It's Raining, It's Pouring

Today brought lots of rain to the Baltimore area, and every curly girl knows what that means - bad hair day!

Maybe that's why she had to bring ALL of her animals down from her crib:


But she bravely donned a raincoat and headed out into the downpour.


I bet you wish you had a pink polka dotted raincoat for this weather!

A Monkey of an Uncle

This summer we went to Omaha to visit family, and my cousins drove up from Missouri with their kids so that all of the little ones could meet. As we were snapping photos of goldfish-gobbling kids, someone suggested we let my baby-phobic brother hold all of the children at once. This sounded like a great plan! My cousins and I were all amused, but you can tell the kids aren't quite thrilled and Ken - well, he looks a little overwhelmed.

Maddie Superstar

Maddie has only recently become a fan of sunglasses, but she's already figured out the celeb look (courtesy of stealing Grandma's sunglasses!).

Taking Us For a Walk

When she was small, we wore her everywhere, in carriers of all types and colors. When she got bigger, we used a stroller to push her around the city. But now that she's a big girl, she prefers to take us for walks, leading the way and pulling on our hands to speed up!

She was so thrilled to have so many choices of hands to hold on this walk, and each of us got a turn, but there was definitely one preferred hand to hold:

Maddie had a great visit with her Grandparents, and she'll miss her mile-long walks with them, especially since Mommy is creeping along at a slow, 31-week pregnant waddle that is definitely not competitive with the toddler trot.

Strawberry Girl

I haven't broken the news to Maddie that strawberries won't be around much longer...

She's a bit of a fan...

Dragonflies and Frogs

What's blue and green, has dragonflies and frogs on it, and was made with tons of love?


It's a quilt for the Baby Boy, lovingly sewn by my cousin Kristin on our Grandma's sewing machine! It's beautiful and soft and cuddly, and it's coming with us for delivery! I love it and know the boy will, too. Plus, it makes for one less thing for me to do, because I was going to feel bad if Maddie had a homemade quilt and Baby Boy didn't. And my genius cousin figured out how to tone down Maddie's very girly dragonfly room - frogs! Perfect.
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Shoes!

Madeleine loves shoes, so she wanted to show off some super cute ones her Aunt Jenny sent her. I love those little feet!

A Fairy Big Problem

With only 70-some odd days until the baby boy gets here, I'm feeling the pressure to get things done. In fact, I think I'm pretty much trying to squish all kinds of projects in now because I don't know how long it will be until I feel creative again after I rejoin the land of the walking momma-zombies.

So, I've been working on Maddie's Halloween goodies. I cheated and bought her costume, but I made her a treat bag (that she loooooves):


and a wand:


which she also seems to be a big fan of...


So now there's just one problem left...


Yeah. She hates her costume. After last year's kitty costume debacle, we promised her something girly this year. After some more thought, I think she'd probably prefer to be a naked baby for Halloween. For some reason, only middle-aged men seem to get away with that costume.

Like Daddy

We bought Maddie these adorable sunglasses at the beginning of the summer. She had no interest in them, despite our numerous attempts to show her how useful and cool and fun they are! Instead of wearing them, she just cried when the sun was too bright for her eyes.

But today, she decided that she wanted to be like Daddy and wear her sunglasses while they went for a run! There's really no question of who's in charge here...

Nesting

When we were preparing for Maddie's arrival, I was deeply involved in reading up on and choosing the safest and most highly rated baby gear, finding the best cloth diapers, learning how to make my baby the Happiest Baby on the Block, and outfitting her nursery in the most perfect shades of green, lilac, and cream with matching dragonfly accents.

This time, nesting is still a lot about her - finishing up the scrapbook of her first year, making her a baby doll nursing cover and mei tai, and just taking care of her daily needs. There's not been a ton of time (or need!) to invest my energy into researching baby containment devices/toys/baby gear. Instead, I've been investing my time in planning the birth of this beautiful baby boy.

We had planned a natural birth with Maddie, but then we ended up with ICP, were induced just before 36 weeks, and our plans changed. But we got to bring home a healthy, beautiful baby girl, so we were definitely NOT disappointed.

This time, we've been blessed with not having to deal with ICP - with having a pretty regular, ho-hum pregnancy, and it's such a wonderful and welcome change. We planned to delivery at the University of Maryland, where the specialists are that we were referred to when I was pregnant with Maddie. But every time I went for an appointment, I left upset and anxious, and finally I decided I wanted something different for this baby's birth and since we don't need those specialists.

We toured Special Beginnings, a stand-alone birth center in Arnold, MD. It didn't take many words from David, one of the very friendly and warm midwives, to convince me this would be a good fit for us. They treat pregnancy as a natural and normal part of a family's life, not as though it's a medical condition. They are very low-tech and personal, though if you need more care, they're close to the hospital and will get you there to receive that care.

We made the switch and I feel so at ease about our choice. Our baby will be born at the center, likely in the water, and will be given to me right away - not rushed off to be weighed and bathed and whatnot. The birth will be about us, as a family, and if all goes well, we'll all head home 4-6hrs after he is born so he can meet his sister! When they told us that part at the tour, Dakota says I let out a happy little squeal.

I'm also using Hypnobabies to prepare for his birth. It's a wonderfully relaxing self-hypnosis program that is helping me sleep better now, and will help when his birthing time arrives, which at this point, I am just thoroughly excited for!

So this time, preparing for baby's arrival has been very different. He doesn't have a room that's decorated for him (haha - he doesn't even have a room!), or a brand new bouncer waiting to cradle him. Instead, he's got a Mommy and a Daddy and a sister who are preparing to meet him, knowing that everything else will work itself out. Oh, and he has his Birth Day flags, which I finished today. Maddie got hers on her first birthday, but we plan to hang his in the room where he is born - on his Birth Day!

Nesting - funny how it changes.

My Two Favorite People

Aren't they both just adorable? I know I'm a bit biased, but goodness they're cute.

We went to a Labor Day cookout this weekend and Maddie had a blast (so did we, but we didn't get naked and crazy like her!). There was watermelon, cheese, and corn on the cob - what little girl wouldn't love that? After some shirt-off eating, Maddie rode around on Daddy's shoulders while he played bocce with the boys:

For the Girl

Big changes are coming our way, but at least Dakota and I have an idea of what to expect. Poor Maddie has no concept of just how much her world is about to be altered. To help with that (maybe, a little), I decided to make her a couple of things so she can mommy with Mommy.

I made her a mei tai so that when I carry our new Baby Boy, she can carry her dolls, too. Of course, she picked out the fabric.


Can I even tell you how proud I am of this mei tai? It took a ridiculous amount of time to make, so we're hoping she loves it. I don't think she'll be into it until she sees me carrying the Baby Boy.

She's also getting a little nursing cover so she can nurse her dolls (of course, she chose this fabric, too):


For now, we're tucking these items away, ready for Maddie once the new baby is here, too. We're all getting very eager to meet him!