Singing?

Okay, check out the video that I posted at Emily's picasa site. I don't want to be "that Mom," but I really think she is trying to sing on pitch! Unfortunately, this was the best video we could get because she gets camera-happy (CHEESE!!!!), but she sits and sings her (version of) ABC's and twinkle-twinkle all the time. I swear I hear pitches in there! Am I crazy? Wishfully imagining things? Or is this normal for an almost-2-year-old? I have no idea, but I love it. Just beautiful. :)

Sidetracked

Okay, so the pooping in the potty seemed to overall be an experience Emily did not enjoy, and she's been leery of the potty ever since. Oh well - she's still in diapers, so it's not like it's a bad time for a setback.

The remodeling is in full swing now. The kitchen floor has been torn up, and the dining room carpeting has been moved to the den in the basement. There's only a few small things to take care of in that room before Travis's desk can go in there, and then the guest bed can be moved downstairs. I have been painting Emily's room, so the border is all yellow and tomorrow during Emily's nap I'll roll out the walls - first coat. That room had such dark paint in it that all in all it'll take two coats of primer and two coats of paint to really look nice. Thursday, the new cabinets will be delivered here, and then on Saturday the demolition will begin. Emily and I will be in Rockford over the weekend to avoid the hubbub. I'm sure that's all the further that things will stay on track, so I won't bother with details until it actually comes true. The thing that worries me is that Travis wants to install the flooring by himself, which will be a whole weekend project, probably. The logical weekend to do it is Sept 12 - the ISU / Iowa football game. Gah!!!

I went to my last pilates class tonight, and it was good. I enjoyed getting a little exercise, just a little bit of exertion but mostly relaxation and focus on just what shape my body is these days. Baby likes to jump around most evenings starting at about 8:30. Last night I was asleep by 9:30, and woke up tireder than ever at 6:30 AM and had a screaming headache most of the day. To summarize: these days, I feel like crap. My ribs HURT, and I have an overall achey feeling like I have a fever, but no other symptoms. I'm exhausted and clumsy and feeling overwhelmed and unambitious all at the same time.

Right on schedule - baby's jumping!

Wow. Wow!!

I can't believe it - she actually did it. Shortly before bathtime tonight, Emily gave me a funny look, said she had to go potty, and then she actually pooped in the potty!!! My jaw is still on the floor... amazing!!! Travis gave her three skittles for a reward, and I don't know that she's ever had skittles before so she really got a kick out of that. She asked for more, and we explained to her that if she can poop in the potty again she'll get more skittles. I guess I'll have to stock my purse and the diaper bag with a stash of skittles, because I sure don't want to discourage her out of my own carelessness. I just can't believe it. She wasn't really that impressed with herself, either, except to comment that it "tinks." She was right - it was really awful, and I thought of an acquaintance of mine that was bribing her 3-year-old son to poop in the potty and when he finally did, she threw up while she was cleaning up the potty. I can't say I blame her. :)

That was a really long paragraph about poop. I so apologize! But WOW, right??

Travis has started the remodeling - the backsplash is gone and he's repairing the drywall behind it, and the new sink was delivered today. We've got Emily's new room primed and ready for a coat of pretty yellow paint. Saturday morning, he takes out the existing kitchen floor while Emily and I go to the zoo with some other young moms from Deere. It still baffles me that by the time Emily turns 2, we'll have new kitchen cabinets, countertops, and floor including hard flooring in the dining room; carpet in the room downstairs that we've taken to calling the den; Emily will have a new room with a big-girl bed; and maybe she'll be potty trained! Crazy!

inching closer...

Okay, so I know I've posted a lot about Emily's relationship with the potty, so this may be old to hear about, but I am so proud of her today because she went four times!!!! I changed a wet diaper after her nap, and she kept it dry all evening so I just kept putting it back on her (that's not gross, is it?) And the astonishing part is, the first time today was at her suggestion - AT TARGET! It was like she saw the restrooms right as we walked in and decided it would be a good idea to go before we got into the store. Incredible. I thought for sure she'd get distracted or intimidated but that it would be good practice to go through the motions, but she really went! I then felt a little guilty for not taking her seriously when she had suggested it earlier in the day at Fareway. I guess I'd better scope out where the bathrooms are there, too!

I am hoping things go okay tonight for her, because she hardly ate any supper at all. She had probably 3 oz. of milk and maybe 8 rotini noodles. She kept suggesting pancakes or fruit, but I want to teach her that she's gotta eat what I made for supper, and if she gets enough of that and is still hungry then we can have bread and jelly or whatever. I hope she's not getting sick, because she fell right asleep tonight when I laid her down, instead of pursuing the 45 minutes of singing and playing that has become standard over the past week. I should probably go to bed now so I'm ready if her empty tummy keeps her up in the night. I think she might have plateaued on her growth a little, cuz her enormous appetite (and accompanying output) have seemed to scale back to closer to appropriate for her size.

I really do enjoy my days at home with her. Things were quiet and dull today, but Tuesday she kept suggesting fun things we should do together, like going to the park, reading stories, playing my violin, and playing in the sandbox. I think some of it is that she's applying her daycare routine to home, and I'm just a little slow on picking up on it. :) "Duh, Mom - we always go to the park mid-morning, go swimming after lunch, then read stories and have a nap. Try to keep up!!"

Baby has been jumping around so much tonight, it's crazy. I did a lot of physical activity during Emily's nap this afternoon, so maybe s/he didn't get any exercise then while I was sorting through maternity clothes and trying to empty the closets in Emily's new room. I've been battling a sore left hip, and trying to stretch or do something for relief. I guess my ligaments are already loosening, getting ready for delivery. It's weird - on the one hand, I'll be really ready to not be pregnant anymore, but I'm definitely feeling more like I'm glad to have nearly 3 months left. I know I'll be really uncomfortable by the time baby comes, but there's so much that needs to happen between now and then that I'm okay with there being that much time. I haven't really wrapped my mind around how I am going to throw 100% in two directions... it kills me to think of giving up some time with Emily, but at the same time I don't want to "shortchange" Baby #2 just because older sister needs me. I definitely need the next 3 months to worry about that some more. :)

26 weeks

Okay, since it's been requested, here's the belly at 26 weeks:

I used the same setup as two years ago, but didn't bother to dig out the same clothes. You'll have to live with it. :) Baby is moving so much these days that you can watch my belly twitch sometimes. I've got so much to get done before the baby comes that I'm really not all that anxious for him/her to arrive, except for the lingering rib pain. Other than that, I'm content to waddle around and get done what I can. Our house projects are such a hole-in-the-bucket story, but we're getting things on the top of the list knocked so things should go smoothly here over the next few weeks.

Emily had a fun day with cousins again today. I absolutely love talking to her about her experiences, and knowing that the single words she tells me are actually a whole story and contain an emotion along with it. We went to Indianola last night to see the balloon lift at the festival going on there ("boon!"). Her favorite had "tars" (stars) on it and said "phwooosh" when the flames lit. Then she went and saw the "Cows! Moo!" that were in a nearby pasture, and did "somsas" (sommersaults) in the grass with her cousins. Today we went "simming" at Ashby Park, but then we had to say "byebye" to "cousins." She's a great storyteller!

Tonight, Travis and I watched Emily as she told us about the contents of her Ring Around the Rosie book. She told us practically the whole song ("pocket", "Ashees," "all fall down") with rhythm, even! Then she opened the book, and got interested in telling us about the ABC's (letters) on each page. It was so neat to see her demonstrate her understanding that letters make words and words are what we read, and then sing a good portion of the ABC's. Just awesome. :)