Two "and a half" Years

In a couple days, you will be an official big sister. One who gets to hold your little brother and do all kinds of real big-sister type things.  You will have a lifetime of being a big sister, the oldest sibling, the one who experiences everything first, the leader of the pack, the one who keeps the family together (hopefully!).  Neither your father or I are “first” children – we actually brought up the rear.  So we have no idea what it’s like to be Number 1.  But as your mother, I want to tell you what it’s been like to have you as Number 1 for the last two and a half years.

You have a charisma that makes you special, Kaelyn.  You love wholly.  You include others.  You give a lot.  You haven’t changed much since the day you were born – I can tell you had all your personality from the get-go.  But it sure has been fun to watch you develop in front of other people and other kids.  You like to be interactive.  You prefer to observe first, then try.  You like to be confident you can do something before you go for it – and therefore you usually succeed.  You’re fun spirited and have such a happy demeanor.  It takes a lot to make you upset.  But you do know what you want, and have my stubborn qualities.  Maybe because you are a little like me, I know when to just give in and let you do something – b/c really, you know best!  You do know yourself well and that will get you far in life.

You like to learn. You LOVE to dance.  You are great with throwing balls and playing soccer.  You could swim for hours and hours (and have never even been afraid to jump in!).   You are intent when you draw and you are very musically inclined. You even play the piano and make up your own songs.   You love your baby dolls and play with them as if they were real.  You enjoy other people as much as you enjoy us.   You eat well and are open to trying any food.  And you continue to be a great sleeper!  Ultimately, you are a very easy child and have made the adjustment to parenthood about as easy as it gets.

I’m so excited that in a few days we will have a bigger family.  We will have a new personality to get used to and incorporate into our home.  You are so excited and have helped get everything ready for him. I know you will adjust well and take him under your wing to make sure that he fits in and is comfortable.  But I am also a little bit sad.  I’ve really enjoyed our relationship and I know that having another child will take a way some things that we share.  In the end, it will all be worth while and your brother will be more of a blessing than we can imagine right now.  I promise to still find time to have with you alone.  And to continue to find things we share in common as you grow so our relationship can always be close.   I promise to still “let you be you.”  You are so capable and I want to always encourage you to spread your wings, rather than hold you back from being all you want to be.   Being a mom is part nurturing but also part letting go.  You have taught me that, Kaelyn.  I’m always here for you, but in two and a half years, I’ve learned that you really are a self-taught person and you prefer to have some space to spread your wings and try things. 

I realize you are saying good-bye to your “only” childhood in a few days.  We will do our best to make the transition easy for you.  You have always been a “partner” to me so I know we will be on this new adventure together.  There will likely be two mommies in this house.  And that is something we will continue to share – we are the girls in this house!

Catching up: Potty Training, Veggies, Babies and Painting

It's been a while since our last post so here's an update.

Kaelyn's potty training has gone really well. I decided it's like starting a new diet. The first two weeks is always aweful and then it gets better.  The "tips" I learned from Kaelyn were that letting her do it on her own (cleanup of both the accidents and successes, minimal reminders rather than forcing her to sit on the potty every 2 hours on the dot, and rewards (banana chips and cranberries) were all helpful) was what she really wanted, and that it's important to push through and not give in - even for other people.  In the past when a visitor would come I'd put the diapers back on so they didn't have to deal with it.  This time, I made whoever was around just jump in on the process.  Kaelyn would slip up a lot more with others than with me, but at least she knew the panties were a forever change!  Now she has no accidents on most days and she's even going poop on the potty a few times a week as well.  Yippee!

We finally painted our "seasonal" sign - this time Mike and I (well, not so much Mike actually!) gave her free reign to create whatever she wanted rather than guiding her...here's what she came up with (Mike is responsible for the sun looking thing and some of the more "straight" lines).

The garden is growing by leaps and bounds. We have some tomatoes coming finally, and the shelling peas are a true success.  Kaelyn eats them like candy and we've discovered they must have as much sugar as a candy bar b/c she is CRAZY after eating a ton of them!  One of our artichoke plants is going crazy too - with 6 artichokes right now. We ate the first one (gigantic!) the other day and it was so tender and yummy.  Kaelyn loves artichokes!

Here's proud farmer Mike...

And lastly, Kaelyn is truly ready for her baby brother to arrive. She is so excited and really seems to understand that he'll be joining us soon.  We put out the baby swing and she's been swinging her babies in it non-stop (yes, we'll be getting her her very own baby swing for her dolls!).  Mike put the car seat in the car and she is all excited about sharing the backseat with him now.  We finished getting his bedroom ready including the mobile in the crib and she talks about him watching the horses (USC) going round and round.  She's very much a "baby" girl - loves playing with her baby dolls for hours on end (feeding, bathing, teaching to potty, putting to sleep, walking around in the stroller, hushing them and singing to them, etc.) and when we see a real baby she is just mesmerized.  I'm sure we'll have plenty of stories of coming into a room and finding her feeding her brother or putting him in her dolly's high chair!

As for me, I'm exhausted.  I'm about to explode. And I'm so ready for baby to arrive!

Last minute getaway!

Auntie Nancy (oh so wonderful Auntie Nancy) came for a visit and allowed mommy and daddy to get away for the weekend.  We are ashamed to admit this is our first getaway without Kaelyn since she arrived in our life.  Amazing how time passes and it never worked out to go away.   It was incredible that one day at the pool (5 hours in a row) can feel like a whole week in Hawaii. Sad, actually.  We have vowed to travel more this next year, with AND without the kids!!!

Nancy - a true thank you for all that you do for us (yeah - need I mention the vacuuming/cleaning,etc).  The extra bonus benefit is how much time Kaelyn got to spend with you and continue to get to know her very own "Fancy Nancy!"