Well little man, this very well may be the last post before your baby sister's arrival. I can barely muster up enough energy to write this one! While we're on the topic, little Miss Elsie has given mom quite the run for her money already. Not only is she measuring large and causing me to resemble a small elephant, but she has done a number on my legs. I'm now wearing compression stockings to keep my blood pumping and to keep Elsie safe and sound. My legs look like a topography map with raised veins all over...don't worry, I WILL be getting surgery some day!
We rounded out the summer with a trip up north to Hayward, Wisconsin with Ama, Cort, Sam, and your cousins. You had so much fun playing in the sand and going on your first boat ride. OK, that was a bit of an exaggeration - you were scared and crabby on the boat but you looked adorable in your life vest and you were happy if we were going fast...yes, you are your father's child! We visited a zoo while we were there and discovered your love for ducks. You chased several ducks, incessantly, to the point that they were entering other animals' habitats to take cover. You also enjoyed panning for gold, mostly because it involved water and metal pans...it took a lot of coaxing to get you out of that place!
I can't write any more without bringing up your new obsession...and I don't use that word lightly. You are absolutely, wholeheartedly OBSESSED with the big purple blob known as Barney. You are insistent that Barney be playing on the TV no matter what room we're in. The cute part is that you ask for a Barney video by pointing the TV, scrunching your nose, and relentlessly saying "Marmie." We were lucky enough to discover the obsession by accident when Mom brought home a few random DVDs from a 'mothers of multiples' sale...it's been a Barney Fest in our house non-stop ever since...I only wonder how long it will last!
You have tons of new words and I know I'll miss a lot but here's a good start...barney (marmie) - of course, cow, pig, airplane (aipane), boat, car, truck, rain, pizza, cookies, arm, chin, pee-pee, itch, and sneeze. You also say 'all done,' not only when you're done eating, etc. but when you want Dad or I to be done with something like giving you medicine, cutting your nails, making a loud noise, or vacuuming.
Learning words is now turning into learning the meanings and actions of words. You've recently starting giving kisses, standing on one foot (like the Flamingo in...what else...a Marmie video), shake your head, and mimic just about anything we do. It's hard to miss a minute with you right now because every day brings something new.
Unfortunately we've been spending the last few weekends inside, working on the house. We started with your room, then Elsie's room, and are finally onto our own bedroom. We gave Elsie our bedroom furniture (yes, she got the hand-me-downs) so we had to buy ourselves new furniture. Between our furniture and disassembling/reassembling cribs you've become quite the little helper boy. You love to bring Dad the pieces and 'help' to assemble things. You're not a big fan of the drill but I see that as a good thing since you won't go near it - one less thing for me to worry about!
Our little family of three will be changing drastically in the coming weeks so we plan to visit a Pumpkin Patch, Apple Orchard, and the Zoo before Elsie arrives and the snow starts to fly. I can't wait for you to meet your sister and grow into your new role as a big brother. It's hard to imagine life becoming even more fulfilling with a new addition - I feel so lucky to be your mom and can't wait to be Elsie's mom too!
Love you buddy,
Mom
