I have some free time today and thought I would take advantage...hopefully, allow my thoughts to flow on paper as they so often do during the day when I don’t have time to capture them.
P2 is doing well. At our last appointment, P2’s heartbeat was the same as last month’s…147 and holding steady. We are in Week 28, and P2 does not sit still. He/she is not just doing summersaults but is managing an entire gym class in my uterus. I can’t wait to meet him/her; I think P2 is going to give me a run for my money, but I am up for the challenge.

The nursery is all ready. Items that had been removed for a growing toddler have been placed again for a newborn. Are we doing this again? I keep asking myself that. How is it that 2+ years have transpired already? So, the bumpers and mobile are back n the crib and all of the “baby” toys are ready for a new little one. How lucky are we that we get to watch another human being discover the world? Blessed beyond measure; luck has nothing to do with it.

One experience during this pregnancy that I thought was so thrilling was Jason and my snorkeling experience in Playa del Carmen. After a few minutes adjusting my breathing and getting comfortable swimming in the ocean, I settled into a rhythmic kicking and breathing pattern. I was floating above the reefs, felt weightless and calm. I could hear my breath…in….out….in…..out…as I breathed through the snorkel. I could feel the water surrounding me and the occasional warmth of the sun on my back coupled with waves of cooler water. I thought to myself, P2 is with me and he/she must feel this peaceful all of the time in the womb. I felt so connected and was so grateful for a quiet moment with him/ her. Quiet, reflective moments with your unborn child are more challenging to come by when you are caring for a toddler all day. This will always be a special memory for me.

What about Emerson, that sweet little toddler, so full of light?
She is amazing. Her vocabulary is uncountable at this point. I focus on this because truly she is showing more and more of her 'self' these days through her language, and we are just in awe to see our little girl grow up.

Painting Naked
Yesterday on the way to my Mom’s house, I told Emerson where we were going and that I was sure “Gammy” (Grammy) would have something fun and creative for her to do, as usual. Last time Emerson was at Mom’s house, Owen was there too, and Mom took the two of them down to their diapers while outside, and let them finger paint…on themselves and each other! Needless to say, the proud pictures of the two of them dressed head to toe in every color of the rainbow was adorable! So, I reminded Emerson of her outdoor painting adventure…and that was all it took! The rest of the drive, Emerson repeated, “I want to paint naked,” over and over again.
When she saw Grammy, she smiled and waved and yelled, "Hi! I want to paint naked!" There was no way out of it. When I pulled out of Mom’s driveway, my little “naked” Emerson had paint from nose to toe…and well, with no Owen with whom to play, Mom was covered too.
What a little pair they were.

Two Wrists
Last week, I was putting Emerson's hair in a ponytail, per her request. She took the hair-band I was going to use, and placed it on her wrist…she calls them “bracelets” and loves to stack all of her hair-bands on her wrists (and refuses to take them off). So, I got another band out and was ready to use it when she took that one too. I said, “Emerson, you already have a hair-band; I need that one for your ponytail.” She looked at me and said, “I have two wrists.” What do you say to a 22 month old who knows her body parts and how many wrists she has? I could not disputer her logic, so I said, “you’re right; you do.” And I got a third band out and finished her hair. She beamed at herself in the mirror and said “I’m cute.”
“Yes, you are cute but more importantly, you are smart,” I said. And thus begins the battle of every woman…. The battle of looks vs. smarts. I am determined that she will appreciate the power of her intellect, strength of her spirit, and capability of her body more than the image she sees in the mirror or the comments she gets from people about her appearance.

Baby Growing
We have talked again and again with Emerson about how Mommy has a baby growing in her belly.
She loves to lift my shirt up, and put her hands on the sides of my belly while bending over to kiss it. She says, “Baby is growing; kiss the baby!”
Emerson and I were in the grocery store the other day, and she was snacking on Goldfish while sitting in the cart. She looked at me, and said, “feed the baby.” And in the middle of the store, pulled my shirt up and placed a goldfish in my belly-button. She was so proud of herself, and I just said, “thank you so much, Emerson, that is so nice of you to give the baby a snack.” The most funny incident was two nights ago. I was sitting in the living room, and Emerson comes to me, lifts up my shirt, puts her mouth on my belly button and says, "Hi baby, how you doin'?" Hopefully, she will be this sweet when she actually has to share her time with the baby...hmmm....

Thank You God
Every night at bedtime, Emerson gets in her bed, and pulls the sheets over her. Jason and I sit next to her bed, and I read her third book, a book about twinkling stars (Jason reads books one and two). The stars on the page actually light up, so we turn the lights off and read it to her. When we finish reading, we say her prayers. She is so sweet. She puts her hands together and repeats after me, ”Dear God…thank you for Mommy, Daddy; Papa and Grammy; Nana and Grandpa; Erik, Whitney and Owen; and Aimee and Doug. Thank you, God.” She smiles all of the way through the prayer and is the sweetest gift from God I have ever seen. Sometimes she skips ahead of me and will say, “Owen!” before I get to his name. Sometimes, she skips ahead and says “Thank you, God!” before I get to that part, and that is OK; after all, it is her prayer.

And I will conclude with this...I have been teaching Vacation Bible School this week and Emerson has been attending. I picked her up from her class on Monday and her teacher (who knows her well from church childcare) says to me, "I wish we could have a half dozen more of her in our class." Amen.