Boy, oh Boy!

So there are changes coming our way!  Some are big:

a new baby boy

a new home

Some are smaller:

getting used to seeing blue amidst all the pink

having a toddler who is completely potty-trained, “rides” a bike, and has reached the infamous “why” stage

anticipating another period of little sleep

new neighborhood, new neighbors, and friends

living in the heart of Red Sox Nation (difficult for one of us)

But we are looking forward to all of them… except maybe the lack of sleep… but even that is tempered by knowing that this time around we will have family close by and that there is a dim light at the end of the tunnel (Julia sleeps until at least 5:00am most days! :) ).

We’ve been talking to Julia about what is going on and what will be happening over the next few weeks and months and she seems to have some interest and comprehension.  She talks frequently about “the baby in Mommy’s tummy” and she loves seeing the “pictures” of the baby on the screen during our sonograms.  The doctors always give her at least one printout of the pictures and she is quick to make sure that we know it is her’s while she is exclaiming over how cute the “little, tiny baby” is.  It’s adorable to watch.

BUT, I do think this little boy is going to have his work cut out for him.  We took some pictures the other day (to start a series of “tummy shots” for the pregnancy) and Julia was already trying to give the baby a shove! 

No, actually, she was just feeling Mommy’s tummy.  She’s been great with the pregnancy and while I am not under any illusions that adding another member to our family will be an easy transition, I do think that she will be a wonderful and loving big sister.  She may be a bit bossy but, hey, that’s what big sisters are for!

We started this blog right before Julia was born as a place to share news and pictures about her and our life as parents with our friends and family.  We are excited to continue to do that and now also share our joys, as well as trials and tribulations, of becoming and being a family of four!  So stay tuned!

Berry-licious

We needed to vacate our house for a few hours yesterday afternoon because of the open house so we decided to do something different and head a little to the west to do some raspberry picking.  Raspberries have been, by far, Julia’s favorite fruit this summer.  She has been known to eat entire pints in the relatively short time it takes to go through our local farmer’s market.  So she was excited about going berry picking.  It was a super hot day and the raspberries were near the end of the crop but we managed to pick two pints (three if you count all the ones Julia ate… okay, I ate some too!).  Julia was really good at spotting them hiding under leaves and inside the bushes and now has had good practice for the real picking that will happen when we visit Grandpa Rick and Grandma Lesley’s raspberry patch in a couple of weeks!

We also picked peaches for the first time.  It’s very early in the peach season so there was only one variety that was ripe – Sentry peaches.  They are pretty good, although a little too sweet for me as I like my peaches/nectarines to have a little sour and a little sweet.  I think they’ll be good for baking though.  And we did learn how to identify a ripe peach.  It is by the color – they should be dark red on at least one half. 

“Do it myself!”

That is the new refrain around our house.  Things that are included in Julia’s “doing it myself” list are:

• using the remote control for the tv
• putting on and taking off socks (although there usually is a concession that some help is needed)
• pouring cereal, milk, juice, etc.
• turning on the water to wash hands (the satisfaction on her face when she realized yesterday that she could reach the faucet while standing on the stool was priceless!)
• cutting her sandwich or buttering toast
• watering the plants
• opening doors and pushing elevator buttons

The things that are apparently NOT on Julia’s “do it myself” list include:

• cleaning up her toys
• putting laundry in the basket
• sweeping/wiping up the cereal, milk, juice, water, peanut butter, jelly, etc. from the counters, cabinet doors, door handles, and floors
• closing doors

Kidding aside, it is amazing what she is able to accomplish with her little hands and BIG energy!  Yesterday she surprised me again by doing this all by herself:

Yup, a pony ride… and she absolutely loved it.  Andrew’s comment when he got home and we were telling him about it was “that’s going to be an expensive hobby!” Only one ride in and he’s already budgeting for the pony.  Yes, she’s a Daddy’s girl!

4th of July!

We spent the 4th at home, hanging out around the house, playing outside, and celebrating with our neighbors.  It was a fun day as I think you can see here.

We started with some painting:

Then we moved on to golf (impressive stance!):

the neighborhood party:

good food

 

water balloons

 

and lots of bouncing!!!

Almost back in business

I finally broke down yesterday and bought a new charger for our camera battery (I’m sure that I will find the old one tomorrow).  So everyone who has been waiting for new pictures of Julia will get their wish soon.  Now that I have a fully charged battery I just have to take the pictures!  But I’m sure there will be plenty of photo ops this weekend as we have some fun things planned.  So stay tuned….

In other news, we have been trying to keep busy and keep our minds off of the stress of having our house on the market.  We spent a little over a week with Andrew’s parents last week and had a great time visiting with them and making the most of what may be one of our last trips to Charlottesville.  I made two trips to the wonderful farmer’s market, Julia and I explored the Children’s Discovery Museum (the live beehive was a huge hit) and took in storytime at the library, we spent a bunch of time at the pool, and Andrew and I even made it to the driving range!  It was a fun week and we’re grateful that Julia could have so much time with her Southern grandparents!

Back at home, we’re having a slower summer than spring.  We do not have as many classes or activities planned which is nice and has allowed us to spend more time just playing outside and with friends in the neighborhood.  Julia has been growing like a weed and has been increasing her verbal and physical skills to match.  This week she has been practicing hopping on one foot and standing in tree pose – I wish balance came as easily to me!  She continues to love to sing and her favorite song, by far, is Twinkle Twinkle.  And she is keeping us laughing with her vocabulary and reasoning skills.  Today there was this conversation:

Julia: I want to swing

Andrew: It’s time to go to dinner

Julia: I eat dinner every night

Andrew: You need to eat

Julia: I don’t need to eat, I need to swing

(needless to say she ended up swinging)

and this one:

Andrew: Julia, give Mommy a kiss and a hug

Julia: Mommy, take a kiss. Take a kiss, Mommy

Thanks Julia!  I’ll take a kiss anytime!

Sprinkler!!

An Update

We have been super busy for the past few weeks which is why there have not been many posts.  I have a couple of posts that I would like to write but I can’t find the charger or extra batteries for our camera right now so I can’t access the pictures that go with the posts.  Hence, no posts.  But I figured that I would write a little bit about what we’ve been doing just to keep everyone up-to-date.

First and foremost, we have been getting our house ready to put on the market.  Most of our last few weekends have been spent cleaning, clearing, patching, painting, and packing (this is why I can’t find the camera charger – I’m sure I put it somewhere brilliant!).  But we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The house is looking great and will be officially listed a week from today!

I have been busy enjoying the last of our Spring classes with Julia.  We’ve had yoga classes twice a week (for me with babysitting for her), a nature class (where we’ve learned a lot), and a movement and music class at the rec center.  They all wind down in the next couple of weeks and summer is going to be a lot less structured than the past few months.  Julia will still have daycare on Mondays but beyond that there will be lots of time to play, read, and enjoy the summer.  We’ve already had the sprinkler out for the past few weeks and it’s become a favorite activity. We’ve also started hunting for strawberries on our plants but they’re a rare sight since somebody is impatient and keeps picking them when they are still tiny, green balls of seeds!

Andrew and I have also both been busy with work.  It has been an adjustment for me to be working part-time but the schedule is very flexible and I’ve done all of it from home.  It has been a great opportunity for me to see how an arrangement like this works for us and what the pluses and minuses are. 

On the Julia front, she has been doing wonderfully.  She is fully potty-trained during the day.  She’s still wearing diapers at nap and nighttime but we’ve been super impressed with how quickly she has caught on.  She is still a very inquisitive kid – always wanting to know what we’re doing and why.  She has started playing with other kids rather than just playing near them and enjoys playing baseball and catch with our neighbor Jack and putting on shows and playing in her kitchen with Meg.  She has been singing more and more and dances along with the music.  In other interests she has fallen in love with Strawberry Shortcake and we’ve been watching those videos quite frequently.

Other than all of that, we are just trying to not get too nervous about selling the house and moving and other things.  And we’re trying to enjoy our last bit of time living in the DC area!