While she didn’t hit the bars with B-crowd (Bla Bla, Baby, Baby and Bear) and she didn’t end up face down in a plate of chicken nuggets, Grace did hit the bottle/sippy cup pretty hard before passing out in her bed on her 21st. Our big girl (who is now 1/12th of the way to the real 21st birthday!) is running us ragged in true toddler fashion. We remember fondly the days when we used to wish she could walk and had only a few words to say.
Now, when we are not running (or waddling, as the case may be) after her, we are running through 5 or 6 rounds of the ABC’s, the numbers 1 through 10, the days of the week, the kids at school or the names of everyone in the family and their dogs. She is an accomplished parrot, who can be reduced to peals of laughter and air-kisses at the very mention of her favorite monsters—Elmo and Cookie.
As far as we can tell, Grace is looking forward to the arrival of her new baby, Hazel…though that may be overly wishful thinking on our part. Her favorite book at bedtime is “I’m a Big Sister Now” or “Sistuh”, if that is too many syllables. It is a classic tale of how special one is despite (maybe even due to) the arrival of one’s small-and-unable-to-eat-pizza sibling. We are soon to see if any of the material from that nightly studying has sunk in and G is able to manage the slightest bit of love and gentleness when H gets here.
Speaking of whom, Hazel (not pictured) is now officially in her mid-30s and is really starting to put on some weight. She continues to tip the scales at a couple weeks heavier than her 35 weeks would suggest (currently double Grace’s birth weight) and we are really hoping not to have to get a second womb for the overflow. Currently, Hazel is either resting her (giant) head on Jenn’s obturator nerve or she has gotten a hold of a crowbar and is rearranging some of Jenn’s key skeletal features around the pelvis area because walking has become a difficult proposition, to put it mildly. Which reminds me, if you have the opportunity to ask Jenn how she is enjoying the never-before-experienced last few weeks of her pregnancy, don’t.