Motherhood, Part 2

Y'know what I keep forgetting and then remembering again? I'm going to have a baby. Like, PRETTY soon. I'm 31 weeks now, which means that I have less than a quarter of my pregnancy left, which means that I've rounded third and I'm heading for home. I recently read my friend Kendra's blog post about pregnancy and childbirth, and it got me thinking and reflecting on the whole thing.


Honestly, it is AMAZING to me how different the first and second pregnancies are (at least in my case). With Weston, I shopped for baby clothes even before I knew the gender; I started the baby book while I was still in my first trimester; I planned (and stocked) the entire nursery well in advance of his arrival; I wrote constantly in my journal; I tracked the pregnancy with a special pregnancy calendar; I took several childbirth classes; I did my Kegels regularly; I read What to Expect and Your Pregnancy Week by Week religiously, etc.

With this little fella, I have not purchased a SINGLE THING. And I don't really plan to purchase anything, besides disposable items like diapers, wipes, and nursing pads. I'm sure that Weston's old baby clothes will be fine, and I'm not certain that we're even going to buy a double stroller. (It's been over a year since Weston has even used a stroller, and if we really need one at a place like Disneyland, then we'll just rent one.) I haven't started the baby book yet; I haven't made any plans for sleeping arrangements except to assume that the baby will probably share a room with me and Tim for a little while; I've barely written in my journal about this pregnancy; I have no plans to take childbirth classes this time (but I'll probably at least do a hospital maternity tour); I only occasionally (certainly not religiously) read Your Pregnancy Week by Week; and I haven't done Kegels and probably won't... haha!

WHY?? What is wrong with me?? Obviously it's not that I love this baby any less; he is a precious miracle and I absolutely adore feeling him move and wiggle and hiccup inside me. But two things have changed - first, I've done this before! So, I know what to expect, and I know that we already have most of our materials and supplies. Second, we have a toddler this time!!! I don't have the luxury of allowing my life to revolve around my pregnancy, my cravings, my fatigue, my plans, etc. This time, life revolves around Weston, and the new baby (given that he's still pretty manageable in utero) is basically an afterthought. I am almost to the point of being shocked that I have done SO little to prepare for baby's arrival (mentally, I am nowhere near my friend Emily), yet at the same time, I also don't really feel the need to do a whole lot. My main concerns are eventually setting up a place for him to sleep, buying a few packages of newborn diapers, and pulling out the box of Weston's 0-3 month clothes from the closet. It would be nice if these simple things happened before he was born, but really, they can easily just happen when he comes home from the hospital.

Hahahaha! Is there something wrong with me that I am so blase about this whole MASSIVE change in our lives?? I think I'm forgetting what it's like to actually have a newborn baby in the home. Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we?

Lots and LOTS of diapers...

Spontaneous crying (thank you, baby blues)...
Tired...
So very tired...

Makeup? What's makeup?...

Oh that shrieking cry...

(...does it EVER stop??)

Sigh. Don't they say that it's immensely harder going from one to two children than from zero to one? YEAH. I can already tell that this is going to be a really, really tough transition. But, then again, people have done it before, right? I guess I'm living proof - I'm my mother's second child, and she's still alive! She even smiles, and quite frequently! I think it will be good to mentally prepare myself a bit more, but even so, I know that we'll adjust and life will go on with two little ones. We'll buy what we need and make all the arrangements (eventually). Really, everything will be just fine...

...as long as I remember this:

...and this:
...and this:
...and this:
...and this:
...and this:
...and this:
Did you notice that I intentionally selected seven "happy" pictures to balance the seven "scary" pictures? Really, I could've selected a thousand. I may be unprepared and slightly terrified, but I am really, really excited to have this baby in nine more weeks. :-)

Updates on the Menfolk

Editor's Note: There has been all kinds of move-related craziness over here lately. I'm reluctant to blog about said craziness before anything is actually finalized, but... well... we're just trying to figure out what the heck we're doing with our lives right now. That's all. :-)

In other, menfolk news...

TIM:

First of all, today is the guy's birthday. YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

Second, (and this is very exciting, so brace yourselves)...

Tim is featured in the current issue (March 2011) of ImagineFX magazine!!! We think that it was just released today in the U.S., so talk about a cool birthday present, right? Click HERE to see the little blog post that he wrote about it a while back. And, if you happen to venture into Barnes & Noble in the near future, check the magazine rack for ImagineFX and turn to page 58, where you'll see some of Tim's designs (plus a cute little picture of him in the corner)! YAY TIM!!!
WESTON:

This guy had his three-year check-up recently, and of course he's still our little tank: 70th% in weight, 95th% in height. He's about a quarter-inch away from 40 inches tall now, which means that when we go to California later this year, he will be able to ride Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Star Tours, and even freaking TOWER OF TERROR!!!! We couldn't be happier about this.

Also, we recently discovered what could possibly be the cutest thing in the entire world for a speech-impediment-ridden toddler to say: "smoothie." It sounds kind of like "foovie," and we ask him to say it ALL the time. :-)

And now, some random pictures...

A little taste of that cookie toy obsession:
And a fantastic glimpse into his TV-watching style:

PUMPKIN/BUKKI/MEGAMIND:

Still incubating!

However, now that I'm almost 31 weeks along (and therefore his arrival has been upgraded from "eventual" to "impending"), I'm starting to reflect a lot more on pregnancy and childbirth. I feel another blog post in the works -- something about how I am completely physically and mentally UNprepared for this child. (Haha!!)

But in the meantime, he's a little three-pounder who's kicking and wiggling like crazy (though never when Tim actually observes). I sure love 'im... and all my fellers!

What a Day for a Three-Year-Old!

Question: If Unicef and every other child psychologist/developmental expert says that the first three years of a child's life are the most important, then does that mean that I'm pretty much done at this point? Like, no significant harm will come if I just kind of slack off from now on, right? :-)

Okay, I jest. (Or do I?) But hooray for my big/little three-year-old!!! Here's a recap of his special day:

Weston was, I'll admit it, less than thrilled this year for his traditional birthday-morning-photo (heh heh):

But after a little while, he perked up for party time! I decided to have a casual "playdate party" this year, with just a few of his little buddies. I was pleasantly surprised that he was a fantastic host to them, with nary a yell or squabble. (Could the Terrible Two's be lessening already??)
Don't you just love that playdate insanity?? (Aww, look at Tim! That's Lucas in his lap, the son of a coworker, who was the youngest invitee and who is super cuddly once you win him over.)

And then it was time for snacks! On the menu...? Well, Cheetos and fruit snacks, of course (two things that Weston was SO excited about), along with some other snacks and a few veggies for the grown-ups:

Yum.

And then presents!! This is the first time that we've had a party where his little friends bring presents, and I realized that it's adorable. All of the kids are so eager to see what's in the bags!

Voila! His ridiculously giant Star Wars cake!! (What do you do when the birthday cake is twice as large and twice as expensive as you expected? Why, freeze half of it for your husband's birthday in March! Brilliant.)

Weston was pumped about his giant cake, and he attempted to blow out birthday candles for the first time. That last pesky candle held on for a while (despite trying to spit on it at one point), but he conquered in the end!!

Caaaaaaaaaake!

More yum.

And we got a birthday family photo, too! Huzzah!!

After everyone left, we had a family pizza party for lunch (pizza being yet another super unhealthy favorite food of Weston's):

Still more yum:

And finally... the family gift extravaganza! (I realized at about 11 PM the night before that we only had wedding gift wrap and Christmas gift wrap. So, because the wedding stuff is all shiny and expensive-looking, I went for the Christmas stuff. Hahaha! I love having a super-low-maintenance child who is still oblivious to my shortcuts.)

Happiness is.... a new, giant sword:

...a crazy Police Robot playset (that's FINALLY out of our closet after all these months, thank goodness):

...(not so much a book about becoming a big brother):

...a little cash register (which allows us to "check out" now when we play Grocery Store, instead of theoretically stealing all the play food):

...and finally, the piece de resistance, a package from Gangy, who knew EXACTLY what Weston wanted for his birthday:

Behold the Beloved Cookie Toy:

And behold the Ice Cream Toy:

Few things have ever made Weston so happy:

As a matter of fact, I'm probably going to do a whole blog post about the true nature of obsession, after witnessing Weston's behavior over the past couple months:

Ah... what a happy ending.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FELLA!!! :-D