Baby Watch: 40 weeks 2 days

You guessed it . . . no baby yet. We had a great day with Grandpa Tom including a mini hike at Seward Park. G-Mo (Grandmother Cynthia) arrives tonight, as well. There is still a small window of opportunity for baby to arrive before Grandpa Tom's flight back to New York tomorrow. We are hoping to avoid deja vu seeing as Grandpa Tom missed Liliana's birth by one day. Wish us luck for Grandpa Tom! ;) Sweet dreams!

Baby Watch: 40 weeks 1 day

No baby yet. Despite lots of walking at the zoo today and spicy Thai food left overs there is no action as of yet. Sorry folks. This lady seems comfy right where she is . . . maybe tacos will entice her later tonight! ;)

Baby Watch Begins . . . 40 weeks

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So we are officially 40 weeks, full term, and anxious to meet the newest member of our family. We did have our weekly midwife appointment today and everything looks, feels, and measures perfectly. In fact, truth of the matter is that Marita can't complain too much because she is feeling great--big, yes, but relatively comfortable. She has to admit just how much she enjoys the comments about how great she looks and how much energy she still has as she chases the kiddos at the park. However, since we know that some of you are starting to wonder when and how you will get the news of new baby's arrival, we thought we would re-initiate Baby Watch. Like before we will update daily with our status until baby is born then we will will attempt to revive the blog to give ya'll regular updates about both our little ladies. Oh, and pictures, too. Marita was spoiled for her birthday and now has a DSLR camera to catch those wily bigs kids as they race around the house, park, zoo, beach, and every other open space. Admire the sharpness of example picture above of Liliana, Logan, and Kaya all enjoying a Lion ride from Ian just this afternoon. Marita enjoyed a surprise dinner out with her girlfriends to celebrate not just the arrival of her due date, but women and motherhood in general. Thank you Rachael! BTW, Marita also enjoyed an extra spicy Thai meal just to encourage the little one join us. So wish us luck or sweet dreams . . .

Liliana is NOT a Baby (Winter 2009)

Liliana is a big girl, a big girl who takes care of babies. She is even more into babies than ever and has developed a very special bond with her Baby Gigi. Baby Gigi goes everywhere with her. And I mean everywhere-- car, store , potty, bed. We even got to see what happens when we leave Baby Gigi at a friend's house after a playdate. Tears. Not a fit. Big sad, sad tears. Mama spent the next morning driving across town to pick Baby Gigi up so that Liliana could be reunited with her after preschool. Yes, our girl who has never slept with anything but her blankies in bed with her now sleeps with Baby Gigi right next to her in her big girl bed. Yup, over Thanksgiving weekend Liliana transitioned into a toddler bed. We just took off the side rail and put up the toddler bed rails. Other than climbing into her bed by herself nothing has seems to have changed. She only crawls back out of bed when we come to get her. Amazing. Don't worry, we are prepared for whatever may happen when she turns two in a couple of weeks! We have actually bought her a real twin size big girl bed for her birthday. Hopefully she will like sleeping in it as much as she has loved her crib/toddler bed. Wish us luck!

Liliana has also started wearing big girl underwear all day

long except for naps and bedtime. She has graduated from the constant reminder to use the potty to asking to go when she needs to. The past week I can't even remember even one "accident." We feel so fortunate for her easy transition away from diapers. She seems to be very comfortable to "go" just about anywhere we happen to be and proved she can hold "it" several times as we searched for a bathroom. We can't quite describe how great it is to sometimes go somewhere without a diaper bag (though truth be told we are more often carrying one for snacks, an extra change of clothes, and nap gear for on the go).

Liliana also never stops talking or singing or questioning. As she often tells us she wants to do everything "by myself!" She often sings medley of several song without talking a breathe. It starts as Mary Had a Little Lamb and suddenly ends with B-I-N-G-O. She is definitely entering that 2-year-old phase. She can keep you reading one story for ten minutes by asking questions about every character on the page--"What's is that? What he doin'?" And since she no longer always just goes right to sleep, we get to giggle about what she says before she falls asleep. Sometimes she is clearly talking to Baby Gigi while other times she is just reminicing about her day. Tonight she started reciting one of her favorite books. When she wakes up the same thing--chatter about anything, or a clear statement: "I am awake." She repeats everything she hears. Sometimes she just repeats herself--over and over and over. We think for emphasis or just to make sure you are listening to her. ;)

Liliana likes to tell Logan "I need my privacy" while on the potty. And although we are already seeing our share of 2-year old fits, we are also hearing her express her needs and feelings in clear ways. It is amazing to hear Liliana and Logan talk out a problem. This past week I watched Liliana talk to Logan about taking Baby Gigi out of the dolly stroller. It was so cute: "I was upset. I was upset. You took Gigi away from the strodder. I don't like that." After which, Logan gave her Baby Gigi and the stroller.

It was pretty awesome. I have to admit that though I am biased, I am impressed everyday with the way that Liliana and Logan learn and play together. For that matter, you can't forget Kaya either. Liliana is constantly looking after Kaya, trying to feed her at dinner, giving her a milk cup, giving her toys and kisses (when she is not taking her food or toys and bulling her over). Truly they all simply adore one another. More than friends, more than cousins, different from siblings. It is a very special bond that they all have, and I hope they always maintain.

So, yeah, we think Liliana is amazing. She's ready to be two. She adores going to preschool and has showed no need to have Mama around at all. She loves her friends and love, loves her Teacher Katie. She pretty much knows her letters and numbers. We love to hear her sing the ABC's, point out specific letters, and count things in Spanish and English. But, mostly we love to hear her laugh and ask for "more, more" when we swing her before bed. We love how sweet she is to Baby Gigi. She talks to her "Sweetie-pie" and takes such good care of her. We love when she puts her face right up to Mama's belly and says "Hola Bebe" just like the big sister in her bedtime book. We love when Liliana kisses Baby Sister goodnight and pulls Mama's shirt back down so Baby can sleep. Liliana is not a baby. She is going to be two in a couple of weeks. Liliana is going to be the best big sister ever. We could not feel more blessed.

Fall 2009

Business first.  As you've probably noticed, we are no longer doing pictures by month- we'll now post periodically when we get a bunch of pictures.  For example, 3 grandparent visits in 4 weeks, as you'll see in the slideshow ( :  I would expect a Thanksgiving set, too!  

In even more important and better business, it gives us great pleasure to let you know Liliana will soon be an older sister- which is good since she is madly in love with babies these days.  She still gravitates to the big kids if they're around, but if there's a choice, lately it's "see baby!!!" We're due April 29th.  We're not sure if it's a boy or girl yet, but we've already had the chance to hear the heartbeat!  We're really excited!  Still, that's in the future.  Right now, enjoy the pictures of Lily as we go from Summer to Fall here in Seattle.  Notice the first pictures of her in big girl underwear rather than diapers- she's not potty-trained, but she's working on it ( :

As usual, visits from G-mo and G-pops, Grandma, Aunt Janet, and Grandpa provided much needed relief for the parents, and lots of joy for the children of the family.  Thanks for stopping by- see you all soon!

Love,

Liliana, Marita, and Ian

An Ode to My Sweet Pea Liliana (18 Months!)

My sweet Liliana, how you crack me up!  

You chatter, blather, talky talk.

Loquacious already describes you,

Cheesy, toothy smiles for the camera.

Soon, please, soon you’ll have all your teeth.

Fakey-fake laugh at all but Logan’s jokes 

A call to your Uncle, a chat on Skype,

You simply want to sing songs.

You love the sound of your own oo—ooo monkey.

You can’t get enough of your choo-choo trains.

Your love for all cribbies has just been challenged,

You love Logan’s pretty Big Boy Bed.

You climbed right out of the pack-n-play while camping.

Will you start jumping out of your crib?

We know you probably can.

Jumping, jumping, jumping, jumping, jumping,

You can’t get enough of the jumping.

This weekend I saw you jump off the ground,

Showing off your wrestling skills,

Your friends seemed a bit surprised.

You like your friends little social butterfly.

Logan will forever be your favorite.

 

Did I mention you love the word “own”?

You want your own snack bowl.

Your own milk cup, too.

Your own blankie,

Your own binkie,

Your own choo-choo train.

Your own plate unless it is dinner,

Then all you want is daddy’s.

You love the brown markers,

You always have two.

Colors matter to you,

Even when you can’t always name them.

 

How many baby dolls must you have?

Mamey, “Oody,” Sweet Pea, Willy,

Not to forget your love for red bear and brown,

Or your favorite Baby Kaya.

I caught you this morning singing,

“Rock-a-bye Baby,” a very silly song.

You needed to change Mamey’s diaper.

Sweet hugs and kisses when babies get hurt,

Such a loving girl.

You made your daddy’s day today.

You cuddled him after lunch,

Sweetly hugging, head on chest.

You shared your cookie, too.

Still sucking that binky and holding your blankie,

You fell asleep in the car.

Sweet, sleepy girl you’ll need your rest,

Sunny day will call us out to play,

Backyard sanctuary—sandbox and climber,

White bench on new-new patio,

Tiny rocks surround the trees

Calling you to dig them with a shovel,

Scatter them in the grass.

You will help me water the garden,

Fill your own watering can.

Growing our very own Sweet Pea.

Our 17 Month Old Chatterbox

So, yeah, this blog entry comes a little late . . . sorry folks. Anyways, we have certainly been busy hanging with our little chatter box.   Dang this girlie talks A LOT!  And she know exactly what she wants.  In fact, we sometimes like to call her our Little Diva.  One of our favorite moments is when she tells us something and we don't quite know what she is talking about and she simply looks at us with her most serious face and says it again--whatever it is that we still have no idea what she is saying.   She just looks at us.  Seriously?  You don't know what I am saying?  I'll just say it again.  Ususally, eventually we know what she is saying, but sometimes we just have to nod our head and smile.  She always makes us smile.  It is funny how we can spend our last moments awake everynight smiling and giggling about just how cute Liliana is and how funny she was and how much we love her.  Liliana is also showing us how her little brain works and remembers.  Like, how recently she will take my cell phone and start calling Anny (Uncle Andy).  When I ask her what she is doing she adds: Anny. Skateboard. Which quickly turns into a laundry list of memories from her trip to New York like feeding the birds crackers in the park with Grandma and the dog on the 3rd floor that said woof  WOOF  really deep and loud. Her motor skills are also developing even more as she practices jumping, skipping, and climbing.  Much of this thanks to the amazing weather in Seattle right now which means lots of time outside at the zoo, at the park, and in the backyard.  LOTS of time in the newly designed backyard.  We have a double bed garden thanks to a visit from Pop-Pop, G-Mo, and Auntie Gabby.  We also turned last year's garden bed into a proper sandbox and bought a climbing playgym off Craigslist (you gotta love Craigslist deals).  At any rate, Liliana has mastered the climbing much to our fear and to the detriment of her soft, smooth baby skin.  Yup, this girl is Marita's daughter.  She now sports numerous cuts, scraps, and bruises in various places though mostly concentrated on the legs.   She is turning into such a big girl!!!  We can hardly believe how quickly time goes by, how busy our days become, and how fulfilling life is with Liliana around.