Show and Tell

Brian has his first show and tell at school on Friday. The note from his teacher said that each child should bring in "a few things" to share. Not real descriptive, doesn't really help much. I was thinking of sending an ultrasound picture of his baby sister on the way (the 3D one where you can tell you are looking at a head and a face), a picture of his family-as he is obsessed with talking about everyone who is his family, and a favorite book. I mean what does one send with a 3 year old for their first show and tell? If I ask Brian without some ideas to give him, he will go in with his Handy Manny talking toybox (loud and obnoxious and sure to drive his teachers mad), his Little Einstein rocket (again, volume/sanity factor), or something loud and absolutely inconvenient and unrealistic to take (like the television). Tonight I asked him an open-ended question re: what he would like to bring and he said the Christmas tree. So that kind of questioning is clearly not going to work.

Hormonal vent, feel free to skip

I know that I have officially entered my third trimester. I am back to being tired, and I am over-analyzing everything in the way only a hormone over-producing, 25 pounds in 27 weeks gaining, awful skin possessing, and charley horse afflicting, woman can. I am growing terrified at the prospect of having an infant in the house again, and this time with a toddler who has his own schedule and expectations of how much energy mom and dad need to have for him. I am panicked that we won't be able to figure it out...we have our nice little routine and are what I believe to be great parents, to an only child, but do we have enough to share with a new baby? My to-do list before the baby gets here, at home, at work, keeps growing and the deadlines keep getting closer. I barely have the energy to stick to my routine in the day, including getting Brian ready and to school, getting to work, functioning through the day, coming home, figuring out dinner, play, bath, and bedtime. Occasionally I can fit some cleaning in there somewhere....My patience and fuse grow shorter, my effective parenting weaker. I know my energy will only continue to dissipate the closer I get to my due date. And working full-time with 2? How on earth am I going to do this? Am I crazy? And I hate to admit it, but I really feel alone in all of this. Don't get me wrong, Steve is an awesome father, he really is. He is hands-on, recognizes that we both work full-time and have to equally share parenting duties, and is incredibly patient and caring with Brian. He is absolutely everything I could have asked for in the father of my children...and more. It's just this working opposite schedules thing...We have been together nearly 10 years now and have always had opposite schedules. Which makes it a little easier, because we're both used to it. But every once in a while, I get really bitter about it. Enter hormones. Hello bitter (oh and you brought your friend irrational!), nice to see you again...We get two nights a week, one half day, and one full day together. It just starts to wear on you, more of the time you are together seems to be spent coordinating the day/week vs. appreciating the time you have together. It seems you stop expressing your thoughts, fears, daily struggles and triumphs with them, because it's more important to figure out who is taking the kids to school tomorrow, how much we owe for childcare, and what chores need to be completed when. And you don't think about it...until you do, and realize how much you miss them.
And now it's nearly midnight. I have a sink full of dishes (and no dishwasher- curse this historic house), and I need to get everything together for my day tomorrow so I am ready to get up at 6a and out of the house by 7 to sit in a training in Richmond allllllllllllllllllllll day and then a brief meeting following it, meaning I won't get home until after 8p. Thank God it's nearly the weekend....

He definitely has roots in Texas...

In a nutshell

I bit the bullet last week and changed obstetricians. Actually I made the decision almost 2 weeks ago, after feeling like I was not being monitored very well (no urine samples every appointment like I did with my first pregnancy, and concerns generally disregarded), waiting a week for an antibiotic for a UTI, numerous unreturned phone calls, and the last straw...making me wait on hold for a half an hour until 5:01p when the "after-hours" on-call system picked up. Because my insurance changed on January 1st, I realized that I could go back to the doctor that delivered Brian. I called the office, fearful that they wouldn't take me on at 26 weeks (after all I am over half way through my pregnancy!) but they did and I had my first appointment last Monday. If that wasn't sign enough that I was making the right decision, the day after I scheduled my appointment, my friend called me and made me certain that fate had intervened and shown me a different path for a reason. This dear friend of mine has a dear friend who has, quite literally, the WORST labor story every. So bad that it really involves malpractice. Without going into great detail as to protect her privacy, it involved a resident delivering more than the afterbirth and pulling out something that shouldn't be pulled out of ones body. Fortunately she was saved in emergency surgery. Guess who her doctor was? Mmmmhmmm, that's right, my doctor, at the practice I just left. That completely sealed the deal for me. I am so relieved to be back with my old OB, she is wonderful and it is a HUGE weight lifted off of my shoulders. I know that I am now in great hands (after all she has delivered like 2,000 babies) and she made me laugh with her first statement to me..."Well Claire, it wouldn't be a pregnancy of yours without a little bit of drama, would it?" She provided more reassurance around the earlier test results by stating that it by no means equates chromosomal abnormalities, but that it does mean that I should be monitored closely for potential problems that may lead to pre-term birth, so they can treat them ASAP and keep our baby "cooking" for as long as possible...I see her again on Friday and have my 28 week ultrasound next week to ensure her growth is still on target and my placenta isn't starting to work overtime. Overall I am feeling good though! I have moments when I get a little nervous. I am after all, only 2 weeks away from when I began developing the first symptoms of preeclampisa with Brian. I am less than 6 weeks from when I delivered Brian. I am not focusing on these little facts, but I would be lying if I were to say it's not in the back of my mind.
But, focusing on the positive- my little peanut is extremely active, kicking and dancing and making her presence known. She also must be huge (or I am...but I prefer to go with she is) because I was measuring 31 cm at 26 weeks!!! My doctor isn't concerned yet though, saying she may have had a growth spurt. But wow! I have cut back on the snacks since then...

His other learning experience...

I have SUCH a boy. Brian discovered tonight the hilarity of blowing bubbles in the bathtub. And yes I mean THOSE bubbles. He let out a little toot, and hysterically laughed at the result as well as at the three more that followed. At least he said excuse me.

Brian's first day at school

Brian's teachers report of the morning:

~ One time out given (on his first day!!!! I about fell over!) for screaming. He does this high-pitched squeal thing that is totally obnoxious that we have been forever trying to break him of, and he did it today at the end of the morning. They gave him one warning and then he went into time-out. I am completely fine with this, as I think it's important for him to understand right away the expectations they have of him and the boundaries that have been set.

~ He did very well but did become distracted during some activities during the morning and wanted to do something else. Expected and part of the adjustment process.

~ No accidents, woo hoo!!! (and really all day...he has been going BY HIMSELF since he's been home. So wonderful!!!)

I think this is pretty good for day one!!!

Brian's report of the day:

~ "I screamed and I had to go in time-out. Teachers said NO screaming. That's naughty." He also recounted this with several friends while Mommy was cooking, via his kitchen's cordless (toy) phone

~ "I told teacher when I had to go." (in response to the question: did you go potty at school?)

~ "I didn't sing the God song Mommy. I cried." "Why didn't you sing the God song Brian? That's OK since you didn't know the words. How does the God song go?" "I can't cry during the God song, it's happy! God is happy!" (in response to: did you have fun playing in the Big Room? Yeah I am not sure either....)

So I would label this day....a SUCCESS! He is still talking positively about school, he is excited to go back tomorrow and is happy that he gets to stay and eat lunch tomorrow too! Ah what a relief for this Momma!

My baby is growing up....

Brian has his first official day of preschool tomorrow!!! I can't believe it! I wonder if I will cry...
Steve and I took him this morning to meet with the Director and for Brian to see what we mean when say "school," so it's less of an idea and more of a reality. He LOVED it. I love it. Daddy I think is a little shell-shocked. We met his teachers, and I really like them. They have two teachers in his class, and about 10 kids. I am liking that ratio. He will be going to a First Presbyterian Preschool, 5 days a week for four hours. It really is a wonderful school, I am so excited to have found it. All of their teachers have Early Childhood Education degrees, they implement very structured schedules for their classrooms, and they offer wonderful things for their 5 day three's classroom including, field trips, professional storytellers coming in weekly, and a teacher from the Norfolk Fine and Performing Arts School who comes in weekly to teach arts. I am confident that this will be such a positive experience for him. Brian is a really smart little boy who loves to learn, he just really needs the structure of a classroom.
When we visited the classroom, his teachers invited him to sit in the circle with the other children. He had a little trouble sitting still but the teachers assured me this is normal through an adjustment period, and in all fairness to him, there were a ton of neat things to look at. He was thrilled to talk to and play with the other kids and had no fear jumping right in and participating. As we were leaving I asked him if he thinks he will like school, to which he replied, "Mommy I already like it." So he can't wait to return tomorrow. The best bonus (unexpected) result? He is now telling us when he needs to use the potty, and using it independently. We started putting him back into underoos before Christmas and he has been doing better and better everyday but we typically still have to prompt him to use it, he has very infrequently been telling us when he needs to go. So over the past few months we have used school as incentive....i.e. when you are going pee pee and poo poo on the potty you will be able to go to school like a big boy! Well now that he knows what school is and has decided that school is a GOOD thing, he is adamant about letting us know when he needs to go, even going himself without help. We still are having challenges with the poop- but one step at a time...
This evening, I could really see what a huge impact our very short visit had on Brian. He said things like "criss cross applesauce" and tried to figure out how to sit indian style. I asked him to put away some toys and as usual he stalled. When I asked him to please listen, he ran and did it saying, "I have to listen! I am listening like you're teacher." And finally, in the circle in his classroom, all the kids have their names noted for their space in the circle. When the teachers were designating the "helpers" for the day, instead of saying their names, they spelled them and the children would recognize the spelling of their names. Brian watched this scene and said "B is for Brian!" Tonight he was looking at a frame with his name spelled on it and proceeded to spell out the letters of his name. He got 3 out of 5 letters right, and I was thrilled at his determination to figure out the other two letters. This is so exciting! I am so proud of my big boy!!!

Brian getting ready for his baby sister

Christmas 2008

The Yarbrough Family had a lovely Christmas!
Most memorable story of this Christmas~ Brian did not believe that Santa was going to come. He just decided that he was not a fan of this Santa character. Instead he was sure that it would be Rudolph that would come, Rudolph that would bring his gifts, Rudolph, Rudolph, Rudolph. My parents and I took Brian to the Winter Wonderland at the Hunt Club Farms on Christmas Eve (Steve had to work) and we went for Mongolian BBQ afterwards. As we were leaving, an older gentleman asked Brian if Santa was coming to see him tonight. Brian said, No. The man looked at him startled. Brian clarified, firmly stating that Rudolph was going to bring him his presents. So I had to label two of his gifts from Rudolph. I think we may have to make that a tradition. It was too precious, Christmas morning he was so disappointed because he thought Rudolph would still be here and he could give him a hug. He was somewhat relieved to see that Rudolph ate the pumpkin bread that we had to leave out for him, in addition to the milk and cookies for Santa.
The day after Christmas, Brian and I drove up to DC to spend the weekend with my parents (Steve was working all weekend- this time of year is insane for them) and we were able to see my best friend Shannon and her family. Awesome Auntie Shannon gave us a ton of stuff for our baby girl, when I say I won't have to buy any clothes for our baby for a few months, I am not even exaggerating!!! Not to mention the travel set, bumbo seat, and rocker...Many thanks to her for her generosity, we love ya girl!

Brian trying out a new look, styling in his Christmas gift from Noni- genuine John Deere cowboy boots from the country and western store in Honey Grove, Texas!! Love the authenticity! Brian absolutely loves them, and the belt she sent with them, here he pairs the boots with a pair of Cars underoos and a Handy Manny pajama shirt....

Who says cowboy boots aren't efficient running shoes?

At the Hunt Club's Winter Wonderland