Gage - Twenty Three Month Letter

Dear Little Fuzzy Head,
Ok, I will admit it, I put of posting this letter to you because, well, I saw the 23 months and panicked. It made the fact that you're about to be two a little too real. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves. There's a lot to share about your accomplishments this month.

First of all, you're doing SO GREAT with potty training. You're telling us when you need to poop, most of the time. You're not as consistent with telling us you need to potty, but if you can master the pooping first, I won't mind. We are really proud of your success so far.

Secondly, you have started using complete sentences pretty much all the time. Especially when you like something or want something that we have. The other day, we were out of fruit snacks, and I was going to the store to get milk and a few other things, and you said "Mommy go buy fruit snacks". We laughed pretty hard at your thought process.

You sort of understand that I have a baby in my tummy, but you haven't figured out that not everyone else does too. You also understand more than I realize about getting into trouble, and staying out of it. You think it's funny to say "yes" when I ask if you want a spanking. I finally sat you down and explained to you that if you said yes, then I was going to start giving them every time you said yes. Then I asked if you wanted a spanking and you said "no". GOTCHA! You little smart alec, you!

You are just full of excitement and words and interest in life. You're ridiculously smart, I swear. I'm not just talking as a mom here. I know what other kids your age are like. I've done a lot of working with kids in my day. You're very bright, a fast learner, and great to talk to. That's a big change: we can actually have conversations with you now. You are somewhat reasonable too. If we explain something to you, you are pretty good about going with the flow til you can get what you want.

We're so proud of you. I miss you so much because you're doing all these big kid things and making me wish you were just a little bit more of a baby still. I will say that you're good at cuddling now. You like to sit and read books - no, you LOVE TO READ BOOKS - and cuddle to watch Dora. You sing a lot. Since I love to sing, it makes me proud to hear you. You currently will sing the chorus to Taylor Swift's "Mean" with me. We don't actually sing the part about getting hit, but you performed it like a little star at Thanksgiving this year, much to my delight.

I cannot accept the fact that you're about to be TWO. I can't. You're still my squishy cheeked little Baby Big Head, even though your new buzzed haircut makes you look twice as tall and ready for college. You're super awesome,Gage! We couldn't love you more!

Love,
Mommy

14 weeks

I know what you're wondering...where's the sonogram pictures?! Well, funny story, actually. As I may have hinted at before, this baby was a little bit of a surprise. We were planning on starting to try for another baby in December. Mostly because my health insurance at this job kicked in on Nov 1st. So, while I've been carefully taking care of myself - this ain't my first rodeo - I haven't seen my OB yet. It just didn't make sense to throw that wrench into the cogs. Why see the doctor before my insurance kicked in, and then deal with trying to make sure they cover everything like they're suppose to. Because we have an HMO, I actually have to have a referral from our primary care doctor to see the OB. Pregnancy has to be confirmed before seeing that "specialist". I don't really mind going jumping through those hoops. I actually have great coverage with the insurance, and won't have much of anything to pay out of pocket for this whole pregnancy/delivery. But, alas, I had to wait til the insurance kicked in to see the doctor. I'm seeing her today. And hopefully squeezing in an appt with the OB next week. They already know I'm pregnant, and said to call them if I had any problems at all before my actual appointment. I love their office.

The nausea has gotten so much better. I'm so thankful. That was so rough. I guess maybe it's just because I've always hated being nauseous. I was never the kind of person who could throw up easily to get rid of the nausea either. My mom use to try and gross me out to help me puke and feel better, and I never could. It's my cast iron stomach. The thing about pregnancy nausea...throwing up doesn't make it go away. Unless you puke up a baby. Which I don't recommend, nor do I think is humanly possible. Heartburn has been an almost all day occurrence, but again, MUCH BETTER THAN NAUSEA.

The baby is actually the size of a peach now, and I recall that we found out Gage was a boy around 16 weeks. So, it shouldn't be long before we know what we're having. Amusing piece of information: We have a total of 5 pregnancies at my office. Two other girls here are, and then the wives of 2 male employees are. Plus me. And, so far, there are 2 boys and 2 girls expected. So, I am the tie breaker. GO TEAM BABY BOY!!!!!

We should be seeing the baby in the next week or so, and I will definitely share pics once we have them. Because everyone loves looking at those alien lumps in black and white and pretending they're so cute when they really just look weird. I'm secretly terrified there're TWO kids in there. I don't know why. Maybe because one healthy baby is just another notch on my belt. TWO babies would send me into a spiral of tears and general panic. And, I don't have any real fears that the baby isn't healthy or growing just fine. The nausea and other symptoms are actually good signs of a healthy pregnancy. But bad nausea can mean a girl, or multiple babies. Plus, I am a little fluffy for not being even 4 months yet. Of course, I didn't start out a size 0 like I did the first time, coming from teaching classes at the gym and being younger and healthier. Trust me, a baby at 24 and a baby at 27 feels very different. And, wow, for a second there, I felt really young! Curtis will likely be 36 when this baby is born, since it's due beginning of May and his birthday is May 13th. It's very possible this baby will make it past his birthday.

I'm sure he's rolling his eyes and thanking me for reminding him of HOW OLD HE'S GETTING!!!!! I promise to throw you a really huge 40th birthday party, sweetheart!! (P.S. My husband is in incredible shape from how hard he works. He's probably healthier than most men my age anyway. And much hotter too!!) Now that Curtis is thoroughly embarrassed, I'll move along with the rest of my day.

Hope you guys have a great weekend!