Yesterday, when I went in to Charlotte's room to get her after her nap, I found her reading a book to some stuffed animals in her bed. She would tell them which animal was on each page in her adorable little voice, and then turn the book around to show them the pictures!! "Look, Elmo! Look Horsey! It's a puppy!"
As soon as I saw what she was doing I squeaked out of her room to grab my phone to take those precious pictures.
I didn't get any photos of what happened today when I went in to get her after her nap, so you'll just have to envision it the best you can. :o)
When I opened the door, her room was dark & I couldn't see her. She's usually sitting in her bed, or sitting in front of her bookshelves reading books. So when I turned on the light, I was surprised to find her standing behind her glider, on the far side of her room.
"Hi, Charlotte! What are you doing back there?" I asked.
"Look, Mommy!" she said, walking across the room to where one of her babies was laying. The baby doll had a bib pulled up over her face.
Charlotte says, "Baby hide n seek!"
She was playing Hide & Seek with one of her dolls!! How cute is that?! She's such a sweet girl, with a big heart and an even bigger imagination!
When I was pregnant with Charlotte, I knew she'd be funny. I'd poke at my belly and she'd kick & twirl in response. We'd play little games together even before we had officially met.
The last 20 months have proven those first instincts right time and time again. The girl is hilarious. She runs around the house going "Zoom Zoom! Super Sha-Shee!" When we tickle her, she tickles us back! She darts into the kitchen and calls in her tiny little voice "Mommy, I come get you!" and then rounds the corner to attack me! She talks a bunch of jibber jabber, then scrunches up her face in an adorable fake laugh. She cheats at Hide & Seek.
I simply cannot get enough of her.
I hope that in these next 12 weeks, I get to *know* Baby Sister, too. Right now the only word I've been able to use to describe her is "sneaky." Maybe she'll be mischievous. Maybe she'll be unpredictable. Maybe she'll keep us on our toes. For now, she kicks and squirms and makes me grab hold tight to my belly, heaving a great sigh of wonder. "What is she doing in there?" As soon as I reach for Ben's hand so he can enjoy her antics, she stops. Almost like she's playing tricks on him, or trying to hide from him.
Following the goal of 40 weeks until delivery, I have just 98 days left until we meet Baby Sister! 3 months! Yikes! On one hand, I'm cool as a cucumber because hey - been there, done that. On the other hand, I'm pretty nervous because time is FLYING and the due date will creep up on us! Luckily, we kept a lot of stuff from when Charlotte was a newborn and infant, so there's not much stuff to buy or prepare, just a lot of logistics and mental preparation... if preparing yourself for a toddler & newborn is even a possibility.
26 Weeks
So this is what 26 weeks pregnant with #2 looks like. Charlotte just had to come give Baby Sister a kiss when I told her I was taking a picture of her. She seems to already have a connection with her! Especially when I'm changing Charlotte's diaper, she will pat my belly and say, "Baby Sister! See her?" and then I have to show her my tummy & she'll pat it, kiss it, and sometimes, she'll even say, "I luff you, baby." And then my heart melts.
I'm feeling pretty well these days, but I can definitely feel I'm getting closer to that 3rd trimester. More fatigue, more difficulty staying comfortable at night to sleep, and a little more aches & pains. Nothing unbearable, and I am still considering this an "easy" pregnancy. Baby is moving around just fine in there, kicking, stretching, and rolling. She gets hiccups sometimes, too, but not as often as Charlotte had them (yet). I'm looking forward to these next 14 weeks or so. It was in the last trimester that I really got connected with Charlotte. I could tell even then that she would be funny - just from the way she would move & play with me when I poked my own belly. I enjoy the anticipation, the waiting (remind me I said that), and the wondering about what she'll be like, what she'll look like.
Next week I have my glucose test and will probably start biweekly appointments sometime after that. In the meantime, I'm hoping for more sunny, warm days like today! Come on, Spring!! :o)
A while back, my friend Jessyca posted a video of her sweet little ones practicing transferring beans with different sizes of spoons & scoops. Brilliant! I bought a big bag of beans at the store the other day and let Charlotte try it out. She was extremely excited to scoop beans, very proud of her hard work, and even took turns scooping with Daddy when he stopped home for a few minutes unexpectedly!
Last week, Charlotte saw an episode of Super Why (only her favorite show) with a cowboy lassoing cattle. She immediately went to the kitchen, dug around in the cabinet, and pulled out the mixer. She plays with it often, so knows exactly where it is. She pretended that mixer (specifically its cord) was her lasso all. day. long.
We had a GREAT Easter weekend! On Saturday, we dyed eggs. Charlotte had a lot of fun & was very proud of her colorful eggs.
On Saturday night, we went to the Easter Vigil Mass at St. Mary's with my parents. Charlotte liked the candlelit portion of the service, but got tired later on. Mass was longer than we anticipated (almost 2.5 hours!), and she could be heard a couple of times asking to go home. She was very patient and the people around us told us often how darling she is (as if we didn't know!!). :o)
The Easter Bunny was very good to Charlotte! He left her baskets of goodies at our house AND at Grandma & Grandpa's house! At our house, she got a couple new Duck & Goose books, a new sippy cup, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, finger puppets, and a magnifying glass to check out nature! At Grandma's house, she got a baseball mitt, a chocolate bunny, and lots of other candy. She also found several little baskets at Mr. Ron's house with candy, stickers, and bubbles inside! (sorry, I got caught up & forgot to take pictures!)
On Easter morning, Charlotte woke up "late" (8:00) and then we helped her find all 12 of her dyed eggs that the Easter Bunny hid! She did such a great job finding the eggs around the living room!
Then we went to Grandma & Grandpa's house for brunch. I snapped this adorable picture of Charlotte having a tea party with Grandma before we ate. :o)
After the tea party & a big brunch, Charlotte was ready for a nap! Here she is snuggled up with the horse Ben brought home for her from his recent trip to Colorado.
After her nap, we headed over to my parents' house to hang out with my brothers, hunt for easter baskets, and have dinner. Charlotte enjoyed blowing bubbles out on the back porch & running around Mr. Ron's house.
We're so glad to live close by to both sets of grandparents (and great-grandparents), but holidays can be exhausting! We were all ready for a nice long night of sleep after a very lovely Easter!
