Place your bets

Last chance, folks. Place your bets now, while there's still time. Sylvester has yet to show his lovely little face, so I want to solicit a few good guesses as to just how big he's going to be. I'm eight days past due at this point, I've got an acupuncture appointment this afternoon, and a non-stress test tomorrow morning. (Some of you may know that I tried acupuncture when we were expecting T and she came the next day, without the need for the scheduled induction).
So, for a few hints, and a view of some of the fun we've had while waiting, here are some pics.

First, the classic profile shot for your betting insight.


Here's a shot of what we put on my belly earlier today. I roughed it out in the mirror and Vince filled it in with the henna paste.


A close up.


And a little design on my hand.


A couple of other hints: Tweetie weighed in at 9 pounds 12 ounces, and she was my first, a girl, and didn't register as being particularly big at the ultrasound, unlike Sylvester.

Anticipation

I've had a post rolling around in my head since I started my leave back in the last week of April. I've even started typing it out a time or two, but it seems things keep moving before I have the chance to really put anything out.
But we're closing in on the inevitable day of Sylvester's arrival, and it may be even longer after that before I get to posting much so I'm going to do my best to get something out before another day escapes.

Officially, we're now just 4 days away from Sylvester's due date. I suspect he'll be taking his time like his big sister did. Had a checkup yesterday and his head's still pretty high up and he's swimming around. Apparently, I provide a pretty comfy residence for a little life form.
For some time now, I've been getting the supportive comments from those around me that they hope he comes soon, or I'm almost there. I appreciate the sentiment, but the reality is, I have a somewhat different perspective. Apart from the fact that he'll keep growing - and we all know what that means when the day actually comes - I'm not in a big rush to get him out.
You see, for me at least, pregnancy is the easy part. Yes, I'm tired, and it's frustrating at times being limited in what I can do. But I also know what's coming. When we were awaiting Tweetie's arrival, my biggest worry was not labour and delivery, but how I'd make out with caring for her after she arrived. I'd done some reading, but I knew that real life is rather more, well, real. And, as I'd expected, it was tough. In fact, harder than even I had imagined. I remember sharing with a colleague that I caught up with in those first weeks that this was the hardest thing I had ever done. (I was also comforted to hear that she'd felt pretty much the same with her own two girls.)
This time, of course, it's no longer a fear of the unknown. I know what's coming. And I know a whole lot more than I did the first time around, by which I hope to make at least some things easier. But I've also got a toddler to keep track of, nurture, love and nourish. I don't fear 'not having enough love', as I've heard it expressed by others. But I do fear not having enough time, maybe not enough sanity to express that love. Honestly, with the ups and downs and especially post-partum depression, the first round was almost the end of me, though ironically it was the same little life at the center of all that that kept me hanging on.
And there's a quiet part in my soul that's terrified of how I'll get through this time. I know God's grace will be with us again, as always, and we've got some marvelous friends lifting us up in prayer. But, as long as Sylvester's happy and healthy in there, I'm content to wait a little longer to start this next adventure. And if we can get just a little further on things like bathroom renos, that's a bonus.

Message in a bawbuh

It's been awhile since I did any bragging here about my firstborn. Alright, it's been awhile since I posted anything here, but since Tweety's spotlight is likely to be redirected somewhat to her little brother very shortly, I'll take this chance to update y'all.
Well, first and foremost, she's pretty healthy these days. She had her last round of shots last week, which set her up with a bit of a cold again for a few days, but she came through that pretty quick. Hooray! (throw your hands up, now, just like we do on the H page of Dr. Seuss' ABC)
On the tougher side, she's been starting to exert her little personality a lot more over the last couple of months. Which has meant a little more wear and tear on dear old mom, especially since, like most little ones, she always saves the best for me. (Apparently her alter ego shows up at about the same time I do every afternoon at daycare.) Everything from relatively minor whining and defiance to all out screaming tantrums. Thankfully, I'm getting a little better at discerning the variations and finding constructive ways of handling them. The Bear's been valuable in helping me keep my perspective, set good boundaries and hang in there when I'm worn out.
Thankfully, she seems to be settling down again for now, and has generally been in a great mood the last few days. I'm not so naive as to think we're all done with the whole 'twos' scenario before she's even reached the official milestone, especially with a new brother joining the family any time now. But having come through round one, I feel a bit more positive about my ability to deal with the inevitable future waves.
On the fun side, Tweety's been taking great interest in clothing lately, possibly encouraged by all the stylin' freebies she's been getting from one of the other daycare moms. If I pick out something in the morning that she likes, she gets a big grin on her face and bounces around while eagerly pointing arms and legs in the general direction of the appropriate holes. She likes to practice putting things on herself, too. She's managed to put her jacket on all by herself a few times, though not nearly so many times as she's tried. I even had witnesses the first time. As I tried to call her over so I could help her get the other arm in, she squirmed and poked and pushed her arm through the twisted sleeve, and we were all a little stunned. She still needs me for zippers, though ;)
She's also been expanding her little vocabulary, and is starting to mimic a lot. You can tell, too, that her understanding of words is getting much greater, too. Among some of her favourites are bubbles ('buhboohz'), juice('djoos'), shoes ('shoos'), apple ('ahhpuh'), banana ('nana'). Various others come up occasionally, and then there's the one offs where she'll repeat what you say when you say it, but not use the word again.
She also continues to enjoy just about any music with a clear beat. She picked up on some B-52s songs that Shannon played one day at daycare, and when I mentioned that to the Bear, he loaded the whole B-52s anthology onto his iPod and it goes on whenever we go in the car. She provides great entertainment in the back seat, bobbing her head to the beat and waving her arms.
It's amusing to see the dots being connected sometimes. I had the radio on over the weekend and the song 'Message in a bottle' came on by the Police. She was moving around to the music, and when it came to the chorus, she kinda hesitated and started saying 'bawbuh' - her word for bottle. I haven't yet noticed her looking in her bottles for anything but tasty liquids, but I wonder sometimes.