Three for me!

Elise and her beautiful, long
hair, pre-haircut!

Kalina and Elise play together well, we're all getting lots of sleep and our various work and other involvements are currently fun and exciting. Wow, life is so easy! Should be smooth sailing from here, right?

It seems that "easy" is not in our vocabulary. So it's with much giddy excitement that we are all anticipating the arrival of Baby #3 on our around August 30-ish. Or, judging from the pattern my previous two presented, early on August 24th, which puts me in labor on my birthday (I will be celebrating a week early). I always was a planner.

We're all thrilled with the news, but we've found that it might be Elise who's most looking forward to a new little one. Although Kalina loves babies, she doesn't quite believe us that it's going to happen ("Are you sure there's going to be a baby, or is it just pretend?"), even though she knows the routine. She sweetly cuddled a newborn we got to see the other day, and will be a remarkable second-time big sister (not to mention an even bigger help than last time).

And yet, it's not so pretty
after being drug through
food, paint, toothpaste,
etc. on a daily basis. Time for
a trim!

Elise, on the other hand, seems to be as much of a planner as her mother. "Where will the baby sleep?" she wondered within five minutes of us giving her the news. Beating even Mommy and Daddy, who still don't quite have a final answer. Fortunately, she did: "I know! The baby can sleep in my crib! And me and Kalina will have bunk beds, and I will be on the top bed! And we will all sleep in my room!" I admire her optimistic enthusiasm, but we have as little intention of putting a newborn in with the good sleepers as we do of putting a toddler in a top bunk. Back to the drawing board!

If you ask Elise is she's going to be a big sister, she'll like as not tell you, slightly irritated, "No, I am a big sister. And she's right. She has already dug out plenty of toys for the baby, and will ensure that the baby has a blanket as soft as hers. Kalina is right there with her: "Mommy, you should lay down and rest since you have a baby in your tummy." No, I didn't bribe her. Elise is also giving up the chance to go to preschool in favor of "staying home and being a big sister to the baby." Of course, we will let her change her mind if she finds that big-sistering in the newborn days isn't nearly as fun as bossing around a little person as you play with the same toys. (Incidentally, the latest insult at our house, which today brought poor Kalina to tears, is, "You're a little sister!")

Before! Who's more excited?

However, I think Elise took the cake the other day. I'd mentioned ahead of time my afternoon doctor's appointment, followed by some errands. The girls were left with Grandpa, since the wait can be a bit long. As I was putting away the groceries, appointment long forgotten, Elise asked, "How is the baby?" "Um, good," I returned, absentmindedly. "I mean, is the baby okay?" Oh! She's asking about my appointment! How sweet! I assured her that the baby was growing just fine. "Good," she said. She doesn't want anything to jeopardize her newfound Big Sister status.

For a while, Elise wanted a girl while Kalina wanted a boy, but now Kalina has switched to the girl team. We frequently repeat the rule of, "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit," lest they be disappointed. (A second common insult happens to be, "You're a boy!I") Fortunately, they both agree that a boy would have fun chasing Daddy around, and vice versa (in fact, it was for Daddy that Kalina initially thought a little brother might be a nice arrangement).

After! "I'm done, Mommy,"
she kept insisting. Finally,
she really was done! Cute!

I do wonder, however, what will happen if we do have a boy. I've noticed that the girl:boy ratio at library storytime is about 4:1, and approaching 7:1 by the end of the 30 minutes of sitting still (interspersed with songs). To be honest, library storytime and crafts kind of define our household at the moment. Would a boy fit in, or completely change everything? Not to mention the fact that both girls are scared of boys. Maybe we do need one after all....

We'll find out more in mid-April. Stay tuned.

How am I feeling? Decent, now. My first trimester found me quite sick, but fortunately it didn't set in until after the holiday festivities. When I ate, I got indigestion, and when I didn't eat, I quickly became nauseated. I hated food for a while, even chocolate--although in the rare moments I did feel okay, I also felt fully justified to gorge on my favorite foods. Lying down to rest was really the only thing that helped, as did having Matt do the supper dishes (which he actually took on during my worst nights through a couple weeks!).

Pajamas, soft blankies and M&Ms:
all set for movie night!

The girls mostly took good care of me, and sometimes even enjoyed the long stretches I spent flat on the couch, unable to do anything but watch them play (honestly, I enjoyed that sometimes too). They tried to fix me with their doctor's kit, and Elise was always quick to find "my" stuffed pink doggie to help cheer me up. Kalina even made me a card, after I drew a bunch of hearts for her to cut out, and helped her track down paper, markers, scissors, a glue stick and other supplies.

Life is better now, but according to the past few days, and at 17 weeks already, I'm not out of the woods yet--however, I am able to thoroughly enjoy chocolate again!