Eloise

I feel so lucky that Kt's little girl, Eloise, will only be 10 weeks older than our new little one. I feel like it's like an arranged marriage, except for it will be an arranged friendship that we know will include canoe trips, late night girl chats, chocolate sundaes, and moms who have known each other since we were 16 years old.

Here are some photos from lunch on Friday--

Love Bug

Sometimes, just out of the blue, Kai will say to me:

"I love you"

Or other times, it is, in the middle of dinner, while drinking his milk:

"I love you guys sooooooo much."

Or having fun with his Uncle Joey, or Nonny, or Pops and Nana Kit, he might say:

"You are the best."

What a complete sweetheart!

I have to remember this, during the times, when he spits (for some reason, he thinks this is a funny thing to do), or screams "poopyhead," or pretends his magic wand is really a gun that hurts mean people.

I know it's all normal...but, man, it can be challenging.

Slumber

As many of you know, both Joe and I are pretty flexible about sleeping arrangements with Kai. We love snuggling with him in his bed or in our bed and we also love that he chooses to sleep in his big bed on his own too.

We have been wondering, talking, and reading about sleep once again for a newborn. We have some ideas of changes we will make for our new little baby. The main thing is that we'd love it if she sleeps through the night before 2 years old!! But, we still are committed to not letting her "cry it out" and are wondering if we will be able to strike a good balance.

Hmm....we will keep you updated!!

Painting Part 2

Kai wanted in on the action!

Ouch!

I received a phone call at work on Friday morning from Kai's school saying he had tripped over a friend and landed on the radiator down in the gym!

We spent the afternoon at the hospital and 6 stitches later, he looks like a boxer who didn't win his match. But, the hospital experience was so much better than last year's experience (stitches in the same place) so we were pleasantly surprised. Kai was very brave and loved the two Popsicles and toddler vicodin that kept him relaxed and happy!

Henna

Here is the actual henna! We had so much fun-- I'm not sure if you can hear all of the laughing, but we stayed up until midnight laughing so hard we were crying.

But, they made my belly look beautiful!

Painting

We told Kai that we were having people over to paint my belly (using Henna). So, right after we were all done having dinner, Kai went downstairs and got his paints and brushes and said he was ready for painting!!
Then, we decided to have a little fun!!

37 weeks

Cousins

Since our trip to Maryland, Kai has asked when he can go back to visit his cousins every single day. I'm seriously not even making this up.

He is particularly in love with Abby and tells me at breakfast every morning, "You know, Mama, I can pick Abby up." Or "Did you know Abby is moving in with us?" Or "Abby is my best friend!"

We are hoping that Bailey and Reba can come in May to help us with the new baby!! Kai is nearly wetting his pants in excitement at this possibility. He also is planning a trip to the cabin this summer with all of his cousins, even though I'm not sure if they are planning it (we hope so!)

Sunny Hollow Montessori

The famous pink tower....
Orange Juice Squeezing....
Spice Work...
Kai has been attending Sunny Hollow Montessori School, just over the river in St. Paul, about 5 minutes from our house. He has really been enjoying school-- it has been a transition for him, but it's incredible how much he has learned (and how much we are learning too!)

I am amazed when he sings a song about the continents or tells me how to squeeze oranges to make juice or how to build a pink tower and roll up his mat.

His teachers inform us that he is the most extroverted child in the class (hmm...who does he get that from?) and that he has a pretty advanced understanding of social order and grouping. It seems we have a social butterfly.

On his birthday, we were invited into the classroom for a birthday ritual (they light a candle, the parents tell special events from each year of their life while they walk in a circle around the children holding a globe). We then got about 45 minutes of time, just us, in the classroom and Kai got to show us all of his "work." He was so proud (and so were we!)

Birthdays

Somehow December and January are gone, but I forgot to post our birthday photos!

Joe turned 40!! I turned 36!! Kai turned 3!!

Here we are hiking at William O'Brien State Park on Joe's big day!

We were in Maryland visiting Joe's twin sister, Rosie, and her wonderful family for my birthday and to celebrate Joe and Rosie's big 4-0! Rosie, Tommy, Joe and I went out for a fancy dinner at an incredible Greek Seafood restaurant in D.C. It's the first time in all of these years that just the adults went out together....it was splendid. When we came home around 11:30 pm, 4 of the kids were still up (yep, including Kai, of course). I think the cousins were having just as much fun as us!



Finally, Kai had a wonderful birthday celebration with a small group of his friends. It was hard for him to pick just a few to invite, since he truly wanted over 20 of his friends! He picked out vanilla cupcakes with blue frosting and was thrilled when our favorite baker put a little hamburger decoration on his special cupcake. We had a pinata in the garage (it was too cold to do it in the backyard in the snow like we had hoped) and the kids had a blast!

Surprise!

I still cannot believe how surprised I was yesterday with my blessingway.

For those of you wondering what a blessingway is, here is a definition:

blessing way

n. a spiritual ceremony or gathering celebrating a woman’s pregnancy

I thought I was going to spend the afternoon with just Molly Cooney and Kt, but instead I walked into a room filled with so many of the wonderful women in my life. It took me a good 15 minutes to stop saying..."What are you doing here?" I love surprises!

We spent a few hours talking about motherhood and wow, do I feel so much more at peace and ready for this baby girl to come. It was wonderful to share my fears and hopes and to hear the positive intentions that everyone was sending me. It's interesting that this time around, I'm less focused on the birth and labor and more on the journey of motherhood.






Ok, please remember it was a surprise, so don't look too close at my hair!

Snippets

Kai said two things today that just cracked me up:

1. I was asking him to brush his teeth before bed. I told him that I could either do it for him or he could do it for himself (we say this same thing every night). Most nights, he asks for privacy and goes into the bathroom and does it himself.

Tonight, he just went right into bed and covered himself with the sheets. When I started to ask him to make a choice, he uncovered himself and said:

"Mama, don't freak out."

I just laughed out loud: I must say this or where else did he pick it up?

2. We were reading a book about babies and we were talking about the new baby coming (in only 3 weeks). I said to him, "So, when Ruby comes (oh yes, by the way, Ruby is one of our names-- actually, the only one!), you can sing songs to her, make silly faces, and hold her." He stopped me and said:

"I've told you once, I've told you twice, this baby's name is RODIE, not RUBY!!"

You see, since the first time we told him that we were going to have a baby, he said, "His name will be Rodie!" Then, we found out it was a girl and he instantly said, "She can still be Rodie." Then, he came out of school the other day saying, "I told Gina (his teacher) that you like Ruby, but I like Rodie."

So...hmmm...I tried to explain to him that we are not going to call her Rodie, but that could be her nickname. He said, "Daddy likes Rodie. You are the only one who will call her Ruby."

Seriously, this kid is just such a crack-up.

Jobs

Kai:

"I think when I grow up I'll either be Santa or a hair stylist."

36 weeks

All my bags are packed...we're ready to go.

I realized I haven't posted in over a month! I'm not sure why or how this could have happened, except for my main excuse of going a bit crazy with all of my nesting (and using a different computer now at home and not figuring out quite how to transfer our photos easily)

I asked Joe a few weeks ago if he thought my nesting was normal and he paused and said, "Umm...definitely not." I said, "Do you think it's hormonal?" and he replied that he sure hopes so.

I'm literally distracted constantly with having to go through something and organize it.

Just today, I've:

• Cleaned under the microwave (this hasn't been done in years)
• Cleaned out the junk drawer
• Wiped down the frig
• Wiped down the TVs
• Gone through Kai's old socks
• Took out the infant toys and sorted them
• Cleaned out our medicine cabinet
• and sorted clothes to be donated (we are doing this every 2 weeks or so)

I'm a bit worried that we will have this baby and then look into our closets and wonder where all of our clothes have gone!!

We will post belly photos soon-- and other photos too. We just wanted you to know we are alive, kicking (well, the baby is) and doing great!