Deacon Joseph

We are approaching that magical moment when we get to meet our lil baby boy. The past months have been very different from the ones in which I carried Madison but a healthy baby as the end result is all anyone could ever hope for. In carrying this lil boy I have had heartburn, heart smiles, leg cramps, charlie horses by the dozens, nearly nightly leg rubs, massages, aches n pains, the disappearing belly button, stress, happiness, the thrill and pain of a good kick in the ribs or punch in the bladder, my left hip has moved out of place and is grinding ever so unpleasantly, swollen feet and ankles, extra rest with my feet up, bedrest, nausea, no carb dieting, gaining weight and losing weight, overheating/passing out, rushed home from church twice from overheating, did I say heartburn, smiles from Madison kissing my belly, saying Hi brother, making sure her brother gets a sticker at pick up from school, weakness and shortness of breath doing everything, no sleep, naps, a new found love for a pet peeve of mine...chewing ice as it's the only thing that will keep me cool enough, financial stress, the joy of a countdown to my last day of work, hitting my belly with doors all over the place cause I no longer fit, doing a very unique exit strategy to get out of our 1/2 bathroom, forgetting everything, losing things, nesting like crazy, project to do list longer than any Christmas list I've ever created, sweet tears imagining holding him and nursing him, photo madness, no sleep, heartburn, no sleep, heartburn, a new great love for tums and Tylenol, nausea, laughs about being so big, racing hubby to the car after hospital tour and not being the rotten egg AGAIN!, working from home with iPad on bed while sitting on a big yoga/workout ball cause chairs hurt, cartwheels for fun, and last but not least I've officially crowned myself the largest pregnant belly in the Santa Clarita Valley!!!

The power of song

M is singing with clarity the following: twinkle twinkle little star, the alphabet song, whole wide world (he's got the whole world in his hands), itsy bitsy spider, old macdonald, ring around the rosy, 1..2 buckle my shoe, Mickey mouse clubhouse (spelling of his name part), and wheels on the bus. ADORABLE!

WHAT?

If there is one thing (of many) that bugs me more than anything and always has is when kids are talking/asking/engaging with their parents and they hear "WHAT?". My goodness there is nothing positive about that. It doesn't stimulate, encourage a response, or teach proper communicating skills. How many of us says "What?" to each other unless irritated. You wouldn't say to your friend or co-worker or boss simply "What?" when they called to speak to you or tried to get your attention. You would say things like "what can I do?", "how can I help?", "what do you need?" etc etc M definitely likes to repeat your name and we gladly say her name back or simply ask questions in sentence form back to her so she learns communication skills. I've been out and about recently and have heard moms and dads in all different settings saying "What" in that tone...you know the irritated, your not as important as what I'm doing right now tone. It's just something I think should be part of the "How not to talk to your toddler book.". The look in the kids eyes is so disheartening. I thank my mom for this as she was the one always telling me to stop saying "What" to her when she called for me. She said I sounded ignorant and she wouldn't have it. She said you answer me with a full sentence and with respect. I learned from friends and I know M will go through a rude "What" phase but hopefully it will be short lived like mine was and we are laying ground work for her to not be a "What" mom or kid and keep positive communication a continuous part of her learning.