Lilah's words, 18 months+

Lilah has a very large vocabulary. The pediatrician told us she may as well give us the 2 year old sheet as far as words go. I estimate she says close to 50 words. I will list them and see where we get.
Mama
Dada
kitty
Lilah
Shadow (kitty)
Spark (kitty)
Banana
Grapes
More
Please
Thank you
Off
On
Shoe
Sock
Shirt
Hair
Eyes
Ears
Nose
Mouth
Feet
Belly
Tons of animals, cow, duck, dog... and she does sounds for them too
Outside
Inside
Swing
Milk
Oranges
Peaches
Chicken
Bye
Hi
No
Yes
Elmo
Cookie
Big Bird
Abby
Mikey Mouse
Goofey
Cheers
Up
All done
Nigh-nigh

Nightime Books

I have been playing favorites with some of Lilah's bedtime books. She does some "cute" things with them and I just love it.
1. Is your Mama a Llama? This book asks various animals if their Mamas are llamas. Bat, Swan, Cow, Kangaroo. Well these animals don't provide as much excitement as does the random turtle in the book, that isn't even mentioned. She yells "turtle" and punches the book. So funny.
2. Going to Bed Book: This book ends with "they rock and rock and rock to sleep". So of course when we get to the last page Lilah say and does "rock". So cute!
3. Moo Baa La La Laa: So this starts with "a cow says moo a sheeps says baa". Then goes on to say "Three Singing pigs say La La La". The next page says "no, no you say...". So Lilah says "No No" and shakes her head with a BIG grin. :)
4. Maisy Books: Any of the Maisy books that have panda in them. She screams with delight "panda" and punches the book. So so funny.

I adore this little girl! :)

Sand/Water Table

Lilah had lots of fun playing with her table this weekend. She decided though that standing up and playing wasn't so much fun. So she climbed right in. She first did the sand, then the water. Since Lilah doesn't like getting her picture taken I had to trick her and say "where is your hair" so that she would look up. So since she was all wet already we decided to fill up her pool and let her play. She loved it!! :)

Belly Pic from a week ago

I forgot to post this when I was a post-aholic. But here is a shot from 32wks1day.

This is from just over 33wks with Lilah

Reality Starting to set in

We planned on having our children this close together. We wanted them to grow up and be close. BUT I surely didn't plan for pregnancy with a toddler, or ever think that this could be hard. This experience has been so incredibly hard. I can't wait for the end and to meet another beautiful daughter. I can't wait for Lilah to be a big sister. But most importantly I can't wait to have my body back.

I realize life with two little ones isn't going to be easy. I realize that I will be sleep deprived. But I think once I have physical energy again life will get easier. Maybe I am fooling myself greatly, probably am.

So as of today I have 37 days left until we meet this new little baby. Let the countdown begin. :)

My Plan

Well being a full time working Mom, even with a very flexible job has proven to be very difficult. I am no focussed, and more importantly not very happy. I have always known that I couldn't be a 100% stay at home Mom. I need something more in life.
I also don't think I can provide enough of the "educational" type learning that toddlers need. We sometimes get bored at home on the weekends trying to keep a very inquisitive toddler entertained. We have fun. But if the weather isn't nice we tend to watch TV too often.
So I have always thought the ideal situation would be part time. Enjoy being with my children often during the week, but not full time. And also doing something to keep my mind in check.
My new working plan for the rest of 2010 is actually less than part time. I will be off work from June 18- September. From September to January I will be working under 20 hrs a week, mostly in the office, but some at home projects too.
This means that the new baby will likely not be exposed to daycare until January. I don't find daycare all that beneficial for babies, but I think the structure for a toddler is important. So Lilah will still be in daycare a little over 15 hrs a week. I think the interaction with other children and the learning opportunity for her is well worth it. Hopefully my Mom can watch the baby on days I work.
So I will have time to myself, time for my children, hopefully time for my husband and house projects, and time for exercise! I can't wait to work out again. It seems silly, but I get so much out of exercise and mentally I need it. So hopefully by late July I will be cleared to do more than walking.

Amelia Catherine (AKA Baby#2)

I had an ultrasound about 3 weeks ago. I never posted the new pictures on here. I was delighted to finally see a face image. We hadn't gotten one previously. The second picture was amusing to me. She certainly kicks hard! Maybe she will like soccer.
The idea of having a baby in 6-8 short weeks is getting a bit overwhelming. I have really began to enjoy sleeping again. Lilah sleep through the night almost every night. She sleeps somewhere between 11-13 hours a night. It is so nice to have that time to get things done and get some rest. It will be quite the transition to get broken sleep again. It will all work out, but I am nervous. Bring it on!

Toddlers

Well we have met our match for stubborn. Ms.Lilah is getting into this 18 month old stage and is testing the limits big time. We get crying fits daily! But she is a joy as well. She is so so verbal and really is learning the world around her. It amazes us how fast she actually learns something. We show her something once or twice and then she repeats it the next time. This happened with "bus". We showed her a bus two times, then the next time she sees one she says "us". So every morning on the way to daycare we need to look for "us" and "rucks". :) This is fun, but she doesn't understand why there are no "us's" on Sunday. :)
She is starting to jesture more too. She puts her arms to the side like "I don't know" and she says "don't know" and "where'd go". So stinking cute. I adore this little girl, but she is giving me a run for my money, and with very little extra energy it has been tough. But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Must have toys for babies!

Bouncer (birth until weight limit is reached or they try and flip over)







Play Mat (birth to crawling) Once they crawl the play bar may need to be removed since they try to pull up on








Music Table (Sitting up- pulling up/standing)









Push Toy (Pulling up to cruising)

Teeth FYI

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