Yesterday I Grew A Spine...What Did You Do?

It's pretty cool that this early on in pregnancy is when the baby's spine grows. Although Dr. Smith (Lexi's neurosurgeon) assured me that Lexi's tethered spinal cord had nothing to do with anything I did, or did not do during my pregnancy, you can bet that I was very careful to eat well and take my vitamins yesterday.

So far I'm feeling great! I'm starting to have a few more pregnancy symptoms, and I'm a little tired - but that only assures me that all is well so I'm happy. Lexi has also been preparing to help her Mama with this pregnancy - she's been reading up so that she can know what to expect...

On Saturday Grammy, Grampy, Auntie Kae and Uncle Doug came for dinner to celebrate Grampy's birthday. It was great to see them, and wonderful that Uncle Doug finally got to see our house - since he had so much to do with our buying it! Lexi helped Grammy frost the cake, and presented it to Grampy to blow out the candles.Even though Grampy is still having a hard time imagining himself as a grandfather, he was quite pleased to find out that his next grandchild is on the way. It was a great night, and Lexi had a blast as always. :)

In Case You Missed The Subtlety

Yes, it appears to be true - The Lippmans are pregnant again! We're about 30 seconds pregnant - enough for the pregnancy tests (yes, I took three of them plus a blood test with the doctor) to show two lines, but not enough for the oh-so-pleasant first trimester pregnancy symptoms to begin.
We got this fantastic news on Easter morning (how appropriate!) but rather than making a huge announcement at dinner, we've just been casually telling our friends and family one person at a time. After all we went through with my first pregnancy, I think we're just slightly more nervous about things this time around. However, I've had a talk with Nana and explained that it's her job to watch from above and make sure everything goes perfectly, and our job to just enjoy this pregnancy and look forward to Lexi being a big sister.
We're all looking forward to the fun and long road ahead of us. First excitement on the list is my ultrasound on 4/14. Since I had a c-section I am considered "high risk" which is fine by me because I know that it's really just a precaution, but because of that status my doctors will pay extra close attention to me - something that was seriously lacking our last time around.
We told Lexi right away and while I don't think she really understands, she does talk about the baby in Mommy's tummy from time to time. Yesterday she asked me if she had a baby in her tummy!! Yesterday we went to The Museum of Science with Ben, Cassie and Auntie, so while we were there I took the opportunity to bring her to the exhibit on how babies grow inside the mommy. She seemed interested and I think she thought it was fun to see the little tiny babies - but, she's two, so I'm sure she won't fully grasp the concept until the baby actually arrives.
Tonight Grammy, Grampy, Auntie Kae, Uncle Doug and Aunt Petie are coming for dinner, and we're looking forward to telling them our news. :)

Interesting...

Lexi on our way to Old Navy this evening...

"Mama, when I get older maybe I'll throw up in a bucket."

That one wins the random award for the day. :)

Stinky...

On our way home from Fadia's yesterday:

Lexi: sniff sniff "Mama, it stinks in the car."
Me: "It does? What does it smell like??"
Lexi: "Stinky Dada!"

If there was more said, I didn't hear it because I was too busy laughing out loud. :)

Happy Easter!!

This past weekend was really fun, and very, very busy! Amy came up with Cassie and Ben on Thursday night and we all had dinner at Gigi and Poppy's house with Gigi's Auntie Connie and Uncle Will (from Florida). The three kids are always so thrilled to see each other, and play so nicely together.

On Friday, Amy and I took the kids to The Boston Children's Museum for a fun packed day of adventure. The kids had a blast, though it was extremely crowded and difficult to get around the exhibits. While they had a lot of fun with everything we did, I think Lexi most enjoyed the bubble room...

As usual, we simply could not get all three kids smiling in one picture, but just to prove that we were all there together:

Towards the end of the day, Lexi got tired and found a nice bench to take a rest. Cassie was not happy with this arrangement because everyone knows you do not sleep on benches, you sleep on beds!

On Saturday all the kids played together at Gigi and Poppy's house while Ahren and I spent the day preparing for Easter Dinner. They colored Easter eggs together, and Lexi got a little carried away and tried to color herself. Apparently she pulled the cup of egg dye off the counter and poured blue egg dye all over her face, clothes, and arm. Luckily Gigi was able to get the dye out of her clothes, and we were able to get her back to human color in time for Easter dinner.

Easter was fantastic. The house was nutty, but all of our 17 guests seem to enjoy themselves, and we were extremely pleased to have them all here. After dinner Heather and Tim came by with their new puppy, Gus. All of the kids thought he was just fantastic (me too) and he was extremely well behaved in such a nutty house! Lexi thought he was just fantastic and this is what she had to say about him yesterday,

"Mama, remember when the girl and the boy brought the puppy and he was named Gus and he was really cute and he loved to rub noses with me? Remember that Mama??"

Sorry Auntie Heather and Uncle Tim - apparently Lexi could remember Gus's name, but not yours'... :)

Just look at this sweet face!

All in all, the entire weekend was fantastic! Anytime we have all of the kids together it's just wonderful. :)

More to come...:)

So Sweet...

So, poor Ahren caught the bug on Sunday night. He was sick all night, and then slept most of the day on Monday. He was actually supposed to be in North Carolina yesterday, so at 6 in the morning I was calling his travel agent to cancel the trip for him... Anyway, needless to say, I've been cleaning a LOT - many loads of laundry, and the bathrooms are practically glowing now. I was up a lot of the night with him, so I was pretty tired yesterday. After I let Lexi come down from her (non) nap, I sat on the couch with my eyes closed "just resting my eyes" as Nana used to say, while she played with her "dog" house (doll house). :) I rested for about a half hour and "woke up" to Lexi dragging her stool over the the couch, climbing up onto the couch, and snuggling in next to me... My heart just melted. She is such an angel. It reminded me of this cute poem:
The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
I also learned that the reason why Lexi has been fighting bed and naps this weekend and yesterday is because she now thinks that going to bed is going to make her throw up. We talked about it a little bit, and I explained that she was sick because she had a bug in her tummy (I can only imagine what she thought about that!) and that her bed was not going to make her sick. Last night she snuggled right in and went to sleep...phew!
Potty training continues to go well, even through her stomach bug. She has accidents throughout the day, but I think she goes on the potty more than in her diaper, so that's great. We have a little sticker chart to keep track of her progress, and she can earn a prize when she reaches the end of a row. She thinks that's pretty cool, and it has eliminated the mass of punching balloons that we had! The best part is that she's sitting for shorter periods of time, and still successful! Sometimes she calls to me from the bathroom, "Mama, come see what I did in the potty!" She's a cutie...

Yuck!

Yesterday, Lexi and I had a wonderful day with Gigi and Great-Gram. Gigi took us all to the flower show in Boston, where Lexi had a blast running around looking at all there was to see. It really doesn't matter where you take her, she's just happy to walk around looking at whatever everyone else is looking at. Which makes her pretty darn enjoyable to take places! While we were waiting in line for lunch another woman was commenting on how Lexi looks like me. Great-Gram told her that we were four generations of girls, which the woman found amazing enough to repeat to the rest of her party. Then she said that it must be such a special day having all of us together. I thought that actually, what is special is that it's really just a pretty regular day. Lexi and I are so lucky to have Gigi and Great-Gram right up the street, and we see them all the time. She is one lucky kid (and I'm one VERY lucky mom!).

After a fantastic day, and a wonderful evening, Ahren took Lexi up to bed. As is becoming part of the routine, she cried for me when he put her to bed. During her fuss she said a few times that she had a tummy ache, but I was so sure that she was making it up to get me upstairs that I kept ignoring that and telling her to close her eyes and go to sleep. After awhile I realized that her tummy really was bothering her. I tried to just comfort her and get her to go to sleep thinking that she would feel better once she fell asleep. While I'm rubbing her back I'm thinking, "Luckily, Lexi never throws up, so if anything I'm just in for a night of changing lots of nasty diapers..." After she seemed to be pretty much asleep I tiptoed out of her room and downstairs. About 20 minutes later I was sure I had gotten her down when I heard her little cry again...I slowly dragged myself upstairs again and walked in to find her throwing up all over her bed and herself. ACK!! YUCK!! BLEH!!! I immediately called Ahren in who went right into bed changing duty while I tossed Lexi into the tub to wash out her hair. We got her cleaned up, and fresh sheets on the bed. She said her tummy felt much better, so I put her back in bed. Ten minutes later we were back up there changing sheets and jammies again. It was a long night after that...I finally got to bed around 12:30, only to be woken up at 4am to more sickies. Lexi and I were up together until around 6am when she dosed off again. I went back to bed and prayed for two hours of sleep. We got one (thanks cats!!) but Ahren went to deal with them (and sleep on the couch) and Lexi and I slept until 8. She seemed better this morning, with only one small bout of nausea. She fell asleep on the couch at 10:30, and by the time I got back from CVS with the Emetrol, she had slept it off and was back to normal. We were pretty nervous about giving her supper tonight, but she was very hungry so we let her eat. She is now sleeping peacefully in her (very clean) bed...and I'm headed to the couch to sleep until Ahren tells me it's time to go to bed.

Lexi And Jack Sitting In A Tree...K-I-S-S-I-N-WHAT?!

So, it seems that Lexi has a new boyfriend at daycare! When I picked her up today, Fadia told me that she and "Little" Jack (not the Jack that we usually hear about, who she adores) were kissing today!! WHAT?? She said that Jack told Lexi he thought she was cute, and Lexi replied that she thought Jack was cute. Jack's response? "Yes, I am." :) Then he apparently kissed my little teenager! I was laughing as Fadia was telling me, and I jokingly said to Lexi, "Lexi, there is no kissing at daycare!" She got this little frown on her face and said, "But I like kissing Jack."

I guess pooping on the potty makes her very popular. :)

It really is quite adorable, and she obviously does not see a difference between kissing Jack, and kissing Mama, Dada, Yaya, Gigi, Poppy, etc... Ahren and I just really thought we'd have a few more years before we had to worry about her dating. :) I just hope they don't plan on moving into her new box house together...

It's Potty Time!!

So, because I'm neurotic and because (sorry mom) my mom makes me crazy even when she thinks she isn't...our last visit with the neurologist was really making me panic about Lexi potty training. Because of that I spent way too much time talking about it in front of her, and pushing her way harder than I needed to. This, of course, guaranteed that she would have nothing to do with the potty or anything potty related until I could learn to keep my trap shut.

Mommy now properly trained, and the stress level relieved, something seemed to click last night. As always, I suggested that Lexi sit on the potty before her tubby. She was happy to sit, but wanted to talk and play as always. After about twenty minutes she told me she didn't want to go. I said something to the effect of that being fine, and she could do whatever she wanted. She immediately sat down and started trying. Well, wouldn't you know it, the kid PEED!!! WOOWOO!! She finally got that punching balloon we've been talking about for weeks, and you would think the thing was made of gold!! She loved it, and punched it so hard that I actually had to put up blocks while I was getting her ready for bed!!

And, I guess the punching balloon was a hit because she has now peed again this morning, pooped at daycare, peed again before dinner, and just peed again right before bed. This is pretty big news in the Lippman house, and we've been telling everyone we see. I am treading very carefully though...I know this is a power thing, and as long as she thinks she's in control we'll be fine. I do hope this is the beginning of real training, but I am bracing myself for many set-backs and keeping my expectations low.

Tonight while she was sitting on the potty I was bopping around getting dinner ready etc. At one point she called to me and said she wanted me to come in and hug her and say, "I'm so proud of you!" So, I did, and was immediately met with a scream and, "WAIT!! You have to wait until I go poopy first!!" I am so slow at learning the rules... :)

You Learn Something New Everyday

Today I learned that walking through the mall holding five bags in one hand, a diaper bag slipping off one shoulder, and a squirmy two year old in the other hand, sweating and looking very frazzled is the *exact* combination it takes for those darn kiosk guys to finally leave me alone! I actually made eye contact with one who was primed and ready (small cup of lotion in hand) to ask me if my nails were real, but after taking a look at my situation decided it best to smile and look away. YES!!! Success!! I can now walk through the lower level of the mall annoyance free.

PS - Failed tests in the past included pushing crying baby very quickly past said kiosks, and talking on the cell phone. Neither were successful (which always makes me laugh when it's the Verizon guys - "Um...as you can see...I'm all set with a cell phone.")

too...much...cute...

This is awful, just when I catch Lexi doing something totally cute, she does something else cute, which make me feel overwhelmed about updating the blog. How do I choose which cute thing to share when there are just so many?? So, here is a small snip-it of all the weekend cuteness. There was so much more, but I find that when I write about what she says, it's just not as funny as if you actually heard her say it.

This weekend was really fun!! Friday was spent cleaning all morning...the house really needed to be cleaned. Lexi was a huge help - she helped me to vacuum using the "vacuumacleana" (aka, her toy lawn mower), then we swept and mopped. She did not like the mopping because she slipped on the wet floor, so she took a break while I finished that. I've really never seen a kid so into cleaning before! She LOVES it and gets really mad if I try to do some cleaning without her.

We got to play in the snow again on Saturday. Since there wasn't much to shovel, we spent lots of time making snow balls and "Snow Mamas" which I don't think are appropriate to post here... I think Ahren was daydreaming about what he wishes I looked like. Okay...you convinced me...here it is...

Then on Saturday evening and Sunday we did a lot of furniture shopping. There are a few pieces we need to replace (80's kitchen set!!) and a few that it's just time to have so we're furniture shopping crazies right now. Lexi had lots of fun with the shopping, with the great exception of the Wally Monster at Jordan's. If you have not seen him, he is a bigger than life version of Wally (the green monster) with a full sized Yankee in his hand and he's moving the Yankee towards his mouth as the Yankee's legs are moving. For a two year old, this is very scary, and she did not stop talking about it...well...she's actually still talking about it.

She very happy to be with Fadia this week, and thanks to Fadia is now the proud owner of a new pair of glasses. They are really funny, and she thinks they are awesome!!
(Yes, Heather, that is the vest you got her for her first birthday, and yes, it still fits.)

Finally, here is a cute video of Lexi just being super cute. She thinks it's the funniest video ever, and keeps asking me to play the "monkey video" so I had to post this here for her. Enjoy it - she does! :)