Sam is 2

Lauren and I attended the 2nd birthday party of Lauren’s friend Sam. What a difference from last year: instead of talking about almost-walking and weaning (and the presidential election), we’re talking “big kid beds” and potty training. Sam enjoyed his cupcake; Lauren took three bites and ate a little more later. She loved the balloons and Sesame Street plates .

Leaves and Pumpkins

We got some great shots with Lauren admiring the leaves on a road trip to Richland Center one Saturday. And here she is, obsessing over pumpkin “guts” (and wearing my shirt as a smock). She likes the lit pumpkins, but didn’t have the attention span to watch the carving.

Toddlerdom. One day, Lauren insists on lovingly walking between Nick and me, holding each of our hands, and behaving well in a restaurant as we celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. Another day (and the low point of my week), I was already tired and cranky from work (and still pregnant) and she slapped me across the face and called me “Mean Mommy”. (I was putting her in the car and she didn’t want to go). I grabbed her hands, looked her in the eyes, and said, “We don’t hit. It hurts Mommy when you hit her.” And then the week got better, and my father came to visit. Lauren showed off for him and called him, “Gay-pa Tom.” She loves her crayons and asks us to draw “fowers” and when you do, tells you when it’s “my turn” to draw. She calls my belly “brother” now without prompting. You take all the moments, and you try to remember the good ones.

Third Trimester: Glucose Test Day

Monday, October 12 started off in an interesting way – Lauren woke up at 4:30 a.m. She has been alternating perfect sleeping nights with nights waking once or twice. Sometimes we give her milk. Sometimes we just rock, clutching her petite body to our chests until she nods off. Only in the most desperate of times do we scoop her up and put her in bed with us.

We lay together in the bed, not sleeping, until about 6:15, where I gave up and dressed her and fed her breakfast. At this same time, I realized that the glucose sample (a bottle of flat, orange-soda type substance) I was supposed to take before the doctor’s appointment that day was still rolling around in my car. I couldn’t eat two hours before drinking, and I had to drink an hour before my 9 a.m. appointment. Nuts – I should’ve eaten at 4:30.

We went downstairs and watched a DVD from the public library, “Sesame Street Sleepytime,” which is hosted by Big Bird and it’s all about sleeping. Lauren sits still for the whole 30 minutes, snuggled in my shoulder, while I doze. She never sits for any other TV show, and when we have the rare opportunity to watch “Sesame Street” together, I think of a picture my mother took of my dad and me when I was young, on the couch watching “Sesame Street,” and I feel the generational pull.

The glucose tasted terrible, and I went in for my appointment and drew blood. The heartbeat is still strong, and the appointment was fast.

I am keeping a running list of names on the fridge for you, Baby Boy. Your dad is still not sure of any choices but I got him some name books from the library for inspiration, and I know he’ll agree on a perfect name when he feels it in his heart. Your mama is scared because she’s already gained 25 pounds with 12 weeks left to go! You will be a big guy, I know it!

From Fall to Winter in Two Weeks

Nick, Lauren and I visited a pumpkin patch last weekend. Here she is admiring the farm cat, who I thought was a dead ringer for our old cat Franklin. Checking out the collection of gourds, too, and our annual shot of her with massive amounts of pumpkins.

This weekend, the three of us caught the first half of the SP Cardinals homecoming game. To prepare for the 50 degree night temperature, we first put on Lauren’s adorable new heart sweatshirt (courtesy of her cousins’ hand-me-downs) and her winter coat. The next morning, the first flurries of the season fell.

We quit on the big-girl bed movement, but are working hard to transform our guest bedroom into Lauren’s new bedroom. I asked people for advice, and it seemed like 3 was the magic number. I asked Nick’s sister, who said Jess moved into a big bed early to be like her big sister (hmmm, Lauren doesn’t have one of those). I asked another friend, who said if Lauren wasn’t climbing out of her crib, we didn’t have a problem. The final verdict was some research on babycenter.com, which mentioned two-year-olds don’t have the cognitive development to understand the invisible confinements of a bed, and three-year-olds may be ready. So we’re getting a second crib from one of my co-workers for now.

Lauren is really good at saying everyone’s name that she meets, and she calls herself “Yoren”. Then I was on the phone with her aunt Liz and she couldn’t stop saying the background, “Yiz! Yiz!” Funny.

She is also preoccupied with saying, “Poop! Poop!” and we ask her if she needs to sit on the potty. “Yes.” Most of the time it’s just for show, but Thursday night she did poop and we heaped praise on her. Kaye was on vacation this week, and Nick stayed home Friday with her and visited the bathroom “at least five times”. I had a great time taking two days off to take Lauren to library storytime/singalong, the children’s museum, and swimming indoors, and a sub filled in for the rest of the time.

Girls’ Weekend 2009

Nick’s cousin Sara and I show off our bumps. The babies are both boys!
Lauren with her cousins Sam, Jess and Brayden. Nobody wanted to settle down for this picture!

I planned to have the women from Nick’s side of the family over for a girls’ weekend since we haven’t gotten together, just girls, for a few years. We did a Wildtree food tasting with my co-worker Jodi, enjoyed a beautiful day at the park, and headed down to Monroe Street in Madison for the Monroe Street Festival. Everyone brought a dish to pass, and I provided some things, which made it really easy! Brayden was the lucky gentleman who got to spend time with us, and Lauren lit up every time someone new came through the door on Friday night. She was excited to see her cousins (and tagged along all weekend as they “took care” of her) and gave toys one by one to Brayden (hopefully she’ll entertain her younger bro in the same manner) but she rocked back and forth in my arms with delight when Grandma and Kayla stepped through the door.

Things will change in the upcoming months and I can’t travel for Christmas, so it was especially important for me to have family around. Even if we had to kick Nick out for the weekend.