michael’s Making the Cut diet and exercise program, but I fear the diet will mess with my milk supply.  It’s not  so much a “diet” in the sense of really restricting calories as it is a “diet” that helps you eat for your metabolic type with the purpose of helping you shed fat to showcase the muscles beneath.  For my metabolic type I would still consume 1200 calories, which I’m not even sure I actually consume on a daily basis, so it isn’t like I would be starving myself, but I would hate for nursing to end because of my vanity so I am being responsible and holding off on this part of O.G.H.A. until Dean is weened.

But really, who cares about any of this, if there aren’t some before and work in progress shots.  Please bare in mind that no miracles have been performed in the six weeks since I began exercising again, but nonethless I think you can see that some small change is being made.

Before:

(This is a few days after my six week appointment.  Isabella and I were playing princess.  That look of displeasure is less about playing dress up and more about the dismal state of affairs that was my gut.)

Work in Progress:

(I guess that goofy expression in the first work in progress picture is my way of saying what did you expect, it’s only been six weeks!  I know the arm shots are silly, especially given I really don’t have muscular arms, but I wanted some sort of documentation of how they look now so I can compare them after I do Making the Cut.  Plus, this wouldn’t really be a great blog post if there weren’t some pretentious pictures!)

I am THRILLED to announce that I am currently suffering my thirty billionth sinus funk of this pregnancy!¬† You have to love this time of year in AZ when the weather switches from 100’s to low 80’s in a matter of 24 hours…bring on the mucusy funk.

Isabella threw up twice Sunday: she walked into our room at 3 a.m. and announced that she had “coughed up a sugar cube.”¬† Not knowing what that meant, I waited a few seconds to see if Brian would go investigate, but all I got from him was a chuckle followed by a snore, so I hauled myself out of bed.¬† Sure enough, there was indeed a chunk of thrown up bits that looked like Fruit Loops, so I can only surmise that is from where the sugar cube analogy stemmed.¬† I pulled all the linens off the bed, cleaned up Isabella, and took her back to bed with me because after all of that I wasn’t about to make the bed again.¬† She slept okay, as did her father through the whole ordeal,¬†and seemed to be fine when she and I got up that morning.¬† We played quietly with toys so as not to wake Brian, who after all was nearly 40 weeks pregnant at the time and could certainly use some extra sleep- oh wait… So as I was saying before I got all bitter wife there, we were playing quietly when all of the sudden Isabella heaved and vomit started rolling out of her mouth.¬† Fortunately, we were playing on the play rug, so I didn’t have to worry about the actual carpet being ruined.¬† This time around, to his credit, Brian did get up and cleaned the rug while Isabella and I rinsed off and started yet another round of laundry.¬† For the remainder of the day she was snuggly, fairly subdued, and took a lengthy nap, so we thought it a fluke thing.

Enter Monday night: after a lovely evening at a softball banquet, Isabella and her Daddy crashed in her bed.  I stayed up watching some crap TV and just as I was beginning to get ready for bed I  heard Isabella sobbing outside the bathroom door.  I open it up to find her being held by Brian whose face is covered in a mixture of horror and anger.  It turns out Isabella had thrown up AGAIN, this time all over the bed and Brian.  (I will admit a secret part of me was beyond thrilled that he had finally been initiated into the part of parenthood that results in being plastered in projectile vomit; although, I am sure if you asked Brian he would say that that part of my personality is not such a secret.)  As Brian had picked her up out of bed she began another round of barfing that resulted in two sides of her dresser, the trundle mattress and trundle, her chair, and carpet being covered. 

I ordered Brian and Isabella into the shower and began a nearly two hour clean up session.  Again, to his credit, Brian, after being vomited out of his slumber and showering a very upset toddler, shampooed the carpet and mattress.  Isabella and I proceeded to hit the couch, so I could keep a listen out for the washing machine and dryer while she slept.  Three loads later I was finally able to sleep as well.

Enter Wednesday: I woke up with some major tummy crampage going on.¬† Now, given that I am due tomorrow and that I have never experienced going into labor on my own my mind immediately went to thinking this could possibly be the beginning of labor.¬† This on one part thrilled me because yes, I would finally be done, but it also made me a tad nervous because, well that whole hours of labor and pain thing aside, we still had finals to get through at school AND no one to watch Isabella as my mom wasn’t flying in until the afternoon.

As all this was running through my mind Brian came into the bathroom and announced he felt terrible: headache and stomach ache.  I then realized we could both be battling whatever Isabella had, which let me tell you that little realization was far worse of a thought than I could be going into labor because now I could be going into labor within a few days AND be battling the stomach ailment.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

And oh, what a joy yesterday turned out to be.¬† Both Brian and I were miserable all day at school and he finally had several bouts of what he deemed a “horrifying biathlon” of stomach issues…I leave you to figure out what he meant.¬† I never actually had anything come out of any orifice, but man, driving to get my mom at the airport may have been the single hardest thing I’ve had to endure to date.

Brian is once again not feeling well today.¬† I’ve been a little better, but I have eaten very little since yesterday morning.¬† At my doctor’s appointment today I was down 3 lbs from last week, so there’s a positive, right?¬† The lack of appetite and general nutrition over the last 36 hours or so does not bode well, though, for my energy level come the big L day and given that I get rather cranky when I don’t eat that labor and delivery room could be one joyous place.

I told Brian I might start looking for another labor coach.¬† The man got a horrible stomach ache the first go round because of nerves…he slept through a few hours of labor and even had to leave for a bit because of how terrible he felt.¬† If he already feels terrible now what is he going to be like when things are really intense?¬†

I had begun to be lulled into thinking things were beginning to calm down for us and had finally stopped being so stressful, but dealing with the stomach flu one day before my due date is really no cakewalk.  This can only mean one of two things: either this baby boy is going to be a hellion and so we are being prepared now for constant chaos (I blame those Woolsey genes, if so) or he is going to be a breath of much needed fresh and calmer air.  Please dear God, have mercy on our souls and make it the latter!

Isabella’s room decor has been in a transition phase for well, what feels like FOREVER now.¬† We moved her to a big kid bed several months ago, bought some new sheets, and have been using an old, full sized down comforter ever since.¬† The kid hasn’t complained, but after facing the starkness of that white, bulky mass each morning I am ready for some cheerfulness to be restored to her otherwise adorable room.

The problem is I am paralyzed by making the decision of which bedding to go with…I know, I know, such problems I face.¬† I have gone back and forth between budget options (Target) and a more indulgent purchase (PBK, Land of Nod) and after reading many, many reviews have finally settled upon spending a little more on quality bedding that will last her several years to come.¬† (Plus, let’s face it, while Target does many things well you can’t beat the adorable girl bedding at PBK.)

Besides, we totally went the budget route with the majority of her room so far.  Her bed and dresser were a total steal from Costco because we were willing to take the floor displays and even managed to get them to come down another $100 on the set because of slight damage.  Her curtains and bookcase were purchased at Target during a sale and the letters spelling out her name came from Michaels and were lovingly painted by her mother and father.  I also painted an imitation of a painting I wanted for her room that was about $200 at PBK.

That decision past me, I have narrowed the options down to three from PBK and one from Land of Nod.  This is where you come in: below you will find pictures of the options.  In the comments tell me which you prefer and why.

I guess before we get to that, though, a little more information about what is currently in her room would be helpful so you can make a more informed recommendation:

An ivory twin bed w/trundle and tall dresser similar to these:

Green, faux silk panels similar to these w/ white blinds instead of sheer panels:

A dollhouse bookcase similar to this (Isabella’s is pink):

Pink letters spelling her name.

Dot Anywhere chair (exact color, but I am open to a new slipcover as her’s is pretty dingy despite multiple washes):

Lighting:

Pottery Barn Kids Options:

1) Madison

2) Brooke

3) Kelsey

Land of Nod Option:

1) Bedding of Roses

Again, please let me know in the comments which you prefer and why…keeping in mind that these are not listed in any sort of preferential order on my part AND that I am open to changing the color of her curtains, chair, and letters of her name.

Cardigan: Gap; Black Shirt: Old Navy Maternity; White Skinny Jeans: Gap Maternity; Black Sandals: Target)

 

I have EXACTLY two weeks left…not that I am counting down the days, hours, or seconds.¬† The days of misery have returned:¬† acid reflux plagues me daily and nightly, my ankles are starting to swell at the end of the day¬†(thank you stupid AZ 96 degree weather in May), and I literally feel like I am going to explode if this baby gets any bigger.

Speaking of large, at my doctor appointment this week she took one look at my gut and said, “Wow; he’s really grown this past week!”, which is exactly what my husband said, albeit not so nicely, when he announced, “There has been a MASSIVE amount of expansion this week!”¬† And before you think I am all nuts about weight gain and growth during pregnancy, as my husband does, I get that I am supposed to gain weight and I get that most importantly the baby is too.¬† Trust me, I gain weight as evidenced by my large tummy and the fact that I have already had a big, strong, healthy baby.¬† (Isabella weighed in at just shy of 8 lbs at birth and totally shocked the nurse who gave her her first bath by holding up her own head and looking all around the room.)¬† But, it’s still a little disconcerting to have another 14 days of growth for both¬†me and the¬†baby to endure.

It’s even more disconcerting when the doctor measured my tummy and said, “Hmm..” and gave¬†me a half smile.¬† Turns out that I went from measuring right on track to a full week and a half ahead in the course of seven days.¬† Thankfully, that didn’t equate to an enormous weight gain for me, but it did for Baby Brother.¬† The doctor estimates he weighs about 7 lbs 5 oz right now, so do the math of a weight gain of 1/2-1 lb per week and you will understand her “hmm…”.¬†

We discussed options and settled upon letting things go for the next two weeks.¬† If he comes on his own that’s great, but if he is stubborn like Isabella, and all signs indicate he is (I’m still only 1-2 centimeters and 50% effaced and he has not dropped), then she will induce on the 21st.¬† I was really hoping to avoid another induction, but I am also so extremely miserable (I spent a car ride last night silently crying because of how uncomfortable I was just sitting there) that I cannot imagine going a day longer than necessary.¬† If not for financial reasons I would have allowed the induction to occur this week!

All I can pray for at this point is that this big bruiser is as well proportioned as his sister.

This morning, while dropping Isabella off at school, she looked at me and said, “I’m going to have a baby brother tonight.”

I laughed and said, “Oh, really?”

Isabella looked straight into my eyes and said, “Don’t laugh.”

Nothing so far indicates that she is right. I did show some signs a few weeks ago, but after some forced relaxation things have held steady.¬† I am now at the point (36 weeks) that if I were to go into labor nothing would be done to impede the progress…

I have mixed feelings about going into labor early.¬† It’s no secret I’ve not enjoyed this pregnancy as much as my first (many, many factors playing into those feelings), so to have it end unexpectedly early wouldn’t be too terrible.¬† My own personal wants aside, I know the baby will be fine if born¬† now, so his health isn’t a factor anymore either.¬†

I suppose my biggest reason for not wanting to go early is that I have about two sick days built up, so the rest of my maternity leave would be unpaid time off.¬† (If you’ve not heard AZ is in a CRISIS with regards to budget and education funding, so our income for next year is looking rather dismal…I can’t afford to lose money now when I am going to lose so much next year.)¬† We tried our best to time the baby’s birth for the end of the school year so as to minimize the time I might have to take off.¬† If all goes according to plan, I will wrap up my classes Thursday (5/20) and go into labor any day thereafter!

Isabella’s already weighed in.¬† What are your thoughts?¬† Will I go into labor early, on time, or late (like I did with my very stubborn first born)?

   

(Cardigan: Loft; Embellished Tee: Loft; Capri Jeans: Gap Maternity; Necklace: Modern Charm in Terre Haute, IN; Shoes: Gap Kids)

So there are about five weeks left in this, what will most likely be my last, pregnancy.¬† Up until about last week I had this pregnancy thing down.¬† Sure, I have been a little less excited (still trying to get a grasp on God’s sense of humor in giving me a boy) and life has been unbelievably MORE STRESSFUL than at any other point to date, but I’ve been fortunate in that my biggest pregnancy issues have been about baby gender and body image.

Then, one day last week I got up out of a chair and realized that unless someone produced a walker I wasn’t going anywhere too quickly.¬† After a few minutes of hobbling the stiffness and achiness in my nether regions¬†dissipated and I was able to carry on as normal.¬† However, that pain has only gotten worse over the past few days.¬† Some days are worse than others and it seems to have nothing to do with the amount of time I am standing or sitting.¬† I know that pelvis pain is normal at this point in pregnancy, but HOLY MOSES I do not remember this much at.any.point with Isabella.¬† Yesterday, while going “number one” (I have to be specific because when I told this to my husband he asked if I was pooping, which he equated with giving birth.¬† After punching him in the nards I reminded them that there was nothing his body could do to him that would equate to giving birth sans pain meds.) I seriously thought I would end up having one of those birth stories that ends with, “I had to pee and next thing you know I’m pulling a newborn out of the toilet and then I walked out the front door of our trailer and yelled for Billybob to get off his lazy butt as I had just done gave birth in the bafroom…”¬† I don’t think I can handle 35 more days of risking a “toilet birth”!

This time around I have also been plagued by a never-ending sinus infection, which may sound somewhat exaggerated and I suppose if you count those few days in March when I wasn’t congested or blowing my nose constantly or hacking up my lungs and the baby’s or breathing out my mouth like some slack-jawed idiot then I am indeed blowing it out of proportion.¬† I am naturally prone to a few nasty colds per year, but this constant mucus fest is tortuous.¬† I have also read some horror stories of women who have suffered the same condition during pregnancy but that it did not go away even after giving birth.¬† SERIOUSLY? Isn’t pushing that kid out enough penance?¬† Must I be cursed to care for a newborn, recover from labor, AND still be full of snot?

With Isabella I had some horrific periods of acid reflux, so we assumed she would be a hairy monster and as it turns out that even though she did have some hair, she wasn’t the Yetty we had imagined.¬† This time around the acid reflux is nearly every night- no matter how early I eat dinner and no matter how bland the food- so it’s inevitable that he will be born with a full pelt.¬† Last night was by far the worst: around 11:30 I woke up to a horrid taste in my mouth and a clear sense that unless I got up right then I would end up covered in barf.¬† I made it on time, but squatting by a toilet late at night while 34 1/2 weeks pregnant is not ideal.¬†

And on a superficial level I am more than OVER being pregnant.¬† I am tired of having to hitch up my pants every time I stand up.¬† I am tired of having people comment on how great I look and then others saying I’ve really started to get big: which is it people?¬† I am tired of having a very, very limited wardrobe.¬† I am tired of seeing all the pretty dresses in my closet and passing them up for yet another pair of elastic wasted pants.¬† I am tired of choosing sensible flats over fashionable heels.¬† I am tired of counting down the days until I can exercise properly again (77 days in case you wondered).¬† I am tired of not being able to eat sushi or drink caffeine.¬† I am tired…

How about you?  If you have had multiple pregnancies or are currently pregnant how did, or how does, one pregnancy differ from the other?

(Cardigan Marc by Marc Jacobs; Shirt Gap; Jeans Gap Maternity)

I am now at the point of the pregnancy where the doctor appointments are every two weeks.  Seriously, where has the time gone?  I remember thinking it took FOREVER to reach this point with Isabella and now it seems like I blinked and a giant gut grew in mere seconds!

I’m still feeling really good.¬† Isabella and I go on daily walks/runs.¬† I wish I could say I was still running a full three miles, but a few weeks ago my right shin started bothering me (Could the extra weight protruding from my front have thrown my gate off?).¬† I took a week off from running to rest it and ever since I’ve been sort of nursing it back.¬† Now I am down to “intervals” of running and walking, so I think I am probably getting two miles of a decent run in each time.¬†

I’m right on track with weight gain, but for some reason I just feel all around LARGER with this baby.¬† It doesn’t help when my two-year-old says, “Mommy won’t fit in the tub.”¬† (It’s a GARDEN TUB; I’m not that LARGE…yet) or when a co-worker says, “You know, you don’t look half bad for a pregnant lady.”

Part of my overall feelings of “fatness”stem from experience.¬† With Isabella I didn’t know what to expect during pregnancy or after, but now I know that despite my best efforts and wishes my body won’t immediately snap back into shape.¬† I am hoping eating well and exercising daily now will help me then, but with two little ones to care for I know that taking the time for myself will be even harder.¬† Nonetheless, I have big plans for “Operation Get Hot…Again”.¬† (As if I were ever really that HOT!)¬† Part of those plans involve having my husband buy me a killer outfit once I am back in¬†”fighting” shape.¬† Of course, he doesn’t know that yet…

Alas, I have reached a state of pregnancy that heretofore I have only read or heard horror stories about but have never personally experienced.  As many of you know I have endured near constant sinus, allergy, cold funkage this time around.  My current bout has me blowing my nose every ten seconds and sounding more and more like an emphysema patient with each passing day.

The other day, while at a very public park with Isabella and Brian, I started hacking up a lung.  As Isabella and I were close to the bathroom I tried, amid the coughing jag, to get her to follow me into the facilities so I could hack in private, blow my nose, and avoid peeing myself!  Being the toddler she is, Isabella chose that exact moment to be non-cooperative, so I had to try to suppress my cough (so as not to pee), pick her up (against her will), and make it to the bathroom in time.  Guess which of the three did not happen in a timely manner?

So there I am race walking, carrying an upset kid, coughing away, and peeing myself.¬† Fortunately, I was wearing black pants, so it wasn’t too obvious… from afar anyway.¬† I finally got us both into a stall, plopped on the seat, and proceeded to bark my way through another five minutes or so of coughing, dry heaving, and eventual barfing on the floor.¬† All the while I am trying to wrangle a little girl who has just discovered that timeless toddler fascination with peering under the stall at other people.¬† When she saw the barf on the floor, Isabella said, “Oh, Mommy.¬† What is that?¬† Did you spit your food out?”

After getting the cough under control, cleaning up the barf, washing both our hands several times I then had the joy of getting Isabella past the park to where Brian was sitting without having her cause a scene so as to draw attention to the lady with the big, fat tummy who also happened to have peed herself.

I eventually hid behind a tree and yelled out to Brian.¬† Thankfully he assumed I was ready to go, grabbed the stroller, and came our way.¬† When I explained what happened, Brian’s very sympathetic, loving response was, “Well, do we need to go buy some Poise pads?”

Dear Isabella,

You attended your first marketing ploy Disney Princess party a while back.¬† You nearly lost your mind when I mentioned the Princess party as that week’s reward for getting all your magnets on your responsibility chart.¬† Each night as you dutifully reviewed your responsibilities for the day and placed the correct magnet in its spot you proudly proclaimed, “At the end of the week I’ll get all my magnets and then I am going to a PRINCESS PARTY!¬† I am so excited; I cannot wait!”

The party was a tad overwhelming as hoards of little girls, in various princess garb, descended upon the store and the two brave employees who ran the party.¬† True to your nature, you sort of stood back, took it all in, and decided it just wasn’t worth the fuss and pushing to vie for stickers that were going to come to you if you just waited patiently.¬† Most of the little girls were actually really nice and patient just like you, but the parents were an entirely different story.¬† You would have thought the little jewel stickers were real rubies and emeralds or that if they just pushed their kid far enough forward she might, in fact, become a true princess.

One of the most exciting parts of the last two months has been your growing interest in and success with POTTY TRAINING.¬† You’ve consistently gone at school for quite a while now, spending your day in pull-ups and your naps dry.¬† At home it has been hit or miss until recently…now we find you sans pants and diaper or pull-up sitting on the potty patiently waiting to go potty while other times you’ll stop whatever we are doing, announce your need to go potty, and then take off running to the potty seat.¬† You are so proud of this new skill and always tell us, “Oh, you are SO proud of me, Mommy/Daddy!”¬† You love nothing more than putting on a new pull-up and then helping us dump the potty in the toilet, flushing it, and yelling, “That’s a lot of potty!¬† Bye, potty!”¬† We are still working on the poop phase of potty training, but you’ve had several successes in that area of late, so our fingers remain crossed that you will have this all down by the time baby brother shows up in May!¬† (I shudder at the thought of two in diapers.)

Speaking of baby brother, you are extremely excited about the idea of being a big sister. One day you announced, “Mommy, don’t you think it will be so much fun to have a baby brother?¬† Maybe we can take him to the park sometime!¬† That will be a great idea!”¬† You are also very keen on the idea of taking him swimming.¬† When I asked you what color swimsuit you wanted you said pink and that baby brother wanted pink, too.¬† A few minutes, and about twenty conversations later, you said, “Mommy, I actually think baby brother would want a blue bathing suit.”

You love talking to my tummy to see if baby brother will move and you love giving my belly button kisses because you have determined this is where the baby resides.¬† If only that were true; I wouldn’t have had to endure your big, fat tummy comment nor would I suffer the roundhouses to the ribs every night!

Ever since learning about baby brother you have taken a keen interest in ALL things baby.¬† You acknowledge every.single.baby we see in public with a squealing, “Look at that baby, Mommy.¬† (S)he is so cute!”¬† You’ve started asking a lot of questions about babies too.¬† You want to know what they like to drink, eat, play with, and read.¬† When asked those same questions your responses were, “Milk, cereal, soccer balls, and Charlie and Lola.”¬† You are quite confident that babies cry a lot and when asked why you said, “I don’t know.¬† They shouldn’t cry because they are always with their mommies.”

You continue to learn new and amazing things every day.¬† You now know how to spell yellow and box, know part of your address, and when to and not to call 911.¬† As you love to tell us, “911 isn’t for fun; it’s only for emergencies! If someone has a gun, run away and call 911!”¬† You can recite nearly any book we put in front of you whether you’ve heard it once or a thousand times.¬† You are amazingly good at looking at context clues to fill in the blanks for the parts you don’t have committed to memory yet.¬† We recently bought a set of Princess and the Frog books and I had read through the four books once to you prior to you “reading” them nearly word for word to your dolls.¬† You can recognize lots of letters and their sounds and are very, very interested in what everything says.¬† It really doesn’t matter what the object is, if there is printed text you point to it and ask, “What does that say?” You wait for us to tell you, study the words, repeat them, and then move onto the next line of text.¬† I can remember doing the same as a kid (okay, even now I do it); if there are words on something I want to read them and try them out…you never know when something cleverly written will turn up.¬† I hope and pray your love of books now translates into a continued love of reading and words throughout your life.¬† There are so many good books I cannot wait to share with you and many more that we have to discover together!

You are beginning to understand the concept of time and days of the week.¬† You started out by saying “lasterday” for yesterday but within a couple of days you had the correct version down.¬† Not only do you know the names for the days of the week, but you are shockingly good at nailing down what day of the week it actually is or on what day of the week something in the past happened! This skill alone puts you light years ahead of most of the high school kids I teach!

There is no easy transition into these next paragraphs as they are simply a list of things you’ve said that I want to remember:

One night while snuggling I yelled out, “Brian” a few times to try to get Daddy to come into your room to say goodnight.¬† After a couple good yells with no response from Daddy, you looked at me and said, “Huh.¬† I don’t think he heard you!”¬† I yelled one more time, to which you told me, “He’s in the office, remember?¬† Be quiet, Mommy!”

Another night, after a day that held a rather unlike Izzy fit, you told me, “I was a bad girl, Mommy.¬† Maybe I will do better next year.¬† I will be happy again, Mommy.”

In our continuing task of teaching you manners (thank you is second nature to you, but asking please of Mom and Dad seems to evade you 50% of the time…could this be part of that self-centered toddler world view?) we don’t acknowledge your requests until they are accompanied by a please.¬†¬†¬† Most of the time you catch on and say please but every so often you like to remind us of our true position in the household.¬† You’re a HUGE fan of cereal and so asked Daddy for more after eating a bowl.¬† Daddy asked, “More what?”¬† You said, “More cereal.”¬† Daddy responded, “More cereal what?”¬† You then retorted, “More cereal in my mouth!” and stared him down until he had to look away for fear of letting you know he was laughing!

After a long day of school, playing, and maintaining the busy life of a toddler you told me, “Goodnight, dear.¬† Turn off the light.”¬† Once the light was out, you sighed deeply and said, “Oh, what a day!”

Like most toddlers, and men, you tend to have selective hearing, so I often ask you, “What happens when you don’t listen?”¬† One time, upon being asked that, you said, “I get spanked.”¬† I asked if you liked to be spanked.¬† You said, “Not a lot of times.”¬† Another time that I asked if you remembered what happens when you don’t listen you said, “Not exactly…”

Lest you or your future therapist think we only beat you, remember that we use time outs as well, which for all your wailing and carrying on during your 2 1/2 minute respite you would think we were beating you like a red-headed step-child.¬† After a time out for not helping to clean up I asked what was going to happen when you got out.¬† You looked at me and the pile of toys and said, “I’m going to have to go back to time out.¬† I cannot pick up ALL of those toys.”

You are growing up so quickly, Isabella.¬† Every time I turn around you seem taller, less babyish, smarter, funnier, kinder, and independent.¬† You are turning into a little girl and frankly, I think it inhumane that you don’t slow down a bit.¬† I love watching you grasp and master more and more complex mental and physical tasks, but I do wish that was coupled with the days of snuggling you for hours on end.¬† Then your world consisted of only me and now your world consists of, “Mom, did you see that?” as you run between me and whatever cool thing you are doing or have just discovered.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy