So...yeah. My blog.

It's been a busy month-and-a-half since I last wrote!

On November 16th, I got the news that I was laid off. :( It was hard to deal with at first, but honestly the timing isn't all bad since Baby D#2 will be arriving soon anyway. Since then, I've kept extremely busy fixing up the house, running errands, and setting up networking lunches to try to position myself well for getting a job next year.

The last couple of weeks have been a mad scramble to get the baby's room ready (it is!) and to get everything bought and wrapped for Christmas (I did!). Now, at 36+ weeks pregnant, my goal is to lie around and send this baby girl vibes to stay in there as long as possible. Of course, by "as long as possible," I mean "until like 38 weeks, and then you're free to join us" because our latest ultrasound shows that she is BIG - 80th percentile!

Jonathan has been continuing daycare since I've been home over the last month. He loves it and it allows me to get everything done and rest a little bit too.

I worry about how his new little sister is going to change his life. He is going through a "mommy stage" and I think it will be rough on him when I am majorly occupied with breastfeeding and baby care. It should be a good chance for Jeremy and him to develop even more of a special bond though.

Finally, no blog entry is complete without the "cute things that Jonathan is doing lately" section:

- He likes to sit in his car seat and sing the ABCs at the top of his lungs. At the end, he likes to be tickled and will specifically request it if we don't act quickly enough.

- He loves our Christmas tree. Every day after school, he runs into the family room and asks for the tree to be turned on. He gets this amazed, wide-eyed look every time the lights go on. Then he runs around, pointing out the Santa Claus ornaments, requesting to touch the tree and reminding us that the train ornament near the top came from Grandma and Papa.

- He sits at the table each evening and colors while we make his dinner. Inevitably the first thing out of his mouth is, "Mommy, Daddy, come sit right heah. Next to Shashan."

- If there is football on TV, he volunteers "Gooo NOLES!"

- When we put him down to bed at night, we always ask for big hugs. He gives them, then says "KISS!" and puckers up.

- Sometimes I see him give our black lab Kahlua a big hug and say "K'lua a gooood gull."

Halloween!

Jonathan was a pretty darn cute Cookie Monster for Halloween this year. He was quite unhappy about the costume, but we cajoled him into wearing it. Of course, wearing the hood was even less appealing. We did manage to get him to put it on for a few pictures by using a bit of bribery ("Jonathan, leave your hood on and you can have a bite of pizza").

We went to the neighborhood Halloween party and he ran around throwing his football and generally having a great time. Then Grandma and Papa came over for dinner, which was a fun treat! We intended to go trick-or-treating, but we ran out of time, and honestly, it was just as well. Jonathan didn't know any better and I'm not sure how well he would have done with all the walking. He was totally fascinated with the kids coming to the door. He kept peeking timidly around the doorframe at them.

It was a fun night, and I look forward to next year when he will be old enough for trick-or-treating and young enough to not notice that we steal 3/4 of his candy.

Baby Sister

We are so excited that Jonathan's baby sister will be here in 3 months or less! We've been talking to him about her frequently, although he doesn't seem terribly interested. Typically when asked if he wants a baby sister, he says something along the lines of "No - OOOOH! I find da football, daddy."

But over the past few months he has taken an interest in babies at daycare.

"Baby! Das a baby right dere mommy. Hi baby!!"

He's also been quite sweet and gentle with little baby Denley, our friends' 7 week old. They were over last night and he "shared" (read: shoved towards her face) his spaceship placemat with her.

"Heah, baby Dee Dee, heah."

And it's very promising that he likes to kiss my belly goodnight before bedtime. All in all, he is such a sweet and loving boy - I know he will be a fantastic big brother to the littlest Duguid.

Two Years Old

Jonathan turned two on September 30th! The time has flown and our baby isn't a baby anymore. It was a very emotional day for me. But soon enough we'll have another little baby to remind us how hard having an infant is and how easy a crazy, wild toddler can be in comparison.

We had a few friends over to celebrate last Saturday and had a really nice time at J's "choo-choo train party." The kids played on the playset and in a bouncy house we had rented. Jonathan looked completely bewildered as people sang "happy birthday" to him, but really enjoyed the balloons. He halfheartedly ate a cupcake and two bites of ice cream - he just isn't that into sweets. We MAY need to conduct a maternity test with this one.

Here are a few pics from the day:

Our Chatterbox

Jonathan is talking up a storm now. He has always been a talker, but now you can tell he is really speaking in full sentences, even though 75% of it is still unintelligible.

Here are a few of the cuter (and more understandable) things that come out of this kid's mouth:

"Thank you daddy. Thank you mommy" (sometimes unprompted, when we hand him a toy or some milk)

"MOVE Emmy." When the dog is in his way.

"Hippo Thomas" When referring to a hippopotamus (I think he thinks the hippo is named Thomas, like his current fave, Thomas the Train).

"No, daddy." When Jeremy attempts to sing.

"NO Gus. Not NIIICE." At random times, unknowingly tattling on his friend from school.

"Heh Heh, Dee Dee pizza?" Said all the time. Apparently we have pizza too often with our friends Jeff ("Heffay") and Jaime.

"Daddy's juice." Beer.

"Fire truck! WEEEEEEOOOOOOOWEEEEEOOOOOOOO!!!...Uh oh...where fire truck go?" Just talking to himself in the backseat of the car.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, favan, ett, nine, ten, 'leven, thirteen, thirteen, thirteen..."

"A B C D E...mumble mumble...Q R S!!!!...mumble mumble V! W X!!!! Y and Z!"

While he is giving us a little more resistance now that he's really entering the toddler years, we are also enjoying him more than ever now that he can communicate so well. And his personality is really shining through. He is so full of joy and energy!

Froggy Potty!

We recently purchased a potty for Jonathan. It arrived about a week ago and he's been sitting on it every night since.

It was pretty cute to watch him attempt to sit on it for the first time. He was practically standing on his head in front of it, trying to figure out how to get on that thing. Now he's got it down to a science and it's his favorite part of the evening. He sits, we read three books, including a new book about going on the potty which he really enjoys, and then we have to practically drag him off of that thing for bathtime.

No actual pottying has occurred yet (unless you count the time he stood two feet in front of the potty and peed all over the floor), but we're just taking it slow. For now, I'm just glad "Time to go sit on the potty, Jonathan" is getting him to go upstairs willingly at night!

Jonathan has been a little defiant lately. Heading upstairs for bathtime is the worst. He dawdles, he delays and he flat-out disobeys.

And I've been struggling to keep my patience with him. Now that I'm 18 weeks pregnant with our little girl (YAY! - more on that in a future post), leaning over is getting more and more uncomfortable and picking up a 27 lb toddler is getting difficult. I want him to just listen and cooperate so I don't have to lean over and grab him kicking and screaming.

But I came to a realization about the personality traits that are causing this defiance and I hope it will bring me a change of attitude.

Jonathan is stubborn. The positive view of this is that he is determined. This quality shows itself in his willingness to try, try, and try again to buckle his own carseat or get his shoes off. But you know what? It pays off. He eventually gets it.

Also, Jonathan is the happiest, most fun-loving little boy you'll ever meet. He loves to run and spin and tumble and laugh. And going upstairs for bathtime gets in the way of all that joy. But you know what? There are worse things than a child filled with happiness and delighting at the simple things in life.

So I think I need an attitude adjustment. And Jonathan needs a little more patience and understanding from mom.

Aaaaaand...the occasional timeout.

Our ebullient boy: