rough day

Rachel and I had a rough day today. Just about anything that could go wrong did.

Yo, here is my make mommy feel better picture...

new shoes

Rachel is growing so fast. It was time for new shoes again.

new Stride Rite kicks

Rachel's favorites right now

1. She loves to "play outside to play!"
2. eating popcorn
3. taking things from her sister
4. projects especially if they involve paint
5. the song "She Was the Prize" by Gaelic Storm

It's hard to pick a top 5 because Rachel is so passionate about so much. She takes swimming and gymnastics lessons, talks highly of her friends from playgroup, and is lucky enough to have Megan come over on Wednesdays. She likes to do Yoga with me, loves to help around the house, and loves pancakes almost as much as her daddy does. She's really a special girl.

Rachel with her baby in the sling

my three (and a half) year old

So I just finished reading the book Your Three Year Old: Friend or Enemy. It's from a series of books by Louise Bates Ames on child development. Some of the examples are outdated but the child development information is right on. One of the major points in the series is that children go through periods of balance and turbulence. The half year period tends to be a more turbulent time emotionally and physically as kids develope. As one parent educator explained to me it's like building a tower of blocks. You have three blocks stacked up and the half-year comes along and knocks them down. Okay, so they have to be picked up and restacked but they don't always go back in the same order.

Although Rachel is not quiet 3 and a half she is already started her turbulent period. She has a hard time expressing herself. She stumbles and stutters and trails off mid-thought. Rachel has regressed in potty training which has been difficult but not unusual with a new baby at home. She is stubborn, anxious, contrary and insecure. She has trouble sleeping, has nightmares and is afraid of the dark. I go from felling extreme frustration with her to feeling complete sympathy for her. She's having a hard time and I try to keep that in mind when she's doing something that drives me up the wall.

Rachel is very bright, perceptive, loving, energetic, charismatic...I could go on and on. She really is a delightful person and I have to remember that when things get difficult. I'm very happy that I have a parent group that I can talk to about it. There are many moms that can relate and give good advice. I've also been blessed to have Fran Swift in my life. She has made me feel more confident as a parent. Fran understands child development so well that she almost has a smile on her face when I say I need to talk to her because we're at a half-year. She's very reassuring.

I'm starting a new book: Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. This book, like the child development series, has already put me more at ease. I can see that this book and the class I'm going to take based on the book are going to do a lot to improve my relationship with my spirited child.

on a lighter note...

some photo updates of my lovelies:

my photographer

Julia's new toy

Rachel

raspberries

handprints

Tigger buddy

Can you tell which is which?

I'm so proud

Rachel managed to stay dry all afternoon!! Woo hoo!

Updates

Rachel - 3 year check-up
weight - 34 lb 3 oz
height - 37 in

actually napping!!!

Julia - 2 month check-up
weight - 14 lb 1 oz
height - 24.5 in

hanging out with Mom while Rachel napped

happy birthday baby

Music

We're listening to the Beatles this afternoon and I Want to Hold Your Hand comes on. Rachel informed me that this is her favorite song. I love my girl.

my baby

On the eve of my due date I'm reflecting on how far my first baby has come.

Rachel, our little lamb, never really was much of a lamb. She's always had the personality of a lion. She has a huge appetite, she's loud, and she's quite precocious.

She is still very much in love with her "Bobby". She carries it around like Linus, sleeps with it every night, and can be very stingy with her silky.

She's really into pretend play and loves to cook in her kitchen, play with her babies, and tell stories. She sings all the time. Did I mention that she's loud?

Rachel loves adventures. We go out for coffee nearly every Sunday morning and she calls that a coffe adventure. The baristas at Starbucks know her and her usual order. They're even happy to give her a sticker when she uses the bathroom there. Lucky girl. She likes to go to Barnes & Noble, the park, and loves going for walks and collecting sticks, pinecones, and rocks.

Rachel likes to pick out her own clothes. I usually try to give her two choices but sometimes she insists on doing it all by herself. We are definitely living in the time of "I can do it myself!" This can be a good thing with a new baby on the way.

She would spend all day outside. She loves water and sand play and would choose to do either over just about anything. We've spent much of this summer at the park playing in the sand or in the yard with the sprinkler on. Rachel has also been very interested in my garden this year and helps me harvest our veggies. Sometimes without permission.

This is one of the last documented naps in Rachel's history. She'll maybe accidentally take a nap once every month or two. We had a very hard time getting her to settle down for naptime, quiet reading time, or resting time. Whatever we called it, whenever or wherever we tried it, she was not interested and protested intensely. The only upside of her not napping is that she goes to sleep between 5:30 and 6 at night.

We've been trying out little incentives for using the potty but training doesn't seem to be going any better or worse because of it. I think we just need to wait it out and maybe it will just happen after the baby is born. It's getting a little old but I don't imagine I'll be changing the diaper on a 10 year old. This won't last forever and I can keep it in perspective.

Rachel is very excited for Sister to come and talks to her a lot. She wants to see Baby's room, test out the silky on Baby's blanket, and she is happy to set aside clothes that don't fit anymore for Baby. The last few times I've gone to the gym I've found her in the Ywatch baby room when I come to pick her up. She is very interested in babies. I have a feeling the novelty will wear off soon after Baby comes home with us.

My baby isn't a baby anymore. She's big, vocal, and opinionated. She is going to be a big sister. I love my girl.

My girl has grown up

Rachel at 2 weeks old

Rachel at 2 3/4 years old

Some recent pictures of the girl

The Joker

Mud pies with Megan

Water play on the deck

Miss Messy eating her snack

Rachel and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Today was difficult to say the least. She woke early (4:45) and wanted to be in my bed. After much nuzzling and wimpering she finally settled down and fell asleep. This was good because not only did I not want to start my day that early but my abdominal muscles were really hurting me and I absolutely had to roll over.

We got up just past six and the morning seemed alright. I got her fed and dressed and out the door with little trouble. She resisted getting in the car to go to the gym because she wanted to use her new shovel to dig holes in my garden instead. I played the part of the border collie and herded her into her carseat. At the gym she even went poop and pee on the potty. This makes me very happy. I went to water aerobics and couldn't really do much because of my diastasis. When I got Rachel from Y-watch she seemed really tired already but it was only 10:30 so we went out to Kohls to pick up some Carter's for Rachel and little sister. Mommy needed a coffee so we drove through Starbucks and the meltdown started. She cried and cried that she wanted a treat and she wanted a drink of my coffee and she wanted, wanted, wanted...

On the way home nothing helped. I couldn't distract her in any way. She didn't want her favorite music or anything. We got home and she instantly remember that she wanted to dig up my garden. We went inside instead; this didn't please her. She watched some Clifford while I made lunch. Lunch went well. She nearly cleaned her plate and loved the pink lady apples Daddy picked up at the grocery store. She looked ready for bed. She was clearly tired at this point. We brushed up, used the potty again, read a story, and she went right to her pillow to snug it down. She was not interested in me leaving the room however. I said that I needed rest time too and was going to lie down on the couch and as long as she was quiet and stayed in her room I would leave her door open. The minute I left the room she cried and followed me out the door. I said, "I love you," gave her a kiss, and shut the door.

She was fairly quiet and I thought she may actually sleep today. At the very least I thought the quiet time would do her some good. The problem was that she was not being quiet because she was falling asleep but she was being quiet because she decided today was the day to start smearing poop again. For the record the poop is not easier to clean off the door and carpet than it was to clean off the gate. She said, "Ucky Poo. Mom, I have poop in my pants." Of course this was after she had smeared poop all over the door, door frame, carpet, her blanket, Buddy and clothes. It took me a half hour to clean up and then to throw in a load of laundry.

The afternoon was long, very long. Everything made her cry and she was quite accident prone because she was (and will remain) overtired. She wanted hugs and I couldn't lift her. She had to make the effort to climb into my lap; this made her crabby. Her Bobby (blanket) was in the wash and she desperately needed it for some silky. When I told her that it wouldn't be in the wash had she not smeared it with poop it only made matters worse. She wanted to go outside and we got the thunder started to rumble. Seconds later the downpour came. We're lucky we didn't get a tornado; one was spotted just south of us a half hour later.

At 4:30 or so the final meltdown began. She cried and screamed for 45 minutes. I made a bowl of hot cereal for her and she calmed down just long enough to eat it. We got ready for bed and I think she would have fallen asleep but my parents showed up to help me out. Rachel has sonar or something and heard them come in the the back door and wouldn't go to sleep. I finally left the room thinking I was too much of a distraction but it was too late; she wasn't interested in bed anymore. Grandpa went down the hall and after several visits from him she fell asleep at the gate.

Although it was unfortunate timing, I'm so glad my parents came over tonight. I really needed help. Dad took my garbage and compost out, brought in my mail, brought up a load of laundry from downstairs, and emptied, filled and ran my dishwasher. Mom brought me cupcakes, massaged my feet, and commiserated about being pregnant in the summer (with me) and having a very spirited child (Lisa - that's you). By the time they left I felt much better. I got to relax a bit, ice my abs, have something sweet, vent a little and not have to worry about any of my chores. I do still have to worry about getting the carpet cleaned though; I'm not sure the spot cleaner did the trick. Anyway, I'm off to bed...of wait, it sounds like she's up...

busy day

So after a long night with a sick girl, a long morning of waiting for the refrigerator repair man to come and install the new motor in our refriferator, and a long afternoon with Rachel still not feeling well, I'm glad to be done with the day. Around 4PM I noticed that I didn't really remember the last time I felt the baby move. I drank a big glass of juice and a big glass of cold water but didn't really get a chance to lie down and count kicks. I did feel a couple but not a lot. I got Rachel fed, bathed and asleep by 5:45 and my parents showed up with dinner for me shortly after. Right after dinner Rachel woke and I went in to comfort her and make sure she didn't have an accident. As soon as she calmed down she let me tuck her back in and go about my business. Finally I got a chance to lie down and count my baby's kicks and had ten movements within 10 minutes. Whew. I think that because the movements are more subtle and I was so busy all day that I didn't really notice them. I'm glad thateverything is normal with the baby and hope that Rachel gets a good night sleep and feels better in the morning.