Sunday, February 17, 2008

The State of '08

"Let's talk about stress, bay-bee, let's talk about you and me, let's talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be..."

Yeah. It's been a while since we talked. Difficult times first:

Major work stress. Travel, overnight shifts (which are done now, thank GAWD), and preparing for four new store openings over the summer (two of which I will miss because of maternity leave, but I'm getting ahead of myself).

Illness - Colds, kidney stones, fevers, impending surgery - you name it, we've had it.

Weather - winter has been very tedious this year - every other day it snows another 2-4 inches. Driving sucks, and walking to the train isn't much better.

Typing it out in such brief, it really doesn't sound so bad, but it's all complicated by the Good Times:

Our second baby is due August 12th. Now, this is wonderful of course, but due to our complicated reproductive history, December of '07 and January of '08 were replete with not only intense nausea and crushing fatigue, but the emotional and psychological rollercoaster of wondering if this one would actually survive. So far it has, and is moving along very well. Our 14-week appointment yielded very low risk of the major trisomies and a heartbeat that sounded like galloping horses - very strong and very reassuring. I'm even starting to feel the little tickling and bubbling on the inside.

Pi continues to delight us - at almost three he is still using bottles, has no interest in potty training, and still sleeps in a crib, but his imagination and vocabulary are amazing. He makes up stories about his trains as he's playing with them - a constant monologue of "Today, on the island of Sodor...", "Bust my buffers!", and "James applied the brakes, but it was TOOOO LATE!"

Recent Pi gems include:

"Mommy, Daddy, I need your help! It's an emergency!" (Said while we were all playing on the bed together - no one injured, nothing on fire.)

"I will make soap soup! Soap is so delicious, Mommy!"

And we are finally getting some unsolicited "I love you"s - the other day, when he woke up, he wanted to play a game with one rule: I had to kiss him over and over again. It's my favorite game ever.

He insists on helping with every household project, especially making peanut butter &
jelly sandwiches and pancakes, and feeding the cats. Everything is very methodical and ritualized, including knocking on cabinet doors to see if the ingredients for our meal are indeed at home, and skipping a step causes much angst.

He's an intelligent, energetic, joyful person, and we are so lucky he's part of our family. Here's hoping lightning strikes twice!

1 comment:

Left of Liberal said...

Congratulations! I didn't know you guys were expecting. That's great!

Pi sounds a lot like my guy at that age. When he was walking around in his diaper (with his bottle) at age 4, and I'd ask him when he thought he might start to use the potty, he'd answer, "I have no intentions."