You should know that I came thisclose to posting TWICE in April, but then, as usual, things just didn't come together/ other things came up. So, here we are with what is most likely my post for the month of May!
Wearing Mom's rain boots
Operation Big Girl is coming along very well. Nora hasn't fallen out of her bed in a long time... I've lost track of when that last happened. I'm tempted to remove the featherbed landing pad, but think I'll leave it in place a little bit longer.
"I put on Dad's shirt aaallll by 'self!" Prognosis: "Little bit too big" (her face is peeking out of an armhole)
The baby is doing well, too. Nora and I went to see my "belly doctor" today and he said everything's right on track. I'm 30 weeks now, which seems like a big deal until I realize I still have 10 weeks to go. This little guy is very active, like Nora, but lately has been doing a lot of stretch-and-hold maneuvers, which are less than comfy when he pushes out the side of my belly! He's also up high, right under my ribs, so I'm eagerly waiting to see if he'll wiggle downward a little.
Doctor Nora (when the sunglasses hang down like that, they become a stethoscope, and she refers to herself as " Dr. Nora") The piece of railroad track is apparently a bandaid, according to the good doctor.
Dr. Nora attending to a patient (Louie the Lobster) who needs many, many bandaids
Our biggest development of the month comes courtesy of Brett's very hard work and dedication -- we now have a park in our backyard! He built a big swingset there over the past couple of weekends and all but finished it this weekend (there is a periscope that still needs to get attached, though Nora currently favors carrying it around to look at us. She points it down, looks in the end and then leans back until she can see our faces!) Needless to say, this is a HUGE hit with Nora. She helped out a lot on the weekends, working with Dad and reminding him to take breaks to push her on the swing once in a while. She loves to get "one big push" on the swing and then yells "I'm FAY-YAST!" (she sounds southern when she says 'fast' this way). She also loves zipping down the slide and driving the school bus to Aunt Genny-veev's house -- there is a steering wheel fixed to the inside of the fort/ house from which the slide comes down, and she has it in her mind that it is a school bus steering wheel. The problem now is coming inside, as is the case with many, many a toddler. We try to do the minute by minute countdown ("two minutes 'til we go in, one minute 'til we go in"), but most of the time she still ends up bawling as she marches into the house chanting "Nooo, Nooo, Nooo, Nooo, Nooo." She even tried to tell me the other day that she would just sleep on the slide. Nice try.
Pretending one of the rocks for the rock wall is her camera while she waits for her first ride on the swing
First ride on the swing with Dad
"Working very hard" with Dad in the backyard
Helping Dad work on the swingset (Brett is wearing the martian marathon t-shirt I mentioned last month... don't know if you can make out the green alien on the back)
So aside from this flurry of building and playing in the backyard, we've had a string of fun weekends -- Beth and Chris and their good friend Judy were here to celebrate Beth's birthday (Nora went to her first fancy restaurant ["fentfahnt"] with tablecloths and no kid's menu!), Nora and I hit a baptism party and this past weekend we all went to a first Communion party. She loves parties. And still loves to dance. Mercifully, Brett has been working hard to expand the request list beyond the Beatles Birthday Song/ "cake song." Her favorites play list now includes:
"the sneezing song:" The Globe, Big Audio Dynamite
"the tucker song:" Old Dan Tucker, Bruce Springsteen
"well well well song:" Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On), Alison Krause and Robert Plant
and possibly her new favorite...
"hey ho song:" Blitzkrieg Bop, the Ramones
This one is so popular, that when I say "ok, let's go {to the store, to church, to bed, etc} she often responds "Hey, Ho, Let's Go!" When it's playing, she also likes to yell out random works she picks up, like "Backseat!" and "Ready to Go!" which are, sadly, pretty much the same and only words I can make out because of the way The Ramones sing and play! When almost any song she's heard more than once comes on, though, she usually calls out "Oh, I know song THAT!" Several of her sentences are put together in random order, but she's getting better and better. As her talking and inflection improve, though, it really makes it obvious that she's growing up. I'll miss her goofy sentences!
Thanks for checking in. Here's to fast swings and fast songs -- have a good month! Sarah, Brett, Nora and the little guy
