So I was feeling particularly guilty that I hadn’t managed to take Carrie out to build a snowman this winter. And winter was over, of course.
Until a few inches of the most perfect snowman-making snow fell last night! It was lovely coating the trees in our backyard:
Dear Carolyn,
Every day you surprise me somehow. Usually it’s how late you can stay awake before you finally crash, but just over this past weekend you really shocked us…
You can read! A little, anyway. I totally blame it on all of the Leapfrog products we have, but you can sound out short vowel sounds words, like “dog”, “cat”, “get”, “pig” and “mug”. When we were dyeing the Easter eggs you looked at the egg carton and read the word “egg”. And then in a story we read later you sounded out “hen”. I’m not sure how to help you from here, but we’ll figure it out. Of course, now I’m starting to realize how many words in the English language don’t follow any rules for pronunciation!
It seems, though, that we’ve traded off reading for sleeping. You regularly stay up until 10:30, or later, because as you say, “my imagination jumps out of my head and goes under my bed!” I’m tempted to put a twin-sized boxspring and mattress on your floor so there is no “under the bed”, but then your imagination might go under your dresser or behind the chair next. So for now we’re all settling for way too little sleep.
The idea of having a baby sister has really grown on you by now, and you love to talk about all the things you’ll do with your baby sister, like teach her how to roll over, sit up and use the potty. I’m sure you’re going to be the best big sister ever, and I can’t wait to see how you grow and change…and at the same time I’m already a little sad about how things will change between you and I. I’m sure we’ll figure it out as we go along, but I can’t help but worry that you’ll wonder if there’s enough love to go around for both you and your sister. And of course there is, because I already love you both with all my heart.
Love, Mommy
Carrie’s been begging for a Belle dress for her dress-up box, so I finally gave in – after all, she’s been so patient and well-behaved at all of the rehearsals I’ve been dragging her to. And with all the dialog and vocals she has memorized, I think she’d make a pretty good (although perhaps slightly short) understudy for Belle!
(P.S. Happy Leap Day!)
Dear Carolyn,
Some of my very earliest memories of childhood are from when I was exactly the age you are now. So I wonder what you’ll remember when you’re all grown up? And even more, I wonder what I’ll remember of you being this age…which is why I keep trying to write it down!
With the musical opening in just a couple of weeks, we’ve been at rehearsal a lot. And you have pretty much every song, including all the dialog over the underscoring, and most of the scenes memorized. I just have to play the opening bars of any song and you’ll immediately start singing along. Your favorite line, though, is when Chip says “See? I told ya’!” to Mrs. Potts. So now whenever you tell me something it’s usually followed with “I told ya’, Mommy!”
And I have to admit, aside from rehearsals, we haven’t done much else besides your daily activities (school, playgroup or dance class) and watch TV. I have been so incredibly tired lately that I have to just close my eyes for a few minutes after lunch every day, and that translates into you getting to watch however much JoJo’s Circus, Word World and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse you want. I feel like a horribly mommy, but you’re just plain thrilled. I’m just glad we have a Tivo!
This month has been a bit…dramatic. Everything is meltdown worthy, even though you’re generally an easy going kind of kid. I don’t know if it’s the extra on-the-go time we spend at rehearsals, or if it’s just that the idea of a new sibling is finally catching up to you? If it’s that, I know we’ll have to show you and not just tell you, but we’ll never run out of love for you just because we’ll have another baby in the house to love, and you’ll always be my baby.
Love, Mommy
Tonight at dinner, Carrie said, “Mommy, I finished all my green beans, can I have some salad now?” That’s just so not normal for a three-year-old.
She’s decided to name the baby “Teeny”. So when I went to pick her up at preschool the other day she ran up to me, wrapped her arms around my stomach, and said “Hi Teeny!” into my belly button. Oh, and the baby’s nickname? It’s apparently going to be “Tiny”. Watch this kid turn out to be a football player, with nicknames of Teeny and Tiny.
Carrie also asked the other day if the baby is wearing an itty-bitty pair of pajamas in my tummy when he or she is sleeping. Uhhh. Not exactly. “But why not, Mommy? Won’t the baby be cold?” I just have one question…why did we have to hit the “why” phase right in the middle of my pregnancy?!?
She is just all about the baby lately. We bought her a new carseat today (the Graco Nautilus) for Denis’ car, because she’s too tall for the ComfortSport that was in there and we’re not ready to put her in a booster seat just yet. We haven’t really shopped in a baby department lately, and Carrie apparently had no idea the range of things you could buy for a baby. If she had had her way we would have come home with dozens of little socks, tiny pairs of shoes, bibs, washcloths, toys and an exersaucer. Oh, and another stroller. I had to promise her she could pick out a special toy for her to give to the baby just as soon as we know whether it’s a brother or sister just to get her out of the store!
For Christmas, Carrie got a sled from Uncle Dan & Genevra. She’s been so eager to use it, but the only days we’ve gotten enough snow were days I had to work at the shop all day, and then by the next day it would all be melted. Well, today the stars (and clouds) aligned and Carrie finally got the chance to sled!
Denis pulled her around the yard a bit, and then let her slide down the tiny little hill next to our house…which is perfect for a tiny little three year old!
Carrie likes Valentine’s Day. You get cards and goodies from all your school friends! I feel kind of bad because they sent home a note suggesting that the kids all exchange little cards, but everyone else gave out little cards plus pencils, candy or other goodies. Silly me for following directions. Sigh.
Yep, Carrie’s going to be a big sister this July. And she’s ecstatic, excited, and exhaustingly sweet about it!
I hope this explains why I’ve been so incredibly horrid about blogging. I’m so much more tired this time than last time. When I was pregnant with Carrie, I took naps, went to bed early, ate the exactly perfect diet and did everything by the book. This time? I can only apologize in advance to this poor child, who’s already been subjected to more caffeinated soda than can possibly be good for them and the least amount of sleep a pregnant woman can possibly get without falling over. I’m actually already 17 weeks along. I’ve been meaning to blog about this for more than a month, but by the time I manage to stay awake long enough to read discussion boards and catch up on everyone else’s blogs, I’m too tired to write a coherent post. (Technically, I doubt this one counts as coherent either, but I’m too tired to care!)
I have a funny story from when we told Carrie. It was shortly before her Christmas pageant, and I asked her if she knew what it meant to be a big sister. Blank look. So I tried again, and told her that when it’s summer again, when it’s hot, a new little baby is going to come live with us. And she gasped and excitedly said, “Is it the baby Jesus?!?” Uhhhh. Not exactly…
Every day she talks about her “newbabybrotherorsister” (really, she says it fast enough that it might as well be all one word) and how her new baby is going to sleep in her old crib, and she’s going to feed her new baby baby food, and her new baby will be too little to drink from her big girl cups and will have to use a baby bottle, and her new baby is going to play with all her old toys and wear her pink socks that her big girl feet are too big for and…you get the picture, I’m sure.
Carrie keeps asking to listen to the baby in my tummy, and she gives my belly hugs and tells the baby how much she loves him or her. It really is absolutely, wonderfully sweet. Although, I can’t wait to find out if she’s having a brother or a sister, to cut down on the “Mommy, I want a baby brother” requests, followed the next day by “Mommy, I want a baby sister!”
Last time I was sure I was having a girl, and I was right. This time? No clue. I don’t sleep enough to have dreams about boys or girls! But I will be very, very happy either way. And I think Carolyn will too. Especially if she gets to pick out the paint color for the newbabybrotherorsisters room. ;)
Dear Carolyn,
Oh, it’s been a busy, busy month. Between the holidays, and rehearsals starting…we barely have time to just chill, you and I. I have to admit, I’m worried that things are just going to keep getting busier and busier until one day you’re all of a sudden moving away for college and I’ll be wondering where my pig-tailed preschooler went.
This month you’ve discovered princesses. You’d seen Cinderella before, but I let you watch Beauty and the Beast so you’d have some frame of reference for all the rehearsals you’re coming to with me. It scares you…but not nearly as much as I feared. In fact, the parts you worry about most are when Belle’s Papa is taken away, and when Papa is looking for Belle later. And it hasn’t given you nightmares or anything…and you ask to watch it often. Somehow this has led to you knowing who Ariel, Sleeping Beauty and Jasmine are. Maybe this is just a latent genetic memory triggered by watching one or two Disney movies? Or is there some sort of subliminal message buried in the movies you’ve seen? I really had meant to “protect” you from all the over-commercialized princess things, but one thing led to another and now you’re (slightly) obsessed.
I got to meet with your teachers earlier this month, for an “evaluation”. They had nothing but good things to say about you, although they did mention that you have such a quiet little voice. And I had to ask if they were sure we were discussing the same child. Apparently, you find it hard to speak up in class! After listening to you chatter, sing and giggle all day long, I have a hard time believing it.
You know, last month I would have said that terrible twos are a myth, and terrible threes are the reality. But this month has been fabulous. You are a charming, wonderful, imaginative, interesting and funny girl now. Sure, we still have our moments of disagreements, and they can be big, emotional things, but they’re just passing moments instead of whole days now. I just wish I could slow time down a little to enjoy these days more…but then again, I think I’ve been wishing that since the day you were born, and it hasn’t happened yet!
Love, Mommy
During rehearsal today (did I ever mention I’m accompanying Beauty and the Beast this year?) Carrie kept begging to go up on stage with the big kids. I had to promise her she could go up there when rehearsal was over. Partway through rehearsal, the director’s wife showed up with their daughter who’s right around Carrie’s age. The girls had a great time playing with each other, and then when rehearsal ended we put the soundtrack CD on and they danced up on stage. It was the cutest little performance, followed, of course, by big bows at the end of the song.
I’m definitely not raising a child who suffers from stage fright…