discretion, people!

Tuesday night we were out getting some frozen yogurt and the cashier asked me when I'm due. Then she told me this:

"Oh, my sister's due in May too. You're kinda like her, smaller. It looks weird on you."

Maybe don't tell a pregnant woman she looks weird.

Where does he come up with this stuff?

Carter's getting pretty good at memorizing books and I've started trailing off and letting him finish some sentence. He's usually right. Last night we were reading a book that starts: Baby Penguin has lost his mommy so he goes off to find her.

Me: "Baby Penguin has lost his..?"
Carter: "MIND!"

Two months and counting

Today is March 18, exactly two months from my due date. Also, pregnancy is 10 months.

How far along? 31 weeks, almost the size of a large jicama (p.s. baby center really needs new comparisons)
Total weight gain/loss: About 20 pounds, which sounds like a lot until I catch a glimpse of my backside, and then I realize exactly where those 20 pounds are.
Maternity clothes? Most definitely. I may never leave them. And I'm still considering PajamaJeans.
Stretch marks? A few
Sleep: Need more! I’ve reached the really bad sleep part of pregnancy.
Best moment this week: nothing too major sticks out
Movement: Yes, lots, but still not as crazy as Carter was. She’s getting lots of hiccups lately.
Food cravings: fruit. I left Henrys last weekend like a pirate with scurvy.
Gender: Girl!
Labor Signs: A few contractions here and there, but nothing major
Belly Button in or out? In and out a little on top… weird.
What I miss: sleep
What I am looking forward to: Spring. I’m excited for new beginnings. It’s been a rough few months and I feel refreshed by the hope of a new season. And Easter candy being more readily displayed.
Weekly Wisdom: Courtesy of my husband: “a wise man once told me never argue with your pregnant wife particularly about food”
Milestones: hitting the two months remaining mark?

Stream of Conscientiousness

Last night a very wild Carter ran into our bathroom where the acoustics best lend themselves to an echo. He slammed the door behind me and proceeded to yell toward the shower:

YECKO!
WOOT! WOOT!
Wanna go college!!
YOOOO SEEEE ELLLL AY!!!!

All of this flew out of his mouth over about 5-10 seconds. That last UCLA was accompanied by hands thrown in the air. Can you tell he's being raised by Bruins?

Really? At CHURCH?

Another blogger I read posted about an incident with her son that inspired me to post about my own experience, one that I still get a little fired up about, even after a few days have passed.

One thing I love about Carter's daycare is that he gets to explore his world with other kids. He's grown into a (sometimes overly) confident little adverturer and really thrives at his school. He loves this little playhouse they have in the backyard. He delights in running in there, playing with his friends, exploring the sink and the doors and the windows.

Our church also has a TOT lot and the very same playhouse. Let me start by emphasizing TOT. Also, kids are supposed to be supervised at all times.

Carter was playing in the tot lot on Sunday under the watchful eyes of both parents. He decided to go explore the little playhouse. What I couldn't see was the little girl inside the playhouse. Now, the playhouse is big enough for two kids. But she didn't think so. As soon as he opened the door she shoved him backwards and he fell back on his bum on the threshold. She proceeded to kick him out of the way so she could slam the door on him.

Here's the thing: Carter is rarely innocent. He's started pulling hair and actually had one biting incident. I understand kids aren't perfect, and certainly mine rarely is. But he's a toddler testing his boundaries and we are always right there to correct him, correct, and administer a time out when necessary. Honestly, if I'd seen the little girl in the playhouse I probably would have encouraged him to play with something else. However, she was probably about five, old enough not to forcefully act upon a toddler. Her parents weren't there and should have been. Maybe it's a good thing they weren't there because I would have expressed my displeasure with the situation and there's a good chance it would have been more from the mindset of a protective mama bear. Instead, we scooped up a very confused and stunned little boy and left immediately.

This incident, which was probably less than 60 seconds, has really stuck with me all week and caused me to ponder. One, I hope my kids don't beat up on children 20% of their own age. Two, it's sad that it's church, not school, that we have to worry about. Three, how do you correct other peoples' kids when it comes to the safety of your own? And, perhaps, critique other parents' parenting? and four, most importantly, how do I let him explore the world knowing he will get hurt? Eventually, I won't be able to scoop him up and protect him. You know, when he's like 30.

Once again, I think I'll just buy him a bubble and keep him close at all times.

so blessed.

As I was thinking about Carter's Easter outfit (because I plan things months in advance), it just occurred to me that next year I will get to buy an Easter dress. After almost two years of trucks, nerf guns, wrestling, etc. that's very foreign, especially since I was pretty convinced I'd never have a daughter to buy a dress for.

Our family pictures for Easter 2011... mama is not going to look so hot with only a few weeks until delivery. but Easter 2012, those will be adorable.

Approaching the questions we can't answer

Last week something went down between stella the dog and some unfortunate bird. We're not really sure what, since we didn't find anything other than feathers. Maybe it was just a play date? This is one of the spots where the feathers appeared:

Yesterday Carter went out to give Stella her morning treat and took one look at the feathers and turned to Seth and asked, very concerned, "wat happand a birdie?"

I don't know how he knows that feathers mean birds, lots of feathers are a bad thing, and I certainly don't know what did happen to the birdie. Somehow that seems like a fairly advanced level of understanding and concern coming from a 20 month old.

Pretty soon I'm going to have to start referring him to his father for explanations of the foundations of physics.