Mary’s latest learning

So, I’ve been so busy being pregnant and cranky that I don’t think I’ve filled anyone in on Mary’s most recent developmental milestones. She will be 22 months old on the 1st, in case you’re keeping track of these things, and here are some of her most recent acquisitions (chiefly verbal).

New words: “baby” (encouraging sign, that); “Sophie” (the giraffe toy); “cow” (she used to just moo); “book” (which was an early word that seemed to disappear for a while); “sauce” (applesauce); “pants on!”; “sock”; “night-night”; “lulu,” which I think means “love you”–she says it at bedtime; “spoon”; “cheese please” (which is more like “chee plea,” but whatever); “milk”; “knee,” “thumb,” and “foot”; and, not new but more popular these days, “I KNOW!” (as in, “Mary, are you thirsty?” “I KNOW!”).

“Knee” is her favorite and she likes to say it. She points to random knees–sometimes on strangers–and identifies them.

When asked, “Where’s your chest?”, she does a dynamite Tarzan imitation and pounds on it.

She’s getting pretty good at taking bites of a sandwich. Also getting pretty good at handing things to me or throwing them away–you know, “Hey, Mary, hand me the Dustbuster, would you?”–or taking turns talking on her toy phone, including saying, “It’s for you!” or “It’s for me!” (maybe “it’s for Mary”–can’t really tell which it is).

Best of all, she is sleeping GREAT, which is fantastic. She goes to bed really well, just like she used to. She gets tired, has her bedtime milk, and then runs upstairs, turns on her own fan, and waits to be changed and put in the crib. Usually she tells me “Night-night” and then says, “Lulu,” which, if it DOESN’T mean “love you,” is a little baffling. She’s been sleeping something like 11-12 hours at night, plus either one or two decent naps. I am incredibly grateful for this, especially since there is now officially NO ROOM in our bed for her. My belly is huge. I don’t even feel like it’s part of me–it’s like it lies NEXT to me. So this sleeping is fabulous. Also, it’s very cute that she’s really figured out how to blow kisses and usually blows kisses to Conor all the way up the stairs to bed, while saying, “Night-night” and “bye!”

She is mildly obsessed with the back-scratcher that Conor got for his birthday and goes into a sort of trance if you scratch her back with it. Luckily, she also likes to scratch others. I take this as evidence that she is descended from Conor’s side of the family. My guess is that when Mike and Sandy visit, she and Mike will spend the whole time scratching one another, sort of like monkeys.

step right up, make a guess

Want to guess when Wesley will be born and how big he’ll be?

click here

sundries

There are a few things I have been meaning to post pictures of–namely, these.

Mary no longer always wants to ride on Conor’s shoulders. Case in point:

My garden is promising deliciousness, ready soon:

Mary, Conor, and the duck have been working on their version of The Who’s “Quick One”:

I told you I was baking a lot:

Mary likes dog doors:

My belly is huge (and stretched)–this picture is from a week or so ago:

That is all.

vent/food musings

So, I have been having contractions every three minutes…since last Thursday. (This is known as “prodromal labor”–which is to say, it’s very obnoxious but doesn’t actually produce a baby, although they are mild “real” contractions instead of Braxton-Hicks contractions.) Anyway, they’re not painful, particularly, but they are extremely uncomfortable, which means that it’s hard to get decent sleep, and I am very, very tired.

I’m trying to channel the resulting restlessness into getting ready for Wesley’s arrival but I have so little energy that I never seem to finish a task. I have been cooking some things to freeze so that I don’t have to cook right after Wesley’s born. Last night I made chili for supper and made a huge batch to freeze a couple of meals’ worth. I realized how spoiled we are–I had ground beef from my parents’ cows and tomatoes with peppers and onions that Mom canned for us last summer. (Add some black beans and there you go–chili.) Now I’m trying to figure out what else to cook that would be good post-baby food. Anyone with ideas, feel free to suggest them. I’m in nesting mode and I could use the inspiration.

This morning, Mary woke up around 7 (unusual for her) and refused to go back to sleep, so we’re downstairs and I’ve been feeding her a lot of things in the hope that she’s just hungry (I think she’s having another growth spurt–yikes) and will go back to sleep happily once she’s fed. So far she’s eaten half a cup of applesauce (spilling the other half everywhere), half a banana, half of a handful of crackers, and a cup of milk. I keep telling her there’s no law against finishing a food, but she seems to think it’s unladylike or something to finish an item.

Speaking of food, I am definitely making these today:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

Don’t know what else we’ll be having for dinner, but these will definitely be on the menu. Maybe some tomatoes will be ready–my tomato plants are totally out of hand. Tons of fruits, growing amazingly fast. I guess daily thunderstorms+lots of sun and heat the rest of the time=fast-growing tomatoes. I’ll try to remember to take some pictures and post them–Mary can totally hide behind these tomato plants with no problem at all, which is funny to me because usually my tomatoes produce a fair bit but look scraggly. Possibly they’re doing better because of the square foot bed? Either that, or tomato-growing mojo is another little-known side effect of pregnancy, along with changes in one’s vision.

Conor is 29!

Which is to say, almost 30. Amazing, eh? Anyway, today is his birthday so you should all send him e-mails with funny jokes or something. Except Maggie and Jim, who already sent a super-sweet birthday package (which we have done NOTHING to deserve, as their birthday and Christmas presents are all still at my house), and my parents and grandparents, who have already sent nice cards/presents, and Grandma, who outdid herself in the present department by providing, among other things, a backscratcher (which makes Conor officially a Dad). Oh, and Conor’s dad and brother, who collaborated somehow to bring Conor into the 21st century by giving him an iPod and earphones.

So basically everyone who reads my blog. Oh, well. The rest of you, send jokes!

Today we went to Waldorf to a Thai restaurant with Grandma. I was hoping that spicy food would make me go into labor, but no dice on that one so far (although I am not likely to turn down delicious curry or string beans with chili paste anyway). I am a) enormous, b) hot, and c) really ready not to be pregnant anymore. Wesley can arrive ANY time, in my opinion. (I know I’m not even due until July 4, but anywhere between last Friday and four weeks from now is fair game, so I’m hoping for closer to last Friday.)

Possibly I am displaying nesting behavior–the other day I made 4 loaves of rhubarb bread and 4 loaves of lemon-cranberry bread. Of course that’s supposed to indicate impending labor but I’m not sure it means “impending” in a way that is useful to me.

today is Bloomsday…

…and therefore a good opportunity for non-pregnant people to drink Guinness (although I do not care for Joyce, I would observe Bloomsday in this fashion if I could!).

jabber jabber

Mary is adding words all the time and learning all kinds of cool linguistic things. She’s started stringing words together more often (things like “see bunny,” “Daddy go,” or “shoes off”). She’s also started referring to herself in speech, although it’s hard for me to tell whether she’s using “me” or “Mary,” because it sounds like “may.” (This is funny sometimes because it makes her sound polite: “May have it?”)

Anyway, it’s just funny to hear her saying things that I’ve never heard her say before, pretty much every day. She’s mimicking more things, too, so that a lot of the time she repeats what we just said–words like “ceiling,” which aren’t too useful to her in normal life. Very cute new phrase from this morning: “Mommy snuggle.”

Mary in the pool–video

So, while my parents were here, we set up Mary’s pool–here’s a video of her enjoying it. (You can’t really see at the beginning of the video that Conor is splashing her–hence the squealing.)

Note: for once the dumb comments in the background are not me–they are Grandma Cal. Babies make adults into such ridiculous people. (Usually those remarks are mine…but not this time!)

I am a great cook this week

So when my parents were here I didn’t cook at all (literally, I think–we had sandwiches or went out to eat).

But I’m redeeming myself this week–so far I have made homemade macaroni and cheese (which I love way too much) and a roasted vegetable assortment that was the best dinner ever. Tonight I’m making steak fajita salad–grilled steak, salad stuff including sliced avocado, tortilla strips (baked at the last minute–yum) and a lime-garlic dressing.

Probably tomorrow I will decide I am never cooking again. It’s supposed to be really, really hot.

one month

before Wesley is slated to appear.

I am totally okay with a slightly early arrival–say, in two weeks? Just to register that with the person in charge of scheduling. Or, you know, on the 21st for Conor’s birthday, or whatever. Just, please–not July 20 or something awful like that.