Carrying a Pearl: Smorgasbord

Just a random sampling of life as of late ...

* Liam is staying in a crib. For a long time I thought I was going to transition him to a big boy bed/room and then redo the nursery for Cora. I have plenty of friends who have moved their kiddos to big kid beds between the ages of 1.5-2, and for the most part, their kids have done great. However, some of their little ones have stopped taking naps, getting up super early in the morning, or have required tons of supervision for the first few weeks get them to stay in bed. Josh and I decided that these are risks we are not willing to take either while I'm in the third trimester of this pregnancy, or when we have a newborn. Liam doesn't really ever try to climb out of his crib, and he does spend a good amount of time happily awake in his crib when he's having trouble falling asleep at nap time. I'm just not quite ready to change something that's working quite well. I think it will be easier for him to transition to life with a new little sister if his room stays (basically) the same, it will create a lot less work for me between now & Cora's birth, and I think it may guarantee better sleep for everyone (and potentially fewer discipline battles) until we're more confident that he's developmentally ready for the change.

* Since Liam is staying in his crib for a while, we are becoming a two crib family. After prowling Craigslist constantly for a week or two, I found a great, solid wood convertible crib & mattress for only $60. It's a little older and the paint job isn't great, but we're sanding it down to paint it white, and I love the lines of the bed. Yes, it's a lot of work to put into a crib, but we don't mind projects and it's such a great piece that I know we can get our money back out of it when we're done with it. Here's a little preview as I hauled the crib (that just barely fit in our car) back to our house.

* Helping to coordinate the efforts of a couple dozen jr. high students as they paint a gym and only getting 6-7 hours of sleep a night for the better part of the week is perhaps not recommended when you're 6 months pregnant. My participation in this activity won me a 5 hour visit to the hospital in the middle of the night after I got home Friday, when braxton hicks contractions would NOT go away. After being uncomfortably monitored for a few hours and learning that nothing significant (ie. dangerous) was happening, I was sent home for a day of bed rest and the reminder that I really, really need to keep in mind that being pregnant is different than being not pregnant so that I don't endanger my little Cora by being careless.

* Liam is not only developing by leaps and bounds in his ability to communicate as a human, but apparently he is also taking a few tips from our dog. For quite a few months now, he has been able to mimic all of Jack's different styles of barking: Liam has a happy bark, a loud bark, and a deep, low growl. Lately, though, he's started picking up a few other canine behaviors. He copies Jack by rolling in the grass and rubbing his head on it, or by getting down on all fours and pretending to eat grass when he's seen his buddy doing it. Our favorite, though, only shows up when we go for walks and let Liam out of his wagon or stroller. After his little lifetime of observing the way Jack marks trees and mailboxes as we stroll the sidewalk, Liam has decided to follow suit. As we walk, he'll run up into people's yards, hike one leg behind him for a few wobbly posed seconds, and then dash to the next yard. We have done nothing to encourage this behavior, but find it completely hilarious. I don't hope for my children to look like they've been raised by a pack of wolves, but if a few traits from a kind-hearted golden retriever rub off on them, I don't think it's the worst thing in the world.

* Necessity is the mother of invention. I think of that saying sometimes when I find myself searching our house for whatever materials I can find to create a makeshift version of some toy or activity I think would be fun for Liam. Tonight the weather was so gorgeous I couldn't get those nifty water tables for toddlers out of my mind. However, since I can't run out and buy every gadget or toy that seems like fun, we made do with his old baby tub and some bath toys.

My sweet boy spent a solid hour pouring water between his tub & a couple of other containers, and throwing toys into them. It was a perfect evening to spend outside as a family, playing with water and sanding Cora's crib.

* I sort of feel like it will be a crime to ever cut my little boy's curly angel hair. I know that at nearly 23 months we're getting closer and closer to that inevitable day, but uggghhh .... it's just too perfect and precious. It kills me to think about him losing those bouncy golden ringlets.