Hey there. <hack hack>
Aria and I have been a wee bit sick this week. Sorry about my long absence. I would have written, but…I didn’t want to. You know, ’cause I felt like crap.
Last Saturday we drove three hours southish to visit with family, and we had a wonderful day. Friday night I had noticed that Aria had coughed a couple of times in her sleep, which is unusual for her, but then she seemed fine so I didn’t give it much thought. Whoops. She was behaving a bit strangely while we were gone – a little withdrawn, a little starey – and I chalked it up to being overwhelmed by the people and commotion. She didn’t get her afternoon nap, and she was asleep about as soon as I buckled her into her carseat for the drive home. Right. That should have been a clue, because she doesn’t fall asleep THAT fast. When I got her out of her carseat after our three hour drive home, I noticed her cheeks were super-flushed. Again, I thought that was strange, but it still wasn’t all clicking. I also thought “Oops, I shouldn’t have left her coat on her for that entire car ride”. It wasn’t until I took her in and she clearly didn’t want to wake up, then went to change her and found her whole body was hot, that I got worried and took her temperature. 102.1 under her arm. Since that was her first temperate ever, I promptly became concerned. (Promptly. You know, hours and hours after the first warning signs she was getting sick.)
We got her temperature down quickly and easily, and she slept through the night. Unfortunately, by that time I was starting to cough. Have you ever had deep, hacking coughs while living with a pregnant person’s gag reflex? (Some of you who already have a sensitive gag reflex will also understand.) Boy, does it suck. And then there’s the fact you can’t take any of the really good meds while pregnant. And also, like half the list of holistic cold remedies are also off the table. Aria got well pretty fast, though her cough is still hanging on. I, on the other hand, had a couple days of misery, followed by several days of discomfort. I am also still coughing. All-in-all, though, I’m quite grateful. We did not have to go to the doctor, Aria was fine despite my oblivion (I’m an attentive mom – I stand to testify that this sort of thing will happen to all of us). I’m also extremely grateful for my in-laws, who brought us supplies, and my mommy, who came over and took care of us all day Monday and part of Tuesday. Sadly for my in-laws, we seem to have made them sick. And also possibly my nephew. Sorry, guys!
I have not left the house since last Saturday. In a couple of hours I will have been in this house for a week. I’M GOING CRAZY.
Needless to say, I’m excited to go to church tomorrow.
In other news, while I was lying on the couch feeling sorry for myself, Noah and I hit the 20 week mark. Yay for halfway(ish)! One never knows. I vote for it being more than halfway. (Did you hear that Noah? Mommy says you can come out a couple weeks early if you want.) I am still feeling much better than I did with Aria. Still no swelling, still low weight gain. I’m so very interested to see if things continue like this the rest of time. Also, I’m hoping the vast differences carry right on into labor and delivery.
Speaking of Aria. Her current favorite word is “No”. It’s adorable, because she just uses it for whatever. She clearly just likes to say it, so she throws it out basically whenever you speak to her (you know, when she’s not saying “more!”). She has variations: “No!” “No, no.” “Nuh.” I’m sure it will get annoying at some point, but right now it’s just plain cute. Also, she’s suddenly been saying “Hi” and “Bye” a lot. Whenever I change her clothes, as soon as I put her arm through her shirt, she says “Bye!”. I think she must think I’m putting on her coat and we’re getting ready to leave. I’m not sure. Today she walked all around the living room repeating variations of “Hi” and “Bye”. Cute, cute, cute.
And I shall leave you with this, as it is one of my favorite blog posts of all time, and we all need to read it sometimes: The 1 Thing You Really Have to Know About Your Family.
“No” is a fantastic word! Very soon she will start to use it completely in context, and yes it will be annoying, but you can REJOICE! Because when a toddler gets her “no”, she is separating herself from the rest of her world. She can’t begin to understand that others have feelings until she gets her “no”. She can’t truly comprehend boundaries until she gets her “no”. With her “no” comes her ability to set her own boundaries, too. Her personality is developing rapidly with that “no”, and your ability to really shape her into someone who understands God’s “no”–and his “yes”–and eventually her need for a Savior–all of this is wrapped up in her “no”. It is an awesome word and one of the most important developmental milestones of all. Congrats, Mommy, on having a toddler who has her “no”. (Hint, remember all of this when it’s not quite so cute anymore and she’s really exercising her will with that “no”. 🙂 )
We’ve seen some of that personality development this past week, as well. Along with “no”, she’s started throwing the food she doesn’t want off her highchair. Sometimes it’s a matter of expediency (I can’t chew that, I’ll put it over here), and most of the time it’s her demonstrating that, indeed, she has a sin nature (I don’t want what’s on my tray, I want what’s on your plate! I don’t care that it’s the same thing that’s on my tray!) And so it begins! But, at the same time that I already become weary of the repetitiveness of teaching her acceptable behavior and associated consequences, I am excited to be at this point where we can begin to understand one another on a new level. It really is fun to see her personality emerging in new ways – even the ways that make me realize she might be a little too like me! 😉
Aria already knows half of her brother’s name. How cool is that!?
Haha! And I’m sure after he arrives she will say that half of his name at least as often as his full name!