Dear Pancho and Lefty:

I'm sorry I Febreezed you when you came in the house this afternoon. But you have to admit that you smell a whole lot better now...

Who Is This Big Girl And Where Is My Little Baby?

We looked at you after dressing you for school today and noticed that you look like a little girl. You had khaki shorts on, a t-shirt and your pink Vans and you didn't look a thing like our little baby. You seem to grow up so much everyday. Yesterday you learned how to say "no." That brings your total number of words known to four: "no," "mama," "dada," and "bababadaguhawa," whatever that means.

I think we've reached the fit-throwing age, which is quite unpleasant. All you ever want to do is play outside. You'll grab my keys from the coffee table and carry them to the front door where you pound on it and whine until we let you out. Distractions aren't as effective these days, so it's hard to divert your attention when you get on your little "nature girl" kicks.

We've been working with you to learn your body parts, and it turns out they're teaching the same at day care these days. After more than a week of asking you "where's your belly?" today you finally pointed to your tummy! It was so cool. You also pointed at your nose once when I asked, but only once so we're not sure if you actually know your nose yet. You point to Pancho when we ask you where he is, as well as Lefty, mama, dada, and some other things that I can't remember right now.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the hospital because your younger brother or sister is trying to kill me. While I spent a couple of hours getting fluids and anti-nausea medications pumped into my veins, you and your daddy took an impromptu tour of North Austin Medical Center. You enjoyed the elevators and the rotunda area where you could pound you palms on the glass and look down to the bottom floor. We're hoping we don't have another emergency hospital field trip anytime soon.

Consistency

Every time I lay you down to sleep, whether it be at night or nap time, I give you a bottle, a couple of books, your stuffed camel and this big Winnie the Pooh bear that I got from a friend in high school.

For some reason, you throw everything out of your crib before you fall asleep. Everything except Winnie the Pooh. But when we come in to get you out of your crib after you wake up, you pick up Winnie the Pooh, show him to us and toss him onto the floor.

I'm all for consistency, but I'm so curious as to why you do this!

What I Did On Spring Break, By Georgia Schmitt

Today we went to the zoo for the first time with our friends Emo, Aiden and Marshall. You seemed to have an okay time watching the tigers play, the bear sleep and the parrots squak. But you really enjoyed the part where you got to feed the deer, goats and pigs. I was impressed that you actually fed the animals. You must have gotten confused at one point, though, because I had to fish three food pellets out of your mouth.





Then we rode the most pathetic train I've ever seen. Sorry your first train experience had to be so lame. We passed by a couple of longhorns, but those were the only actual animals along the train tracks. There were lots of fake animals painted on plywood, though. Your dad and I are hoping there will be a train at the mall when the Easter Bunny comes.



You crashed on the way home.

Then you crashed AT home. You were walking out the back door, tripped over Lefty and landed flat on your face. I'm sure your eye will be nice and black for your return to school next week.

The Only Time You're Still Enough For Pictures Is When You're Strapped In Your High Chair

I Don't Need No Stinkin' E-P-T

Dear baby growing in my belly:
I know for sure now that you're here. Two home pregnancy tests and a test at the doctor's office have confirmed your existence. Not to mention two days of excruitating morning sickness (since quelled by medication). However, even before the "official" diagnosis, there were signs that you were coming. Here are a few of the stranger symptoms:

1. Kenny Loggins songs prompted tears
2. Tyler had to pull the steam cleaner from me after I complained that the carpets were still dirty after cleaning them seven times in one morning
3. I began craving salads, quite different than my normal junk food cravings
4. I caught myself disinfecting the baseboards

Your daddy and I are really excited about your arrival. I think you're a boy, but your daddy thinks we're having another girl. We're pretty indifferent. All we really want is a healthy baby. Your daddy wants to try NOT to find out early whether you're a boy or girl. He thinks it will be fun to wait. We'll see...

Love,
Mommy

Morning Sickness

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother going to the doctor. Take morning sickness, for example. I've been doing quite a bit of research on the topic over the past two days, that is, when I've not been throwing up.

Doctors seem to agree on two things only when it comes to morning sickness: they don't know what causes it, and they don't know how to cure it. Among the more entertaining explanations for morning sickness is Freud's interpretation: "morning sickness is the result of the mother's loathing of her husband. The subconscious manifestation of this is a desire to abort the fetus through vomiting." Apparently our subconscious-es don't have a very good understanding of human anatomy.

So since I won't find out it's cause or cure, I thought I'd look on the bright side and search for some positive findings. I learned that mothers with morning sickness are less likely to miscarry, although many doctors refute that. Morning sickness is a sign of a healthy baby, and mothers who suffer morning sickness are less likely to give birth to a baby with birth defects, but some mothers of ectopic pregnancies experience elevated nausea. So much for positive thinking...

I can't believe that after millions of years of having babies, we haven't figured out what causes morning sickness. I don't really care at this point. I just want to know what to do to make myself feel better. I've tried crackers before getting out of bed in the morning, protein, carbs, lemons, vitamin B6, the BRATT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast, tea), eating more frequently, sipping rather than gulping liquids, all with the same regurgitative result. The only thing I've heard of that I haven't tried is marijuana, and I honestly don't think I could risk that.

Anyone out there have suggestions?

Now Accepting Applications For Little Brother/Sister

Dear Georgia:
We told you about a week ago that you are going to be a big sister later this year. You didn't seem to comprehend the idea, or even care for that matter, but I'm certain when your little brother or sister arrives that you'll be excited.

We've always known we wanted to have more than one child, and after having you, that desire increased. It's really tough to decide when to have another. Do you need more one-on-one time before adding to our family? How will having a new baby impact you at 21 months when he/she is born? Is 21 months a good time in your development to introduce a new family member? We had so many questions about how having another baby would impact you, and there didn't seem to be any perfect answers. We concluded that there really isn't a "perfect" age distance between children.

This is probably more of an explanation than you will ever want for why we chose to have another baby at this time. But the simple answer is that we did it for the three of us, for our little family. We want you to have a sibling close to your age that you can play with, wrestle with and grow up with. You're such a social and extroverted girl that I think having a sibling will really benefit you. You absolutely shine when you're around others.

Today was my first pre-natal doctor's appointment where they took my blood, my pee pee and confirmed your soon-to-be big sister status. Our official due date is November 7, which I think is REALLY cool because your birthday is February 7. We are officially 4 weeks, 5 days pregnant and I haven't puked yet!

It has taken me more than a week and several drafts to write about this because I simply can't put into words how excited we are for us and for you. Hopefully the onslaught of hormones over the next several months will help the words flow better. Until then, this meek letter will have to do.

I love you so much and I can't wait for you to be a big sister.
Mommy

As Tall As Mommy

Slide!