Should Have Taken Notes From Our Own Blog

So, today we had two things on our list of "To Do Before the Baby Comes". That was 1) install the infant car seat (preferably next to the already installed convertible seat that is in the middle) and 2) take E to see the dentist (free Yolo County Saturday clinic).

We started right after breakfast... probably about 9:30 or 10. Grab the infant car seat, grab the two car seat protectors we had gotten at our shower and grab E (who we hoped would "play" out of the way in the front seats while we attempted to install the seat in the back). Check. First, we debated on whether or not the infant car seat would fit next to the convertible car seat or we would have to have both on the sides (leaving the middle open but useless for seating anyone else). Ian was on the "Why not as long as it fits and doesn't move" side, I was on the "I'm not sure about the car seats touching" side. Regardless of either of those opinions though, we couldn't seem to get the car seat to install with the LATCH or the lap belt and not tilt up on one side.

So a few more looks at the manual for the car seat while unsuccessfully keeping E in the front seat (and not locking the doors)... and even a uninstall of the other car seat to "make room"... and still no luck. I then look down at my watch and realize it's fast approaching 11 (E's dental appointment was at 11:30 in Woodland) and we have no car seats installed. UH-OH! A quick decision is made and we throw the infant car seat into the trunk, quickly reinstall the convertible into it's old position (easy since there are "handy" indentations on our back seat cushion, ha lol) and decide first get E to her appointment and then have someone else install our car seat for us (aka, Goore's - where the car seat was bought and can be installed for a fee of $10).

At this point, I should have remembered the problems we had with installing the infant car seat the first time around and have looked back at the detailed blog posts two years ago in preparation. But alas, I did not take take notes from my own blog! If I had, I would have realized that the "locking clip" was the vital missed step (both times).

Anyways, the car seat is installed (by Goore's certified car seat installer)... I hopefully have ingrained in my head that the "locking clip" is essentially for installing the infant car seat with the lap belt... and we are now officially "ready" for this baby. (Which is good, because I might be in the first part of labor right now!)

One good thing about going to Goore's is it did solve our little debate on whether or not we could have two car seats next to each other - we could and they are (next to each other) as we speak. We just had to install the infant one first and then "budge" the convertible over a little. But both are installed "correctly" and don't move and we still have a (rather thin, IMO) usable fifth seat in our car.

OH and lastly, we didn't end up having to pay the $10 re-install fee for installing the infant car seat because last time we installed it we had the police station do it (not Goore's) so we still had "one free install". And I was pretty confident about re-installing the convertible seat (since I had done it twice already today), so even when we moved it... I did the install (with the certified car seat installer looking on, helping and pretty much walking me through it). He was even nice enough to check and say "Looks good!". Yippee!

A day without Ian... (part 2)

Well it's almost 9 pm now. E (I think) is asleep. And the day is done.

So where did I leave off? Oh, right.

E ended up taking an hour an a half nap. This meant I got 30 minutes to lie down (but not sleep). She got up not in the best of moods so she came to lie down in "Mommy's Big Bed" (as she calls it) for another 15 minutes. Then of course it was "up time" for everyone and a snack of string cheese. I, still tired from not getting much of a nap, sat on the couch in a haze as she played around me. I think I read her a couple of books. I also took her outside to see the first of the season rain in Davis. Ok, it was more of a light sprinkle, but she was excited to listen to it come down on our fabric awnings above our windows and then feel a few drops fall on her face and toes.

Then I put a video (Wallace and Grommit's The Wrong Trousers) on for E so I could reheat dinner. E surprisingly didn't really eat much of the reheated lasagna, so I ended up eating almost all of it and now I have heartburn (darn that red sauce). She ate quick, was "done" and then played, ran around, played some more and generally was clingy the rest of the day. It didn't help that the couch scratched her leg, she somehow slipped and ate it big time while running to the bathroom (getting ready for her bath) and has been having some very non solid number twos in her diaper that gives her discomfort.

Lastly Ian called to tell me of his wanderings in Missouri (literally, as he got sort of lost once, took a few phantom detours in search of dinner and tried to stop at a WWII Museum) and talked to E . She really liked talking to him. She is significantly more engaged talking to him on the phone then any other family. And she wanted to say goodbye to Daddy several times (every five minutes). I've also been asking her where Daddy is and tried to teach her to say "Missouri". At first it was more of a "Sue E" but has evolved to sound something more like "Nor We". I laughed, because Ian is definitely not in Norway. :)

All in all though, I would say the dreaded day without Ian was not half as bad as I thought it might turn out to be. I wouldn't want to have to do it often, but at least now I know I can survive taking care of a toddler while being pregnant all on my own. (And I don't feel any labor pains coming on... so yay on another count. It would be quite unfortunate if I went into labor while Ian was gone for many reasons.) To top it off, I don't have too much of a mess to clean up either. I picked up a few toys while E was in her bath... I washed most of the dishes (there weren't many) right after dinner while E disassembled the couch cushions... so now I just need to wipe down some surfaces and give myself some "me time". I think I'll start with a shower and then some devotions and then off to bed early with me!

Tomorrow will be another long day, but I'm excited as family will be here and some amazing friends are throwing me a shower. From what I've heard (or I should say read) it sounds like it's going to be great! Can't wait. :) And of course, Ian will be flying back and will be home hopefully before E goes to bed.

A day without Ian... (part 1)

This morning at 4 am Ian woke up, ate breakfast and left to walk to the Memorial Union to catch a 5 am bus that would take him to Sac International Airport. He's going to Missouri for a conference. He's going to be gone until late Saturday night and only really be in Missouri for about 24 hours, but I was dreading this day without him. It will be the first ever day with just E and I. No family coming over. No going out to visit other people. Just her and I. And she's come down with some head stuffiness and isn't sleeping well. I'm not sure how other Mom's do it. I guess I've just been spoiled by having Ian around and home most days (even if he is working).

So, how has it been so far?

Well as Ian was heading out the door E woke up. I went in and comforted her, wiped her nose and rocked her for about 10 minutes before putting her back down for bed. She then slept till about 7:30 am, but I didn't get her until 8. (I was really tired because I had just about dropped off to "real" sleep at about the time Ian woke up. Such is sleep in the third trimester for me.)

Then we had a fairly calm breakfast, heating up some leftover oatmeal and me eating an egg and cheese sandwich.

At about 10 am, E and I drove to downtown Davis and ran some errands (banking and getting some Thank You gifts for my awesome shower hostesses). We also stopped into Just Kidding, the used kids store, just to look and give E some play time. If we go to Alphabet Moon, the pricey but exciting kids store, we end up being there way too long and I find it's hard to pry E away from the toys.

Then we came back and attempted to eat lunch. Well, E ate... some. I got a call from a friend who needed the address to the shower and E was not happy I was on the phone. Food flew. E was deemed "done" with lunch by me. And I got off the phone. Poor E I think was really tired and a bit "under the weather". Now that she knows the word and concept of "Ouchie", she's been using it seemingly for everything. I don't know if it also means "I'm uncomfortable" or real pain. Probably a lot of the first, because E (on a regular day, sick days... all bets are off) has a really high tolerance for pain. (Oh and I've "snacked" on fruit... I'm too tired to eat.)

After our not so calm lunch, I asked E if she was sleepy (as she cried intermittently and kept putting her head down on me when I picked her up) and she said yes. So just two quick books, the tiniest bit of nursing and I put her down for her afternoon nap at 1:30 pm (!! This is really early !! She must be tired). She gabbed to herself with her stuffed animals for 10 minutes, but now there isn't a peep so I think she's out.

So, half the day is gone. I would say it hasn't been too bad. Tomorrow Ian still won't be her... but with family coming over and a shower, she'll be fully entertained and happy.

Well, now I'm going to take a nap too. (Yay! The best part of my day.) Hopefully, she'll sleep longer than an hour and a half (which has been her normal for the last few days) because she really needs more than that. Not to mention I could use more than that too.

And I'll update you all with post #2 (hopefully, unless I collapse in exhaustion after E is put down for night) later tonight reporting how the rest of the day went.

Grape Grandma

Yesterday was a long day. We awaited the arrival of Auntie Colleen (Ian's sister) from Stockton at the bright and early hour of 9am. Then we drove two hours north to Paradise to visit Ian's Grandma Irene (his dad's mom). We haven't seen her in over a year and that means E hasn't seen her in over a year. In fact this was going to be only the fourth time I had seen her and E's second time meeting her.

Here's a picture of E with her Great Grandma last year.




When we first got there, E wasn't sure where we were (it probably doesn't help when you wake up from a nap in a strange place for the first time) or who these new people were - her Great Grandma Irene and Willis. We tried to teach her that this was not "Grandma", but "Great Grandma". But I think the word "great" eluded her and so E affectionately calls her Grape Grandma.

At first, E was very shy, but after 30 minutes had passed she was exploring every room, closing all the doors, climbing into all the rocking chairs and figuring out that "Hey, these people are ok." Then E got a nice surprise, an early birthday present! Two books - one about Noah's ark with punch out animals and one about crickets who learn to praise God that have little plastic clicking crickets - and a really soft bear who says four different prayers when you squeeze its limbs. The books were a huge hit and the bear has been her favorite after she got over the initial shock that it spoke. Now she say "E-man" each time the bear prays.

Here's E opening her presents. She made sure each piece of the wrapping paper and ribbon were given back to Great Grandma before preceding with the next piece. I might have created a "monster" when it comes to cleanliness and neatness!!




Then we had lunch and just hung out for a few hours. E was very comfortable by then (and very hyper from the food) and started running around in circles (literally). She would throw herself on the floor and roll about, laughing and giggling at herself. Then she found some soft hand strengthening balls that she proceeded to throw and ended up playing "catch" with her Great Grandma. (Although we were trying to get her to roll the ball on the floor, so as not to break the fragile items in Great Grandma's house. Also sometimes E has impeccable aim which usually gets you right in the face. That's probably not the best thing for someone in their 80s.)

Here's E excitedly playing ball with Great Grandma.




E watching the Ryder Cup with Willis. She told us she was watching "ball on TV". She even cheered for the US team. Pretty good huh?




The Great Grandma had a great idea... some calming puppets and felt books. E loved the kitten puppets, while Ian and his sister had flashbacks of their childhood. (I guess these puppets are decades old!) And when the felt books came out, the transformation was amazing. All of a sudden E was calm and fully engaged in taking the little felt pieces out of the pocket, placing them on the page to complete the story and then putting them away. She was concentrating so hard that you could hear her steady breathing (like she was asleep) and see the little wheels in her brain moving as her Great Grandma explained what the page was about and where the pieces went. All the while I was thinking "We need one of those felt books!" But alas, you probably can't find them anywhere as these were 30 years old and used when Great Grandma Irene ran a preschool in Stockton.

The calming effects of a good interactive book.




Then the time had come to say goodbye. We packed up all E's fun presents and various paraphernalia and she gave her Great Grandma hugs and kisses, telling her "I love you". I think E was very sad to go (and to leave the felt books behind too). Hopefully it won't in be too long that E gets to see her Grape Grandma again!

"What did you say?"

So three weeks ago E started a speech explosion. She started putting more than one word together to express more complex thoughts to us. And now, only a few weeks later, she's speaking in complete sentences. I find this amazing as it is so much so fast that even in the daily changes there is a lot to notice.

To top it off, when people who don't know her very well or are just meeting her for the first time ask how old she is they always think she is 2 or even 3. No, she's not tall for her age. No, she's not heavier for her age either. In fact she's probably fairly petite for her age and about average height. But combine her speech skills and the way she carries herself when she walks and I guess she looks/acts older than she looks. Or maybe people don't really know what to base the size of little children on. :) Either way, we enjoy this new found skills (and understandability).

Anyways, here's just a few snippets of our favorite or humorous interactions with E .

Three weeks ago as Ian is carryinirough our apartment complex on a hot day.
Ian: "Do you want to walk?"
E : "No" (long pause) "Tired"

Anytime something has moved or she can't find something, for instance her stuffed dog backpack/leash.
E : "Where'd doggy go?"

Anytime we say something to her and she is sort of occupied with something else, but still hears us.
E : "Huh?" (In a really cute way though, you just have to hear it)

This last Wednesday when E had a slightly congested nose. I was using the aspirator to clear her nostril.
E : "No! No! No!" (She doesn't like the aspirator, it feels funny)
(E points to me as I finish one nostril)
E : "Mommy's turn"
Gilda: "Ok, see" (I pretend to use it, while making a sucking sound)
Gilda: "Ok, other side now" (Back to finish nostril #2)
E : "No! I already did it!"
(But sorry to say, she still had the other side done)

One of the best... and favorite of all the family.
E : "Bye! Bye! I love you!" (very clearly said too)

And of course, you can't forget the ultimate 2's saying when we try to do anything for her.
E : "I do it!"