We are in the final stages of preparing for Baby #2. The envelopes for pre-addressing baby announcements have arrived in the mail, so now it finally feels more real! We've had our choice of first names narrowed down to 2 or 3 for quite some time, but now we may flip flop back to a different version of one of the names we liked early on but had then eliminated. It may just come down to the first time we see him.
Charlie has also been preparing in his own way. He liked practicing putting his doll in the carseat when I had it out to readjust the straps back to infant size and to put on the winter cover. We also took him on Sunday to pick out a present for Baby Brother. This morning he finally got his seasonal flu shot (our pediatrician had been out of the dosage for kids under 3 until just last week).
I managed to get an H1N1 shot this past Friday, thanks to the assistance from friends Brian and Lauren. Brian sat in the line in the cold rain for Lauren and I while we sat in the car. But the early morning paid off-- we were very near the front of the line and got through long before they shut it down for the day. Brian and Lauren even got interviewed for the news!
Only a few more days of work for me, then I'm off on vacation until C-Day. It will be nice to have some time to relax and finish up things around the house that I've been too tired to do after long days at work.
Just for fun, here is a comparison of me in the final week or so before Charlie was born, and a shot from last weekend in nearly the same spot. We thought it was fitting to take another photo at the site of big moments in our life (since this was also where our wedding was held).
I thought "Yesterday" would be an appropriate title for this entry, because Charlie has been starting to use that word a lot. And when he uses it, it means something in the recent past, not necessarily just the day before this one. For example, a few days after we saw polar bears at the zoo, he saw a photo of a polar bear in a magazine and declared that he had seen one "yesterday." So I will now fill you in on what has been happening "yesterday."
We've been enjoying October weekends as a time to get Charlie out and do something special before winter and the baby arrive. The weather turned very cold very fast, but has warmed back up a little. Two weeks ago we went trick-or-treating at Hallzooween. Charlie now understands how to say "trick or treat" and he's starting to associate his Tigger costume with the concept of Halloween. Now that he has eaten or played with all of the items he received during that outing, he has stated that he needs to "get some more in my pumpkin." So he's ready for next weekend for sure!
Last weekend we took advantage of free tickets to the Children's Museum and spent a couple of hours there with Charlie. He seemed to enjoy everything he saw. Of course, having a big bin of balls drop on his head was a highlight. After he had been a bit hesitant to look at a baby alligator at the Children's Zoo the week before, we were surprised when he rushed right up to be the first in line to touch a snake at the museum. He stroked and rubbed it for quite a while before declaring that he'd had enough. Charlie stunned us while we were driving in the car, and "Strawberry Fields" came on the radio. From the backseat we heard "it's Rock Band!" He recognized the song from the Beatles Rock Band game.
Charlie has been identifying with pictures and items with relationship to his immediate family. In the clip below, he identifies each of us with one of our trashcans, by size. He has also picked us out in books and on games on John's iphone (in one case his baby brother was a cat on my lap). He's making associations to groups of people or items that he sees, and how they "match" our family makeup.
At school, Charlie has enjoyed lessons about apples and pumpkins. He really enjoyed tasting different colors of apples, making apple sauce, and planting apple seeds in cups. His favorite days are still when the librarian (Mrs. O) comes to read to them.
At home, Charlie has been getting back into coloring again, I think because we pulled out some new crayons that are a different shape. They may be easier for his hands to use now. He's also started calling me "momma" and occasionally "mom" instead of just "mommy." And we're working our way back to enjoying bath time, thanks to Diego bubble bath (although he still won't sit down in the tub). So many changes, experimenting with new things.
Charlie continues to rattle off the new words and concepts.
Apparently John needs to start watching his language a little more closely. Today, Charlie accidentally hit me with his drum stick while playing with his toy drum, and when I said "Ouch!" he said "Jesus Christ!" It's so hard not to laugh when he does that.
Last week one morning as we were walking to the car to go to daycare, he asked me what that was up in the sky. It was still dark, and the moon, which was nearly full, was peaking out from a hole in the clouds. He was fascinated by the moon for the rest of the day. When asked if it was big, he said it was "squished." I can't disagree with that assessment-- it seemed an appropriate word.
Last weekend, when John asked Charlie what we should name his baby brother, Charlie responded "Baby Sister."
I took Charlie to get his haircut on Wednesday after work, and when I told him where we were going, he said "going on an airplane." I could not figure out why he thought we were going on a plane, and then I realized that he remembered sitting in the airplane chair the last time we got his hair cut. As we pulled up to the building, he started talking about "Nemo." When we walked in and I asked him what movie or show he wanted to watch while getting his haircut, he said "Nemo," and I made the connection. He had everything all planned out!
Charlie has been playing a lot with the drum and other musical instruments that Beth got him for his birthday last year. He calls it "Rock Band."
One of the most amazing (or maybe just coincidental) things that Charlie did this past week was to bring me two of his books-- different sizes and shapes, one about bunnies and one about cars, nothing really similar about them-- and declare "it matches!" I took at look, and lo and behold, they were both by Richard Scarry. I don't know if he realized the drawings were of a similar style, or what, but it sort of freaked me out!
Every day is certainly a new adventure with Charlie.
Today we said goodbye to Grandfather Robenalt. John was honored to be a pallbearer, but I'm sure it was not the easiest thing to do. The visitation last night drew quite a crowd-- the room was pretty full for four straight hours while we were there. It was a true testament to how much he impacted the community and so many lives within it. Of course, many in attendance were family, but there were others who had been touched by his life in other ways. John remarked that even the sandwich lady from the Kewpie came to pay her respects. Nancy seemed to be holding up pretty well.
It was a fitting day for a funeral today-- steady rain most of the day. Charlie was a pretty good little boy during the service, although I did take him outside to run around during parts of it. He was very proud to show off to everyone that "Daddy has a tie just like me!" It was the first time we had dressed him up with a clip on tie. At the cemetery, Charlie remarked that the gun salute was "really loud" but he dealt with it surprisingly well.
I reflected at the cemetery on my own grandfathers' passing, since they were both veterans of WWII as well. The military salutes always make me teary eyed. After the final words at the gravesite, we stopped at Grandmother Toska's grave as well. Then we enjoyed some nice time with family at the country club before driving back home.
