Happy Birthday, Will!

Today is Will's second birthday! I can't believe he's two!! We had a pretty regular day, in general, except that it included a trip to Chuck E. Cheese's (a place that I hope to not visit again for a long, long time). They had some games that were age-appropriate for Will, and he liked it pretty well, but all in all our family found it quite overwhelming. Will looked a bit dazed the entire time we were there. Although, it did have the advantage that it was an INDOOR activity, which is a big deal when it's August in Alabama.

The rest of the day included a birthday lunch from Wendy's, a too-short nap, some football watching with Daddy (including learning how to yell "Get him!!" and "Go 'Hoos Go!"), and one b'day present: a doctor's kit. I have to say that the doctor's kit is the best present ever because it allows me to lie on the couch and be the "patient" while Will spends an endless amount of time examining me. All I have to do is pretend to cry once in a while when he gives me a "shot". Since lying on the couch is about all I can handle these days, this plan worked out really well.

I want to write about Will's birthday party and various other celebrations that we had last week, as well as a post about what two looks like for Will, but those will have to wait. I know everyone will be on pins and needles! I'll keep you posted.

I Have Trained Him So Well

As I've mentioned before, Will has been in a big Daddy phase lately, a phase that I hope will continue once the baby comes. So, this morning when I hear him talking in his crib, I tell Zach that I will try to go get him, but that I know he will be requesting Daddy. Sure enough, as soon as Will sees me walk in the room, he yells for Daddy. I try to convince him that I would just change his diaper and then we'd go see Daddy, but Will was having none of it. In a perfectly crafted sentence, Will yells:

"Daddy!! Come change my diaper!!!!!"

When that gets no response, he continues, making the offer even more enticing: "Zach!!!!!! Come change my STINKY diaper!!!"

I could not have planned this better if I had tried.

Brewton

I have been meaning to post about our trip to Brewton, which we took at the beginning of August. My mom, my sister, Will, and I went to visit my grandparents in Brewton...a tiny town in L.A. (lower Alabama) where my mom grew up. My grandparents have had a few health problems and just aren't able to travel as much as they used to, so we went to them! I figure that it will only get harder to travel once we have TWO babies, so we decided to go ahead before our lives get even more crazy.

Anyway, we made it a short trip: we left Saturday morning and came back after lunch on Sunday. Since Will has quite a bit of "energy" (that's an understatement), I was a little worried that he would be too overwhelming for my grandparents. But, they really seemed to love seeing him. My grandfather, Bobby, just kept saying, "That Will is something else!" which I'm pretty sure is a compliment. He was also very playful with Will and did "Fee, Fi, Foe Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman," which is a rhyme I remember him doing with me when I was young. (It scared me to death as a child, but Will seemed to love it.) Both Mimi and Bobby seemed to love watching Will play and were, of course, very impressed by him. :)

I feel very lucky and very blessed to be thirty-years-old and still have two living grandparents. And even more than that, I love that they have gotten to know Will. Making the trip to see them while 9 months pregnant and with an almost-two-year-old was a bit challenging (even though I had the two best helpers EVER), but it was totally worth it. It is so sweet to see all of the generations together. I think these pictures say it all:

The only drawback to the trip was that right before we were leaving, Will was climbing on a chair, fell backwards, and bonked his head HARD on an end table on the way down. It immediately turned into a huuuuge goose egg, and I have to admit, I was a bit worried. He cried a lot (and I regretted not bringing the Boo Boo Rabbit with us), but he calmed down and fell asleep when we got in the car. (Of course, then I worried, "Did he fall asleep too quickly?" "Is this a sign of a major head injury?" etc. etc.) The goose egg hung around for a day or two, and Will insisted on having a pillow under his head when he was getting changed--the only time he really lays on his back--but overall, he was fine and back to his normal self. It was just too bad that the fall was the end to such a wonderful visit.

Singing

Listen Up, Little Sister

Tonight while I was reading to Will and he was drinking his milk, he got so excited to tell me something that he spit milk everywhere. So, I got out a burp cloth to clean things up. Since we haven't used burp cloths in quite a while, Will's first question was "What's this?" I explained to him that these were used for babies because they sometimes spit out their milk because they were too little to know that they needed to swallow it.

At this point, Will leans over my belly and starts rubbing it gently. He looks directly at my belly and says "Baby, swallow da milk. Baby, no spit out da milk." And just for good measure (and a complete non sequitur), he adds, "Baby, I swing on the playground."

Good thing she's got a big brother to teach her everything she needs to know.

Favorite Phrases

Here are some of Will's new favorite things to say. It cracks me up to hear these things coming out of him:

• "What happened?" (said anytime something doesn't work as he thinks it should)
• "Watch this."
• "What's this/that?" (said every other minute)
• "No, let me do it."
• "I want Daddy!" (We are in a major Daddy-phase now, which completely hurts my feelings. However, it could definitely work to my advantage once the baby arrives...of course, that's when he'll switch to "I want Mama" all the time, I'm sure.)

ACK!!! How Did I Get Here?

I'm having a baby in three weeks. I'm HAVING A BABY in THREE WEEKS!!!!! How did this happen? How did it get here so quickly (and yet still feel like I've been pregnant for four years)?

I'm not ready. Well, I guess I'm technically ready enough. She has a crib and diapers and PLENTY of clothes. We have blankets, burp cloths, and bottles. We've gotten the car seat out of the attic. But mentally? I'm not ready. I can't help but feel that I like our life the way that it is. Will is getting more self-sufficient each day. He sleeps for 11 to 12 hours at night, and we have a great routine. He's funny and FUN...we can do lots of things with him these days. And, he's the child that I already know; I want to protect him from upheaval and discomfort. I don't want him to feel like his parents have abandoned him or let him down. And yes, I know that "a sibling is the best gift you can give him" blah blah blah. I'm not sure he's going to feel like that when she comes home.

I know I'm going to love her. I already do. I can't wait to meet her and hold her and see her sweet face. I know that two will be more than twice as hard as one, but also more than twice the joy. And yet, I can't help but think of those first few months that are so hard and overwhelming and wonder how I'll make it through. (And yes, I know to anyone with more than two kids, this sounds like major melodrama.) But, I guess the upside is that I know that I WILL make it through. I did with Will--these past two years have flown by--and I know I will with baby girl. We will figure things out as a family. But still, I'm not ready. I suppose I will have to be.

Safety Conscious

Will's new mantra while riding in the car: "Mama! Both hands on the wheel!!"

When Will Gets Older...

One of Will's new favorite phrases is "When Will gets older...". He uses this to describe all the things he wants to do now, but will have to settle for later in life. I think this started when Will wanted to play with Zach's tools, and Zach told him, "you can have a screwdriver when you're older." Then, Will continued the fantasy when we were looking at a book that had pictures of different tools: "When Will gets older, Will have a screwdriver. When Will gets older, Will have scissors. When Will gets older, Will have a BIG drill."

This weekend, I heard a lot of "when Will gets older" stories, some realistic, and some, well, not:

• "When Will gets older, Will slide on belly on ice. Very cold!" Um, okay. (This was said in response to a picture in a book.)
• "When Will gets older, Will have green eyes." Probably not, buddy. Your eyes are pretty blue and will most likely stay that way.
• "When Will gets older, Will have baby in belly." No. Not going to happen. (Although there was that pregnant "man," which just freaks me out.)
• "When Will gets older, Will have a hat!" Right. You already have several.
• "When Will gets older, Will wear earrings." My mom tried to be diplomatic on this one, saying things like, "Well, some boys wear earrings, but they are mostly for girls." I simply told Will, "Earrings are for ladies."
• "Look at da bicycle! When Will gets older, Will have bicycle. Will have BIG bicycle!" Apparently, it's not only important to have something, but it's important that it's big. It's just like a man to think that way. :)