On the run

Every morning and afternoon, Kate and I go out on trips. Sometimes we have a specific purpose, other times we are just going out to see what fun we can find in the world. I can't see any reason to just sit around our house. There is fun out there, and Kate and I will find it.

But, occasionally, we do need to be at home - a contractor's coming over, I have a commitment that forces us to stay in for a while, etc. It doesn't seem noteworthy enough to mention to Kate, "Hey, this afternoon, we're just going to hang out at the house," but I am starting to see that she may need that type of notice.

The other day after her nap I had a painter coming over at 4:30 so I was just sitting on the couch. She put on her shoes, stood at the door and said, "Come on, Mommy. Let's go. We need to go on a trip. Let's go to the mall." I casually said, "We're just going to hang out here," to which she replied, "No, we need to go on a trip. How about Target? Or even Home Depot?" I've not only trained her that we need to always be on the go, but also that there is a hierarchy of places we can visit. When the mall isn't an option, we settle for Target, or even Home Depot when we are desperate.

This is just more data to support that Kate needs to be in preschool when Ellie gets here. Kate needs to be out in the world, having fun, burning energy, while Ellie and I are getting some sleep. Clearly a priority we are going to need to invest behind for everyone's sanity :)

Alli said - I was just remembering that I used to be on the go a lot more with just Andrew. I even remember thinking "maybe I'm teaching him we always have to be going somewhere. Is that a bad thing?!" Anyway - good news: he's a 4 year old now who is perfectly content to be at home or on-the-go. No harm done. :-)

Happy Birthday Kate!

I can't believe she's 2 (tomorrow)! What a cutie! Here are just a few things I know about this sweet girl -

Kate is loving. She cares deeply about those around her, aka "her buddies."
Kate is smart. Good grief. That brain of hers is strong.

Kate is passionate. She's all in, all the time. Her intensity is high.
Kate is fun. She loves to laugh and make those around her laugh.

Kate is a shepherd. She is inclusive and wants everyone to be involved.
Kate is joyful. What a joy and delight she is!

Compliment or Insult?

So, I'm not sure how to take this - what do you think?

Today I saw a friend that I hadn't seen for a couple of months. We chatted for a while, she complimented my outfit and told me how cute I looked, and then she asked me if anything new was going on. When I said I was excited about the baby she said, " What! You're pregnant!" I feel like this happens to me more often than it should, and I don't know how to take it. Is it a good thing that my body handles pregnancy well even at 6+ months, or is it a bad thing that people think nothing of me gaining 20+ pounds primarily in my stomach? It's one thing with strangers or people who don't really pay attention to physical appearances, but a girl friend who clearly had noticed how I looked and not noticed, I don't know what to do with that.

Seriously??

Kate and I have been checking out preschools lately. Kate loves it. She says, "I have to do work. I need to go to school." I don't know where she got that but it's funny. She loves being around kids, and when the baby is here in August, I really want her to have her own, big girl thing to do.

As we look at these schools, I have to admit I'm way out of my element. The level of chaos in a preschool far exceeds my capacity. But all the kids and teachers seems to be loving it so here's to them.

But I do have my limits. At one school we visited, the director was explaining one of the school's policies to me and I could barely keep my composure. Here's what she said - "If a child is playing a math game and says that 2+4 = 5, we don't correct them or tell them that they are wrong. We don't want to discourage them!" I stood there with my mouth hanging open in disbelief as she continued, "We want them to like math, so we just try to model the right answers in hopes that they will get it right next time." Ummm, seriously? You've got to be kidding me. I promise you that kids who think 2+4 = 5 will not have math as a love of their heart over time. I swear it was the stupidest thing I've heard in a long time. And probably the thing that shocks me the most is, I'm sure it's a philosophy being taught in a university setting somewhere. She also added, and I guess this won't surprise you based on what I've already shared, that they don't tell the children "no" or "don't do that." I certainly think there is a time for redirection, but how can you not acknowledge the need to tell kids - who are just small people - no. Absolute lunacy. So the search for Kate's school continues...

On being a mom

I was in the bathroom at a restaurant Saturday night, and there was a woman washing her hands at the sink next to me. I noticed her because she was strikingly beautiful, but I couldn't figure out what about her made her so attractive. She was fairly average in every way, and yet, I found her so beautiful that I was kind of staring at her to land on the heart of her beauty.

As I was glancing back and forth at her subtly, she kind of caught me off guard by asking me, "Are you a mom?" I of course said yes and she wished me a happy Mother's Day. After assessing that she was about my same age, I asked her the question back and she replied yes, so I bid her the same. I then added that I had another on the way, and she congratulated me.

(This is a separate point - I feel like when I meet strangers, or even see people I haven't seen in a while, I need to tell them I'm pregnant and not unfortunately shaped or letting myself go. I have to say it's hard - I just had some people I see pretty regularly find out and be surprised to learn I'm pregnant. Good grief with the long torso - it's 6 months already!)

Back to the main story, so after being recognized as a mom, I stopped and considered what got her to the conclusion. And at first, I was upset - I thought, "Am I wearing a 'mom' outfit? Do I have a 'mom' haircut?" I hope my body at least makes me suspicious, but based on her reaction I wasn't obviously pregnant to her. So basically, all of my first reactions were negative - I didn't want to look like a mom.

But then I thought, maybe she thought I looked soft. Maybe my smiles seemed loving to her. Maybe she could see that I'm nurturing. Perhaps even the beauty I saw in her that I couldn't identify was her softness and grace, and that's what she was also seeing in me. I liked this idea better so I stuck with it. :)

My Mother's Day was outstanding. Brett and Kate made it a perfect day. I knew what I wanted to do, asked for it, and received it. They took me to breakfast, gave me sweet gifts, hung out, had Dairy Corner custard - all my favorite things. Kate really understood it was a day to celebrate me - she kept asking to "cuddle mommy" and hug and kiss me. Adorable little girl. I love being her mom :)

What's in a name

So it looks like we have a name for our new baby girl. Once we knew we were having a girl, her name came to us pretty quickly. With Kate, we knew her name before she was even conceived. We also have had our boy name picked out for years - Jonathan Thomas. But we weren't sure on our second girl right away...here's a little background on the process:

We started with Grace, but felt like Grace Little would be read as "Little, Grace" and we want lots of Grace not a little bit. Our next fave was Alli, but I never really liked that TV show "Kate & Alli" and I thought I'd always think of that. Lillian has always been a huge favorite of mine - that was my grandma's name and I love Lilly as well, but Lilly Little just doesn't roll off the tongue for me. So, we kept thinking.

Brett and I have both always loved the name Elizabeth, but we could never land on a shortened version that felt right to us. But then Suzie Zakany, Brett's aunt, suggested Ellie or Elle. YES!!! My response was, can you do that? Well sure you can. So it looks like her name is going to be Elizabeth Little, and we will call her Ellie. When she gets older, maybe she'll want to transition to Elle, but we'll have that be her call. As for the middle name, the lead horse is Grace (the issue above doesn't bother us in the middle)...Elizabeth Grace Little.

The name Elizabeth is Hebrew and means "Consecrated to God." Uh, yeah, that's awesome. In case you don't use the word consecrated every day, it can be defined as, "dedicated to the Lord," "set apart for God," "devoted to God." Yes, please sign our daughter up for these things.

So don't hold us to it - there's still time for a change, but I think we're feeling pretty solid on this one.

Partying at 5am

The other night it was storming, and Kate had to go to the bathroom at 5am. When she heard the thunder she was confused and said, "Daddy's awake! Let's go see Daddy!" I told her he was still asleep and that it was raining outside. She started laughing like I was crazy and said, "I can't go outside in my pajamas!" Apparently she was looking for action. I explained we were staying inside and going back to bed, to which she replied, "But I need to get the newspaper." Yes, it will get all wet, but it will be okay. The conversation continues like this for a while... While there are advantages to a potty trained kid, I could do without this early morning excitement...but she is pretty stinkin cute :)

A cute nest

So, the nesting phenomenon must be real. Just like when I was pregnant with Kate, I've got about a hundred projects going around the house. It could also be that I'm off work again and I spend too much time watching HGTV...but anyways...

I felt like the new baby should have her own new space. Of course I don't want to buy all new stuff - reusing some things is just practical. But I also feel like she should have a room that is for her, not just Kate's old room. I was looking at thousands of designs for cute nursery stuff and coming up dry. Alli said to me, "Why haven't you looked at Pottery Barn?" Well, I think there stuff is so expensive that I wanted to check everywhere else first. But then I broke down, and sure enough, I found the BEST stuff at Pottery Barn. It's so cute!! We went to the outlet and found stuff for Kate's new room, and then the main store for cute bedding for the baby. I'm so excited - the rooms are really looking great :) What fun! Here's a preview of the rooms:

Kate's new stuff

New baby's stuff :)

We love Nikki!

Yesterday Nikki moved to Baltimore from Cincinnati. I am so happy for her. It is such a good decision. She and Andrew are getting married in October, and this seems to be the perfect way to start their marriage. Andrew has a great job that he enjoys. It's a cool, exciting city. It just feels right in every way. What an exciting time for them!

But of course, it's sad for us. We will miss having her a mile away. It was hard to say good bye. We love her so much. But it felt so selfish to feel bad for ourselves while she is making such a great decision. It is so good for her, and I'm so proud of her for doing it. We love Nikki!

This was Nikki and "Big Bird" (Kate dressed up in a yellow coat - she decided she was Big Bird)

Perspective

Just when I think Kate is so smart she should work for NASA, I get perspective and remember she's still one...this morning I heard her choking in her room and I thought, there is no food in there, so there's nothing I should be concerned about, right? Wrong. She walks back to me and says, "I ate the crayon. The green one." This is where I have trouble with discipline. I say, "Kate, repeat after me - We don't eat crayons." She says, enthusiastically, "No eat crayons!" I start laughing. I mean, it's funny, right. They're non-toxic, she didn't choke. Now she has the hiccups from eating the crayon. Awesome.

Swimming :)

We just got back from two weeks in Florida, and it was awesome! My favorite part - seeing that Kate loves the water. As you may know, I LOVE water. There's nothing I'd rather be doing than swimming, really just playing, in the water. Last year Kate enjoyed it, but now that she's a little older, she was CRAZY about it! She would play for an hour, get out, and then immediately want to get back in. Fantastic. I can't wait until summer!

Random updates

Here are a few random things to know about Kate right now:

Her hair is crazy curly! Sorry, pics soon, but take my word for it! I need help on styling such hair - wow! If I don't wash it enough it starts to turn to dreads. When it's wet it goes down the middle of her back, but dry it still bounces up above her shoulders.

Favorite activity is still dancing. Also loves spinning in circles, and she can do it like 100 times without falling over! Crazy!

Trying to learn the ABCs...super cute! Also learning to count. Not a fan of numbers 8 & 9 - she'd just assume we get to TEEENNN!!!

If you ask her what color something is, she will always tell you Green. If she was a boy I'd probably have been worried by now that she was color blind. But after some probing we can get to other options. It's pretty funny, especially because no one in my family likes the color green ;) Except maybe Kate!

She's got a pretty witty sense of humor. I don't know if I can give you a great example here, but she picks up on things we say and uses them in funny settings. And she's a ham. Once she sees that she's making you laugh, she will keep at it!

She's a shepherd. Nikki and Andrew were the first to observe it. She wants everyone together and involved. She never wants anyone left out or off by themselves. Everyone should be in the mix. It's funny because on the phone, no matter who's she's talking to, she'll ask for the person who's not there, and then when they get on the phone, she wants the other person (example - if talking to Nikki, asks for Andrew. If talking to Andrew, asks for Nikki.) Very sweet.

Her memory is better than mine in many ways.

She likes to do things by herself.

She's loves to pray for her buddies. She'll say "again, again!" until she feels satisfied.

She's full of emotion, zeal, and intensity. She's learning to contain it (just like me :)

She wants me to sing Jesus loves me to her over and over before she goes to bed - "Jesus! Jesus!"

She's pretty tall - 95th percentile at last check-up and solidly in size 3T.

When she runs, she sort of shakes her hips and swings her arms from left to right.

Her laugh is hilarious, and once she starts she has trouble stopping. It's so contagious!

She is so sweet and loving :)

Ninny Himmy

As a principle, I try to talk to Kate like I talk to any other person. I do my best to acknowledge the fact that she's still learning the English language and stretch myself to communicate concepts as simply as possible, but it's kind of the same as when I'm talking about math or physics to people without a background in the topic - I do it with respect and understanding that this is a smart person who just needs the idea communicated basically.

My friend Alli does this beautifully. When I first observed her with her son Andrew 3 years ago, it was huge in helping me realize I could be a good mother to a baby/toddler. I think I thought that to be good at parenting small children you needed to talk in a weird high voice (you know I'm an alto so that wouldn't work) and use phrases like "de do bo be ga" or other such nonsense. Alli just talked to Andrew like a normal person, and probably not uncoincidentally, Andrew is an excellent communicator.

But I do have at least one exception to this principle...

Kate LOVES Nikki. Everytime Nikki comes to visit, Kate gets SO excited. Her enthusiasm is so overwhelming, it actually moves her to dancing. When Nikki arrives, Kate runs around the house doing a little dance. She goes up the hall bopping back and forth, and then bops and spins around in our entryway. It is adorable and hilarious. We coined her dance the "Nikki Shimmy."

But Kate has trouble pronouncing words that have a similar first and second syllable, and often just repeats a version of the first syllable twice (e.g. Tara is Ta-Ta and Nikki is Ninny.) So when Kate tries to pronounce the dance as she's doing it, she calls it the "Ninny Himmy." It cracks me up. It doesn't help that she puts her fingers up by the side of her head and starts bouncing back and forth saying "Ninny Himmy, Ninny Himmy."

So, I've given up on this one and agree that the dance is called the "Ninny Himmy." I've spent a lot of time teaching her the correct pronunciation of Nikki and she can now say it correctly, but the dance move may keep its given name - "Ninny Himmy."

As I always say, rules were meant to be broken!

Rough night

Poor Kate is sick, again. She's been healthy for all of about 5 days since the new year. Poor little girl :( This times she's throwing up. Even sadder, it was all over Brett (both times.) And sad for me, cleaning it up. That really good sense of smell when you're pregnant is not helpful in moments like this one. I pray she's done getting sick. Please Lord, let this be the end. I want her to feel better tomorrow, PLEASE!

I'm back

I'm going to officially declare it - I'm coming back into the world. Where have I been? Off growing a baby. For those I haven't seen, I'm 15 weeks pregnant. It's going well, but like last time, the first trimester has been exhausting. I believe, and am now declaring, that the exhaustion stage is ending. Now if I can just get past jet lag (it is 2am right), I'll be in great shape.

I've got so many updates for the blog - it's been 3 1/2 months (you'll see the correlation to age of baby...) As more perspective, this year our Christmas tree almost became a Valentine's Day tree. It was painfully depressing, but I just didn't have it in me to get that thing down. The day before Valentine's Day, it finally happened. Brett dragged all the boxes up and helped me take the pitiful thing down. Of course, Kate thought it was a new and permanent addition to the house, so she was sad to see it go. She was the only one.

So, maybe you'll see some catch-up posts, or maybe we'll just go from here. I'm not going to commit to that now. But I am committed to coming back to my rhythm of about a post a week. I like giving the updates, and I like reading others blogs, so I'm going to try to get back to it.

The cutest Kate update of late - I love her little catch phrases lately. They are so funny in her sweet little voice. She'll say, "Come on, Dude!" or "No way!" and I lose it every time. She is so happy and fun to be around. What a delight :)

Amen!

Today at dinner, I was praying - "Thank you God for blessing us" and Kate shouted "AMEN!"  So sweet!

Doesn't she look cool in Scott Dill's hat???

HAPPY :)

Kate makes me smile :)  When we put Kate to bed, I rock her and give her milk, and Brett prays for her, blesses her, and gives her a kiss before he says goodnight.  One of the things he always blesses her with is joy, and he tells her how happy she makes us.  Well recently, every night when he says "you make us so happy," Kate stops drinking her milk, gets a big grin on her face and says, "Happy!"  I really think she understands what he is telling her.  She is such a delight :)    

Winnie the Pooh

Wow, did we have a great Halloween!  Check out the pics below :)  

You'll see in the video, she was "Pooh!" and Pooh likes to eat "Honey!"

So Hunny Pot in tow, off she went!

The last video may be the best - she got a chocolate eyeball from one of our neighbors and she thought it was the funniest thing ever!

Take me to the fun!

I'm "Pooh" and I like to eat "Honey"

Brett and Pooh rolling around

Here's Brett and Pooh having a serious conversation.

Off she goes!
Grandpa can't resist a tickle
"Kikki", "Dew", and "Pooh"
Kate couldn't exactly identify what this "candy" stuff was, but she thought she was onto something good.  Nikki seemed like a great person to confirm with...

What a cutie!
Follow me, Guys!
Grandpa, Ilsa the Puppy, and Winnie

The Pooh Bear's Family

This is just Kate cracking us all up :)

No Shrimp for the Little One

Poor little Kate Little.  Tonight I gave her a bite of my shrimp and she broke out in hives :(  We called Liz & Jeff (our friends who play doctors in real life) and they said give her benadryl and watch her.  She appears to be fine.  We called our pediatrician and they want to see her tomorrow, but they thought she'd be fine too.  They said it's possible to grow out of a childhood food allergy, so we're praying that by her teen years she'll be enjoying shellfish with the rest of us.  But for now, no shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, oysters or scallops for Kate.  

Look how cute she is, even with hives 

I like cheese :)

Kate said her first sentence a few weeks ago.  We were at the Peters house for dinner.  Rachel knows that cheese is Kate's favorite food, but after pulling it out of the fridge, Rachel looked at me and hesitated.  I knew she was wondering how much cheese Kate had already eaten that day.  Kate was observing our entire interaction, and shouted confidently and clearly to Rachel, "I LIKE CHEESE!!"  Yes, let there be know doubt, Kate likes cheese :)

Here are a few pics of Kate and Cana from Norris :)

Here's Kate dancing and Cana imitating a monkey :)