Things she says 2/2015

We were unloading our cart at Costco and Ivy was holding tight to a box of fruit leather.  I told her that we needed to put it on the belt and pay for it before opening it.  She just held it and looked at me.  I finally had to pull it gently from her hands.  Her eyes welled with tears and that crinkled up sad face looked up at me, about to break.  I pulled her from the cart and hugged her and she said "Mama, you breaked my heart".


Me:  "Ivy, you're amazing."

Ivy:  "I do my best."


At every nap time and bedtime, when I tuck her in, after songs and prayers I lean in, nose to nose, and whisper "I love you soooooooo much and you are so very special to me.  And, you make me so happy."  I started reassuring her this because one of her common questions has been to check on me with "Mama, are you happy?".  She is very sensitive and very intuitive.  And, unfortunately, this mama has a tendency to be moody and emotional at times.  It worried me that she was growing paranoid about whether I am happy and whether she is frustrating me or making me happy.  :(  So, I started this reassurance with her.  And, each time I say it to her, she always says right back "NO!  I love YOU and you are fecial (special) to ME and you make ME happy!".  We go back and forth a few times and then both settle in agreement that we both love each other so much.
I haven't heard her ask me whether I am frustrated or happy in a few weeks now!  ;)

"but, Vienne is with Jesus"

This is just a simple recap of a simple morning moment with precious Ivy.

She had just woken up and I crawled into her bed, with her.  She was very whiny and emotional on this morning, so we just cuddled.  For some odd reason, with my lingering sleepiness and her heightened emotions, I too started to weep.  Just weep for Vienne and missing her.

Ivy stopped her whine to ask me why I was upset.  I said that I missed Vienne and wanted her here with us.  And, Ivy responded with "But, Mama, Vienne is in Heaven with Jesus."

Yup.  She is.

And, I don't know if I'll ever be ok with that….but I am glad to know that Ivy seems comforted by that knowledge.

Ivy-isms

Age 2 years and 8 months.

Ivy is a pure delight, so full of joy and wonder and sweetness.  So much like her sister in so so many ways - it astounds us each day.

Currently:

-Ivy says "thank you" for everything.  "Thank you for a nummy dinner, Mom"…."Thank you for helping Ivy with toys"…."Thank you opening door, Mom"….etc.  She even thanked me for going to the bathroom…for ME going to the bathroom.  Maybe she doesn't fully understand "thank you" yet.  hehe

-She STILL speaks in 3rd person.  "Ivy sees Ivy's toy on the floor."…"Ivy wants a snack"….

-We are aggressively working with her to change "want" to "may I have _____ please?"  She's getting it with minimal prompting.

-She is much more interested in "academic" type things than her sister was.  She is understanding the alphabet and pointing out letters…counting and numbers….spelling her name (which isn't hard!)…shapes….etc.

-She LOVES books.  LOVES them.  And, this makes our hearts swell.  We will find that she has wandered back to her bedroom and is sitting in the middle of the floor, surrounding by piles of books.  When Ivy has disappeared and things get "quiet"…she is never making trouble….for she is usually reading to herself or cooking for her animals in her room.

-Her favorite color is purple.

-"I meed a hug" = I need a hug.  Instead of throwing tantrums or showing anger, this is what she says, with tears, when things don't go her way, or as she expected…or when she is embarrassed or corrected/admonished.  She says it with true sadness that it is impossible to refuse…and why would I?? She receives that sweet hug and then will comply or obey.  She is absolutely amazing.

-Ivy never cries in her bed.  Ever.  Unless something serious is going on….like a huge gnarly spider falls on her leg (like it did the other day!!  Ick!!).  Thankfully we have a a video monitor and I know when she wakes.  But she will just quietly wake up, move herself to the corner of her crib, pull her blankie up over her lap and quietly "pet" or "pick" at it (as she calls it).  She won't say a word…never has called for me.  Sometimes she will make little noises but that's about it.  So so so quiet….sometimes at nap time when she doesn't immediately fall asleep, I can leave her in there for an hour of quiet time until she finally falls asleep.  It is crazy.  And, then when I do go in there to get her when she's up, she oftentimes does not want to leave the bed…but would rather stay and read books.

-Unlike most stories I hear of toddlers, when Ivy has left the room and all gets quiet in the house….she is NOT making trouble.  She is always in the middle of her room surrounded by a pile of books, reading to herself….or playing in her kitchen and cooking for her "friends"….or pooping.

Cute words:

   Ponado = potato OR tomato
   Most "t" sounds are "k" sounds = "kickle"(tickle), "ky it" (try it), "kuck" (truck), "kiger" (tiger)
   Murse = nurse (back when she was nursing - we stopped at 29 months.
   Guck guck doose = duck duck goose
   Elesant = elephant
   Bassek = basket

("purple flower" by Ivy, age 2 1/2)

sweet things

Amongst Ivy's current 2 1/2 year old whining stage, yesterday she was full of sweet things.

We had to spend a week a part because I got very very sick with a nasty virus that kept me in bed for 6 days.  It was the longest we've ever been apart, of course.

Maybe she's making up for lost time.

So, yesterday in the morning, she crawled into my lap, and started to caress my face in this sweet cuddly way, making baby coo noises and said "you my friend".

Later that evening, as we were sitting on the floor playing play dough, she said "I like playing with you".

Then at bed time, in her routine to run out from the bedroom and give me a night night hug, she caressed my face again with a shy little smirk and said "you're so sweet."

There's nothing like hearing affirmation from your child.  xoxoxo

She has my heart.

those 9 months

*I found these notes I had jotted down through my pregnancy with Ivy.

The first and second trimester of this pregnancy were pretty typical...very similar to my experience w/
vienne. Mild nausea in the first few months. Bursts of nesting energy in the second. The only thing I noticed that was dramatically different was how quickly I grew. With Vienne, I didn't show until I was in my 6th month. in this one, I had a pooch by 10 wks!

I started feeling baby's movements at around 18/19 wks. I have felt that, in some ways, this baby presents itself similarly to the way Vienne did. First, I carry almost exactly the same way - wide and broad....not exceptionally high nor low. Baby sleeps through the night in the womb, as Vienne did. Baby seems shy to other's eager touches, as Vienne was. but, between me and the baby, I do feel this one's movements are larger and a bit more active than she was.

Unfortunately, by the third trimester, this journey began to get hard. The list of pitiful and miserable woes began to accumulate quickly and, now at 37 1/2 wks. I am eagerly waiting for relief and praying that I might be given it. A hip problem started to present itself more prominently in November. After Thanksgiving it got progressively worse. My chiropractor became quite certain that I have one leg shorter than the other and the strain of that has grown as the weight of pregnancy accumulated.  Limping like an old man has NOT been an exaggeration. One day the pain was sooo bad I could not walk. I have been wearing a heal lift and will get xray confirmation after babe is born.

Of course, this year of all years, Vienne and I decided to collect all the sick bugs around us through the fall and winter. Vienne was literally sick for 6 wks on and off. She'd be sick for a week then seem well for a few days just for another bug to flare up. I think she battled through about 4 colds, her first ear infection, and the flu. Stress has been an understatement.

My health has been struggling as well. Around the same time the hip problem presented itself, I developed a radically itchy rash on my arms and legs that kept me up through the nights for about 3 weeks. Thankfully it subsided eventually. I did end up getting Vienne's flu bug in the 36th week, right before Christmas, that actually gave me symptoms of false labor for about 18 hours. That lasted in my system for almost a week. Then, by the end of christmas day, my throat started to give me grief, which turned into a bit of another bug....of course. Then, a few days later, my palms and feet started to itch....showing me slight symptoms of cholestasis (itchy hands and feet, loss of appetite, pale poo, exhaustion - all things I feel). Shortness of breath - severe shortness of breath - has also been a hindrance. For the past few days, I've been feeling an occasional tightening in my chest for breath.

And to add a cherry on top, we've been battling some personal struggles as well.

Can we say - fun times?!  What a list of happiness, eh? I've hated to be so woeful and full of complaint.