Terrible?

How is my little itty bitty baby almost two?

Seriously, 6 weeks and we’re there. This year went infinitely faster than her first year. I can’t keep up with this child. This two year old.

However, terrible twos – I think not. Man I hate when people say that, and we get it a lot now when people ask how old she is and I say almost two. It really is a pet-peeve of mine. As if she’s going to turn into some kind of terrible child monster. I get it, I guess. We get a little more attitude as the years go on – but terrible. Nope. Not this little girl.

She’s my kind of kid. (Which I suppose is a good thing). She is independent and stubborn. Silly and athletic. Busy and smart.

These days she is doing something new literally every single day. Whether it’s a new word or skill… I can count on her to show me something new. Yesterday she added clock, peas, elbow, and hat to her word repertoire. The words crack me up; we just go about her day and all of a sudden she blurts out something I’ve never heard her say before. I just sit back and say to myself, “alright, so she says elbow now.” Sometimes it really catches me off guard that she’s actually talking to me. Or Kyle.

A while back he was talking to her about a show she watched and said, “Leah, what can I make for you to make you happy?” She replied without missing a beat, “cupcake.” Do you remember that Kyle? We were both like, alright. She’s probably still waiting for him to do it.

She has recently added the “uh” sound to the end of almost any word. For instance, things are not up. They are up-uh. Or Upa. I guess she’s figured she has mastered the English language, now she’s on to creating her own. This morning on the way to gymnastics she talked to me the whole way. I had a moment of, “what was it like when I drove in silence?” And then a moment of, “oh my God, what’s it going to be like when she is asking a gazillion questions?” She talked about her dad, and how Duncan was at home tired, and how she was going to play with the blue ball at gymnastics and that she was going to jump. She talked about Pooh and Tuck and then Duncan some more. She told me about her boo-boo (that she got a week ago and hasn’t ever forgotten). It was pretty fun. A lot sweet. And just a tad…. “Leah, shhhh.”  But mainly fun. I like her little voice. My favorite is when she gets so excited and has so many words that need to come out that she says them all at once on top of each other and it comes out a jumbled mess. Her eyes get so big and she’s so excited. She gives it three or four tries before calming down and forming her thought. Cracks me up.

She is a gymnast extraordinaire. Seriously, you guys, she was made to move. She won’t be stopped. And her mom or not, she is one heck of a coordinated little girl. She is all over the physical milestones. I learn so much about just how athletically inclined she is every week at gymnastics. The class cost an arm and a leg, but I must say – for Leah, it is 100% worth it. She just thrives in that room full of mats and bars and beams. Her favorite thing to do right now is to swing on the uneven bars. The first week I remember me having to help hold her waist and help swing her. Now she leaps from the mat, catches herself on the bar, and swings for as long as she wants. It’s truly incredible. Today she wanted to do the balance beam a lot. She’s always been a little timid up there, but today she just had one hand around my neck. It’s fun to watch her get better and better. But she’s also learning to follow directions, share, stand in line, and perform skills on command and in front of people. Today she was called up in front of everyone and asked to jump from the green circle to the yellow circle… she nailed it. Then was so proud of herself and came running back to me for a big hug. I’m also learning that she is so not a musical kid. Some kids thrive on music, they need it. Leah does not. She needs to be flipping through the air. They have the singing and shaking portion of class – Leah hardly does any of it. She just looks behind her and longs for the uneven bars. She is learning to do it anyways, but I will not be enrolling her in a music class anytime soon. Her Aunt Lauren might make fun of her, but she loves her metallic blue leotard, too. She gets so excited to put it on and show it off. And then gets more excited because she knows it means we are going to gymnastics!

She is potty trained. I know each parent has a different definition of potty trained – but according to the Proebsting definition – we’ve got a potty trained 22 month old. Have I mentioned she’s my favorite kid? She wears underwear every day and 99.9% of those days she only needs to wear one pair. She goes on her own, she goes when she tells me she needs to, she goes when I ask her to try, and she goes in public. What more do you need? I’m helping her with the pulling down of the pants process and the wiping (some parents would say she is not potty trained because of this), but it doesn’t bother me. Again, she’s 22 months, I can’t expect her to wipe her own butt. All I know is – I don’t have to buy diapers anymore. My kid is potty trained.

Here is a summary of Leah at this very moment:

• Anything with feathers is a Duck.
• She is starting to really get into puzzles.
• She loves to read books.
• She likes “everything” bagels.
• Peaches are her new favorite.
• She knows there is a baby in my belly, and is fairly certain there is one in hers.
• She can point out every body part on her body – down to the chin and belly button.
• Winnie the Pooh and Tuck make her happy when nothing else does.
• Duncan is her best friend.
• A burp, a toot, number 1, and number 2 are all Poop. It gets very confusing.
• She puts honey on everything because Pooh does.
• She can answer the question “How old are you?”
• And “What is your name?” (although sometimes her name is 2).
• She would like to live outside.
• Picking flowers is her favorite.
• She likes to pray for herself before bedtime. In addition to her dad and Duncan.
• She loves animals, especially elephants and horses.
• She loves to put her own clothes on.
• She talks all the time.
• She loves to tell strangers Hi.
• She loves Curious George and Daniel Tiger.
• She wants to walk everywhere by herself.
• She likes to somersault off of things (her bed).
• She has really taken a liking to her dad.
• She loves to be silly.
• No is the answer to everything. Everything.

She is not terrible. She is two. And a bucket of fun and a barrel of laughs. She tries to wear me down, some days she can do it. Most days, she has to realize that she is me… 24 years ago. I can put up a fight.

 

 

Poppy Seed to Pear.

No one worry, I’m still pregnant.

Man! I’m already failing this poor second kid. Remember when I wrote about Leah every single week? You knew about every piece of fruit she resembled, every new feature she grew, every new reflex she found. You knew every time I threw up, pigged out, or had a backache. And now… I’m slacking.

I’m just busy, ok. You should see the two characters I have running around me all day long. It’s a wonder I don’t forget I’m pregnant all together. But really, that would be impossible – because in the last week or two – this baby has made it a mission to be known. And I love it.

Would you like to hear all about him? Or her?

Starting there, we will know just who is in there in 4 weeks!

That makes me 16 weeks pregnant. Time is really flying.

In case you’re wondering – I’m the size of a Hippo. See:

This baby is a big one. I love a good pregnant belly, don’t get me wrong. But this was the size of my belly when I was in the 20 weeks with Leah – so I’m a little alarmed every morning when I wake up. And it seems to double in size by the end of the day. Remember that time I grew a good baby and didn’t get one single stretch mark until 33 weeks? Well. I’ll just stop there.

Hot sauce is my new A1 sauce. Gotta have it! On everything if you don’t mind. Yum. And cake. And ham and swiss cheese. Well, really any food will do. But those are my favorites. Here, look what I had to make an emergency trip to the store for yesterday:

Now that’s a shopping list if I’ve ever seen one. I do make myself eat fruit and vegetables, but I don’t like it.

I’ve been having some back pain problems lately. And stomach pain problems. Growing pains, I suppose. I forgot about them… til they happened, and then had an “ah yes” moment. I just don’t remember them happening this early with Leah. I really didn’t get uncomfortable with Leah until the 30 weeks area. Oh well. I’m assuming it’s because of Leah that my back hurts so bad. All the up and down and picking up and running and what not. Today has been better – the past two were not pleasant. But I’m not complaining. I’m still enjoying being pregnant just like I did with Leah. Even if it is 100% different.

This baby is a mover. But not like his sister was. Actually, the jury’s still out on that one. I’ve had a realization in the past couple days. The movements are so delicate and sporadic this time around. Gentle little kicks and stretches. Leah was always out for blood. She was an absolute maniac… all the time. But here’s my thought: I was left with the memory of movement based on the movement I experienced at the end of pregnancy. The strong kicks and rolls and punches. The ones that made me shout out loud or stop what I was doing. I don’t remember much about what Leah felt like in the early days of her moving. Maybe she was nice to me in the beginning, just like this baby is. Maybe it wasn’t all the time. Maybe this baby will turn into the crazy person his sister was? I don’t know, I’ll let you know. For now, I am cherishing all the tiny kicks and pokes hello.

I’ve started the conversation with Leah. Sure, we told her – but she had/has no idea. Today I really started trying to tell her. We’re almost at the half-way point and she’s pretty smart, she’ll get it. So I took her to buy her new sibling some clothes today:

I told her they were for the baby. She picked the elephant one, the kid loves an elephant. I don’t plan to harp on it, but I do plan to make it normal conversation. We’ve got some time. She does love to play with my giant belly which I’ve never had anything to do with – I think it’s pretty special. And kinda creepy.

So in four weeks we will know Nate or Quinn. What do you think? I thought Nate for a longgg time, now I kinda think Quinn. Either way, I’m a happy mama. Basically though, I have no idea. The fact that things are so different makes my brain scream BOY – but I know that babies are not logical people. So it’s anyone’s guess.

The little guy is pumping his own blood with a brand new circulatory system this week. He’s about 4.5 inches and 4 ounces, perfect for the palm of my hand. He is yawning and grimacing and can hear us! Wonder what he thinks of all the chaos that awaits him?? He will cover his eyes if he sees light and his eyes are finally at the front of his head. His bones are hardening and he is about to venture onto a big growth spurt – yaaaaay. No, seriously, that makes me happy. Grow baby grow!

When I found out I was pregnant this baby was the size of a poppy seed:

Now he’s a pear:

Or an avocado. But that didn’t start with a P.

There you have it.

Now I feel like a better mom.

I’m getting pretty excited about this little guy (or girl)!

I’d Still Pick Him.

Ahhh, three years in the books.

The only thing that means is that I’ve spent 2/3rds of our married life pregnant. Geeeez.

Ok, it means some other things, too. Lots and lots of good things.

I’m pretty proud of us, I think we’re a rather good little married couple. We fight and yell and drive each other nuts. We roll eyes and give looks and have incredibly dysfunctional moments. But we also hug and kiss and say I love you. We pray and walk and watch Cardinals games together. He whines at me for spending money, I whine at him for golfing. He gets heated, I pout and say, “I’m fiiiiiiine!”

But that’s how it’s supposed to go, right? I mean, it feels right. Good and bad, give and take; all that nonsense. The most important part was that we meant what we said three years ago. We believed in our vows, in each other, and in our marriage… and we’re still chugging along rather happily. We know that our fights aren’t deal breakers, they don’t end anything – we promised each other they wouldn’t.  They just mean some days we have to try harder than others.

But most of the time it feels like we don’t try at all. It’s pretty easy sailing around here.

Easy, fast sailing.

It feels like it’s been 10 years and 10 minutes all at once. So much has happened in three years, yet somehow it was just yesterday, right? I mean do we really have a toddler with a baby on the way? We really have a mortgage and a minivan? Yikes. We used to be so cool.

Cool or not – I still like him. I’d pick him all over again if I had to, I’m most positive of that. He’s still got that big, bald head I love so very much. He’s still nicer to me than he should be. He’s still smokin’ hot in black socks half way up his legs and sandals. But it’s the moments when he throws food into the air at the dinner table and catches it in his mouth for the soul purpose of making Leah laugh, or when he serenades her with Leanne Rhymes version of “Blue” while she’s in the bathtub – that I really know…

I would most definitely still pick him.

He’s good to me, really he is. But he is something else when it comes to Leah. Talk about melting a heart – watching such a good daddy play with a little girl that adores him… nothing else compares to that. And I fall in love over and over and over.

But enough of the sap. Man, I hate it. You should have seen me in the card isle today (I mean two days ago because I was totally prepared) – I couldn’t even get through them without rolling my eyes. Seriously, cards are ridiculous. Especially the love ones. Blah. You should see the one I got… Lord. It was my best option, I promise. But he wanted to do cards… and I love him… so I did it.

But here’s all I really need to say (why you need to hear it I have no idea, but listen anyways):

Three years ago put an exclamation point on four and a half years of dating. Two months after I met him I starting planning that day, and he was always at the end of the aisle (seriously, which isle is which?!). He was there cause he’s funny and smart and hot and gets me. Because he’s genuine and honest and he loves God. He was there cause he’s strong and athletic and a little bit of an idiot. Three years later and I’d put him right back at the end of the isle. For all of those same reasons, but I’d add the facts that he’s a rock star of a dad, he works his tail off for his family, and he mows the lawn. He makes sure we pay the credit card on time, and he brings me brownies home from work.

He’s still my favorite, and I’d still pick him.

Always and forever.

Because that’s how all the good anniversary cards end.

My hair looked much prettier this day three years ago.

 

 

The Great Adventure.

Whew!

Well, we did it! I would highly recommend taking a vacation with your kid… or kids… it was great fun. Exhausting, sure. Fun, absolutely.

Can we start with what I did? Because really, I’m very much feeling like a supermom… still.

I did it! I got us to the airport, through security, to the gate, on the plane, through the flight, off the plane, to McDonalds, to the next gate, on the next plane, through the next flight, to the rental car, installed a car seat, and to GRANDMA’S HOUSE. All in one day! And allllllllll with Leah. You guys, she’s really the best. She didn’t cause me one problem. She was never fussy. She never whined. She just enjoyed people watching and running herself through the entire airport(s). She sat on my lap both flights, which the new baby didn’t appreciate, but Leah never complained. I had a bag full of activities, and we only went through about half of them. She loved to say hi to our fellow passengers, to tell them I was her mama, and to tell them we were going to Nonna’s! Luckily, everyone we sat by were very friendly and more than happy to talk to her. She sat patiently in the front of the rental car while I cursed the car seat in the back seat. And she stayed potty trained through it all.

She’s just a good, easy going kid. And I love her.

Man, it was fun to go to grandma’s. To take Leah to a brand new place and show her all kinds of new things. She didn’t sleep great, but she was still in a good mood every day. She loved to be up and moving and going from place to place. Then when Kyle got in the fun really started. I never really got to recover from traveling with her. And as easy as she was… it was still incredibly hard. It’s a lot to have to watch her every second through three very busy airports. Then to never really get a break, even once we landed. Needless to say – I was happy to throw some responsibility Kyle’s way. We really got to venture out once he came around. It was fun to show them both a bit of my past.

Personally, I had the time of my life. It had been 6 years since I’ve been in that house and not a darn thing changed. Just the way I like it. I can count on her house to look the same, smell the same,and be set up the same down to every last glass decoration. I enjoyed the little things more than anything. Going to Wegmanns (the east coast grocery store), baking a pie with grandma, eating pizza I grew up on, eating homemade sauce and meatballs, and staying up late telling stories. And it was fun to get to share those moments (and that food) with Kyle.

We were excited to get back to Duncan, to get back to normal sleep, to get back to our routine; but it was sad to go. I wish I could shove my grandma and her house in a suitcase and set them up next door. But then I guess we wouldn’t have had or (get to have again) such a special vacation. It was nice to get to fly home with Kyle. To have an extra hand and an extra set of eyes. Leah still did great, only crying when Kyle smashed her finger in the tray table. (Don’t worry, on the way there I smashed her head into the overhead compartments. We’re fantastic parents). She got to introduce everyone to her dad as well as her mom.

And now we’re back. Back to real life. The second we got home Kyle had to mow. Bummer. And today I have to do laundry, of course. We had gymnastics bright and early, and grocery shopping will fill the afternoon. It almost feels like we went on vacation a month ago. How fast time flies.

Now I have to work on planning a second birthday party!

Yikes!