39 weeks

Since I'm mostly stuck at home, crocheting continues:

One more week to go until my due date. Mom comes on Friday, so hopefully the baby waits until then. Well, actually after then would be best, since I will be picking up my mom from the airport in the afternoon on Friday. Everything would just be easier all around, especially for Anja, with my mom here. I hope Mom remembers how to make playdoh animals and color with crayons because Anja is ready.

The baby continues to be more and more active, if that were possible. And my belly is still getting bigger, even though I'm not gaining any more weight. I have a prenatal appointment tomorrow, but nothing special is scheduled, just a regular checkup. Until now I've managed to avoid weekly appointments, because let's face it, I can weigh myself and check my blood pressure at home and they don't really do anything else except make us wait an hour or more in the waiting room. But now they're going to want me in more frequently I'm sure. With any luck this will be the last time I have to go in.

Anja had her last day of daycare for a while, and I think she will miss it. She was cranky on her last day there and didn't want to say bye to Debbie. Then at dinner that night she said she wanted to go back. She seems to understand that something big is happening, and I think it's going to be a rough month for her coming up. But she's pretty resilient so I'm sure she'll come through it fine.

And just a few comments from Anja:

Anja: (close to bedtime last night) It's too late. I'm not going to bed anymore. I don't like it.

Anja: That scrub jay flew away. He went to have breakfast. With his mommy.

The calm before the stork

I stole that title from another website, but that's how it feels these days. Here is Jay's fortune from a few days ago from our eerily accurate Chinese place.

Mine was "You have an interesting sports opportunity coming up", which I suppose is also a little accurate. Labor/delivery is definitely interesting.

Potty training continues. We are doing pretty well, but still not 100%. I would say, 90%. She doesn't have any peeing accidents anymore, except sometimes at night if she's been sleeping for 8 hours or so. We still haven't put a diaper on her since we started the process a few weeks ago. I was a little nervous the first few times we went out with her, but she's done great. We just have to be aware of where all the bathrooms are around town now.

I'm still really uncomfortable, and often in pain. It really hurts to walk most of the time, so I've been resting at home mainly. This has helped a lot. It also gives me time to make things like this:

And here are more toddler conversations:

Anja: (Trying to get me to come play with her) Come in my room Mommy. Get up! Is everything okay with your bum? Then get up! Walk around!

Anja: (to Jay in the morning when he's still asleep in bed) Daddy, what's wrong with you? Because you're sad. Do you need a bandaid? Do you need a bandaid?

Toddler conversations and 38 weeks

We just discovered this week that Anja can play Memory (aka "matching cards"). And she's not half bad at it. I wonder what other games she would like that we haven't even thought of playing with her:

Also, more conversations:

Anja: (with no clothes on in the middle of the living room, after a bath)

Me: Anja, are you ready to pick out some underwear?

Anja: No, I'm not.

Me: I know, but you should still wear some underwear.

Anja: No, let's play Simon Says! (jumps around the room)

Anja: Daddy, do you want to play matching cards?! Daddy, do you want to play matching cards?

Jay: Yes, I'll play matching cards with you.

Anja: Okay! Then do it!

Anja: There's a blueberry in my yogurt.

Me: I think that's a strawberry.

Anja: No, that's a blueberry actually.

Anja: I pooped in my pants. But that's fine.

Jay: Why is there a bunch of space junk on the Discovery Channel? I wanna see guys cuttin' down trees and getting into fights over grappling hooks.

(okay, that last one wasn't from a toddler, but still seems like it qualifies somehow)

In pregnancy updates, today was my last day of work. Also I am still pregnant.

daycare and conversations

Here are a few random conversations with Anja this week, interspersed with completely unrelated pictures from daycare:

Anja: (while climbing under covers) I'm hiding for a ninnle (little) while, couple times.

Anja: I love you Mommy! (big hug)

Anja: Daddy, what are you doing? Daddy, what are you doing? Daddy! I'm talking to you! Daddy, what are you doing?

Anja: (On the way to her room) Bye Mommy, see you later. I'll come back and play with you tomonnow (tomorrow). (about 10 seconds later from down the hall) Mommy! Come in my room!

Anja: I have something in my nose!

Me: Oh, what do you have in your nose?

Anja: (quietly) A rissin

Me: A what?

Anja: A raisin!

Me: And Peter lost one of his shoes in the cabbages and the other amongst the potatoes.

Anja: 'mongst the potatoes! 'mongst the potatoes! 'mongst the potatoes! (she repeats this every time we read that part of the book)

Jay: Anja, you're getting heavy.

Anja: That's not very nice!

Jay: What, saying you're getting heavy?

Anja: Yeah.

Jay: It just means you're growing up.

Anja: I not growing up!

Anja: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mom! Mom? I can call you Mom.

Me: No, my name is Mommy.

Anja: I can call you Mom.

Me: But my name is Mommy.

It's like magic

Anja's potty training has been going great. Except for a few hours at daycare yesterday when she had some "runny poo issues" (details omitted), she has been diaper free since Friday morning. And last night she woke up on her own at 4am to use the bathroom, then woke up in the morning in a dry bed! It was very tempting not to follow this particular program completely, especially since it just doesn't seem like she could be potty trained at night so quickly, but apparently it does work. We are optimistic about continued success in the coming weeks.

Our yard is a nice size for a city lot, and huge by California standards. It has a lot of little hiding places that are great for a little kid to explore. Jay made Anja this fort:

Blue loves having a yard again, especially on the sunny days.

Three Day Potty Training!

First, here's some baby movement:

I'm pretty sure this is more movement than most people see when they're pregnant, but this is how it's been for both of my pregnancies. And it's like this nonstop for almost all of my waking hours for months. It's exhausting! My doctor wanted me to keep a daily "kick count card" which means you write down how many minutes or hours it takes for your baby to move 10 times or something like that. Jay and I thought that would be a pretty funny waste of time for us. There was no box to check for how many seconds it takes.

The big news this weekend is that we started the Three Day Potty Training Method with Anja. Up until now we've only dabbled in potty training, not following any particular plan and not being very consistent, with mixed results. But we decided that this might be our last chance to try potty training for real before the new baby comes and it's too chaotic around here. So Jay stayed home on Friday with Anja so we would have the three full days needed to start this program. The general idea is that you stop using diapers cold turkey and never go back, not even at night. But it takes a few days to establish that this is the new regime for the trainee which is why you need at least three days. So far so good. I would summarize as follows:

Day 1: Lots of big accidents, no telling us when she had to go, but making it through 8 hours of sleep or a two hour nap mostly dry.

Day 2: Lots of accidents, no big ones, and getting better at stopping once she starts to pee so she can finish in the potty.

Day 3: Fewer accidents, all small, and by late afternoon she was telling us when she had to go. By the end of the day she was keeping her underwear dry between telling us when she had to go.

Pretty good progress for just three days. Daycare will continue the program this week with her and hopefully we're really done with diapers for Anja for real.

And finally, here's a humorous video of Jay mowing the lawn with Anja:

After tomorrow I'll be considered full term, although it will still be three weeks until my official due date. Really, the baby could come at any time, although not likely for at least a couple of weeks. In any case, we have everything we need now, so any time is fine with me. We're sticking pretty close to home and I'm just trying to get through these last few weeks. I'm really uncomfortable, and even walking is painful so I can't do too much. I'm finishing up projects at work this week and after next Monday I'm on maternity leave so I just need to make it until then and I can rest a little more.

Mother's Day weekend conversations

Anja: These are my bunnies!

Me: Yes. Mommy made those for you because you are special.

Anja: No! I'm not special! THEY are special!

Me: And you are special.

Anja: No! I'm not special!

Me: You don't want to be special?

Anja: No.

Me: Oh, what are you then?

Anja: (thinks for a minute) A monkey!

Mother's Day morning:

Jay: Anja, do you have something you wanted to say to Mommy?

Anja: (smiling) Noooo

Jay: Are you sure, do you remember what you were going to say?

Anja: No.

Jay: Did you want to say 'Happy Mother's Day'?

Anja: No. I don't want to say that.

Later when we went out to breakfast, spontaneously in the middle of pancakes:

Anja: Happy Mother's Day Mommy!

Me: Thank you Anja (as I teared up a little).

Anja: Happy Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day!

Me: Thank you. (more tearing up, but now a little laughing)

Anja: Happy Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day!

(now both Jay and I are really laughing and both have tears in our eyes)

Anja: Happy Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day!

Me: (through laughing and tears) Stop, stop.

And here's Anja being Mommy to her doll, Mimi, who we've been dressing up in newborn clothes lately. She was trying to read her a book:

Happy Mother's Day!