Fiona's Joke

When I got home from work yesterday, I was greeted by a "knock knock" joke from Fiona. Mike had taught her his favorite one and she tells it very well. She was so excited to share it at day care today and when I dropped her off, the first thing she said was "joke." However, stage fright got the best of her when all her friends waited in anticipation ... so Mommy told the joke.

We practiced again at dinner tonight and got it on video. She knows she's pretty cool stuff when she tells it and that cracks us up almost as much as her telling us that she "is funny."

Baby Steps to the Big Girl Bed

Look what came to live at our house! When we got a new bed for our guest room, we gave our full bed to my co-worker for his 5-year-old (who had outgrown her toddler bed). In exchange, their toddler bed moved to our house.

We've been inching into acceptance of the bed. She thinks it's awesome to play in ... until bedtime. Then we are all about the "cribbie." We have several things working against us.

• She thinks both the crib and the bed are HERS - not so sure she'll be open to sharing when the baby comes (we did not anticipate this issue).
• The bed and crib are in the same room. So there is no absence to make her forget about the crib.
• She's too darn smart and totally knows we're trying to get her out of the crib. She's going to make us work for it.

I thought we made a huge step on Saturday when she successfully took her nap in the big girl bed. She and I celebrated when she woke up and she got to call Daddy on the phone and tell him all about it too. But she has had even LESS interest in the bed since then. I think she thinks she's checked the box on the bed and is done with it (again - did not anticipate that turn of events).

She's not a girl where "tough love" and forcing her into the bed will work. So we'll just keep working at it. I know we'll get there. Until then, we'll keep baby stepping toward those pink sheets on the big girl bed in the corner.

Fun Friday: Water Table Fun

Trying to beat the heat of the last week!

Laughing Fit: Take 2

We took a video of Fiona's giggles in the swing because it reminded us of this laughing fit when she was just over 4 months old. We totally love that it is the same joyous belly laugh. And we can't help laughing ourselves every time we watch it.

Fiona also loves to watch "baby swinging" and laughs and mimics it. What a fun girl we have!

Thoughts on Pregnancy Round 2

In our experience, second pregnancy is the way to go! With a toddler in the house, it is simply flying by. She doesn't care that Mommy is pregnant and has her own agenda for each night. I miss the feelings of being totally in tune with the baby like I had with Fiona, but I love the low stress and quick timeline. We're 34 weeks along on Monday, so it's starting to get close.

• Just like with Fiona, I look like I shoved a basketball under my shirt. While I appreciate that I hardly look pregnant from behind, it is hard to navigate the world with a hard ball in your front. Mike was making fun of the recline of the driver's seat in my car and I told him that I would be happy to strap a bowling ball to his gut and see how he liked it ;-)
• My stomach hurts. Not inside (although the organ assault continues) - but the outside. The fact that my shirt touches my skin is painful. So a loving 1-year-old is quite a test of my endurance. But her hugs are so sweet that I work with it.
• I can still wear my wedding ring. Hooray! And I'm still wearing heels. Not super high ... but I'm calling it a victory.
• I really wonder why all maternity clothes have a bow on them. I'm not a present! And bows in the back are just uncomfortable if you have to lean against them all day. Note to maternity designers - lose the bows please!
• Food: I want orange juice again. Not as bad as with Fiona (side note: i HATE orange juice but apparently crave it anyway during pregnancy), but there is still a jug of Tropicana in the fridge. I do not like meat. I eat it to model behavior for the 1-year-old, but I don't like it. I do like pancakes! And ice cream.
• We are even more laid back on actual baby preparations than we were with Fiona. Pray that this baby doesn't come early or we are in big trouble! Still on the list ... move Fiona to a toddler bed, get down and wash the neutral baby clothes, find the bottles ... you know, basically make it look like we are having a baby! 

We are super excited for this little one to join the family! So excited that we should probably start thinking about names too ...