Rough and Tumble Girl

We found some footage from Lainey's daycare Valentine's party last night. We were very excited, because we thought it was lost. Don't let her frilly dress fool you ... Lainey isn't a soft, quiet girl. She's all about yelling and physical play.

Here she is jumping with her friend Ian. This was the first time we actually saw Elaine catch any air. Up to this point she had an awkward (yet adorable) kind of gallop, because she couldn't get both feet off the ground.

Then things got a little dicey, when Lainey's friend Abby tried to move in on Mark. Lainey was not so pleased...looks like we have a scrapper on our hands....

Nesting

I really cannot believe that we have less than six weeks until my due date. It's time to get serious about getting the apartment ready for our sweet bundle to arrive. Yes, it's finally time to accept we will not be out of this place come butter bean's birthday. And now that it's settled, I am going into full blown nesting mode.

I never had an overcoming urge to clean and organize before Lainey's arrival, but it's a constant gnaw for me right now. Maybe it's because we had not planned to be in this apartment this long, so we've never really settled in or put any effort into making it homey. Or maybe it's because even after a few hours of cleaning, the place still looks dingy and cruddy (what it really needs is a couple coats of fresh paint, but there is no way we're putting that kind of effort or money into it.) Whatever the reason, these days you'll find me at 10:00 PM at night considering how we can reorganize the bathroom or scrubbing at the floorboards. Another favorite activity is standing with my arms crossed in the guest room trying to imagine it as the baby's room. Sorry Baby Brandi, you won't have the sweet, pimped out digs your sister had upon arrival. You'll be sharing your room with a clothes rack and ironing board and there will be no cute decals to adorn your walls. I know you don't care...but, I kinda' do.

Although we're a little behind on prepping this time, we are making some progress. We ordered a toddler bed for Laineybug that arrived this weekend and have a new crib mattress on order (the only thing new the baby is getting at this point). We're hitting up the President's Day sales this weekend to try and find a dresser for Lainey and a recliner-rocker for me (the ONE great thing about this apartment is that we'll have room for a rocker). We have a short list of other things that need to be purchased (sweet, tiny newborn diapers) and longer list of things we need to dig out of storage (MUST FIND THE BOUNCY SEAT!!!).

In the end, I know the most important thing to have ready is lots of love. And I KNOW we're well stocked in that! (But, those sweet, tiny diapers are a close second on the importance ladder.)

Getting BIG!!!

Holy Hormones!

I was looking through the Valentine's cards at CVS today. The selection was terrible. The cards were all awful and yet I found myself crying over the super-saccharine overdone messages--as well as the humor (and yet completely humorless) cards. God help me tomorrow when I go to Hallmark...

Spare Catalytic Converter, Anyone?

This morning started off pretty good. We're enjoying a rainy, but warm winter day; we got out of the house right on time; Elaine was in a fairly cooperative mood. And then...

...I turned the key in the ignition and a rattling, grinding scream errupted from beneath the car. Too unnerved to give it another go, Mark got in and started it up. Again, the horrible sound filled the quiet morning air, but did settle into a slightly less angry rumble after a few seconds. So, at first, Mark thought  it was a tear in the muffler (but, it would have had to be a HUGE tear that magically happened while the car was parked on the street overnight.) The noise started getting louder again and the check engine light appeared. This car wasn't going anywhere.

On the very slight bright side, we had a rental car at home, because Mark was supposed to be out in Evanston for an all-day meeting. So, at least we were able to get Lainey to daycare without having to take her on the train. I headed into work and Mark went back home to figure out the situtation.

After a $150 tow, we got the ever exciting news that our catalytic converter had been stolen (evidently a pretty common practice) and that the cost was going to be big...like we're making an insurance claim big. And we get to pay for a rental car for anywhere from 3 - 7 days, depending on when the insurance agent gets to the garage to inspect the car and approve the work. Of course, Mark set-up the car insurance pre-Kylie and pre-pre-Elaine, so our policy doesn't cover that expense. Why would a single guy living in the city need that coverage?  And why would we ever think to revisit that post-baby?

Not that there is ever a good time for these things to happen, but this is a particularly hectic week for us. As mentioned, Mark (who has already been working nights and weekends) was supposed to be out in Evanton today, but instead missed the entire morning of work and has to leave early tonight get the rental. Then he has to leave early again tomorrow, because I have my Board of Directors' meeting at work, requiring me to stay until 9pm tomorrow and be in at 6:45am on Thursday. And for the grand finale, Mark is flying to San Francisco Thursday evening and won't be back until late afternoon Saturday, so really hoping the car is fixed before Saturday, so I don't have to drag Lainey to a) return the rental b) pick-up the car. What am I saying? I'll just shell out the $15/hour for a sitter, if it comes to that. Hmmm...wonder if that would be covered by insurance?

Christmas #2

Last weekend, we went to Moline to have Christmas #2 with the Brandi side of the family and celebrate some birthdays--late for Amelia and Oliver, early for Jacob.

Lainey had a cold, but again made it through family festivities without major illness (this is the second cold with no accompanying ear infection--she's been infection-free for TWO MONTHS!).

As always, it was a fun and busy time with 8 adults and 5 kids (soon to be 7 kids) tearing open gifts and huddling around the dinner table to enjoy Frank's delicious brijole. Big thanks again to Frank for making it twice this year. You made two pregnant ladies very happy!!! And thanks to Lonnie for making the oranges. (She hollows out oranges, mixes the fruit with vanilla ice cream and refills the rinds. Very refreshing and the perfect dessert to follow a heavy meal--they're also a lot of work!) That may be my favorite meal of the entire year.

We celebrated the birthdays with giant chocolate chip cookies! Oliver just turned 4, Amelia 6, and Jacob will be 12 in a few weeks. I can't believe how fast these kiddos have grown! Jacob will be a TEENAGER next year! He's already looking so mature. I couldn't stop staring at him over the weekend (which, if he hadn't been distracted by so many other things, I'm sure would have creeped him out).

I want to make a quick shout out to Ben, who didn't have a birthday, but is just an awesome kid! He spent a lot of time trying to show Elaine how to jump and making silly faces to get her laughing. Hanging with a toddler isn't a 9-year-old's idea of a good time, so thanks, Ben!

Of course, Lainey loves getting some QT with Oliver and Amelia--however, Amelia is not allowed to take pony rides on Mark's back. Lainey did not appreciate that (Mark is HER mommy!). But, she did have fun coloring with her, and Amelia was very patient when Lainey would suddenly reach over and scribble on her picture--"That's okay, Lainey. I was going to make the cat purple anyway!" (I highly doubt that, but it was very sweet.) Lainey's been talking about all of her cousins all week. We're a lucky family to have such neat kids! (The grown-ups are pretty cool, too!)

Below are some photos of the fun! I'm writing this post from my phone en route to Ohio, so I'll have to add captions later.

Oh Blessed Sleep!

I hesitate to write this post for fear I'll jinx us, but FINALLY, after 8 weeks of broken or nearly non-existent sleep, Elaine slept from 7:45pm last night until 5:45am this morning!!! After a bumpy weekend of sleep in Moline, we had been making steady progress this week on getting sweet girl back to peaceful slumber, but last night was the magic one. Mark and I feel like a million bucks today!!!

All She Wants to Do is Dance...

Lainey had her 18-month check-up last week. Our little peanut did lots over growing over the past three months, shooting back up into the 90-95% on height (33.5") and maintaining her spot in the 90% on weight (26 lbs. 8 oz.). And her head hasn't slowed in making room for that big, beautiful brain of hers (still over the 98% on head circumference). So, at least the lack of sleep isn't stunting her growth. Silver linings...sometimes you have to reach for them.

Lainey is chatting up a storm. She pretty much talks from the moment she wakes to the moment she drifts off at night. We're surprised every day by the new words she's learning and thankful that she hasn't picked up any of our not-so-toddler friendly slips of the tongue. We've been talking about it for months, but it really is time to put a lockdown on the R-rated language and to pay attention to the lyrics coming from the ipod (which is a shame, because Lainey loves her hip hop, but we don't have the FCC-approved tracks).

Good thing she has other musical inclinations, because our girl LOVES to dance and shake her bon bon! Her skills continue to improve, and I must say, in my own, impartial opinion, the girl's got moves! She's pretty much perfected her little booty shimmy. I've been meaning to post the below video for over a month now and have been trying to get a better one in the meantime. But, every time we try to tape her she spots the camera and goes running for it, so this will have to do for now...