Weddings, Pregnancy and Toddlers

I haven't written for awhile.  I was sure that once summer arrived and I finished tutoring and teaching SAT classes that I would spend a lot more time on my blog, but over the past few months, I've actually written less than normal.  I'm not sure why.

It could be the weddings--so far this summer, Jim and I have been to five weddings, all of our really good friends from high school and college, with one more to go next week.  This means that we've found ourselves away for most weekends.  We come back just in time to unpack, get groceries for a few days, and then pack everything up again for a weekend away.  We've had a great time, but are definitely looking forward to a few quiet weekends to ourselves.

It could be the pregnancy.  I'm almost 32 weeks pregnant (in the picture to the right, I'm 28 weeks along, so have grown quite a bit since then!) which means that our little one will be arriving in about 8 weeks.  In the past few weeks, I've gone from feeling "cute and pregnant" to "huge and really pregnant."  I've said all along that my stomach is bigger this time, and Jim has agreed.  A few months ago (I was exactly 22 weeks pregnant, as I remember statements like this), Jim casually remarked to me that he was sure my stomach wasn't this big with Lilly until much closer to the end.  Jim is great like that.  He can say things that make the casual observer grimace in disbelief, but knowing him and some of the things that he comes out with, I knew he meant no harm.  And he quickly redeemed himself by making sure I was aware that only my stomach was bigger this time.  Words every pregnant woman wants to hear, whether they're true or not.  Dad has also contributed to my feeling of "hugeness".  While Mum and Dad were up in Lake Placid a few weeks ago, I asked them to be on the lookout for a Lake Placid sweatshirt to replace the one I got up there in 2007 when Dad and Joseph were racing.  Mine has seen better days.  After informing me that they couldn't find it, Dad followed up by telling me that there were ones that zipped all the way down, but he figured I wouldn't want one of those as it would be "like trying to zip up an overstuffed duffel bag" if I thought about wearing it in the upcoming weeks.  Nothing like having a supportive family by your side when you need them most.  But, today, my doctor confirmed that I am indeed "measuring bigger" this time.  When I was pregnant with Lilly, whenever she measured my stomach, I was always a week or two behind (I still don't understand how they have standard measurements that apply to everyone, but they seem to know what they're doing so I go with it.)  This time, I'm measuring a week ahead.  Not huge, but bigger.  It could level out in the next few weeks so we'll see what happens, but words like, "bigger, August, heat, humidity..." don't really go that nicely together.

It could be the extremely busy toddler who is more opinionated than ever, chattier than ever, and asks more questions than ever.  Unless Lilly is asleep, she is talking.  She talks right up until the second that she falls asleep.  As I'm sitting here writing this, Lilly is in bed for the night, talking and singing away.  As soon as the talking stops, you know she's asleep.  Imagine if adults did that!  Imagine if I got into bed and started singing songs at the top of my lungs before embarking on a stream of chatter that encompassed whatever thought was running through my head at the time.  That's exactly what Lilly does.  I don't know how much longer she will talk herself to sleep, but I hope it lasts for awhile.  It's so sweet and innocent, and Jim and I never get sick of listening to it.  A second ago, an ambulance went by, so Lilly is now saying, "eeeaaaawwwwww, eeeeeaaaaawwww...ambulance, Judy...Daisy, ambulance.  It's helping people who are sick."  The conversations with her stuffed animals and dolls are my favorite.  As far as opinions go, this was Lilly's pile of books for Jim to read to her last night.  How could he say no to that smile?

Last week, Lilly and I drove back down to DC with Mum and Dad, as they stopped in Connecticut on their way home from Lake Placid (where Dad finished his 10th Ironman...no big deal really.  I'm sure all two-year olds can say their grandfathers are competing in their 10th Ironman, with number 11 in the not very distant future).  I was thrilled at the prospect of being a passenger on the drive to DC instead of driving down by myself, as I usually drive down mid week with Lilly and then Jim takes the train down after work on Friday.  After driving for about 15 minutes (we'd gone two exits on 95), Dad just started shaking his head in disbelief.  It was a shake and a sigh that I remember so well from growing up, but this time, I was pleased that sigh was directed at my daughter instead of me.  Lilly had talked non stop for those 15 minutes, saying things like, "green means go, Papa," (as if Dad didn't know that a green light means go), "not this lane, Papa, move to that lane, " (repeating directions I was giving Dad),  "D for Daddy...I see a D for Daddy!" "Where are we?", "Who are you talking to, Papa?" "Who sings this song? What song is this? You have Hakuna Matata on your iPod, Papa?"...you get the point.  If the thought entered Lilly's head, she verbalized it, and Dad seemed to be the person she was directing most of her comments and questions towards.  Thankfully, on long drives, Lilly has her talking phases, her quiet phases (because her one is in her mouth), her sleeping phases, and once again, her talking phases.  On this trip, the talking phases outnumbered the others, but the first 15 minutes were definitely the chattiest.  

The past few months haven't been the most relaxing.  But, weddings and pregnancy aside, it's hard to have your typical relaxing days with a two-year old present.  We have, however, managed to work in some time at the pool, some quiet days here and there, and we've had a lot of fun catching up with family and friends that we don't often get the opportunity to see.  As the summer is winding down, I'm looking forward to some time at home before the fall, and with it the tutoring, begins again.  Oh, and we'll be having a baby in there too :)

Relaxing outside with her "yogurt ice cream"