Counting Down Until Baby

Baby's first sand castle!

Chris turned 30 last month and we had a party for him at Magoos (his favorite bar and place to hang out).  He has been mourning the end of his 20s for some odd reason and really dreading turning 30.  I keep telling him how great they are!  I bought a house AND had a baby (two!) in my 30s...how bad could they possibly be?  He is so incredible.  I love watching him with Zoë and all of the time and hard work he puts into our house and our family is admirable.  I think I especially appreciate him now since I feel like the largest lump on the planet growing this baby and not wanting to do ANYTHING when I get home from school every day.

The third trimester is WAY more exhausting than I was ready for.  I've felt like the most lazy person in the world, felt like I can't get enough done by the time this little boy gets here, and know that by the time he gets here I won't get anything done AND it won't really matter at that point, anyway.  :)  Chris has worked so hard on getting both of the kids' rooms done and finished so I could decorate.  With help from Dedo and Grandma again (thank goodness) they've gotten Zoë's new room completely made over (hardwood floors, paint, new trim) and the baby's room re-painted (a glorious orange color) and the furniture for Zoë's room is almost done so Chris can stain it and we can get her old dresser back into the nursery and prepped for baby boy.

It's going to be so weird to bring a baby home from the hospital this time!  Not only because we've already got a walking running, talking, fussing, tantruming toddler on our hands, but because last time around we didn't get to take her home right away and our life revolved around trips to the NICU.  In retrospect, I think those trips were pretty easy (yes, emotionally exhausting, but we weren't ultimately responsible for her care and I could heal from my surgeries without taking care of a baby 24-7).  We're in for a wild, exciting ride and, ready or not, it's going to start in about 3 weeks!

We went to Ocean Shores for the weekend a few weeks ago and had a great time!  The weather was gorgeous (still chilly) and Zoë was fascinated by the water and sand and kites and horses.  :)  It was a fun little getaway just the three of us one last time before baby brother comes.

Our little girl is accomplishing amazing new things, but that's nothing new.  She transitioned to her big girl bed beautifully (really, it couldn't have gone any better).  She LOVES it and doesn't think of the crib as hers any more.  Our only issue has been nap-time lately.  During mid-winter break she napped 2 out of 9 days.  :(  And just when I want to take a nap more than ever, of course.  Her favorite nap-time trick is to poop in her diaper (still has those on during naps and bedtime) and then yell for whomever is home and then hand us the diaper when we open up the door.  This, of course, has led to many, many deep cleanings of her room after multiple similar capers.   Oh, and the last three to four nights have been hour long bedtime marathons ranging from yelling for the potty (HOW does one decide whether or not to let her go potty...wouldn't want to discourage her from going?!), for milk, for her nails to be cut (no lie) and more.  We're still in the early stages of figuring out what the hell we're going to do about this new parenting conundrum...stay tuned.






On a not-so-fun note, Zoë's tantrums are getting a bit more, uh, colorful.  She is definitely strong-willed, sometimes.  I still consider her a pretty darn easy two-year-old, but she's more insistent these days and her new favorite phrase is "hold on" when she's busy doing something and won't do what we ask her to do right away.  It's pretty hilarious but trying when we need to get out of the house.  We've learned that timing is everything (as in...triple the amount of time it takes to get anywhere...).





















We had a wonderful tea party thrown by two of our favorite moms and their boys a few weeks ago to celebrate the new baby.  It was so much fun and Zoë and I were spoiled rotten.  The table was beautiful, the food was yummy, and the company was the best.  The baby group I joined when Zoë was born has been the best thing that has helped to support me in my new journey into motherhood and I love getting together with them and their kids and watching them all grow up together.

Writing letters in the sand.  Teaching moment?  Don't mind if I do...

Dad and Zoë flying our new Olaf kite.  Lots of wind!

Our favorite phrases she says over and over again are:  "Loot" (look), "Hold on", and "OK" (it's adorable the way she puts the inflection into it...she's becoming such a little person).  Also, one of her favorite books now is "Hello, Butch" about how Butch Cougar walks around the WSU campus and people yell "Hello, Butch!" in his general direction.  She LOVES to read it and yell the line, but when she says it, it doesn't sound exactly right if you get my drift.  It's going to be a Seaman Family Video Classic someday, for sure.

23 more days until D-Day...getting so close!