Perfecting The Waddle

You know when you get so big in your pregnancy that the waddle inevitably finds you? It sneaks in, like an unwelcome house guest, and decides to make you feel frumpy, fat, and flat-out fatigued.

The waddle is here, people. It's here to stay until this baby comes.

That being said, the waddle did arrive much, much earlier when I was pregnant with my first.

Today, I was sitting in the kitchen, waiting for the toddler's Spongebob macaroni and cheese to cool off, and I realized the house was particularly quiet. It wasn't the oh-no-my-little-one-is-doing-something-he-shouldn't-be quiet. It was the my-little-one-is-asleep-somewhere kind of quiet.

And sure enough, when I waddled into the living room, this blessed sight met my eyes.

This afternoon, I waddled into the thankfully-not-too-long line to vote. (On a side note, there should be a separate line for pregnant ladies. At least 8 month pregnant ladies. Don't you agree??) Here's my thing about voting: If you don't vote, you have absolutely no right to complain. There. I said it.

For the next couple months, the hubbs is back and forth and all over the place with residency interviews. It's fun to hear about the different places and programs. It's reminding me that there is life after this little one arrives--life full of its usual big decisions.

But for now, it's eight month pregnant momma hoping that I don't go into labor while my husband is gone. And, of course, my side kick is being toted everywhere. I'm waddling for sure now, but able to do so much more this time around. It's funny how necessity exposes our true potential. When I was pregnant with the toddler, I would prop my feet up and feel exhausted if I'd gone grocery shopping. Now, getting up at 6:00 most mornings, showering, going to meetings, running to the grocery store, toting the toddler around on top of my big belly, cooking dinner, cleaning the house, and hitting the pillow around 11:30 are the norm. 

I'm snuggling him. I'm cuddling him. I'm playing cars and exhausting myself further and further, because I know it will never be just us two again.

Don't get me wrong. I cannot, cannot, cannot wait to hold little brother. I can't wait to smother him with kisses, bathe him in my tears, and thank God to finally have him in my arms. I can't imagine my heart doubling in size, but it's a thrilling prospect. I can't wait to learn his little personality, to laugh with him, to tuck him in at night. Oh, I just can't wait. 

But in the meantime, in the next few weeks, it's me and Big Dude. My sweet boy I've had all to myself for two and a half years. 

Tonight, the toddler and I had a dinner date just the two of us. We went to one of his favorite restaurants. We laughed. He stole half my pickle. I shared big bites with him. We talked about firetrucks. And when it came time to leave, I waddled out, holding his little hand and thinking, "This is perfect."

I'm perfecting the waddle. It's here. It means change is on the way. I'm learning you can waddle to your eighth errand carrying a toddler with his arms around your neck while you balance your purse and try to remember that thing you need to get that you keep forgetting to write down.

Little brother, we can't wait for you to come be a part of our crazy lives. How wonderful it will be to be chasing two little boys around. I can't wait. And thank heavens I won't have to waddle. :)

Surprise Baby Shower

On Monday, my sweet co-workers threw a surprise baby shower for me. It was "circus" themed, and everything looked adorable!

I was totally taken by surprise! I really, really love my job, and I am lucky to work with great people!

The Nursery

After my baby shower a few weeks ago, I was ready to start putting the nursery together! I stayed with a nautical theme, in case the boys have to share a room one day. I love how it looks, and yes, admittedly, sometimes I'll run in there and hold his clothes or rock in the rocking chair or press one of his soft blankets against my face. I can't wait for this little baby to be in my arms!

Our "to-do" list is growing very short! Only five more weeks!

Sorry!

A couple of months ago, Blogger removed my Shabby Blogs background. Nothing I could do to tweak the HTML would let me get the background back. I've looked into the problem, and apparently, I'm not the only Blogger user who is having this issue.

In the meantime, I'm trying to tear my blog apart and completely rebuild it. Please bear with me! Thanks!

A Fairly Good Day

This morning, my friend Christi and I took our kiddos to the free day at the Arkansas State Fair! We took them last year and had such a great time. I really, really love the fair--the atmosphere, the food, the promise that fall has arrived, and did I mention the food!?

Here's a picture of the cuties from last year:

Oh my, what a difference a year makes! Last year, we leisurely walked around the fair, chatting, eating great food, and our little angels were perfectly content to sit quietly in their strollers and take in the sights.

This year, the toddler wanted to ride every.dang.ride. I have to admit, I thought he wouldn't want to ride any of the rides! I told him we would do the Ferris wheel and we would go see the animals, but I wasn't prepared for a scream fest every time we walked by a ride! And the worst part? He wasn't tall enough for the rides! He was only a couple inches too short, but it shattered my Momma heart into a million trillion pieces. I mean, really, my nearly two-and-a-half year old can't ride on a train that moves at 2 mph in a 20' diameter circle!? Come on!

So, we rode on the carousel, and the toddler loved it!

Then, we took the kiddos to go pet and feed the animals. My little one has always been a major animal lover (completely ironic, if you know me or my husband), and I'm pretty sure he could have stayed in that nasty-smelling tent for hours! :)

We bought some carrots so the toddlers could feed them to the animals. They thought it was the coolest thing!

Being 7 1/2 months pregnant obviously prevented me from riding anything other than the carousel, and so we tried to steer the little ones away from the rides. But, alas, my child had already seen it: his dream ride. . . an enormous helicopter turning in circles and wheeling in the air. He went berserk. And then Christi, who is an angel disguised as a person, suggested we stand in the eternally-long line and that she would take the kids into the helicopter.

So we waited. And waited. And waited. And I spoke the same words, very sternly, over and over and over again, "Yes, you are going to ride on the helicopter. We are waiting. You have to wait." And after about thirty minutes, and several conversations about "this is why you don't take your two-and-a-half year old to Disney World," it was time for the helicopter ride!

Getting into the helicopter!

Super Mom! A toddler on each hip!

I will forever be grateful to Christi for taking my sweet boy on the ride he was just dying to ride on! And, of course, he loved it!

Then, it was time for purchasing some ridiculously-priced toys that the toddler just had to have: a red race car and a blue airplane!

After having his fill of animals, loud noises, rides, crowds, chaos, and toys, my child promptly lost it. I'm not exaggerating. He didn't go to bed last night until 11:30, and he was running into our room this morning at 6:15. It had caught up with him. "I want to go HOME!" he screamed, with tears running down his cheeks.

I went into panic mode. Why? Um, because I hadn't had ANY fair food yet, duh! Why do you think I ran by the ATM and took out $40.00 at 7:30 this morning for FREE day at the fair!?!?

So, we divided and conquered. Christi went after the corn dogs; I went after the jumbo bags of cotton candy.

After stuffing one jumbo bag under the stroller and securing the other one under the covering on the stroller, I ran to Christi, grabbed my corn dog, squirted mustard on it, said a 2 second goodbye, and sprinted through the crowds and for the exit. Yes, I was shoving a corn dog down my throat, pushing a screaming toddler wielding an enormous inflatable airplane all over the place, through the parking lot, darting in front of cars, up a very, very, very steep grass hill, and by the time we got to the car, I was just about ready to cry.

Do you ever feel like, "Why do I even try to do fun things for my child? It backfires every dang time!" Well, that's how I felt, as I watched my angel crying, with red cheeks, begging to go home.

But hey, I'm thinking next year will be way better, because the toddler will be tall enough to ride all the rides. And all of our pictures look really happy, right? And I'm pretty sure that's all he'll remember when he looks back through old family albums. (What I'll remember? That you can in fact sprint at 33 weeks pregnant, pushing a stroller with two popped wheels, and cramming a delicious corn dog into your mouth.)



The Toddler's New Room

Last week, we officially moved the toddler into his new bedroom! As soon as my hubby finished building and painting the bed (he only has to finish making the drawers that go on each side), we were organizing the closet, moving playroom stuff out, and moving bedroom stuff in. Of course, the toddler will only be in this room for about six months before we move, but I'm so happy with it!

We are getting a new bedside lamp for his bedside table. Last night, I was enjoying a bubble bath when the door burst open, and the toddler ran in holding his pointer finger and declaring, "My finger hurts! The light hurt my finger!" He had touched the small bulb and burned his finger, so Momma is going to make a quick trip to Walmart today for better lamp.

We kept the craft table in his room so he would have a place to color and play. He has loved it! He plays with his cars at the table.

We also left his reading chair and the bucket of cardboard books (the nice books are all in the nursery) as well as his basketball goal. I'm very happy with how everything turned out. . . and I think the toddler is, too! He is very proud of his new big-boy room!