New Freckles

Our big girl is getting freckles on her cheeks.



 I just noticed them today.  They are so cute and so Daniel.  I was hoping I could capture them today, but they're pretty faint in the photo.  Oh well.  You can see them if you look very closely.



She's started calling me "moms."  As in...

Moms?  Moms!!!  Where is you???  I want some milk!  Moms?  Oh, there you are!  I need some milk.  Thanks, Moms.

I don't know where she got it, but it's pretty amusing.



Elliot has begun saying, "yeah" with such enthusiasm.  Especially when asked questions like, "Elliot -- did you hit Lucy?"

YEAH!!!  



"That was a sad choice.  I'd like you to go apologize and give her a sweet kiss.  Thank you.  Elliot -- did you go poopoo?"

YEAH!!!!

(inside, I sigh disappointedly)



We spent the afternoon in our new toddler pool.  It was wonderful.  I didn't have to move. 
 

I could just sit in the cool water and play with the kids and hold them on my lap, and it was really lovely. 
 

I'm hoping to spend several more afternoons this way before baby #3 arrives. 



Guess date is a week from tomorrow.

PS -- I passed my big test!!!  Won't have to take it again for 10 years! :) 

Slowing Down

The test is finally over!  It was brutal.  I'll find out the results in a couple weeks.  But I'm relieved to have it over, pass or fail. 



The to-do list before baby gets here is long.  It includes planning 3 parties I'm hosting this summer, planning a trip to Europe (scheduled for July), 2 photography sessions, making curtains for the big kids' room, de-cluttering our bedroom, and doing some PA-related licensing business. 
 

But the test is over, and all of those other activities are, at least, able to be crossed off the list as I finish them.  I guess "slowing down" is not the right title for this blog post, but it's what came to mind.  I'd like to slow down.  As I cross these items off the list, they'll be done, and I won't put anything else in their place.  I need to make space for baby#3.  Emotional space.  Mental space.  Not long now -- 2 weeks till the due date. 



I took the kids to a clothes store today so Lucy could pick out a present for the baby -- a baby girl outfit and a baby boy outfit.  I think we'll wrap up both so that she can give the baby the present right away after the birth.  The baby has a gift for her, too! 



We'll have a little cake to celebrate the baby's birth day.  I'm excited.  Hopefully baby doesn't come smack in the middle of the night -- it would be nice if Lucy and Elliot were awake not long after the birth (because that's when the birth photographer will be there).  But we'll see!  Baby will come when baby comes.

Mommy-And-Me Maternity

I traded mommy-and-me maternity sessions with a friend the other day. 
 

She and I are actually due within a week of each other, so this session was well-timed... for both of us.  I love mommy-and-me sessions. 

 

I am so rarely in photos with the kids, much less in makeup and decent clothes. 

 

It's interesting to swap sessions with another photographer, because sometimes you really get to see a difference in style. 




 

I love these.  Thank you, Bailey, for taking them!

Life Skills

I was talking with a group of moms this last week about helping your children to develop life skills. 



It would seem most in our culture under-estimate their kids' abilities for a given age, myself included. 



It requires so much effort and energy at the forefront to teach small children to do household tasks, that it's tempting to blow it off completely.

 

...but giving in to that temptation is no good, in the long run. 



It seems to breed resentment in everybody, and it certainly doesn't produce hard-working, capable older children. 
 

So I've been making an effort, here and there, to see more potential in my kids' abilities and to spend a little more time training them in tasks that I would otherwise like to be done with as soon as possible. 



It's amazing how much they like doing some of these things! 
 

Lucy's job is to clean out the silverware. 
 

She's only really done it a handful of times, but I can tell she feels proud of herself for getting to help, and she actually is learning how to sort the silverware properly and not just dump it all into the silverware drawer. 
 

I know before long whether she has to do the silverware will be yet another battle. 
 

But for now, it's an exciting new responsibility she enjoys. 



I would like to keep my mind on that -- appreciating her enthusiasm while it lasts and not already dreading the battles ahead. 



Both Lucy and Elliot enjoy "having a turn" with the carrot peeler when I'm peeling carrots.  This has resulted in my trying to peel carrots in secret.  We only have one peeler, and if I have to give them each a turn, that substantially increases the amount of time it takes me to peel a big pile of carrots.  But in spite of that, they each usually get a couple of turns with the carrot peeler. 



(Why don't I just buy another carrot peeler?)  And Lucy had a particularly pleasant time the other day peeling her carrot into the front end loader.  You will not find that activity on any of the Pinterest "toddler activity" pages, but it sure kept her occupied for a good 10 minutes. 



Time well spent, in my opinion--even if it slowed down dinner preparations by a good 10 minutes.

Random Update

Daniel is in Mexico this week.  Both of our parents are helping me while he's gone.  I can't imagine living far away from them with these young kids -- they are life savers.
 



Especially when Daniel is gone, they are often the difference between feeling completely defeated and feeling on top of this parenting-tiny-ones stage.   





Elliot is sick.  Actually, Lucy is, too.  They both had fevers today.  Fevers sometimes make them lethargic and more manageable.  But not today.  These fevers just seemed to reduce their coping skills.





We're doing survival swim lessons every evening, between dinner and bedtime.  They are intense lessons -- this year with a different person than the last 2 years (only for scheduling reasons.  We love Tracey with Floating Kiwis).



The kids don't really enjoy the lessons themselves (well--Lucy is starting to, a little).  But I think they'll enjoy being able to swim on their own this summer.  Lucy, especially, loves the independence she's had in the pool the last two summers.





Elliot is able to hold his breath an especially long time.  That sounds like a good thing, but actually it makes him a little more challenging to train to float.  He makes you wait a long time before he turns over and gets air.  He's not gasping or desperate for air.  He just waits longer than most to decide he's willing to do what needs to be done to breathe.

 

The vacuum cleaner has gone from terrifying to exhilarating.



Both kids now love running around the carpet yelling, "ah!  ah!  ah!" while I vacuum.




And the other evening they both enjoyed experimenting with the intense suction of the hose.  It was pretty great.



We are anxious for Daniel to get home.