Thursday, March 29, 2007

Four


Yesterday was Jimmy's fourth birthday. He woke up excited ("Mom, it's my birthday and I'm four years old!") and his energy just continued to build. The difference between this milestone and those previous is his greater sense of self-awareness: age, autonomy, relationships with friends, and personal identity. I watch him play and see that even in his face, no traces remain of my first baby (except brief glimpses when he is sleeping); he is definitely a boy now, and one who is sure of himself and what he wants.

Today we went to the doctor for his four-year well child visit, which meant immunizations: diptheria/tetanus/pertussis, measles/mumps/rubella and polio. I deliberated about how to best prepare Jimmy for the shots, and in order to avoid having to wrestle him out the door, I waited until we were in the car. Surprisingly, he seemed unconcerned. He did great through the entire exam, cheerfully allowing Debbie, the nurse, to measure his weight (45 pounds), height (3 feet, ten inches), and blood pressure; and Dr. Herman to check his heart, lungs, ears and eyes.

Jimmy continued to be calm when Debbie brought in the syringes and had him sit on my lap, but as soon as he felt the first poke, it was over. I hate seeing him in pain, but shots are easier for me to deal with because I know the hurt isn't needless. What was really difficult for me was the sheer physical exertion of restraining him so that Debbie could give him the remaining two shots; Jimmy's a big boy, and strong. I knew we needed to get through it as quickly as possible, so I held on tight, and we did just that. Afterward, it took a few minutes of cuddling for him to stop crying, but within five minutes he had already moved on to figuring out which park he wanted to go to when we left the doctor's office. Oh, to be four!

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

The earth moved

How is it that the first faint stirrings of a tiny life can seem so momentous? It's been a week now since I felt this baby move for the first time, and each time I wonder: who is this little person? What will he or she bring to our family? What will I learn from my second child? How could I be so blessed to be a part of a miracle all over again?

I'm going to cherish the wonder for as long as I can, until I'm forced once more to face the prosaic realities of sleep deprivation, dirty diapers and teething.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Catching up

Can I pull my experiment in blogging back from the brink of failure? Only time will tell. Here's a brief overview of what's been going on over the past few months.

December: Snow. Not-so-frantic early shopping online for Christmas gifts. Extremely frantic last minute sewing of Blues Clues pajamas for Jimmy late on Christmas Eve. Christmas, quiet and at home with just us in our new pajamas. Big sigh of relief.




January: More snow. Taking swimming lessons to improve my crawl stroke. Peeing on a stick. And another. On both, one line is definitely there, but one is faint and it's too hard to tell. Waiting a week. Buying a different brand of pregnancy test. Peeing on a stick again. Definitely two lines. We're expecting! Almost equally thrilling, Jimmy is finally potty trained. (Cue angelic choirs singing the "Halelujah" chorus!)

February: Still more snow. Taking an early ultrasound to confirm the due date: September 10th!



March: Snow finally melting. Trip with Jimmy up to Orcas Island to help my sister Dorothy get ready for new baby. Amazing view of San Juan Islands from Mt. Constitution. Gavin born March 16th.




Those are the highlights. And this is where I ought to insert some pithy yet sincere promise to blog more faithfully—but I know better than to do that!