8.31.19 - Joy statuses

8.27.19 - Kid Snippets: hide and seek & Jane watching Calvin

Clara loves to play hide-and-seek although she doesn't 100% understand it yet. Yesterday I would count down from 10 and then say "Ready or not, here I come!" Then I'd walk around the apartment saying "Where is Clara?" And from her hiding space she'd yell to me "No! Say 'where is Dumbo?'"

Jane's attempt to play hide and seek.

Jane is pretty attentive to Calvin. If he makes any kind of noise while sleeping she runs to tell me he's waking up. And now every time I change him she runs through the apartment to find her little stool, brings it back to the changing table, and stands on it so she can pat his head and try to hold his hand while I'm changing him.

Jane "holds" Calvin on the nursing pillow in the rocking chair.

Last night after we put the girls to bed Calvin was wide awake. We put him in bed between us to hang out for a while. Again Jack kissed his head and maybe three or four times in a row, every time he kissed Calvin's head Calvin broke out into a big wide-mouthed smile. Of course he stopped once I grabbed my camera.

8.18.19 - Mom's visit

Jack just left to take Mom to the airport to go home, which is always a bit sad. It was really nice having her here.

She made us and the girls a lot of food: she convinced Clara to try cantaloupe by saying it was "orange candy watermelon." She made them GF french toast and oatmeal and other breakfasts. The other night she made us GF eggplant Parmesan, which was awesome. She made one meal of chicken and rice to freeze for us to have later. She bought pizza one night (ultra cheap large pizza from Costco for us and expensive small GF pizza from California Pizza Kitchen for the girls). She helped us get through a lot of the produce Don & Merlene had left by making salads and dicing fruit and leaving it around for us to eat.

GF cookies in cups at Jama's hotel room.

She was also really helpful with the girls. She got them out of the apartment a lot: she took Jane to the library while Jack was taking Clara to the dentist. She took both girls to her hotel room to explore for awhile. She took them on a couple errands and yesterday, before it was too hot out, she also took them to the playground. It's good for them to break up the routine. And of course when we were all at home she kept them pretty busy, reading and doing crafts and finding Sesame Street videos and playing hide and seek, etc. She gave them baths and helped get them to bed, but most importantly she took them in the morning. Calvin is already a pretty good sleeper from a newborn but it still means I'm getting perhaps 6-7 hours sleep a night interrupted 2-3 times by 45 min-1 hour feeding sessions, so it's still pretty bad sleep. Having Mom here early to take the girls when they woke up allowed me to sleep in a bit later and that makes a huge difference.

Hanging out in Jama's hotel room.

Hanging out at the McKinley library.

I also love how many pictures and videos she takes of the kids. I love to chronicle things and it's nice when I'm not the only one doing so, and she takes some pretty great pictures.

Sister Mary Jane

8.17.19 - Kid Snippets: orange candy watermelon

Mom has convinced Clara that cantaloupe is "orange candy watermelon" and now Clara loves to eat it.

On the other hand I can't get Jane to try new foods for the life of me. I told her she could have half a brownie if she ate *one bite* of her turkey burger. She put the bite in her mouths, let it fall out onto the floor, picked it up, took it into the kitchen, and threw it in the trash.

When Jack got home from work today he came over and gave Calvin a kiss on the head and Calvin broke into a huge open-mouthed grin. Absolutely delightful. To see if it was a fluke, Jack kissed him on the head again, and he did it again. Best moment of the day.

8.13.19 - Kid Snippets: Can I have a "yes"?

Mom is making Clara a grilled cheese sandwich.

Clara: Can I have just cheese?
Mom (to me): Can she have just cheese?
Me: No! [To Clara] No you can't have just cheese.
Clara: Can I have a "yes"?

8.11.19 - Kid Snippets: Girls adjust to Calvin

We brought Calvin home a few hours ago. He was asleep when we got here, and Clara wanted us to wake him up, which of course we didn't do. We put him in his bassinet and Clara brought his burp cloth. She wanted to also get him a pillow and some toys but we had to explain he doesn't get anything else in the bassinet. She then stood next to him for awhile and made observations like "The baby is sleeping! She's so tired. She's so cute!" (We're still working on the pronoun thing.)

Later when he woke up fussing, Jane reported to me "Mama. MAMA. Beh-beh cwying!" I got set up on our bed to nurse him and explained to Clara and Jane that he's eating. Jane observed "Cah-bih [Calvin] bite!" She wanted to climb up on the bed to give him one of the balloons Don & Merlene got for him. I asked if she wanted to give him a kiss and she giggled and basically did an air kiss. I don't think she's actually touched him yet but she's building up to it.

Jack is playing hide and seek with the girls. Clara hid in the bathroom by sitting on the bathroom floor and putting a towel over her head. And then Jane brought Jack to the bathroom to tell him that's where Clara was.

8.8.19 - Kid Snippets: Suspicious food and kissing toes

Tonight Merlene made pasta with strips of steak (well done) in it. I guess Clara is not used to steak, because she casually asked if the brown chunks were poop. Mimi (Merlene) assured Clara she would never try to feed her poop.

Jane is at the age where if she stubs her toes and I kiss them she says they feel better. Only now she's just started asking me to kiss them over the slightest thing. Tonight she was sitting in my lap while eating her dinner and literally nothing happened, and suddenly she fussed and held her foot up to me and said "Mommy! Toeeesssss!" She just wants me to kiss her toes from time to time to be safe, I guess.

8.7.19 - Kid Snippets: Clara's introductions

Yesterday we had a consultation with Clara's behavioral therapist supervisor. Don and Merlene had taken the girls out, and when they all returned, Clara saw the supervisor and said "Oh! Hi! This is Mimi and this is Gpa!" I don't know where she learned introductions but it was awesome.

8.7.19 - Super helpful in-laws

Calvin is due tomorrow. The last few days I have been so physically uncomfortable and exhausted. I need a nap every day to get through it. Most positions are uncomfortable to stay in for long because of my huge belly. So I was looking forward to Don & Merlene coming out on Monday to help out.

We typically try to have them out close to the due date in the hopes of maximizing their help once the newborn is here, but having them a few days early is tremendously helpful too. Since they've been here they've done a bunch of grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, getting the girls out of the house to the park, and other errands.

Last night Don went with Jack to our offsite storage to pull a bunch of totes with baby supplies and bring them all back to the apartment, and then this morning Merlene helped me go through alllll the baby clothes we have from newborn to 12 month and sort girl, boy, and neutral clothes to decide what to keep on hand. There are countless little moments when they help the girls with something (getting a tissue, finding a cup, changing a diaper, etc.) that mean I don't have to get up and down over and over all day, and while that might not seem like a lot to someone able-bodied, right now it sure seems like a lot to me.

If history tells me anything I won't have the time/energy to fully document their trip once Calvin gets here, but I wanted to at least write this quick note of appreciation for how much easier they are making everything for me right now.

8.8.19 - No sign of Calvin yet, headed to the Folsom Zoo to walk around.

8.1.19 - Kid Snippets: Jane doesn't like clothes

As soon as Jane gets home each evening she runs up to me and asks for my help taking off all her clothes. Then she happily smacks both her hands against her belly a few times and runs around the living room.