My MJ Memory

Thriller came out when I was in the first grade. My parents bought me the record, and I would open it to expose Michael in a white suit with the tiger cub, and give him little kisses.
My elementary school hosted a MJ day, where we were encouraged to dress up as Michael OR wear all of our MJ paraphernalia. So, I dressed in my 3/4 sleeve screened t-shirt, one woven glove and a zippered coat with lots of MJ buttons.
The principal came around to all of the classrooms and asked those of us that dressed if we were ready for the big contest. I (being 6), got in line and followed all the rest of the kids to the music room. As I stood with the other kids in the music room, I listened as each kid was introduced to the stage to be in a MOONWALK CONTEST...WHAT? I thought that this contest was to determine who had the best clothes? So, I cried. I walked over to the principal and told him that I didn't want to Moonwalk...I wanted my mom.
You know...I never did learn how to moonwalk.

34 months and 34 weeks

I get a weekly e-mail from babycenter.com, and have been getting them since I was pregnant with Avery. They send updates about pregnancy or child development. Since I've been pregnant this time, I've received 2 e-mails a week (one to chart the pregnancy and one to chart Avery). Anyway, there was a theme is this week's e-mails. Avery is 34 months and I am 34 weeks pregnant. I know it's meaningless, but it seemed like such an odd coincidence that I thought it was blog-worthy.

This coincidence also got me thinking about what it's going to be like to bring another baby home, and how different it will be this time. I feel like I spend more time thinking about Avery and her feelings and reactions to this child than I do spend thinking about the baby itself. I know that she is going to be a great big sister...I have no doubt. She plays baby all the time, and is always interested in helping (especially if a baby in involved). On the other hand...I love her so much that I can't stomach the idea of her feeling left out of anything. Tears are in my eyes right now as I think about the fact that she won't be able to spend the nights in the hospital with us. I'm so excited for her to meet her new brother or sister, but scared to death that my heart might explode from loving two kids too much.

I'm overwhelmed today. I have a million things running through my head. I haven't done ANYTHING to prepare for this child. Well, I guess I've done a few things (like gestating), like returning Avery's old bottles for BPA free, and dusted off the swing, and sorted through Avery's old cloths. But, other than that...nothing. Avery and the baby will be sharing a room, and we never took the crib down when we moved in...so that's done...but, that's it. I feel like I did so much preparing for Avery's arrival that this baby is getting the short end of the stick.

I'm also a little nervous about how I'm going to be able to balance it all. I'm really hoping to breast feed (better than I did with Avery), so how do I go about my normal day with a kid on my boob? I want to teach Avery patience, but I don't want to tell her "wait" all of the time and make her feel like she is second. I'm so thankful that I'll have Chris and family here for a few weeks (and my sisters moving in in August), but I also understand that it will be up to me to keep a lot of these balls in the air. It's going to be interesting at the least, and I'm sure there will be a meltdown or two along the way.

I know that I've mentioned my favorite blogger before. Well, she recently had her second child, and gave a vivid (and very appropriate example considering our family's love of music and Chris's profession) about what it is like to bring a second child home.
"I think the best way to describe what it's been like to bring a second child into the family is to imagine having a jazz band blasting an improvisational set in your left ear while listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Christmas carols in your right ear, and there you are, a drummer in a rock band, and you're on stage in front of 30,000 people trying to keep the beat to an acoustic version of "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols."

Oh God....what have I gotten myself into?

Daddy's Girl

I am really blessed to have a husband that is really involved with parenting. He is a great husband and an even better dad (even when he does Avery's hair in a CRAZY ponytail, and dresses her in old t-shirts). I realize that being a stay at home mom would never work for me if Chris weren't willing to come home and pitch in. He sweeps in, takes care of business, and usually gives me a much needed break.

On the other hand, I'm jealous. Because Chris works everyday, Avery has an opportunity to miss him. She never misses me (because I'm always here). Between Avery missing Chris, AND her developmental phase (hello Freud)...she is going through a HUGE Daddy phase. I can't compete. She wants him for everything. He has to put her to bed. He has to give her a bath. She wants to be next to him, holding hands and snuggling all the time. Don't get me wrong...she still seeks me out when she needs a drink, or gets hurt, or is tattling on the other kids. I just don't get the snuggles as much now as Chris does. I have to wrestle her in order to get a goodnight kiss.

This Daddy phase may be really good timing, as we prepare for the new baby, maybe she won't get as jealous when I have to spend time with the new baby. She'll have Chris's attention..but maybe she'll start to miss me a little too.

Part of me is happy for the relief, but the other part of me hopes she grows out of this stage soon.
I love this little girl more than I can explain...I make sure to tell her everyday, and I'll wait until she wants to be Mommy's girl again.

Great Wolf Lodge

We had fun...we played in the water...we were tired...we came home...the end!

Avery was a daddy's girl for most of the weekend.

Here's the bed that Avery never slept in. She insisted in sleeping in our bed instead. No romance for Chris;)

Avery's favorite activity was sitting in the "warm pool"....she's definitely my kid! (Please ignore the overly large woman sitting next to sweet Avery. She showed up in the mirror one morning, and won't leave until after July 27th).

Avery had a "friend pick-up line". She would go up to little girls and say "Where's your mommy?" in a concerned voice. Then she would say "what's your name". It was sweet. After meeting the friends for a few minutes, she would give them a hug and move on.

Here's the slide that we spent HOURS on.

All in all, it was a great weekend!

Avery wants to be married...

Last night, all three of us were in the kitchen. Chris had a glass of soda on the counter, and I helped myself to a drink.

Avery watched and said "Mommy, you drank Daddy's pop."

I said "it's ok Avery....Mommy and Daddy are married...he has to share with me!"
Avery said..."Oh, I'm married too",

so I replied "nope, Avery, you are not married to us yet. We are a family and you are my daughter...so we are all together, but only Mommy and Daddy are married."

Avery immediately made a sad face, and started crying.
All she could say was "I want to be married too".

This poor kid hates being left out!
As I tucked her in last night, she was still talking about being married.

Our vacation activities....

We got a much needed break last week. I was SPENT, so it was a welcome change, and a great opportunity to just relax for a couple of days.

Avery and I went to Romulus to spend some time with my family while Chris was hiking. We got into town on Saturday and picked up my Grandma to go to my cousin Joseph's grad/going away party. He has joined the Army, and will be heading out to basic training on July 1. The party was fun, and Avery made new friends...and blew lots of bubbles!

After the party, we went home with my mom, and had a nice relaxing evening at home, with just the three of us. It would be the last night before my sisters came home! My mom was a saint on Saturday night, as she took Avery for the night, and I slept all night in her bed....it was amazing!

On Sunday afternoon, we went to pick up Jessica and Jennifer from the airport. They were gone for 4 1/2 months, and we really missed them. It was so good to see them both again, even if they did come back skinnier than before. They both looked very European as they showed up with cool little funky hats. We didn't give them much time to relax, as Grandma came over right away to see them, then we all went out to dinner for Stephanie's (my future sister-in-law) birthday.

On Monday, I was able to sleep in with Avery, and we spent the afternoon shopping for bridesmaid's dresses for Sean and Steph's wedding in October. To be accurate....we shopped for Jessica and Jennifer's dresses, while I sat by...all large and pregnant...wondering how the heck I'm going to find a bridesmaid dress that fits and doesn't make me look like a magenta house. Jessica and Jennifer looked wonderful in all of the dresses that they tried on. Maybe I'll do a post with all the pictures of them in their dresses so you all can vote!
During this time, my dad was in Texas for a week, so Avery and I surprised him at the airport to pick him up on Monday night, then went directly to Jessica and Jennifer's softball game for the last inning.

Since everyone had to work on Tuesday morning, Avery and I went out on a date morning. We saw Up in 3D, and did a little shopping. Avery picked up a new backback for our upcoming "vacation", and had snacks and came home to relax.

We woke up and left on Wednesday afternoon, (after eating Captain Nemo's for lunch) and came home to find THIS!

Luckily, our vacation wasn't over yet. We left on Thursday for Great Wolf Lodge up in in Traverse City for 2 nights. This week was a MUCH MUCH needed break, and I am so happy to have had a few days to relax and spend time with my family.

Look what Daddy did!

Avery and I went to Romulus for a few days since Chris went on a hiking/camping trip with 20 5th graders (bless his heart). We left on Saturday in order to make it to my cousin's grad/going away party. Chris didn't leave until Monday, so he had 2 days to hang out around the house by himself. He promised me that he would get the house cleaned up. When I came home, I found that the house was picked up....and I saw THIS in the backyard. Avery LOVES it, and we are excited for hours and hours of fun times out here!

By the way...stay tuned for a more thorough report on our Romulus visit.

Stuck in a well....

Um....er....I mean, I was lost in the jungle...or uh....caught in traffic somewhere...yeah...that's it..I was caught in traffic...that's why I haven't written in a while.
The real reason that I haven't blogged in awhile is because of this...


Yup, you're seeing correctly. There's the usual suspects, Avery and Cal...plus 2 more. Maddie (who is 2 months) and Mason (is 3 and is Baaaccckkk). So, for about 3 weeks, I had 4 kids during the day (5 if you count Alex afterschool), all while 7 1/2 months pregnant, and tired. Needless to say, I haven't really been up to blogging, or cleaning the house, or eating, or doing laundry for that matter.

So, you take 5 kids, and a husband who decides to sledgehammer the basement, and what do you get?....an ornery pregnant woman. On a positive note, I got to see how Avery was going to handle being a big sister. She is going to be great. In fact, the first thing she asked when she woke up this morning was "Where's Maddie", and looked sadly at the empty baby swing. She was very helpful...wanted to help feed the baby and change the baby. She even learned to unsnap Maddie's onesie so that she could zerbert her belly. Maddie loved Avery too. She would lay on the blanket on the floor, and watch Avery and the kids play and play. Avery would stop every few minutes, and give Maddie a kiss...and keep on playing. It was all very sweet.

After everything is said and done, I think we are ready for our little one to get here. The hardest thing about watching a 2 month old was keeping the big kids out of her face. Hopefully, we are just as lucky in 7 weeks when our baby is born.

By the way...I'm still ornery and tired...just not as much;)