Terrified!

Today I FINALLY realized we are moving (I know, about time Lindsey!)...and it hit me like a ton of bricks right in the face. The part that absolutely kills me is thinking about all the life changes that are about to strike one very unsuspecting 19 month old girl.

I have been so consumed with the finding a home, finding an OB, timing everything pregnancy-wise, etc. that I didn't really consider the fact that we are about to rock Kerrigan's world.

Feel free to blame it on pregnancy hormones, but today has been incredibly emotional as I have realized the implications of this move for her.

Just recently, she has started to develop her own friendships. If I say we are going to go play with her friends, she excitedly asks for, "Dew, Kate Kate, Ebeee?" I know she will make more friends in Boise, but she will be leaving the first friendships she ever formed behind.

We also have friends out here that have been constants in her life since the day she was born. She adores our friends, and they absolutely love her. A month ago she began remembering names, and has started to get very excited when she knows they are coming over. I think the relationships she feels with our friends have recently grown from "I know you, I feel safe with you" to a deeper trust, love and the desire to spend time with them.

Essentially our friends out here have been our family while we have lived across the country from any relatives. It makes me sad for myself to think about leaving those friendships (only physically, of course), but breaks my heart that no matter how hard I try to explain moving, she won't understand why she won't see them anymore.

I have to repeat to myself over and over, "This has always been the plan. We were always going to move back west eventually. It is better to do now then when she is in school. I want her to know her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. She WILL adjust. This is where we are supposed to go."

However, I still feel like I am tearing her away from every source of stability (except Jared and I) that she has ever known...her friends, her home, her "aunts and uncles".

Add a new sibling to the mix, and I am terrified of what these next few months are going to do to my baby girl!

Sorry for this blubbery post, I needed an outlet and possibly someone to tell me I am not going to ruin my child like I kind of feel like I am about to do!

NUmbers NUMBers NUMBERS!!!!

My head is swimming with so many numbers, I can't seem to take the nap my tired body DESPERATELY needs. Here is a glimpse:

It has been...

...1095 days since we made Connecticut our home.
...63 days since we found out we would be moving.
...45 day since I have been able to breath/sleep comfortably.
...12 days since my wedding ring has fit my swollen fingers.


In...

...12 days the movers come to pack away our CT life into boxes.
...14 days we leave our CT life forever : ( and fly to Boise
....22 days we will hopefully have found a place to live and signed a lease, because in...
...23 days K and I will drive to Flagstaff and Jared will fly to Seattle for more training.
...37 days Jared will fly back to Boise.
...39 days Jared will help the movers unpack our stuff into a house we still have yet to secure.
...41 days Jared will drive down to Flagstaff.
...42 days operation "get baby boy here NOW" will commence. Hopefully he will arrive shortly thereafter because in...
...58 days I am due to give birth, but in...
...60 days Jared has to travel back to Seattle for another two weeks (see why he HAS to come a little early!).
...73 days Jared will come back from Seattle.
...74 days we will drive from Flagstaff to Boise, with a newborn and toddler in tow!

Is your head spinning yet?!?!?! I know mine is!

Let the countdownS begin!!!!

18 month pictures....

...exactly 1 month late! I will be pulling the "big pregnant with not a ton of energy to chase a toddler around, preparing to move across the country a few weeks, babysitting a few days a week and trying to soak up as much CT as possible so pretty dang busy" card as my excuse for my tardiness.



I like to think these pictures are well worth the wait, though- isn't she a beaut?!?!?!





Like I said before, I don't have a ton of energy/agility to chase her around. Not to mention the fact I didn't take into account the humidity and heat we would be dealing with! The combination set the scene for way too many of the pictures of her back as she chased birds and bugs (don't you love her expression in the middle bottom picture...her first encounter with a bumble bee), eating grass, throwing mini tantrums and finally thumb sucking and sweating from sheer exhaustion.





Luckily we were able to get some gems that I absolutely ADORE!!!!

Baby K (or I guess Big Girl K is more appropriate) with Mommy and Daddy. Feel free to not look too closely at my face. And rest assured I made the mental note to take any pictures involving me PRIOR to chasing a toddler around for over an hour...I don't think there is a single drop of makeup left on my face- GROSS!!!!

As to not end this post with my face, here is probably my favorite. It captures the essence of my little girl- such a cheerful little bean! It is such a privilege to be her mom, there is not a day that goes by that I take for granted the blessing she is in my life!

18 month stats: 33" (90th percentile), 23 lbs (25th percentile), head circumference...don't remember, but the dr. said it was perfect- whatever that means : )

As far as other milestones, the pediatrician asked us a few times if she was really 3 years old. At one point she asked how many words Kerrigan knew, and I told her the other night I counted in my head while trying to fall asleep (as opposed to counting sheep). When I told her I got to 75ish before I fell asleep, the Dr. laughed and said they usually want them to have at least 4 words by 18 months.

Since then I typed out her words to count, and got to 105+. The little chatterbox picks up new words every day.

She also can count to 7 and identify 2,3,4,5,6,7,9 and the letters p and t. I have no idea where these skills come from, she has seriously picked them up on her own!

The only area we really need to work on is having her feed herself. Operation Kerrigan self feeding will go into full effect once we are in our new place that fits a dining room table (I won't have to lug her high chair out of hiding) and we can either lay a mat out to catch spilling food or have wood floors.

She is My Child!!!!

One of my FAVORITE childhood memories was catching lightning bugs. Kerrigan finally got to experience the joys of the activity yesterday evening....



...and was a HUGE fan!

I did black and white for 2 reasons: 1. It kind of hid the poor quality of the pictures (to a certain extent). 2. I left the glow of the fireflies' bums in color so you could see them.


This is my favorite picture...she is "hugging" the bug. It looks like she has a glow in the dark earring on. Brooke and I used to (please don't report us to PETA) make lightning bug jewelry with their bums. Gross, I know, but this picture reminds me of that : )

Now there should be some videos below (hopefully, blogger was giving me some grief earlier trying to post them). They are short but HILARIOUS!

However, if you choose to not watch them all, please...for your own good...watch the last one. It makes me giggle every time. We like to call it Kerrigan's Alternative Source of Protein : )

18 months...

I have yet to take K's 18 month pictures, but I figured I out to do at least an update before the girl turns 2! So here is Miss Kerrigan in all her 18 month glory...



Instead of typing out every little detail of what she does/says, we will do a "Kerrigan in a nutshell" sort of update. Here it goes:

- She has become a little chatterbox. It would be ridiculous to try to list everything she says. However, here are some favorites: Ohhh TOOOOOTLES (from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse), Hi Mama or Hi Dadda (said with a sweet voice, usually when she knows she is in trouble), fwim (aka swim), chiki (chicken), ya okay??? ya awite??? , dat is sooo cool!!!!, where he/she goe? and PEACE.

-She also sings some words to her favorite songs (Don't Stop and Defying Gravity) and says the f-word when she tries to say frog (which is surprisingly often?). The other night, I was singing Don't Stop to her, and I got to, "somewhere in the...." and she sticks 1 finger in the air and sings, "NIIIIIIGHT" in a falsetto voice.

- She loves ANY water. She is quite the little fish, despite the temperature, cleanliness, etc.

-She likes to lock Jared and I (or herself) in the closet, then says, "HEEEEEYYYYYY" and slam the door in our face if we try to come out.

- She has a unique palette...mainly anything others would think of as inedible. I am constantly digging crayons, sand, rocks, etc. out of her mouth. She generally doesn't swallow them, but it is a trait I could do without : )

- Her favorite number is 2 and her favorite letter is A. She points them out everywhere.

- She has remarkable hair, particularly after nap time. It never ceases to amaze me how out of control it is!

-She is really into making her own decisions. She has an opinion about what she wants. It is fun to see her discover on her own what she enjoys. She is into babies, Elmo (she names most of the characters on Sesame Street. For a while she was calling me Melmo, which I took as a compliment based on her obsession levels for Elmo), Mickey Mouse (or Hog gog as she calls him... from the Hot Dog dance they do on MM Clubhouse) and hair pretties (she picks out her hair thing now- doesn't always match, but oh well).

-Walking in her world doesn't exist, the only way to go anywhere is run!

- The girl LOVES to read. Her favorite books are Hippos Go Berserk, Potty Time and Goodnight Gorilla.

- She has started helping say prayers at night...such a proud parent moment! She also sleep talks. It may be genetics- sorry K!

- She is constantly increasing my faith in her big sister abilities. We have had lots of practice with watching Eve. She is going to ROCK at taking care of the little guy. Sure, his eyes might be occasionally poked, but he will never lack kisses and snuggles!

Whew, that was longer than I thought...aren't you glad I went for the condensed version : )

Big Girl!!!

We have got a nursery attender on our hands these days....HOORAY!!!! I plan on enjoying every minute of my lone church time (all 2.5 months of it : )!

K LOVED nursery. When I went to pick her up afterwards, she saw me, walked up casually and said, "Hi Mama, bubbles..." then went back to playing with the bubbles with the rest of the kids.

I have been looking forward to this day soooo much, so thought I would document the momentous occasion. I tried a few on the stairs going up to nursery, but the lighting was wonky!

So we tried a few outside...

...but it was too bright (does this sound like Goldie locks to anyone?)

Mommy and big girl...see how relaxed/edified I look after being able to focus on the lesson!

She must have REALLY enjoyed herself, because when we got home this is what transpired (which almost never happens anymore- snuggling, not sleep). Don't you love the nametag on the back of her shirt...smart thinking nursery leaders!

I am so proud of my little social butterfly for being so independent!!!

Sidenote: Someday, when the weather AND Jared's schedule comply, we will take her 18 month pictures and have an 18 month update...someday!

Another sidenote: Has anyone else who uses photobucket to enlarge pictures had a problem with them. I made them the normal size, but had to manually adjust them because they were HUGE!!! Hopefully I was able to avoid the funhouse mirror effect!

Recipes?

I always shy away from taking meals to people because I am not the best cook. However, the time has come where I need to man up and figure this out!

What is your favorite meal to take to someone? What is something I can make that is easy for them to heat up (if I need to take it earlier in the day) and POSSIBLY I can do in a dish they don't need to worry about returning (after I had Kerrigan, people didn't see their dishes for a few months, and it was stressful for me every time I saw the "borrowed" pans).

Tips, please...I know you gotta 'em!