Rainy days

We've had a lot of rain lately and that means we spend a lot of time inside. This sometimes leads to mundane activities becoming primary sources of entertainment. Here's a smattering of videos showing how we manage to stay dry and have fun. Sorry for the shakiness in some of the videos; I'm not a very good filmmaker.

Where she gets some of this stuff I'll never know.

We're really lucky Maggie is such a gentle dog!

She isn't the neatest eater but she sure has a good appetite!

It had been raining all day but finally dried up enough to go outside for a little fresh air in the late evening. As you can tell, Madeleine was pretty tired of our company and was seeking attention elsewhere.

Waving the white flag

You can call me weak but I've decided the battle of the bottle isn't one I have the energy to fight at this point in time. I've come full circle with this pregnancy and find myself as tired now as I was during the first trimester. I get at least 9 hours of sleep and still take naps! We might try again soon using the water in the bottle-milk in the sippy cup method but for now we're calling it quits. Maybe next time.

Ode to the bottle by Madeleine Cline

"Oh how I love my bottle. I drink my milk day and night. It has been with me since birth. I never want to part with it. Wait, what is this? A sippy cup of milk? Oh no, my friend, sippy cups are for water, not milk. Please pass me my bottle. No you say? I must use this cup? The torture!!! I refuse; I will purse my lips in protest! How can you be so cruel as to expect me to grow up so fast? I am just a little baby, aren't I? Simply to remind you that I am in control I will grudgingly take a few sips but then violently toss my head from side to side to refuse any more. Oh bottle, my bottle, where for art my bottle? I will miss you dear bottle and be thirsty for milk forever."


Ok, so this is my exaggerated interpretation of the events of the last few milk-drinking opportunities but it isn't too far from what I am sure Madeleine is thinking. I've decided to go cold-turkey with her on breaking her of her bottle. For the most part I've been fine with her continuing to use it but with the countdown for Junior's arrival gaining on us, I would really rather save the bottles for him. While Justin isn't as willing to endure the fight, I'm hoping my persistence over the next few days will be successful as he won't offer to help put her down while she resists. My other alternative is to hit the store tomorrow in an attempt to find a bottle-sippy cup hybrid that can help with the transition. If she fights it for more than a few days I will succumb to her demands and give her what she wants until she initiates the switch. We'll see where we sit a few days from now.

A changed perspective

Earlier I complained that people were assuming I'm more pregnant than I actually am. Well, I'm starting to empathize with them now that I've seen a picture of myself. Justin took my picture last night and only after looking them over did I start to believe that I look really pregnant...far more pregnant than I feel I look when peering in the mirror or looking down at myself. We started to take a video of my belly with Junior in action but of course he stopped moving when we pushed record so we'll save that for another day. But here, for your viewing pleasure, is the latest look at my ever-growing self. (Justin managed to resist the temptation to take my picture with the antlers over my head.)

Daddy's home

All is again well with the world :)

When dad goes away...

the most random things happen! A few days ago Madeleine managed to step on a small piece of glass with her bare foot and I had to play surgeon without anyone to help me distract her. The first realtor other than ours has called and wants to show the house to clients today. And the power went out at 4:00am today and came back on around 8am. Fortunately I had found the flashlight a few days ago and knew where it was when the power went out. And thank God for batteries because Madeleine's crib aquarium runs on them and that helped her fall back asleep after her fan kept turning on and off during the three flickers of power before it went out. I don't think I'll be too keen on Justin going away for any more long stretches of time, especially since I can't find much in the wreckage of our storage boxes in the basement. But we've survived (albeit I'm a little sleepy this morning) and that's the important thing.

Classic Madeleine

I thought I'd share with you how Madeleine acts these days when she's beyond tired. This happened earlier today when we got home after my prenatal appointment and grocery shopping. It was about 10:30am and she had been awake since 6am. I had to break up the video into three parts to download it more easily to the website but it's all sequential. You get a quick shot of "the belly" but I tried to spare you the view of all my beautiful stretch marks. Maybe I'll capture those for you some other time!

A preview of our week

Justin left this morning for a week of training in Butte for his job up in Polson. We were uncertain as to whether he should go or not because if the Vet Center position comes through he'll be quitting this position; however, after explaining the situation to the person who hired him, he was asked to still attend the training. This means an intense week of Maddie and Momma time. I'm not concerned although I will miss having Justin around.

Madeleine and I have a few activities planned with a moms' group I've joined. This afternoon we'll be playing in kiddie pools, tomorrow we'll meet others at the Farmer's Market, and we may go on a group walk Wednesday evening. It is supposed to be really hot today but gradually cool off into the 70s as the week goes on so we'll play some things by ear.

I also have a prenatal appointment tomorrow. Everything continues to feel normal and I'm all paid up so I imagine it should go quickly. Can you believe it? 34 weeks!!! While I don't think I'm all that big yet (compared to last time around), I've been asked by multiple people if I'm due soon. Jaws tend to drop when I tell them I have another month and a half until the due date. I'll post pictures soon and get your opinion. In the meantime, I'll enjoy having the bed to myself for the week as I now take up a lot more room :)

Our "highlights" reel

We finally got some new disks for our camcorder last week and I found the cords to download videos to the computer so I figured I would post some recent videos. You may notice some of Madeleine's newer antics such as saying "more" in sign language for everything, her tendency to laugh whenever we laugh, and a tolerance for scuzziness, as we like to call it. The shock on her face in the second video is priceless, as is her willingness to wear more food than she actually consumes (refer to the last video). Hope you enjoy!

Sharing isn't always the nice thing to do

Justin shared a cold with the rest of us starting a few days ago. Fortunately for him he's feeling good enough to go fishing with a friend today while Madeleine and I stay here sniffling and sneezing. We're also trying to get as much sleep as our stuffy noses allow. I've realized that by working at a high school Justin will be exposed to a huge number of sicknesses so this may just be the beginning of a very long year if the Vet Center position doesn't come through. Hopefully we'll feel better soon so I can have something more interesting to post.

Our newest addition

No, Junior hasn't come early and we haven't gotten a puppy or a kitten. Here she is:

This is the latest in our attempt to prepare Madeleine for her new baby brother. Personally I've never been much of a baby doll person but at our last appointment at The Birth Center Madeleine was fascinated by the demo baby our midwife had. We decided to give it a try. Fortunately Justin found the only non-pooping, non-crying, non-talking, non-blinking doll at the store. Madeleine has hung out with her all morning, much to our surprise and delight. It may or may not help her to adjust to a baby brother but it's kept her quite entertained which is always a bonus.

I have mentioned Madeleine's independence?

Currently she's in her crib protesting a nap. Awesome! It should make the night go really smoothly.

On a lighter note, my prenatal appointment today went peachy. My glucose test results came out perfect, my blood pressure is perfect (amazingly enough considering our life), my weight is right on track, and Junior is still head down. Our midwife agreed to deliver for us even if we end up moving to Polson before he is born. It just means we might be driving a little faster to get here in time :)

I've gotta go and decide whether I should turn up the radio to drown out kiddo or relieve her of the torment. I suppose it's doubtful to expect this stage to pass in the next two months before Junior comes along.

Mom and daughter day

Justin drove to Helena today for another interview so Madeleine and I were left to entertain one another. We spent the majority of it outside playing with the hose and sprinkler and searching for bugs. Carol says this certifies me for being ready to have a son; it's not my favorite activity but I tolerate it. I do feel bad for the little guys when Madeleine squishes them accidentally in her more zealous moments of trying to touch them.

Madeleine was already in desperate need of a bath after wiping yogurt through her hair yesterday but somehow we didn't find time to make that happen until after she got marinara sauce, ice cream, and apricot juice in it this evening. She was one filthy but very goofy kid!

I've found since moving to our new house Madeleine gets a lot dirtier from playing outside and her insistence on feeding herself (hence yogurt in her hair...she got tired of the spoon and instead used her fingers...we now tend to let her eat only in a bib and diaper to conserve outfits). She also has gotten more scrapes as her independent spirit, a.k.a. "toddlerness", has driven her to run faster, jump higher, and land harder. She recovers pretty well with a high-five and gentle kisses. The bathtub in our house has a pull down shower nozzle which comes in handy during bath time when we need to tame her crazy hair. She likes to think of it as an indoor sprinkler. Whatever floats her boat!

Bored already

Justin looked at me today and said he's kind of bored since we don't have any packing/moving to do, we're not house-hunting, he's currently not applying to any more jobs, etc. I managed to keep things exciting for at least one more day by getting a 24-hour bug yesterday that kept me up puking all night and into this morning. Not only that, but I managed to give the Subaru a flat tire this morning after attempting to go and get myself Gatorade when I woke up at 6am. Of course Justin had to leave Missoula by 8:30am for an interview up in Polson. He did make it to the interview and was offered the position, although he's waiting to make any decisions until he has his interview in Helena on Monday. You can always count on me to keep things exciting!

We have all adjusted fairly well to our new home. The neighbors are really nice and there's a good hiking trail just a block from the house. I even got to see a black bear on the hillside across from our front porch a few mornings ago. As you can see from the pictures Justin managed to find a spot to hang his elk antlers (lucky me).

Madeleine continues to become more like a little girl every day. Her tolerance for my growing belly occasionally becomes very low as Jr. likes to kick whenever she sits on my so-called lap. But she still likes to give belly tickles and push my belly button.

I have my next prenatal appointment on Tuesday. We've reached the point where we go in every two weeks now. Where has the time gone? One thing that's for sure: our life isn't likely to get boring for a long time to come!