Born August 6, 2010 8:30 AM

8 lb 7 oz 21″

Addie is super excited to be here!

Waiting with Dad.

These were taken at a class a few weeks ago.  One that, luckily, Scott was able to attend.  It thrilled Addie to have her Dad there watching her class.  Addie has been an absolute joy lately.  I think she senses that something is about to change in our lives, or maybe I just have more patience in these last few weeks alone with her.  She really turns every day, every little task or outing, into a special occasion.  Her excitement for little things - like going to the grocery store where she’ll get a balloon, or heading to the library where she’ll get to play a game on the computer - makes our boring little stay-at-home world that much more fun.  It’s the kind optimism that only the very young have and the rest of us wish we could get back.  I only hope that she’s as excited to share in these mundane tasks with her little sis. 

She really is as high as she looks. She wouldn't even put that harness on 8 weeks ago.

So, I stayed up all night, quite literally, wondering what in the world I was going to do with Addie while I was in the hospital and trying to wrap my mind around having this baby in two days.  I thought I had a week left with Addie as an only child.  I had plans to do all of our favorite things one last time while it was still just the two of us.  I had a lot to cram into those seven days.  Not the least of which was a boatload of housework.  I have this idea in my head that Addie’s life as she knows it will be over once she has a sibling.  I realize this is all in my head.  We’ll still do everything we’ve always done, there will just be more of us.  I hope that means that much more fun.

I realize that not everyone gets a heads up about when they’re going to have their baby.  We are very lucky in this respect.  It’s a great surprise when it’s just you and your partner anticipating the birth of your first child.  All you have to worry about is packing a bag and getting to the hospital on time.  With baby #2 (and beyond) it’s incredibly stressful.  Wondering if you’re going to have to drag your sleeping child from their bed in the middle of the night.  Sheepishly asking friends if they could be the unlucky ones you call on at 3 AM to take the older sibling.

Now, not 24 hours later, Addie-care is completely covered for the weekend. We have some wonderful friends who have stepped up to help to make sure Addie is occupied while I’m in the hospital.  So, while I’m still anxious about having surgery on Friday, I am not anxious about what Addie will be doing because I know she’s in good hands.

M: “Well, you can have a snack but how about some grapes?”

A: “How ’bout a chocolate chip cookie.”

M: …

A: “I’ll have two.”

Addie is getting ready to finish up her summer dance and gymnastics programs.  When I took her to her first class, I remember thinking, “Oh, perfect timing, her last class is right when I’m due to have the baby.” On the one hand I can’t wait to have this baby and meet our little girl, but at the same time I can’t help but wonder where the summer went.  What happened to all of those weeks that I was supposed to be productive preparing for #2?  July was a crazy month around our house and I’m giving myself a pass for not having everything in order for baby.

And what happened to my shy little girl, who on the first day of class looked at me through the glass with tears in her eyes?  Now, she runs into the studio like she owns the place and can’t wait to catch the first glimpse of her teachers while we’re waiting for class.  They’re like celebrities to Addie.  It’s hard to believe that just a few weeks ago she was hiding her face in my leg.  This makes me hopeful for when she starts Mom’s Day Out next month.

So, instead of sitting in the house with the blinds drawn all summer, I’ve made it my mission to find lots of fun indoor activities for us to do.  And, truth be told, Addie doesn’t even seem to miss the outdoor playground.  She still gets to ride her bike and go to the pool with her Dad in the evenings and on weekends so she doesn’t much mind all the climate control during the weekdays.

This week Addie started gymnastics (Or manassicks if  you ask her) and dance lessons.    I was a little apprehensive about signing her up because there’s a pretty strict “no parents allowed” policy for her age group.  I thought this was a good time to start, though, because in August she’ll be going to Children’s Day Out two days a week. 

This was the first time Addie has done anything without me and though I prepared her for it ahead of time, it didn’t really register.  Not until she was walking into her first gymnastics class, looked up to tell me something and I wasn’t there.  She ran back to get me and I walked her into the room and then left.  She could see me through the giant wall of windows that separates the waiting room from the gym, but still she sat down on the mat, looking at the door with her bottom lip quivering.  I counted backwards, slowly, from ten, totally blanking out on the conversation I was having with another parent in the waiting area.  I couldn’t watch her like that any longer and just as I made my move to run into the gym and get her, the teacher distracted her with the first activity and that was it.  Poof.  It was over and she was all smiles for the rest of class.

She loves her classes and talks about them all the time.  We were talking over breakfast on Monday before her dance class when she said, “Addie goes to dance.  Mommy can’t help, you wait outside.”  So she gets it and I think she even likes having that little bit of time to herself.  I have to admit, it’s a bit of a blow to the ego.

At the end of dance class this week all of the Mom’s went in the room to take pictures of the dancers.  It was “Rockstars and Divas” day and the kids were all dressed up and looking cute.  I was the last Mom to walk in the room and as I was getting my camera out I looked over at Addison and she was pointing at me and crying.  I thought, ‘Oh, she wants her Mommy.  Maybe I shouldn’t have come in the room.’  So I asked her, “What’s wrong sweetie?”  and she pointed at the door and said, “Mommy, you go outside.”  I was booted from dance class.  My, how quickly the grow.

Here are a few cute videos from Addie’s first gymnastics class.

M: Yes, sweetie Daddy’s at work.  Where does your Daddy work?

A:  At hockey.

M: What about Oliver? Does he work?

A: No, Oliver stays home and goes to the doctor.

M: Well, what about Mommy?  Does Mommy work?

A: (shaking head) No, Mommy goes to the store.

Addie and I joined some friends for a morning of strawberry picking last week.  When we made these plans I thought that it would be fun for Addie, but unless those strawberry plants were about five feet tall, I wouldn’t be bending my very pregnant butt over to crawl around a field and pick berries.  Then I got out there and I saw all of the gorgeous, shiny, juicy red berries – many of which Addie was passing up for mushy berries or green berries – and I was forced to join the fun.  I’m that much of a control freak, apparently, that I can’t just let my kid pick the berries that make her happy and call it a day.  I have to get involved and make sure she finds the best berry in the entire field.  It is not a contest.

The girls did a great job picking fruit and filling their little buckets.  When Addison collected more than a dozen berries, she would complain that her bucket was too heavy and empty it into my bucket.  If I didn’t act fast enough the bucket would very dramatically fall from her arm, spilling berries to the ground.  Then she would stand there and supervise while her friend rushed over to pick up every last strawberry. 

This excursion could not have come at a better time.  I came across this recipe  for Strawberry Jam a few weeks ago and I’ve been itching to try it.  I had actually planned to buy a few pounds of strawberries at Sam’s Club this week solely for this purpose.

After two full days and four stores I was beginning to give up on my dream of homemade strawberry jam.  I couldn’t find pectin anywhere.  I visited two supermarkets, a Super Target and Hobby Lobby with no luck.  I was about to give up and make a 10 dozen strawberry cupcakes just to use the berries before they grew hair, when I decided to give Super Wal-Mart a try.  If you’re planning to make jam anytime soon, let me save you a lot of time and mileage on your car.  You can find the pectin at Super Wal-Mart in the baking aisle.  I’m not sure it exists anywhere else in the whole world.  

Addie was my helper in the kitchen, naturally.  She mashed the berries, sealed the jars and acted as quality control inspector.

And to prove to my daughter that I wasn’t a total control freak, I didn’t grab the masher from her to smooth out the lumps that she missed.  Although I may have been very, very tempted.