That's Good Sistering

Darcy and I have read "Love You Forever" several times over the last few days. She's also listened to Robert Munsch reading it as well. She always lets me read the text, then she joins in when it's time to start singing the little "Love You Forever" song.

Tonight, Wesley was crying in his little rocking chair. Darcy rushed right over to him and gently rocked him. While she rocked him she sang,

"I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always.
As long as I'm living,
My brother you'll be."

Just picture me sitting on the couch bawling.

It's a parallel of a similar incident that happened in my family. On the day of my brother's dediction (Christening) there was a big family lunch at my Nanny's house after the service. Brian was in some sort of cradle, crying, while the rest of us were eating lunch. Apparently he was quite upset. When my mom went to comfort him she found my sister already there singing to him. It's been quite legendary in our family. Now it has hit the next generation.

Darcy's New Game

When Wesley was born we bought Darcy a new doll and gave it to her in the hospital. She loved it right away and developed a new game.

She became the dolly's mommy which made me - you guessed it - the grandma. She pretends she's going off to work and that she's bringing the baby to Grandma's house to be babysat. She walks up to me, rings the "doorbell" and waits for me to answer the "door" and invite her in before she comes in. This morning I forgot to say, "Won't you come in?" and she waited and finally said, "Can I come in, please?"

The she gives me a kiss and goes off to work for the day. While she's across the room at work she'll even pretend she's calling me to see how Taylor-Jae (what she wanted to name Wesley, it's taken from the Robert Munsch book "I'm So Embarassed") is making out while she's at work. "Is she crying? Does she miss me?"

Then she comes back to pick up the baby (although she needs help getting her in the car seat) and gives her big hugs and says things like, "Mommy's got you. Mommy's here now." It cracks me up.

What a little nut.

Rough Night

Sometimes I have horrifying dreams that are so realistic I have trouble telling the dream from reality when I wake up. Being a little sleep deprived right now and waking several times in the night isn't helping matters much.

Last night I had a horrible dream. I dreamt that our family was walking in the park we usually walk in most evenings after supper. It's a beautiful little park right on the Detroit River. Darcy loves going there. In my dream she got too close to the water and ended up jumping right in. We saw her go down into the water and she never came back up. I started freaking out and was screaming at Nick to do something, but he just stood there. He wouldn't go in and get her.

That's when I woke up. Then it was time for me to feed Wesley, before I could properly get my head around the dream. The whole time I was feeding him my mind kept replaying the scene where I watched her sink under the water. I was freaked out. By the time I was done feeding Wesley I was a mess. I knew Darcy was OK. I could hear her moving in her room next door. Something about the dream just really messed with my mind in the middle of the night.

Why can't I dream about being rich like normal people?

One Month

Where has one month gone? We can't believe that Wesley is already a month old! To celebrate, he had his best night ever last night. We only got up twice, each time for half an hour. In my books, that's a good night's sleep right now.

On a separate note, we've joined the ranks of the minivan owners. We bought a used Honda Odyssey that we'll be picking up tomorrow. Nick has just informed me that it's actually called a "sports van" instead of a minivan. Regardless, I'm glad the Neon will be leaving our driveway tomorrow.

Have a good weekend everybody!

8 Pounds!!!

Wesley had his second doctor's appointment this morning. The man goal there was to check his weight. We've been told to expect a weight gain of an ounce a day. He was 6 lbs, 3 oz at his last appointment two weeks ago. I was trying not to get my hopes up about him being over 7 lbs. I thought that was too much to hope for.

Imagine my surprise when the doctor told me he weighs 8 lbs! Well, 7.95, but close enough! I was so excited I almost cried.

So clearly the trouble he had gaining weight while I was pregnant is no longer an issue.

I just don't know how someone who poops that much manages to put on any weight at all...

Today's Vocabulary Builder, plus a few random updates

Darcy has invented a new word about her brother. Cute-iful. She always wants to see his "cute-iful eyes". I love it.

I applied for my passport by mail when I was in the hospital. I had planned to stand in line at the office during the summer but obviously that went out the window so I sent it by mail. That meant I had to send my birth certificate and driver's license in the mail. I just got it on Friday. It's been frustrating to be without my driver's license for that long, but at least I've got it all done now. However, they sent me the credit card receipt that shows they charged me for my passport and Darcy's, but I haven't received Darcy's. Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow.

For those who have recently visited our house, you will be glad to know that we've finally changed the kitchen faucet! No more dripping. And by we, I mean Nick. I'm so glad it's finally fixed.

Darcy started her gymnastics class yesterday and had a blast. Her first step to Olympic gold...

First Trip to the Dentist

Darcy had her first dentist's appointment today. Our dentist likes to see kids when they turn three. Because I was still working in June I decided to wait to book her appointment until July. Her appointment was booked for July 13th and then I was admitted to the hospital on July 12th. We finally got it rescheduled for today (along with overdue appointments for Nick and I as well).

She was great and she really seemed to love the whole experience, aside from the bright light in her face. She sat in the room while I had my cleaning and exam and even got to help hold some of the tools. Then it was her turn. There seems to be one hygenist there who specializes in kids. She told Darcy each step of the way what she was doing and why. Darcy loved the chair going up and down (she even got to help move it when it was my turn) and the little suction tool they use.

Especially cool in her eyes were the purple bib she got to wear and the purple rinsing cups they happen to use at our dentist's office.

The only down side was that the dentist said that from what he can see already, we should be saving our money for braces. Not cool. Hopefully that will change over the next ten years. It's not something to worry about now!

Wesley just slept in his car seat the whole time.

Pictures

As promised, here are the pictures of Darcy's new haircut...

Before

After

"I love my new haircut"

"I need a haircut too!"

The New Normal

Wesley will be three weeks old tomorrow. Until yesterday, we've had company for all three of those weeks. My brother was here when Wesley was born and Stef was here for the last two weeks. It was great having them here, but now we're on our own to figure out how things work for our newly expanded family.

To start off we made a big change today for Darcy by cutting off most of her hair. Her hair was getting quite long in the back and it has always been quite thin. It looked really nice when it was clean and brushed but it never stayed that way long. Mostly it ended up being tangled and messy. So we took her this afternoon and got it cut to her shoulders. She really likes it, but I'm not sure yet how I feel about it. We'll get some pictures up tomorrow.

It's obvious Darcy learned a lot from Stef while she was here. Here are a couple of conversations from our house today...

"Daddy, can we listen to ABBA during supper?"

(When presented with a cob of corn that had some bad kernels at the top)
Darcy: Oh, that's nasty!
Me: Where did you learn the word 'nasty'?
Darcy: Auntie Stef.

Still Growing

Wesley had his first appointment with the pediatrician yesterday and everything went really well. He has gained another couple of ounces and seems to be on a steady growth rate which pleased the doctor. He does have thrush, which is a real pain but we've got medication now to treat that so hopefully it will be short-lived.

We had a few more rough nights without much sleep, but the last couple of nights have been better.

Darcy is continuing to do well, but I've noticed that she's been really Mommy-focused in the last couple of days. She's been pretty clingy with me, which isn't really surprising. She always wants me around. It's a time of adjustment for all of us.

We're having a great visit with Auntie Stef. We're planning a trip to the "tea party restaurant" on Friday morning which should be lots of fun! I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures.