catching up

Oh, poor forgotten blog.

I have not had time for writing about what's going on in our life right now. I often think of how much I'd like to be recording it, but with the business, the baby, and the toddler, there's no time.

Here's the briefest of updates:

I feel like we've really hit our stride in the last few weeks. The first 2 months of Nova's life we all had it pretty tough. Dave was working constantly at the store, I was still getting the hang of having two-at-once (one of whom has a nasty habit of pouncing on the smaller one) and Gus was not sleeping. Then all of a sudden: big improvement. Gus's vocabulary exploded, and Nova got past those first 6 weeks of newborn-ness. Now that Gus is able to express himself, we're all a little less frustrated. He can make his desires known, he can use words when he's frustrated, and he can understand more when we aren't letting him have what it is he wants. His sleep patterns returned to what they were before the baby was born, and things have been great for Gus. We've moved past board books and he will now sit for most of an hour reading books to himself, or sitting while we read to him. Just today at the thrift store, I picked up 10 new books, and yesterday at the library, 5. He loves reading, he loves talking, he is amazing and I can't believe how much he's turned into a little boy in just a few short weeks. A quick list of some of the words Gus knows:

walk, dog, leash, outside, inside, up, down, eat, food, drink, milk, juice, water, potato, tomato, cheese, cottage cheese, sauce, fork, spoon, cup, plate, bowl, coffee, beer, ding, floor, wall, stove, hot, on, off, light, steps, couch, chair, baby, dinosaur, book, read, sit, nap, sleep, bottle, window, car, truck, go, bike, helicopter, airplane, honk, vroom, sneeze, slide, climb, sand box, throw, hit, no, cry, momma, poppa, blanket, tools, fix, break, wash, wipe, bath, boat, moon, head, hair, nose, mouth, teeth, brush, eyes, ears, fingers, hands, arms, elbow, belly, leg, knee, toes, foot, hug, run, kick, jump, pants, clothes, shirt, Gus, hat, socks, shoes, boots, potty, bed, train, ball, cookies, cheese, pizza, pasta, orange, banana, berries, apple, grapes, peas, flowers, frog, watering can, tree, cow, duck, goose, chicken, pig, sheep, turkey, goat, cat, dog, bird, fish, zebra, monkey, giraffe, elephant, fox, lion, squirrel, rhinoceros, bear,

the list could go on and on and on. He knows many more words than this, but I cannot list them all. So far as I know, that's pretty advanced for a little guy who is not quite 18 months. I continue to be impressed with how bright he is and how much he loves to talk. Dave often says that he'll miss the babbling, the one word sentences, or the constant monologue - often we're in the car and it's quiet and Gus will pipe up, "Cow. moo moo!" or the name of someone we've just seen or a place we've just been. I know that monologue will be internalized someday, and I'll miss knowing exactly what he's thinking about.

And then there's the bee. I haven't had any time to write about what an absolute angel she is. I took time this afternoon because I couldn't help it - we're moving Gus's nap to the afternoon, and I knew I'd be alone here today to try to get him to go down. Previously Dave and I were doing naptime together in the morning, so someone could watch her and the other could put Gus down. I knew in order to rock Gus for his nap, I'd have to have a sleeping baby. Maybe she's reading my mind. At 12:30, I put her in her bassinet. She stuck her thumb in her mouth and was asleep in just a few minutes. She's still sleeping now, and that's one the amazing things about her. I never would have hoped that at 2 months she's start sleeping through the night, but she does. I joked with many friends before she was born "we're going to teach this one to sleep" but we didn't have to teach her - she just did it. She sleeps so well, and she's quiet as a mouse. The other morning she even woke up with a dry diaper. When I was little and thought about what babies were like - this was it.

She rarely cries, even when she's had a cup of milk chucked at her head or someone has bit her foot (any guesses who did both of those things last week?) She loves to be held and will giggle and google at whoever is nearest. She's lovely to have in the store, and people will often be shopping for awhile or talking to me before they even realize I'm holding her. She's an absolute peanut, little angel, sleeps great and is simply lovely. I don't remember a lot of Gus's first few weeks. I don't think he was awful, but I know for certain that we heard him scream, and he brought me to tears more than once. Maybe that's just how it goes with your first, so when you get to number 2 you just get to enjoy it. I'm enjoying my time with her so much I can't even describe.

I believe others who have told me that their kids personalities were there right from the very start. Even though Gus is only 1 and a half, he has always been hard headed and determined. Some might call him stubborn and single minded. If I had to choose adjectives for Nova the would be happy, easy going, and joyful. We adore her right down to the tips of her toes, and my only regret is that I haven't written much about her early infancy. She's super fantastic, and that makes this part of our life even more rewarding and fun. Now back to cleaning records!

is big

My belly is gigantic. It may be taking over. I went and looked back at the archives. Remember last time? Apparently I felt just about the same about the belly taking over right about this point with Gus. It must just be a 38 week pregnant thing. (and yes, I know I'm not technically 38 weeks yet, but at this point - I'm rounding up).

is this what they call nesting?

I didn't really get the nesting thing when I was pregnant with Gus. The only thing I remember is the night before I went into labor I made apricot soup. Honestly, I don't like apricots and I'm not the biggest fan of soup, so it was a very strange thing to do. It didn't turn out that well, and I think it was tossed out a few weeks later because I never ate the left overs. This time, maybe I'm getting a little more of that nesting urge. See this?


Those are birth announcements. All ready to go, addressed and everything. All they need is a name and a date:

(I realize you can't see that. It says "________ was born ___________ to Laura and Dave"

Any day now....

35 weeks

The baby is the size of a honeydew melon this week, and oh how remiss I've been in comparing my unborn child to pieces of fruit. Little one is hiccuping right now, pushing the laptop off my belly. It reminds me of when I was pregnant with Gus and I would work from home - he hated the laptop sitting on top of him and would give me the hardest kicks to get rid of it. It must have given off a sound that I couldn't hear but he could. The little guy sure could deliver kicks to the ribcage.

This little one seems much more content to just hang out on my left side. The baby hasn't moved much since settling down there. There are plenty of kicks and punches, but not so much rolling over. Just sitting on the left, waiting for the right day to arrive. It's hard to believe that I'll cross the 36 week mark in just a few days. I've said it many times, I hope this one comes early. We've got most of the supplies for the birth ready, and that still feels a little unreal. Since we bought the store 3 weeks ago, we haven't had much time to breathe, let alone get the house ready for a newborn. Next week, Dave will be done with his full time job, and we'll have a chance to slow down and catch up just in time to welcome the little one. We're so excited and can't wait until the wee one arrives. That combined with my overwhelming desire to not be pregnant, and I'm starting to get a little impatient. I say often that it feels like I've been pregnant for years. I have in fact, been pregnant for nearly 2 years with a 6 month hiatus. I'm still trying to remember why I thought that was a good idea last fall. Alas, no more than 5 weeks to go - compared with how far I've already come it just doesn't seem like that much longer.

We're ready when you are, kid-o. Just don't go taking your time. If this pregnancy sees the dawn of July, I just might start to go a little wacky.

the good, and the not-so-good

the good: no one knows when I eat two bags of chips with my lunch
the not-so-good: still feeling guilty about two bags of chips

the good: felt all special when another pregnant lady said she was impressed I was on my bike today
the not-so-good: she has no idea that I had to stop and walk up a very, very small hill (I blame Gus, he's over 20 pounds!)

the good: 5 hours in the store today while the little guy plays at his grandma's house
the not-so-good: I worry that between the 10 minute morning nap and the serious molars coming in, he's being a menace.

the good: we are so ready for this baby
the not-so-good: except we still haven't agreed on a boy name.

the good: the weather is fantastic and beautiful
the not-so-good: I only have 2 pairs of pants that fit me, and absolutely no skirts or shorts

the good: I love owning this business. We've only been doing this for 3 weeks and already feel like it's one of the best decisions we've ever made
the not-so-good: dear lord, I am tiiiiiiiiiired

the good: long weekend! Dave is home on Monday! Family visiting! Yay!
the not-so-good: seriously, did I mention the tired?

All in all, the good absolutely outweighs the not-so-good. We are both so excited for the little baby to arrive, we just can't wait. I tell myself the little one will be early, though it would also be nice to have a few days once Dave's school year ends before the birth. Even still, I'm ready to be done with pregnancy and am eagerly anticipating sleepless nights, extra diapers, and spit up. Just to be able to stand up or roll over without help would be a step in the right direction.

It's going to be a fantastic summer.