Big brother Connor

As you may know, Connor loves to eat "birthday cake" in any form- this includes cupcakes. Right before eating this cupcake, he calmly accepted the news that Mom has a baby sister growing in her stomach. He gave us the Aunt Bethany look and continued with his dinner. It makes me feel better that he "knows" - I really felt weird about keeping it from him. I'm not going to be good with Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy and stuff. I feel really guilty when I lie about things to him, even if the truth would spoil the fun!

I used to think that I didn't want to know the sex of my kids until birth. But I'm the type of person who likes to read TV spoilers on the internet, read the chapter titles before starting a book to see if I can guess what's going to happen- I knew I'd never really stay in the dark about this. And the ultrasound has turned out to be a big turning point for me in both pregnancies. Seeing the baby and knowing what the sex is really makes the whole thing more concrete, and changes my whole attitude towards what's happening. Suddenly I want to get a room ready, and I want to think of names, and I want to buy clothes and diapers. All of the negative feelings I had about being pregnant (I'm sick! I'm fat! I'm tired!) are gone and now I'm feeling positive about it. Beth told me she felt the same way after her ultrasounds. (She also had one this week, and she's also having a girl!)

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on ebay looking for bedding for the baby's room . . .

Family Jam

So we've finally gotten Daddy to start playing guitar for us. Connor will either sit in front of him on the guitar case paying rapt attention, or play along on the drums or piano. Sometimes Daddy plays songs we know, like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Connor can sing along. I can't get enough of that! He needs his own guitar, because he really wants to play Daddy's. (Santa has already been consulted.)

Random Connor Update

Things I think you should know:

His favorite song is still "Since You've Been Gone," although I think it's just because he knows all the words. He's content listening to the radio or a CD until something he "knows" comes on, and then when it's over he immediately requests "Sinceyoubegone." I guess he wants to keep his monentum going or something. Other songs he knows the words to include "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and most songs on Transatlanticism. And oddly, "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5. (Did Daddy play that one for him?) But usually by the end of any song he can sing along with the chorus- he's a good mimic.

He's learning to talk on the phone a bit- there are now usually 2 or 3 exchanges with the other person (instead of just hello) before he turns to look quizzically at the phone.

After recently celebrating Uncle Shannon's birthday with a cupcake and a phone call, he now thinks every birthday is Shannon's. On Aunt Marsha's birthday he took the phone and said, "Happy Birthday Shannon!" I'm not sure she found it funny. Hopefully he will do better Sunday on Dionte's birthday. (He calls Dionte "my-onte" which makes sense considering most words are preceeded by "my.")

He still loves every sport- shock! We try to watch the Mexican soccer league play across the street on Sunday mornings, and then follow that with a day of football. Baseball is important, too. He likes to go outside to "play bats" - we have various games that involve the baseball bats, but not all of them resemble baseball. Most of them include running the bases, though. Per Uncle Shannon's request, we have watched some hockey. He astutely noted its resemblance to soccer, but is perplexed by the lack of a ball. And I think he'll be much more interested in golf now that Michelle Wie has turned pro. (Or wait, maybe that's Daddy I'm thinking of. . .)

The potty training is going pretty well. He never wears a diaper anymore, even for sleeping. We still have some accidents, but I guess I consider him potty trained. We'll see how it goes when we travel to Nashville this weekend. We will have a potty in car- that should be fun. And might come in handy for me! (Gross! I'm kidding, Chip!)

I am in that stage where I just look fat, so I'm trying to wear maternity clothes to make it obvious that I'm not trying to bulk up before my winter hibernation or anything. I feel pretty good though- the first trimester is thankfully behind me. I go on October 27 for an ultrasound. No, I'm not particularly hoping it's a girl, but I think Chip is. And I know Grammy is. Once we find out, we will start talking to Connor about what's growing inside Mommy's belly and all that. I think he knows something is different, but I will feel better bringing him into the discussion once I have something specific to tell him.

Just a picture

Imelda

Guess what colors we've been learning at school- red and blue! So the red shoes are getting lots of wear.

I wasn't lying- he's rarely without the soccer ball.

D.C.

So I went to visit D this weekend in Washington, D.C. I really had a great time seeing all the sites, eating all the food, drinking all the ...water and stuff. I had never been before, so I was anxious to see all the sights. And I almost did. Really. We were on bikes for a lot of the time, so that allowed us to zip from one place to the next much more quickly than if we'd been on foot. Saw the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, the World War II Memorial, FDR Memorial, National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Freer Gallery, Sackler Gallery, the White House, Capitol Building, U.S. Botanic Garden, Holocaust Museum. All very cool. I was blown away by being inches away from Monets, Renoirs, Van Goghs, and Gaguins. I had no idea all that stuff was there, and it really wasn't that crowded. And FREE! Like everything else listed above. Our tax dollars are hard at work there, that's fo sho.

I liked the nightlife and restaurant scene too. Had some amazing sushi. I really dig the town.