Really I wanted to be in bed at 8

I am forcing myself to stay up. I know I'm tired, cranky, achy....but I can't bring myself to go to bed before 9pm...again.... So here I am. Re-checking all the blogs that I checked last night. Luckily there are quite a few out there that are very diligent in updating their blogs and others I caught on the right time. Problem is, its only 9:50. Not quite 10. Do I just swallow my pride, climb in bed, turn on the hypno-birthing cd (although I probably wouldn't need it) and call it a night? Maybe by the time I quite contemplating about it it will be time for bed.

Or, I can push past it and tell you some stories. Then I run the risk of getting all wired. Awe, what the heck.

I had three little girls rubbing their hands all over my belly today. The first, a very inquisitive 4 year old, wanted to see my tummy. I didn't know she wanted to see skin because I was a little taken aback when she proceeded to lift up my shirt. Lucky me I was wearing 4 layers. Yep, 4! It really has become quite a process getting dressed in the morning. First there are the huge preggo unders, then the preggo jeans with huge "secret fit belly" band. I have no idea what is so secret about it. Then another band to help hold my pants up. Then t-shirt. 4 layers!

Well, I got over the shock and my personal boundary issues to allow said 4 year old to disect all the layers to get to belly. Once there all I got was an "oh."

I don't know what I expected. I'm just glad she didn't ask what all the red marks were! How do you explain stretch marks to a kid? I'm still trying to figure those out.

Yep, that was my story. Anti-climatic? yep! That is my life these days. Next time I'll tell you the one about my 2 year old shoving a tutu in my face at 7:30am demanding she be the green fairy. It is actually a continuing saga since Sunday so I'll keep my fingers crossed that we move on to something else then I'll give ya'll the re-cap.

My baby's "baby"

I know toddlers are impressionable and mine is no exception. Since mommy has been trying to convey the concept of having another baby Silvia has taken to the idea pretty easily. She's old enough to associate my changing body with the growth of a baby. So I shouldn't have been surprised when she started talking about the baby in her belly. Yep, my daughter has a baby in her belly. At first I'll admit I was a little weirded out and thought about curbing my belly rubbing and talking about the baby. Then I thought, "hey, this is completely natural and this is how a 2 year old works out that whole baby business." Then it just got funny.

Example #1: Rubbing her tummy, Silvia looks at me and says "My belly hurts, My baby is kicking." (Immediately I recognize that I am obsessing about my belly and the active child within too much!)

Example #2: When asked what sex the baby that mom is having she replys: "Mom has a boy and I have a girl." Great. I'm already a grandma.

Example #3 and topping the cake. Silvia has been going to my midwife appointments with me and at the apppointments I get measured and we listen to the heart beat. Julie, my midwife, was gracious enough a few weeks ago to let Silvia help with the tape measure and help put the goo on the microphone. I loved it because I thought it really helped her feel involved. Two weeks ago I mentioned to Julie that Silvia has been talking about the baby in her belly. Once I brought this up and Julie asked her about it I opened the gates. Then Silvia said it was "her turn" on the table. Julie obliged and then measured her belly and even got the microphone out to listen to the baby. Silvia even insisted on the goo! Hilarious! I didn't have my camera that time but I went to my appointment on Monday prepared.

Here is my baby, getting her baby check up:

Don't worry. She's not all grown up just yet. She has insisted on being a "green fairy" for the last few days (hence the tutu seen in the photo). A good sign that she is still in the throws of her childhood.

Holiday Review

I just had to check the calendar to see what day it was. I knew it was January, but the exact date seems a little foggy. Maybe it was because we started off the new year with a puking child. Maybe it's because the bug she had then spread to me, jon a day later grandma, aunt tawnya and cousin savanna. If you too have been spending 12 hours straight in the bathroom....I'm sorry. It's seriously a crazy bug!

Enough bathroom talk. I really wanted to review the good times we had the last few weeks.

We mixed up the traditions this year. Because my mom has a crazy work schedule mi familia got together on Christmas Eve. We ate soup and let the kids decorate cookies. I tried to capture the mess but the camera doesn't do it justice. It was padilerium! Sprinkles should not be in the hands of young children (where is the warning on the label?!!!)

And no, the chaos of cookie decorating didn't contribute to the messy hair. That's just how we role.

That night we got our little family together to tell the story of Christmas. Jon had the fantastic idea of using the nativity to tell the story. Super cute! Christmas day was nice. When Silvia woke up I thought I'd just sit back and see how she reacted to the lit tree and presents. So what does she do? She spies the lit tree walks toward it only to notice not the over abundance of wrapped packages (seriously, how many toys does a two year old need Dianne! ((I'm chastising myself so next year I'll be more restrained)).....ahemm...so she's headed for the tree when she diverts and heads right to the plate of goodies laid out. Once she stuffs a jelly ring into her mouth she comes back to me and tells me about the treats. Treats, really? Do I deprive my little one of chocolate so much so that it warrants ignoring Christmas presents? In her defense, she takes a little while to wake up in the morning.

Once the treat distraction was removed and daddy became more alert (now we know where she gets it!) we all moved on to the opening ritual. She really enjoyed opening up gifts and was genuinely excited about every little thing.

It was really nice to be able to take it easy Christmas morning. That evening we moved the party on over to the Olson's where Silvia got to see all her cousins, we ate more yummy soup and exchanged family gifts.

All in all, we had a lot of fun and I think we were able to maintain the spirit of the holiday too in remembering the birth of Jesus Christ. What a beautiful moment in the history of the world! I can't put my feelings quite into words. That's why I've retyped this small paragraph three times and am now giving up. Let's just say I'm deeply touched by the event of Jesus Christ's birth on the earth.

Fin. for now.