Moving Day!

My department at work is moving to a new area of the building. Sad for me. Goodbye, natural light. I'll miss you!

All my stuff, boxed and ready to move.

My nearly empty cube, just waiting to shut down for the day and await the mysterious overnight installation crew to move it all down the hall.

16 and a half weeks

Because I actually have a half-decent outfit on, you get (have?) to see another belly photo. With a mediocre phone camera. Only the best for my readers, only the best.

First Day

Milo started going to his new daycare today. I took him there in the morning, and because I wanted to be sure he was comfortable and adjusting well, I spent a couple hours there with him. I love being able to see him checking out new surroundings and just taking it all in. I was impressed with how he handled a completely new place and a completely new routine. Nothing seems to rattle this kid.

I took my camera in order to get a couple of first-day-of-school photos. There was hardly a toy in the place he didn't try out.

Breakfast!

Milo couldn't get enough of the Big Bird and Cookie Monster photos.

He patiently waited for another girl to get up from this chair so he could sit in it, then couldn't figure out how to get out. 

17 Months and Growing All the Time

Where do I even begin? Milo is growing and changing so much, I can't even keep up with him. He's up, he's down, he pushes the limits. Milo spends very little time being average or in the middle.

Language continues to explode. Words he says: car, truck, bye, hi, no, uh-oh, please, belly, kitty, Zadie, quack, moo, duck, doggie, Daddy, Mommy, more, teeth, banana, ball, book, bed, fan, bear, tree, baby, shoe, sock, bag, clock, yay, light, cup, fish, Elmo. Of course, there might be more that I can't recall at the moment. Things/words we know he recognizes: plate, head, nose, mouth, tongue, outside, up, down, Mommy's belly, ears, eyes, feet, toes, apple, phone, thank you, tray, diaper, TV, Big Bird, raise the roof, high five.

Milo can now climb on the fireplace hearth. Just one more place we'd rather he not be.

Milo had a rough week or so of not eating much, being extra fussy, needing extra cuddles, and not sleeping well. I think it may have been a growth spurt. Or teething. He's definitely getting taller all the time.

He's losing his round super belly. Sad. At least he's still got his chunky thighs.

He has a total of eight teeth, I think, including two molars.

Milo tends to be a little shy when he first gets around someone he doesn't know well. He warms up quickly, though, and continues to win the hearts of everyone he meets. He's a charmer for sure.

Milo has the most adorable walk, which gets even cuter when he runs. His arms just sort of flap around wildly, and it couldn't be funnier or cuter. I think it's the walk that ends up making people love him. And his winning personality, of course.

Milo loves music and singing. He's a great audience, too, because he always claps and says "yay" when I finish singing a song. He knows the itsy-bitsy spider hand motions too.

Favorite books include One Fish Two Fish, Bugliest Bug, and 100 First Machines.

Milo loves watching "Mo" (Elmo—but really he means Sesame Street) and Yo Gabba Gabba. Sigh. I suppose it had to happen sometime. Milo brings me the remote and says "Mo? Mo?" At least he takes it well when I say no.

Milo has extreme emotions. Extremely happy and giggly, or extremely upset. When he's overtired, he gets really hyper. We're getting better at knowing how he's feeling and what he needs. Oh, starting to get fussy? How about a snack? Maybe it's time for a bath.

He looks more and more like a little boy and less like a baby. He's still got his big cheeks, but they're diminishing. I'm sad that baby Milo is almost gone, but I love little boy Milo. He's awfully fun.

He's so stinkin' smart

On the drive home yesterday, I started singing to Milo to keep him entertained. We sang the ABCs, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and some old campfire songs. Each time I paused to catch my breath, Milo said, "More, more."

So of course I gave him what he wanted. More singing. But when I really got tired of singing, I switched to animal sounds. "What does a cow say?" I asked. "Moooo!" I answered myself.

But then Milo started answering. Turns out he knows moo, quack, and possibly baa and neigh. When I asked him what the rooster says (and gave him my best cock-a-doodle-doo) he mimicked me with his own "Da-doo!"

I didn't know he knew any animal sounds. His daycare report sheet said he knew them, but whenever I had asked him before, I never got any response. But apparently he does know his animals, and he's awfully cute when he makes their noises.

I am too sleepy to write a coherent entry.

• Milo is up to eight teeth, I think. His sixth came in maybe two weeks ago, on the bottom left. Then out of nowhere we saw that he has two molars on the top! No clue when those showed up, but we noticed them last Friday. Before long he'll be a chewing maniac.
• I MIGHT be feeling the baby moving. Possibly. Sometimes there's sort of a pushing feeling, like some very tiny thing is shoving to get out of my body. Honestly, I barely remember what those early movements felt like with Milo. So I could very definitely be making this up. I ought to just enjoy not being kicked and punched, because I do remember what those later movements felt like, and once the novelty wore off, it was not so fun.
• Every time I'm convinced that the "morning" sickness is truly over, this dumb baby goes and reminds me that no. It is not. Last night was particularly rough because I actually had to get out of bed in the middle of the night in order to go throw up. And then I threw up again this morning. But I am still thankful that the sickness is not quite as persistently often as it was with Milo. So at least there's that.
• We have officially pulled Milo out of daycare. This week he's with grandmas, and next week he'll start at an in-home daycare that's just down the street from us. There are many reasons we made this decision:more convenient, way less expensive, nice and neighborly, healthier food, fewer kids to be spreading illnesses. Andrew and I are pretty excited for this new development and hope that Milo has an easy transition.
• Seems like I am especially bad at Getting Things Done these days. My new glasses have been ready to be picked up for a week. My car is beyond ready for an oil change. Laundry doesn't get done until I am out of shirts that fit over my belly. I have, however, begun to remove the ugly wallpaper border that is currently hanging in the future nursery.
• I am getting antsy to find out the sex of this baby. I go to the doc tomorrow and will then schedule my sonogram—should be about four weeks from now. We're going to have another gender reveal party like we had with Milo (that I basically took zero photos of). I'm more excited to find out and for the party this time because I don't have a preference. And I know that whether it's a boy or a girl, he/she will be amazing. That said, every time I think about life with future baby, it's a girl. I think this is just because Andrew has been exclusively referring to the baby as a girl. You'll have to ask him why he does that.
• I need a nap. Badly.

15 Weeks

Here's a very poor camera phone pic of the belly at 15 weeks. You're welcome.

It's a...

The Chinese gender chart says it's a girl. It also told me my lunar age at the time of conception was 32, which I tend to take offense at.

And, for the record, the Chinese gender chart also said Milo would be a boy. So there you have it. Science? Or just a 50-50 chance? Either way, we'll find out the sex of this jumbo-shrimp-sized baby in about five weeks.

The first time (this time)

On the elevator at work this morning, I was asked by someone I don't know when my baby was due. This is notable because it marks the point where I look pregnant enough that a stranger feels comfortable surmising that yes, this woman is with child, and not just eating too many donuts.

Also, this was the first time I answered that question from a stranger for this child. And I guarantee it won't be the last. If I were to attempt to keep track, I'd guess I'd end up answering it at least a hundred times. But I am WAY too lazy to keep track for your reading pleasure. I think I'll have to vary my answers, just to keep things interesting. Today I said, "Early February." Next time maybe I'll be more specific. We shall see. Oh, the things I think about these days. It's a crazy life I'm living.

It's All Coming Back to Me Now

I'm wearing maternity jeans for the first time today. They're just like I remembered: much more comfortable than unzipped pants covered by a too-tight belly band. But is the comfort worth the lack of staying power? These pants are always falling down. I can't even tell you how many times I've yanked my pants up today, and it's not even 11:00.

Also, no belt loops. Can't a girl get some faux belt loops so she has something to hook her work ID badge to?

Another Flashback

Written a few weeks ago...

June 22, 2011

I've known I was pregnant for a little over two weeks now. Most of that time has been filled with worry and/or stress. It didn't take long for the morning sickness to kick in. And, just like I remembered, it really really sucks. I've been thinking about all the stuff we're going to have to do and think about, like figure out a new baby's room decor, whether we'll move Milo to a big boy bed, the daycare situation, affording another long maternity leave, telling the people I work with, and generally feeling like crap. Basically, I've just been feeling overwhelmed and stressed out by the whole thing.

Then yesterday, on my drive home, I was feeling extremely nauseous. I thought to myself, I wish I could just skip this part and get to the end where we have a little baby. And I pictured myself holding a newborn and feeling that love and amazement. It occurred to me that we were going to have another baby before too long. And I felt happy. And for a brief moment or two, I quit worrying about all that other stuff and just enjoyed the idea of another child to call my own.