A Letter to my Husband

Dear Andy,

Thank you for being such an amazing father to our kids. As I type, you are in Jack and Molly's room making a "Cave of Darkness" and snuggling and making them giggle uncontrollably. You already told them that you missed them so much this weekend while you worked and asked them what they did today. You let them pick which pajama pants you would wear this evening and you encouraged them to pee pee in the potty. All this shows that you are an awesome daddy who encourages our kids to make their own choices, scolds when they make bad choices, shows them just how loved they are, and brings joy to their lives.

I can't wait to have another little baby with you in six weeks.

I love you.

Me

Cute Stuff the Kids Have Said and Done Lately

Jack...

• "Jackson is all done apple. Put away"and then he put his half-eaten apple back in the apple drawer at my parents' house (I think he was saving it for Uncle Kurt to find)
• "Molly is a pretty princess"
• "Mommy stinky. Mommy needs new diaper" (after I tooted...I blamed it on Natalie)
• at 345 am this morning I hear him jabbering "Jackson watch Birdhouse on the 'puter"
• "How about Mommy/Daddy/Molly/Blue Puppy!" (aka "I'm particularly pleased with you and I would like to give you a little shout out")
• "Arms in the air. All done!" as he and Daddy celebrated getting his flu shot.
• Sitting on the top step of our basement stairs to take his shoes off...just like Papa.

Molly...

• "All done schweepin" (sweeping). "Put away".
• "Noooo" as she laughs and giggles to tease us
• Getting mad at Andy when he put her in time out and she buried her face in the wall and refused to look at him when he went to get her out
• Climbing on my lap and lifting my shirt to give Baby kisses...right on my belly button because that is the mouth, of course.
• When we put Jack to bed, she pipes up from her crib and sings Appletree with us
• Sings the ABCs
• Grabs the dishtowel EVERY time we turn the water on in the kitchen

2 1/2

Today, Jack is 2 1/2 years old.

Today, Jack said "Bob Dylan" much to his father's delight.

Today, Jack almost boxed Molly when she offered him his juice like a boxing trainer offers water.

Today, Jack counted 20 stars.

Today, Jack ate 1 1/2 pieces of garlic toast and lots o' noodles.

Today, Jack told the cable guy that his name is "Puppy Shirt".

Today, Jack waved at me from the front window and met me at the garage door with a big, welcome-home, hug.

Today, my little baby boy seems so big.

Molly's Stats

Molly's 18 Month Stats (Really, they are her 19 month stats because we are too busy to take her to the doctor!):

Weight: 29 1/2 lbs. (95th percentile)
Height: 33 1/4 in. (75th percentile)

She is growing wonderfully and you would never know she was premature. She has really started talking a TON lately. She says a couple sentences and fifty bajillion words. She likes books, music, Jack Jack, food, and trying to jump.

When she got her shot at the doctor, she cried and asked for Jack Jack. I love that!

This s*** is Bananas B-A-N-A-N-A-S

I am not the type of mom that likes to buy my kids character clothing. We don't have many things Elmo, or Dora, or Clifford, etc. However, I did pick up a pair of pajamas for Jack at Once Upon a Child with Curious George on them. They are the old man style with a button top and pants and little monkeys all over them.

Jack HEARTS them...BIG TIME! He goes bananas for them. How appropriate.

He calls them "Curiousisis George jammies".

He throws a royal fit when he wakes up wet and he can't wear Curiuosisis George jammies again the next night.

He does little happy dances when we wash Curiousisis George jammies with the promise that he can wear them, tonight.

I would buy him another pair, but I don't want him to be That Kid in preschool who wears his monkey pajamas to class every day. Even though they would be too small by then. And you know he would...

In other news, Molly ripped seven keys off of our laptop keyboard... k, p, m, 2, 3, 7, l. I have no idea what that says about her personality. We're amazed that we found them all. I had visions of taking her to the Emergency room and explaining that we can't find the p. And then we would be digging through her poo, looking for it.

That s*** is bananas.

(My apologies to anyone who doesn't like a good Gwen Stefani reference)

That's all.

Molly Speaks

Molly says ALOT of words, but here are some of my favorites:

"ashes ashes down" == Ring Around the Rosie

"Baby" == as she points to my belly

"peeashe" == please

"caka" == cracker

"some more" == pretty self explanatory

"joosh" and "shoosh" == juice and shoes

"uv eww" == love you

Written because Mommy feels bad for ignoring this baby...

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along? 20 weeks

Size of Baby? about 6 1/2 inches and 11 ounces

Weight gain? about 5 pounds

Maternity clothes? depends on the outfit...busted out the maternity jeans this weekend (hello, Fall!) and remembered why I hate them.

Gender? GIRL -- Natalie Renee

Movement? Absolutely, this little one is very wiggly and nestled quite low... she also enjoys kicking me in the bladder

Sleep? pretty immediate when my head hits the pillow but somewhat interrupted with bathroom breaks and waking up four minutes before my alarm

Symptoms? some swelling with the heat and being on my feet all day, fatigue, kicks and jabs...

What I miss? honestly, nothing! I am loving this pregnancy and trying to enjoy every single milestone and moment even though I tend to forget I'm pregnant.

Cravings? sour candy, milk, turkey subs

Best moment this week? Jackson saying "Night night, Natalie" when I put him to bed

Mommy's Thoughts: When people ask me how I'm feeling, I usually say "great" and it's the truth. I know this is the rosy second trimester, but I'm not as achy as I was with the other two and I really feel energetic. The kids are adorable when they kiss my belly and lift my shirt to peek at the baby.

I am loving the fact that I know that this one is a little girl. I already went through all of Molly's clothes and organized them in preparation. I really start to bond with the baby when we know what we are having and I feel very happy knowing that I am getting ready to welcome little Natalie. I like imagining our family of five and how the girls will interact with each other and what a great big brother Jack will be to his littlest sister.

I can't really express how relieved I am and excited I am to know that we have every reason to believe I will deliver around January 15th (not early) and be holding a chubby little baby and bringing her home right away. I anticipate the future but I don't want to rush this whole experience along, either. Right now, we're enjoying our time with Jack and Molly and having fun family time together.