Mom of Two

There are many differences between being a parent of one and a parent of two.  There are the obvious differences, of course.  It takes longer to do... everything.  It takes longer to go anywhere.  There is so.much.more laundry. WAY more toys.  A lot more messes. SO much less sleep.  And of course, more love and cuddles and hugs and little feet to kiss.

But one of the biggest differences of being a mom of two for me, is that I am now so acutely aware of how quickly the days, weeks, months, years fly by and just how warped time is when watching your baby grow up.  When Elizabeth was a baby, I just kind of took it for granted that the baby stage lasts forever.  Or at least a very, very long time. 

Then I blinked and Elizabeth turned 4 1/2 the other day.  How did that happen?  How has it been 4 1/2 years since I held her in that hospital bed after pushing her out for two hours? 

 

Every single day I look at Anna and know that this time is so, so limited.  She will only be a baby for such a short time.  She is growing so very fast. She is 7 1/2 months old today.  The baby stage does NOT last forever or for a very, very long time.  It flies by at warp speed.  And then? They aren't babies anymore.  Ever again. 

So for now I cuddle and kiss and relish in the baby that she is today.  Because she'll be big all too soon.

____________________
This next part is a piece of a blog post from Jill at BabyRabies.com.  She wrote a letter to her 51 year old self and I can relate to every word. (Here is the link to the entire blog post.)

Even though you were tired and challenged, exasperated and overwhelmed, you knew then that you would miss these days…most of them, at least. It was a truth that was hard to live with, and most of the time you ignored it because there was nothing you could do about the passing of time. If you spent your days mourning the ones that had gone by, you’d miss out on the days you were living in.

You knew you were on a light rail, moving at speeds you couldn’t comprehend. You had no control over the ride that brought you to where you are today, but believe me when I say you searched so very hard to find the emergency brake.

Please know, please remember that you tried to savor that time. Be at peace, knowing you spent late afternoons curled up with them on the couch, that sometimes you just sat and watched them move and run, that occasionally you took inventory of all the things they’d learned in the last week, and that you appreciated your time with them the best you knew how. Know that despite your very best efforts, there was no way to freeze time.
I promise you, you tried.

Big Sister

When I was pregnant with Anna, I was quite nervous about how Elizabeth would take having a new baby in the house.  I was expecting jealousy, anxiety, regression, some sort of adjustment period...  I kept expecting the jealousy to just show up one day, for Lizzie to be mad that Anna is getting more attention or pissed that she is playing with one of HER toys, or for Lizzie to ask the question that I feared the most... "Can't we put her back in??"  So far....

Elizabeth meeting Anna for the first time. 

I am totally blown away with how awesome Elizabeth is with Anna.  She exceeded all my expectations of how life with an infant and older sibling would go. Seeing them together makes my heart go all melty.

At first, Elizabeth kept track of how many times she held Anna.  Like, "This is my very first time holding Anna!" and "This is my 8th time holding Anna!"  Then she would tell everyone who would listen that she had held Anna however many times. I think she lost track around 12 or 13. 

The first time Elizabeth held Anna. 

I believe this is Lizzie's second time holding Anna.

And now a bunch of random thoughts thrown together with bullet points:

• She does her "job" of bringing dirty diapers from the living room to the diaper champ in the nursery (she will say, "Oh, I have a job to do!" whenever she sees a diaper sitting there. Hilarious.) 
• She insisted on buying Anna the really expensive teether giraffe named Sophie, and basically makes sure she has it at all times because she knows Anna loves it so much (she actually does seem to really enjoy the dang giraffe). 
• When Anna fusses, Elizabeth has said many times, "Anna, why are you crying?  You have a big sister!" 
• She loves holding Anna's hand, or rather, she loves when Anna holds her finger.  Every time she says something like, "Mom, look!  Anna's holding my finger! Take a picture!" 
• After Anna was born, even when we were still in the hospital, Elizabeth would climb on the couch, put a pillow in her lap, and hold her arms out.  That was her way of saying she wanted to hold her sister.
• I told Elizabeth that it is so cool that she has a sister because some day they'll be best friends and can be each other's maids of honor, etc. and she said to me, "Mom, we are already best friends."

30 weeks!

This is another picture where I stole the idea from Pinterest. :)  We were in the Ozarks and it was about 400 degrees and we were putt putt golfing and thought we should get this picture.  I love it so much. And I love that little girl in the picture so much.  It is such a blast sharing this whole experience with Lizzie.

Bet she never asks that again...

Elizabeth: "Why do we speak English?"

Nate: "blah blah blah... Columbus... blah blah... James Town... blah blah... French and Indian War... blah blah blah... Louisiana Purchase... blah --"

Elizabeth listened intently, and then interrupted with, "Are you done yet?"  before she ran off to play.

My little princess

I saw a picture on Pinterest a while ago that showed a little girl wearing her mama's wedding dress (http://pinterest.com/pin/207517495299483366/) and I HAD to try this with Elizabeth. And since I have yet to get my dress preserved since the wedding almost 5 years ago (what?), it was perfect!


Elizabeth in my wedding dress. My heart is exploding from her cute.

*EDITED April 30, 2012: My dress is now cleaned and preserved and in a box. Boo.

We're having a....

Nate and I have been so excited for this appointment because the doc said last time that he might be able to tell the gender. So we get to the office and wait fooooreeeever. Or at least it felt like forever. I'm pretty sure it was forever though.

We finally get called back! Only to be told, "The doctor isn't here right now because he's delivering a baby."

What?! Crap! "But...but... he said he could tell us the gender today."

Then she said that the PA was there and she would try to tell what we are having.

".....Okay..."

So then we wait even longer in the exam room than in the waiting room. Finally get called in for the ultrasound. The baby was being super cute and moving around and waving and all that. BUT... the ornery cuss would not show its business. Or the PA wasn't experienced enough to distinguish business. Rats.

So after being thoroughly disappointed, it was time to take all my blood for the quad screen. While the needle is in my arm, I look up and see the doctor just walking in!

As he walked passed my door, I said, "Hey! Want to do an ultrasound?"

He said, "Sure." YES!

We had to wait another bit so they could sneak us back in between patients. Fine with me!  Once he started the ultrasound, he was able to tell fairly quickly what he thought it was.  He said he was 80% sure.  He printed out an ultrasound picture and put it in an envelope for us to open later.   Later happened to be in the parking lot. 

Sitting in my car, we opened the envelope and discovered we are having another girl!  Well, probably.  80% and all.

We went to Hy Vee and got a couple of these balloons for the grandparents.  (Same thing I did when pregnant with Elizabeth.  At least I'm consistant?)  We went to lunch with Rob and Judy to tell them, then to my parents house to tell them and my younger brothers.  The other siblings got this picture of the balloon as their big fancy annoucement. :)

When we told Elizabeth, I figured she'd be upset, but wow.  She wanted a brother.  Really, really bad.  She'd interupt us if we'd say "Your little brother or sister-" with "Brother."  Poor girl cried and cried.  It was so sad!  I know she'll warm up to the idea of a sister, but probably not today! 

She'll still need me... right?!

After I read Elizabeth a story, she turned and hugged me and patted me on the back. What a nice cuddle, I thought. And then...

E: "When I grow up, I'm not even going to need a mommy anymore."

That sound you heard? Was my heart shattering all across the floor.

Me: "But I'm a grown up and I still need my mommy. Do you think you'll still need your mommy when you are grown up?"

E: "No. Because I'll grow up and be a big kid and I won't be a little kid anymore."

Like I need reminders. She's getting big so fast.

Another potty training update :)

So last week was Lizzie's first time in big girl undies. No big deal. AHH!!!

She actually could have been switched over from pull ups to underwear a few weeks ago, but we hadn't made it to the store yet to buy them. Mommy fail.

She hasn't had an accident during the day since before October 1st. Seriously, overnight it just seemed to click with her. We have been working on it this whole summer, and she has done decent. But as of October 1st... she gets it. She tells me every single time she has to go. When we are eating out at a restaurant, or shopping for groceries, in dance class... she never goes in her pants! Even during her nap time she knocks on the door when she has to go. It is pretty awesome.

She is still in pull ups at night and has only had a couple incidents where she is wet in the mornings. I am pretty freakin excited and so proud of my big girl!

Introducing Binky Giraffey

This is going to be a long, boring post about something that nobody else will probably ever care about but that I want to remember forever. So here goes. I am a little embarrassed to actually say this out loud (or... type it out), but Elizabeth has STILL been using her binky. Her binky has always been her "lovey." She never had a stuffed animal or blanket that she brought with her everywhere. She just wanted her binkys. However many she could fit in her teeny hands. However, for a very, very long time, she has only had them at night and nap time. And I have been terrified, dreading the day when it is time to take away her binkys. Which is why she's 3 years old and still had them.

Transitioning to an only bed time binky was actually super easy. One day I asked if she wanted to leave her binky in her crib after her nap, and she just turned and tossed it back in the crib. From that day on, she only had it when she was sleeping.

Lately though, she's been more dependent on her binkys. She'll go get them from her room and bring them out to the rest of the house. I'll tell her that binkys are for bed time, so she tells me she's sleepy and she'll lay down wherever she's at to go to bed.

My baby girl with her binky. I am so going to miss her binky face.

About a week ago I started talking to her about sending her binkys to a new baby who needs them and about going to the store to get a stuffed animal that we can name Binky. That way she can still have a Binky to sleep with. (Got this idea from my cousin who still sleeps with a big horse named Pacifier. :) She said to this idea, "I want to get a giraffe." Okay then.

The other day we were at the store and came across this big display of pillow pets. She said, "Look at all those animals named Binky!!" There were several giraffes in the mix, so I grabbed one and she just cuddled with it. Looks like we found our Binky! Wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but it'll do.

I wasn't exactly sure when this whole Binky switch was going to happen, but tonight the issue was kind of forced. A tear was discovered in the one binky that we found, the pink one that seems to be her favorite these days. The other two, "green and yellow binky" and "butterfly binky," were no where to be found. I asked Lizzie if she wanted to sleep with her new Binky giraffe tonight so we could send her binkys to a new baby, and she grinned and ran to the kitchen to get the giraffe off the table.

This picture shows all her beloved binkys: pink binky, green and yellow binky, and butterfly binky. Also, she is sleeping on her rocking chair like a little weirdo.

I started reading stories while we had this giant giraffe sitting with us. Only one time did she say that she wanted her binkys, and I just reminded her she had her Binky giraffe to sleep with instead. She seemed fine with that. At one point she told me the giraffe's name is Binky Giraffey.

Lizzie with Mr. Binky Giraffey

She actually did really good. Well.... other than not being at all tired and getting up constantly. She kept standing at her door saying she wanted her mommy and I lost track of the number of times I went in there to lay her back down, but she never again mentioned wanting her binkys.

She finally settled down on the floor (her new favorite spot to sleep) and fell asleep. One time I watched on the video monitor as she sat up and looked around like she was searching for her binkys. My heart broke just a little right then and I instantly regretted this whole thing. Then she laid back down on Binky Giraffey and fell right back to sleep. Maybe this won't be as hard as I thought it was going to be...

So very proud of my big girl.

Big Girl Bed!

Switching from a crib to a big girl bed is something I had been worried about for quite some time. Ever since shortly after Elizabeth's 1st birthday, when she FINALLY became a decent sleeper, and FINALLY started sleeping through the night consistently, I have been in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality.

Elizabeth goes to bed around 9:00 PM and stays in bed until around 9:00 AM. It. is. awesome. So of course, the not knowing what will happen when she is released from the confines of her crib is super scary. Would we never sleep again?!

Finally, at only a couple weeks away from turning three years old, we converted her crib into a big girl toddler bed last night.

First night actually went great. SO great. I am very cautiously optimistic about this whole big girl bed thing. Time will tell!

Get out of here bug! ... no wait, come back...

E: "Mommy, please get rid of this bug!"

I wave my arms around at the fly

Me: "Okay, he should be gone."

The stupid bug flies back around and I wave my arms around again.

E: giggles

Me: "There, he should be gone now."

E: starts crying "I miss him! I miss that bug!"

Me: .....seriously??? "I'm sure he'll be back, honey."

E: whimpers "I miss him."

The stupid bug flies around us again.

Me: "See, he's back. Happy?"

E: "Yeah!" smiles all huge "I like bugs. Mommy, do you like bugs?"

Me: "I like cheerios! Here, eat your cheerios."

E: "Mommy, do you like bugs?"

Me: sigh "Yep.... so much."

Ugh

See the little black speck on the table in front of her? That's her stupid bug.

Potty training updates

Toddlers have this weird way with habits. Do something one way, just one time, and you should pretty much count on doing it the same way for the foreseeable future.

Elizabeth's toilet is behind our loveseat in the living room.

How, might you ask, did the toilet make its way to behind the loveseat?

Every time she needed to go, she would run behind the loveseat, grunt a little, and come out a little stinkier. Any time we caught her running back there, we would try to get her to go to the toilet. Sometimes she would, sometimes she wouldn't.

SO. Her dad came up with the bright idea of putting her little toilet behind the love seat one evening when she was caught running back there. That way she can get used to going in the toilet while still going behind the loveseat where apparently she feels comfortable. Great idea, right?! Except now there is a toilet behind my loveseat. Every time I move it back to the restroom, she will drag it right back out and carry it behind the loveseat.

I'm sure this will be a hilarious story to one day tell her future boyfriend. But for now, I can't wait until she can go in the restroom like normal people.

Soon Enough

Elizabeth is now 2 years, 8 months, and 2 days old. She has officially been a "big girl" for some time now. She learns new things every day and amazes me with some of the things she says. She is so very stubborn and challanges me daily. (So far, I usually win, even if not at first.) She's very independant and will rarely ask for my help for anything. She knows what she wants, even if her mind changes three seconds later (hey, its her perogative). She is crazy smart (at least in my opinion). She counts to 39, learned her ABC's around her 2nd birthday, and can sing songs with me by the 2nd or 3rd time she hears them.

She's growing up. So very fast.

However, at night time, when it is time for her bedtime routine, she turns the light off and shuts the door, tells me to say "muahaha" while she makes her way across the dark room to turn the sound machine and lamp on, and then she goes to her crib for her binkys. She sticks one in her mouth and holds on to the other, and comes over to me to climb up in my lap.

This is when she is still my baby. When she just curls up in my arms with a binky in her mouth. I realize that at over 2.5 years old, she is probably a little too old for her binkys. I don't think either of us are ready for her to part with them quite yet though.

Soon enough she won't have them any more. Soon enough she won't want to cuddle up on my lap for books and stories and songs and giggles before bedtime. Soon enough she won't be my baby, in the literal sense of the word. She'll go from a little girl to a grown woman entirely way too fast. But for right now, she is still small. And I will enjoy these binky faced cuddles while I can.

A trip to the doctor

Yesterday when my little girl woke up, Nate brought her into our bed for some cuddles. She felt a little warm to me and I asked it she felt yucky. She said, "No, I feel fine." (She's so cute.) So I figured she was warm because she just woke up.

So then she was in her high chair and about to eat some cheerios when she started crying and saying she felt sad. Then she puked all up in her cheerios. I got baby cleaning duty and Nate tackled her high chair. When I took her jammies off, her skin felt HOT. I took her temp and it was 101 degrees. OF COURSE it was a Sunday yesterday. That's just how she rolls.

I gave her motrin and tylenol yesterday to keep her fever down. At one point it got up to 103 degress. She told me her throat hurt and that there was a frog in it. I wasn't even sure she knew what a throat was, but when I asked her to show me, she opened her mouth and said "ahhhh!"

So today we went to see her doctor. She looked oh-so-sick as she ran around the waiting room like a crazy person. Playing games, laughing, running some more. Then the nurse called her back and she got weighed like a big girl. 29.5 lbs!

There have been a couple people in our lives that have had strep lately, so the nurse wanted to do a strep test. Lizzie did not care for it, to put it mildly. Luckily Nate was able to break away from work to come help us at the doctor appointment. (He only drove 85-90 mph following a black SUV for about 1/3 of the way from Elkhorn. That black SUV ended up being a K-9 unit police SUV. Oops.) BUT he made it. So he held Lizzie's head still and I held her arms down while the mean nurse (who is actually super nice) stuck a giant Q tip down my daughter's throat.

Lizzie sobbed and sobbed and puked and sobbed some more. She kept coughing and throwing up phlem. It was pretty gross. To distract her from her sobbing, I started telling stories about a beautiful little girl named Lizzie and all of her wild adventures. She got pretty into the stories and would turn and repeat stuff I said to Nate. It was pretty cute. The whole time she was holding kleenex up to her mouth in case she started coughing again.

The nurse poked her head back in the room and said she was glad we did the strep test, because it had already come back positive. Well... crap. Poor kid.

So I finally get her in a good mood with these stories and then Dr. B comes in. Lizzie immediatly started sobbing and jumped in my lap and put a death grip on my neck. That kid was glued to me. After a lot of coaxing on our part and sobbing and coughing on her's, we finally got her to show Dr. B her pretty eyes. Then we tried to get her to show him her teeth and she freaked and turned around again. FINALLY we got her to say "ahhh" (while still crying) long enough for him to get a quick glance in her mouth.

Then since she was such a good girl (ha), the nurse gave her a Dora and Boots sticker that she really, really wanted on her tummy.

While Lizzie and I strolled the aisles at Walgreens waiting for her prescription to be ready, she said, "Mommy, Dr. B fun!"

I was shocked and said, "You had fun at Dr. B's?"

Lizzie: "Yeah!" *starts sobbing hysterically* Yeah, sure you did, kid.

( My "baby" will be two and a half in 4 days!)

"I LOVE (fill in the blank)!"

Elizabeth is such a little punk lately. A cute punk, but a punk nonetheless. When we tell her to do something or not do something, like, "Don't hit mommy," for example, she'll say, "I LOVE hitting mommy!

Me: "Lizzie, don't lay your face on the toilet."
Liz: "I LOVE laying my face on the toilet!"

Nate: "Don't poke the caterpiller, Elizabeth."
Liz: "I LOVE poking the caterpiller!"

You get the idea. Punk.

First Dance Class

A friend told me about a toddler dance class at one of the local dance studios in town so I immediately signed Lizzie up. (By "immediately," I mean that I called two days before it started to make sure there were still openings...)

So off we go to dance class. On the way, there was a song on the radio about when your babies grow up and leave the house. I got misty eyed thinking about my baby leaving me one day and because this is my little girl's very first dance class and I don't want her to grow up too fast but I am so excited to see her grow up and learn new things and become a contributing member of society... but right now she is my little girl and we are on our way to her very first dance class. (By the way, how exactly did she get old enough to go to a dance class??)

Then she ruined the whole day for me.

The dance class itself was actually pretty fun. Lizzie was super cute doing all of the little dance moves. She shook her wiggles out and jumped and marched and chasséd and skipped with the best of 'em. Well, she tried at skipping. And chasséing. We sang and danced to "If You Are Happy and You Know It" and a song about going in a villiage. She rang a bell up high and down low and in a circle. And then she refused to go through the tunnel even though she has a tunnel at home and goes in it all. the. time. But whatever.

After the class though, my daughter became... I'd rather not say possessed, but I am lacking a better word. Okay... naughty. Super naughty. Extremely, super naughty. She freaked out. She decided that right then and there, in front of 25 other moms and kids, that she wanted to prove that I am a terrible mom and that she is a big jerk. Kidding. Kind of.

I was so humiliated. She wouldn't let me put her boots or her coat on. She screamed and tried running away and then would go all limp noodle on me when I caught her. She even tried hitting me in my face! What the what?? If it wasn't 3° outside, I would have just picked her up and walked outside. But no. I wanted her to be warm.

There are seven more dance classes. I'm not so sure that we'll make it to the next one.

She is soooo lucky she is cute.

Happy Baby

This is pretty much an update to this post.

My kid is emotional. She has always, even as a little baby, flipped emotions in a matter of a second. It has always been a source of amusement in our family, how she can go from laughing to crying or crying to laughing in 2 seconds flat.

It is hilarious how she can compose herself when she is a "sad baby."

Lately she has been throwing these little tantrums where she screams and cries and carries on. When this happens, I tell her, "Go to your room and find a happy face." She will usually run back to her room and look in the mirror by her crib.

The first time I said this to her, I showed her where to go to find her happy face. The second time I told her this, she took off down the hall. I snuck back to her room and saw her making faces at herself in the mirror. She spotted me pretty quick and started laughing. Now when I tell her this, she runs down the hall and runs back a moment later with a huge smile, saying, "Mommy, baby happy now!"

Also, she'll sometimes cross her arms and scrunch up her face and say, "Baby so mad." This is a far cuter way to express those feelings, girlfriend. It is even cuter when she pretends to be mad and can't hold back her smile!

"Baby do it!"

What happened to my little baby girl who still needed her mom for stuff?!

(First, I still call Elizabeth my baby and so she still calls herself Baby. She doesn't know yet that she is a big girl, and not a baby anymore in the literal sense of the word. However, she will be my baby forever and I will not start calling her my big girl for as long as I can get away with it!)


Elizabeth has turned into Little Miss Independent lately. She thinks she doesn't need her mom for anything anymore! If I turn a light on, I hear, "Baby do it!" and she will go turn the light off and turn it back on. If I shut a door, I hear, "Baby do it!" and she will go open the door and shut it again. If I turn her sound machine on, open her monkey tent, stack her books, get a blanket or Henry the Monkey out of her crib, (etc, etc, etc) I hear, "Baby do it!" and she will undo and redo whatever it was that Mommy had actually managed to do quite well the first time, thankyouverymuch. You get the idea.


I can't even feed her anymore. She eats all by herself. (She does really awesome feeding herself with her forks and spoons, by the way.) At least she still needs me to actually prepare her food!

However, my super independent, wonderful, amazing daughter is still my baby at bedtime. After we read a few books, she turns around and lays her head on my shoulder and I hold her just like I did when she was a tiny newborn (only now her feet go to my knees instead of the bottom of my ribcage) and we sing a song about cuddle time and say our prayers and I wish that she would stay my baby forever. In those few minutes, she isn't fighting with me over who puts her socks on or who pushes the chair in. She is just my sweet little precious baby who still wants to cuddle with her mommy.

'Evermind!

Playing in Mommy's room

Lizzie: Up, up, up bed!

Me: Can I have a kiss first?

Lizzie: No, evermind! *walks away*



Daddy and Lizzie playing downstairs

Lizzie: Daddy get tunnel!

Nate: Do you want to go upstairs and play in the tunnel?

Lizzie: Evermind! *walks away*


Elizabeth...uh... grunting

Me: Lizzie, do you want to sit on the potty chair??"

Lizzie: No, evermind! *runs away to go grunt somewhere else*

Yay baby!!!

For the last week or two, Elizabeth has been sitting on the toilet and reading books and magazines... and doing nothing else. It was super cute and I took pictures and all, but it was more like play time than potty time. I found that she stays put better when she sits on the regular toilet with the toddler seat than for her to sit on her little toilet because she just gets up and wonders around.

Well... today, Elizabeth pooped in the big girl toilet twice. TWICE! Yeah, no big deal. Whatever. (AHHHH!!!!! TWICE!!)

We were playing in the living room and then she said "Baby toot!" So I took her in to the bathroom and set her on the toilet and asked if she could toot again. She did. (hehe) "Baby toot again!" giggled Lizzie. I asked her again if she could toot again. So she tried and all of a sudden... plop! She looked startled and reached out and said, "Carry you??" (Which is what she says when she wants us to pick her up. I believe it came from when we say, "Do you want to walk or do you want me to carry you?") I showed her the poop in the toilet and I started freaking out and clapping and praising and we jumped up and down. Yay baby!!! Then later in the day, she did all of this again! Yay baby!!!

I wanted to post a picture of this momentous occassion. However, I decided that when she is older, I still want her to like me. So instead I'll post this picture. Here she is sitting on the toilet shortly after her first job and saying "Ta Da!" What a big girl!!