Our Little Girl Humans

I feel like so much is happening with Bella and the baby that I want to write some of it down to remember...

Little Human #1

Bella is so verbal that I can't believe I was ever worried about her talking! (Rookie mom mistake!) She talks and sings constantly throughout the day, and is getting better at pronouncing her words correctly.

She can count all the way to 14. I have no idea where she learned this, but she did. She can't say all of the alphabet yet, but she must love numbers and counting.

She LOVES animals and has to have her little zoo with her at all times. The contents of her menagerie changes occasionally, but right now, it's her giraffe ("faff"), lion ("rawr"), and a dog. She sleeps with them, takes them all in the car with her, and sits them on the table next to her when she eats.

It is fascinating and hilarious to listen in on her imaginary playtime. She and her animals have long conversations and sometimes they even sing. They talk about Toy Story and Cars, and she lets them know when the good parts are coming up.

Bella's favorite movie is currently Cars, but Toy Story and Tangled are close behind. She absolutely adores Mater and Buzz! Her squeals and screams when they come on the screen are deafening.

We have started reading a verse each night at the dinner table and including Bella when taking prayer requests. She seems a little put off by the fact that not every verse is the story of Baby Jesus, but we're hopefully teaching her that they are all connected.

We are working very hard on teaching her to obey the first time, especially when it's something she doesn't want to do. Some days include more spankings than others and we are praying for lots and lots of patience!

She is humorously polite, and is very good at saying please, thank you, yes ma'am, I'm sorry, and no thank you. Sometimes Steve and I offer her something we know she doesn't want just because it's so funny to hear her say, "No. No, take you, Mama."

Little Human #2

The main difference I notice between Bella and this new little baby is how active the baby is! Bella was not this mobile, at least note this early; this new baby is constantly rolling and moving around!

We are about 6 months along and still looking forward to a homebirth. I'm mentally compiling a list of things we'll need here since we won't be in a hospital. Whenever I get nervous (and I do!), I Google videos of waterbirths and remind myself how many women have done this before me.

Most of my fears about a homebirth are really irrational and have nothing to do with the safety of me or the baby. I worry about whether people will get bored just sitting around and waiting for me to pop this baby out. I worry if I'll manage the pain okay or if I'll be a crazy screamer. I worry about doing embarrassing things while in the tub like pooping and who will see it. You know, fun stuff like that! Not life-threatening issues involving the baby, just poop!

Another big difference with this new baby is my dreams! I am having such crazy dreams every night! I know that's typical for pregnancy, but I never experienced it much with Bella.

I'm definitely more tired with this one, especially taking care of two toddlers, but I'm hoping that my nesting urges will continue to override the sleepiness!

The baby name discussion has been shelved for now while we have other things going on. Last night, I thought of Evelyn and calling her "Evie." I don't know what it is about old-fashioned names this time around, but I'm really drawn to them.

I still can't believe that we're only about 4 months away from starting the newborn process all over again! Steve is really excited! I think with Bella, he didn't know what to expect, but now he's chomping at the bit to have her here!