- She is almost always up like clockwork at 7am. Well, she may be up earlier, but I don't hear her until then. She usually does not cry when she wakes up, but will sit there & talk to herself or the toys in her crib until I come get her. When I get her, she will start telling me all sorts of things, usually something about her Pooh, and then I will have to give Pooh a kiss before I get her up.
- She usually immediately begins asking for juice. Most of the time she will sit with me & drink an entire cup (her replacement for the bottle, I suppose?) at once. She's usually somewhat fussy for awhile, until she gets her breakfast (which almost always consists of "a-da"-- yogurt-- a bowl of cereal or a piece of toast, and strawberries). Then she will either play for awhile, or bug me while I finish getting ready (I try to take my shower before she gets up-- it's much easier that way!).
- I get her dressed & packed up for school & we head to the church. She usually stays with me in the office for 45 minutes until school starts. (Usually this means I get no work done while I read her books or prevent her from ripping up every piece of paper she finds or keep her from putting coins & paper clips in her mouth.) I drop her off in her classroom down the hall-- she usually willingly gives me her paci, goes straight to play with her friends: "A'm (Adam), Jack-Jack, and "Mi" (Miles) and doesn't look back. I don't know her school schedule, but I know they usually do some sort of art, go to music class, go outside to play (if it's nice), eat, have free play in the room, and other creative things. I do know she really likes to go, and if she sees me while walking down the hall, she simply waves, giggles, and keeps on walking.
How cute are pigtails on a little girl?
- She's usually worn out by 2pm when I pick her up and if she doesn't fall asleep on the way home, she'll go down for her nap easily when we get there. She tends to sleep until anywhere between 3:45 & 4:30. (The 4:30 wake-up time makes it difficult for me if I have to run any errands, like grocery shopping, because I usually start dinner around 5, but I don't like to wake her up, because she needs the rest!)
- Wake-up from her nap is usually similar to morning wake-up. She wants juice, and she wants to be held until she's good & ready to go play. She is pretty clingy while I am trying to cook supper. Usually if I just keep refusing to pick her up & hold her, she will eventually give up and go play on her own. She usually wants to eat, but I try to hold her off until dinner time. She has also become a very picky eater. She will usually manage to get something in her, especially if it looks exactly like what Mommy & Daddy are having (even if that is really really messy-- like her new favorite, syrup on pancakes).
- Brett comes home around 5:45. Evenings are always different. Most evenings lately I have to leave to go do my filing job, so I'll eat with Leah before he comes home & then leave as soon as he gets there. (For awhile, she wailed every time I left-- even though she does love her daddy, she did NOT want to be left without Mommy. Now, the past week or so, when I tell her I have to leave, she gives me a kiss, says bye, and goes back to her playing.) Otherwise, we'll eat together, and then just hang out for awhile before Leah goes to bed. Her playing usually involves carrying a stack of books over to the first step in the living room & sitting down there to look through them, then carrying them somewhere else; or unpacking her diaper bag & repacking it with other things, throwing it over her arm & heading back to her step; or sometimes pushing one of her stuffed animals around in her stroller.
The booster chair is mostly just good for reaching high things that aren't meant for little hands...
- Bedtime routine usually begins around 7:15, if there's a bath (usually every other day, or when we have time!), which she LOVES. She wants to stay in forever-- even though she doesn't really care for the actual washing part. If there's no bath, she just gets her teeth & hair brushed, starting as close to 7:30 as possible, and then we read, sitting in the rocking chair. If it was up to her, we'd read at least 10 books, but usually we limit it to 3 or 4-- usually the same ones every night. Currently on her "must-read" list: "teeth"-- The Tooth Book by Dr. Seuss (I do not understand the draw to this book, but I have it memorized now!), Mickey Mouse & The Kitten Sitters, Cinderella (these are usually my abridged version), The Fuzzy Duckling, a book with Elmo or Cookie Monster, and ocassionally a book about a little girl getting a baby brother.
- After books, we say our prayers and I put her in bed. She has to have at least Pooh in hand, and lately she likes another stuffed bear as well, and likes to be covered with her pink blankie. She rarely fusses but just snuggles with Pooh as I turn out the lights and go. I'm not sure how long it takes her to get to sleep but lately I don't hear another peep from her until 7am.
The pregnancy @ 6 months/ 27 weeks:
- Hard to believe I've already reached my 3rd trimester! Generally I feel fine except for a few aches & pains every now & then, including the lower back pain I remember so fondly. Its hard to get comfortable at night and I usually get up 3 or 4 times to go to the bathroom. Some days I feel huge and think wow, it will be here soon!, then other days, I feel like we still have a long time to go...
- Last pregnancy, people were always asking me how I'm feeling. Although I still get that a little, this time, people's reactions are different. Upon finding out that I already have a 19-month-old, most people will say: "Wow, you will have your hands full!" To which I think, would I be any less busy if I had a 3-year-old and a newborn, or even a 4-year old and a newborn? And do they not know that's the fun part?? Also, upon finding out we will have a girl & a boy, most people respond: "Oh, the perfect little family." Sure, but why does our family have to be complete with one of each?
- I've gotten a huge box of clothes from 2 different people, now (both of whom I barely know!)-- look at all the clothes this kid has-- it's almost more than we had for Leah after her baby showers (all of the stuff in the picture is only the newborn & 0-3 month stuff-- there's another whole box of bigger stuff). But most of it is just onesies, plus socks, hats & burp cloths. I will still need some pants & some dressier clothes & pj's. Someone also gave us a double stroller recently, and although it may not have been the one I would have chosen, I am not going to be picky, because it was a huge blessing, and I know it will be used! The only major thing we are needing now is bedding & furniture, which I know will come soon enough.
