The WeeKnights

I will be starting a new blog after Speck arrives in order to update all interested on both Reina and Baby Brother. At that time, Super Reina will be put into the archives...

No news to report yet, just giving everyone a heads up. We're still hanging in there waiting for the boy to be ready to make his appearance. Not long now!

The blog is called "The WeeKnights", mostly because I couldn't entitle it "Super Reina and oh yeah, Speck the Wonder Boy" without feeling a little guilty about not giving Speck his fair share of the title. Also, I liked the play on words when I saw a billboard for some sitcom on "weeknights". Weird, I know, whatever. Anyway, here is where you can go to continue to get peeks at our lives:

http://www.theweeknights.blogspot.com

So Long Binky

Yesterday, I finally made the executive decision to do away with long-loved binky...I had discovered it to be literally almost bitten in two. And this week, with all of us having colds, Reina has become a mouth breather anyway. It was just a matter of time before she bit through the thing completely and we'd have bigger issues on our hands (binky aspiration) than a crabby 2-year-old. So, opting to NOT replace it, I simply said "oh no binky! it's broken!" When asked to fix it, I told her I couldn't and she said "put away?" I said that would be best, now she was a big girl, she didn't need any more binky.

This was yesterday. Since then, we've had one unsuccessful nap, but a successful quiet time in her room...putting away all her toys after "nap time" is a small price to pay. We did have success at bedtime. Bill put her to bed with Hermes' help, and no mention of binky was made by any party.

Today, we are trying nap time sans binky again...less successful than yesterday at her keeping quiet, but she sounds entertained through the door I am refusing to open or acknowledge just yet! By bedtime, she'll be exhausted enough again to go down without a fuss. Hopefully, this is a sign of binky adjustment, not a sign of giving up nap time! Have I done myself a disservice?

Most of you know that binky was reserved just for sleep and occasional longer car rides, and yet I still didn't anticipate the transition to be easy. We'll keep our fingers crossed and see. I doubt she'll enjoy seeing her baby brother with one. Poor kid will have to learn early to defend his stuff.

Pending ultimate triumph with this project, I'm planning to squeeze in potty training in the last week and half before the baby arrives, just so we can have her all grown up in time. I think she'll do just fine and not back-slide at all.

Only kidding.

Oh binky, I've loved you from the start, 1/07.

Blurry, much like a Sasquatch photo. Last known image of binky in use, circa 12/26/08.

Evil Twin

Here's a couple of silly pictures of what can happen when parents and kids get punchy with chocolate fondue. Reina didn't mind, as long as she could have chocolate-covered cake...Dad is Great!

I would venture to guess she actually LIKED the chocolate facial hair, or at least liked demonstrating her funny faces for the camera.

Reina today at an indoor playground, bouncing with the kids.

After the chocolate fondue: clothing removal, story time and kissies with Daddy. Come home soon Daddy, your girls miss you!

And, a future health care worker. Hopefully she'll wear a uniform next time she saves a life...or at least a shirt.

New Things for Reina

In the spirit of preparing Reina for her new baby brother, we've been making lots of changes around the house over the past several months. Some big, like the intro to the big-girl-bed. And some little, like putting away some old, no longer used toys. Overall, she's handled these changes like a pro (possibly because brother isn't actually here yet?) and has even tried some new things on her own. I am excited to see her turning over this adventurous new leaf but hope it doesn't extend to things like climbing onto the fridge or letting herself out the front door! Here is a photo montage of some of Reina's recent new experiences. Not included is today's introduction to American movie musicals, specifically An American in Paris. I turned this on to get a break from Elmo. I may be cheesy, but I like this genre and am not so secretly tickled that she was enthralled in the final dance scene! 'Swonderful!

This is how Mommies say "I love you" on Valentine's Day. I have finally gotten over my peanut butter allergy phobia...just in time for the recall.

Trying painting with a brush...must take after P-Ga, not a lick of paint on that white shirt!

Trying sharing with new friend Andrew. Both found it a little challenging, but Elefun helped.

Not trying anything new, she just likes these kissy bears from Nana.

Trying to dress/undress herself. And always wants to pick out what to wear. Note the previously mentioned frog boots (on the wrong feet).

Trying new food combinations, like apples with peanut butter, mmmm!

And sushi. You'll notice she's already mastered chopsticks. She liked the edemame, too.

Deja Vu

After last night's torrential rain and hurricane force winds, I'm having deja vu over our roof. I spent a part of the day today filing ANOTHER claim with the insurance company to try to get them to buy the new roof they should have bought after September 2008's Hurricane Ike-in-the-Midwest storm. Ugh. No word yet. At least this time around I feel like I'm a little bit of educated on the subject, not that I wanted to be.

In other events, Reina is becoming a shoe diva. She has tried on and off both pairs of her "real"shoes today numerous times. Sometimes on the correct feet. Then of course there are the "princess shoes" that she primarily runs around the house in. In addition, she has been excited to test out her new frog rain boots, which were admittedly an impulse buy at Target today. I'll have to get some pictures, they are darn cute. Then, of course are her ballerina slippers from Aunt Kristin. Shoes shoes shoes! She'd better start saving her pennies now.

A mini fashionista at Walmart of all places...Aunt Jen would be proud. Hannah Montana hat and Tinkerbell purse. Yuck. They did not come home with us.

I continue with my extended nesting, rearranging things here, putting stuff in the give away pile there, with the occasional paint touch up or scrubbing of kitchen cabinets. What a weird instinct.

Poor Bill, his form of nesting both this time and with Reina has been to burn the candle at both ends in order to have time off after the birth. Dude needs to take better care of himself. I'm sure he'll read this and think "hey! when?"

Does this look like a well rested Daddy?

Speck is presumably still cooperating and no longer breech. His kicks actually wake me up (when I can fall asleep) and his room is ready. I'm about ready, too. At least as much as one can be to go from one to 2 kids with no previous experience! Next week has me a bit nervous since Bill will be out of town a couple days, but we still have 3-ish weeks till the official due date. Cross your fingers for me that Speck doesn't come before then!

I'll work on better/more pictures for my next post. I've been so preoccupied with taking things down and putting them away I haven't been taking more of Reina. Or contributed to her baby book recently. Oh crap, a baby book. Sorry Speck, second child. I'll try buddy!

Snowmageddon, Part 2; or Hostage Crisis

This is Reina today, all dolled up, literally. She has spent the morning in her princess high heels, shuffling around the downstairs with baby boy in a stroller, carrying a purse. Yes, that is a tea cup in her hand. She has also been periodically calling Daddy on her pink fuzzy phone. Shortly after this photo was taken, she took baby out of the stroller and tackled him several times. Can't say she is modelling this ultra girliness from me, but I can tell you she learned her tackle technique from Bill.

Yesterday, was a different story. As evidenced by the title of this post, we've had yet another dumping of several inches of snow in our humble Midwest city. I should add, twice in two weeks, the city has been debilitated by weather that more northern areas would scoff at. People running off the road, traffic backed up for 6-7 hours, not able to let the snowplows through due to the congestion. Granted, we got somewhere around 6 inches or more in less than that many hours, adding to the layers of snow/ice/snow/slush/ice we had from last week.

Usually, I would smugly stay inside on a day like yesterday, thankful we didn't have to go anywhere. However, that was not the case yesterday. In the morning, when it was sunny and not snowing, grant you, Reina and I had dropped off the car for some scheduled maintenance and oil change. We were kindly driven home by the dealership shuttle so Reina could have lunch and nap at home instead of waiting the 3 hours it would take at the service place. Over the next few hours, it began to snow. The nice, quiet, Charlie Brown, falling straight down kind of snow that accumulates in the yard but doesn't stick to the pavement.

The dealer called, work was done, could they pick us back up? Sure, that would be great! While we waited for the shuttle driver to arrive, we bundled up and went outside, only to be shocked to find not only was the snow still coming down, it was starting to stick. Ugh. Not too bad, just a dusting still. And no chance Bill would be able to leave work to take us to get the other car before they closed.

Well, the shuttle driver arrived and we got in the van and headed back to the dealership, which was 6.8 miles from our home. Reina was very excited by the snow, and kept asking for me to "shubble" it and to "make a no-man". We drove on.

About 2 miles from home we hit stop and go traffic. We figured it was due to the freeway being backed up and we'd be passed it soon. Not so. Reina wanted a granola bar. Had one in my purse.

About 45 minutes later, the poor shuttle driver was still trying to stay cool and we had moved about 50 feet. Reina wanted a fruit bar...had on in my purse, then she didn't want it.

About 3 hours later, we were less than 2 miles from the dealership and we had to pick up another customer. By now it was 7:30 pm. I was out of snacks but had a back-up lollipop. Reina was getting whiny.

The second customer was a middle aged man with a patience problem. He sat in the car for all of 30 minutes before he declared he would "get out and walk for a bit" until our slow moving vehicle passed him again (which happened almost immediately). Reina was handling this hostage crisis better than this dude.

We arrived at the dealership no less than 5 hours after we had set out from home. It was after 9 pm and long after both dinner and even bedtime for Reina. Traffic was still a mess, stop and go in some places, just stop in others.

Luckily, a 24 hour Steak and Shake was located next door. Reina had fries and chocolate milkshake for dinner. I wished they had wine...probably so wrong of me on so many levels! I made do with chocolate milkshake, too. We waited there for about an hour until traffic looked decent enough going south that we could do that, then back track north to get home. Bill had already made it home after an hour on the road. It was time to go.

Although snowy, our newly oil-changed, tire-rotated, fluid-topped-off vehicle kicked butt on the highway. No spinning out or even sliding in the several inches of accumulation. Reina got to bed around 11 pm, the second time this week thanks to a Superbowl party Sunday. And now, despite all rationale, she is paradoxically not napping.

Why even bother to get the car yesterday at all, you ask? I don't know, we left under moderate conditions only to reach the point of no return when all we could do was carry on to the end. Stubbornness most likely. Ironically, I had cancelled our service appointment last week due to the weather. Go figure.

Reina was as good as she could possibly be, and better. Bribery helped, but she really is just a good traveller. I was having flashbacks to our time stuck in the car at Christmas with Andrew, Lauren and a screaming Milo (sorry guys) and was praying the Reina would keep her cool and she did. The shuttle driver was awesome, too. He even gave us his own personal stash of gummy fruit snacks and goldfish crackers from his desk to take in the car ride home with us. I've already written a note to his boss!

Now we are home and it is too cold to play outside. Bummer. This snow might actually generate a little bit better snow man than the last storm did. I think now, I'd like to be done with the snow...especially as Speck's arrival approaches. I really don't relish the idea of delivering in the car because there is too much traffic. Cross your fingers and pray for Spring, no matter what the groundhog said on Monday.

Looks can be deceptive. So can smiles. This was taken yesterday, circa 8 pm.

Couple Bites

These photos have nothing to do with the topic, but they were ones I don't think I've put up before, from Halloween. Can't post without photos! Reina is practicing her sisterly skills with little friend Jonah.

"Nice baby Nonah"

So, before I get swept up into new-baby-mode, I wanted to jot down a couple (sound) bytes of things Reina has been saying lately that either make us laugh, roll our eyes, or even cringe at times. Before I forget from sleep deprivation.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, just what I wrote down over our tuna salad for lunch. Here they are, in no particular order:

"sha-bye" of course...see sha-bye (also means "I don't know")

"couple bites!" (usually when she's proud of herself for eating something)

"I need my ________, please"

"my do dat"

"I no yike it"

"bowl cereal" (in response to EVERY question regarding what she wants to eat)

"moo me table. please." (excuse me from the table please...less and less prompting required, can usually just tap the table with a finger to get her to say it)

"vatch a VV? Elmo? Feecaball? Crubs?" (that last one is "Scrubs," her and Bill's nighttime favorite)

"my go potty"

"I sit down. I sit down right here"

"I no yink so" (she's a deep yinker)

"Nice to meet you ______!" (mostly said to previous acquaintances, like me)

"go way Jedi"

"Daddy go? Verk. Hopita. Donuts?" (as in "time to make the...", not like Bill's bringing them home)

"know my ABD's, know my ABD's" (this one is sung, over and over)

"mout a Meenies" (it seems Hermes needs to go outside, Mother)

"vatch ouk a weeno googies!" (watch out the window doggies!)

"Crebables" (The Incredibles is a new favorite movie)

And my two favorites:

"I vuh you"

and

"Pretty soon, Speck"

Hibernation

After somewhat wishing we could play outside in the snow, Mother Nature seems to have complied. The combined efforts of yesterday's and today's snowfall have rendered me unable to distinguish between yard, sidewalk and street....despite my and some neighbor kid's best efforts to shovel yesterday. Reina got out to help as well, mostly scooping up snow and putting it back where I had removed it. We tried our best to make a snowman, but yesterday's snow just wasn't the packable kind, as you'll see from our diminutive little guy perched on the porch rail and decorated with cupcake sprinkles.

Today, we had planned to meet friends Ann and Brayden at an indoor playground to burn off some energy, however, since there was at least 1/2 inch of ice in between layers of snow on our driveway, (and Bill took the car with 4WD to work, I guess that's a priority), plans are off.

Other than vegging out in front of the tv, we may try some artistic exploration or just read some books. Fine by me. As I have no doubt often mentioned, I like cozy things and nothing is cozier to me than being surrounded by the quiet of a world filled with snow while staying warm and cuddly inside, with something hot to drink of course...and likely a book. Thank goodness we still have power, as many do not from the ice storm! I kind of wish we had a little sled for Reina, but then I'd have to pull it, also, we have nothing that resembles a hill.

That's all I've got for now, a busy day of doing nothing planned...hope the weather doesn't screw up anybody else's day too much!

Super Scooper...mittens stayed on for 30 seconds before being discarded.

Still having fun, mostly still warm.

"Go in, Mommy. Supa cold!"

Reina's 1st snow angel. She was a reluctant participant.

Little snow dude. We can see him out the dining room window.

Begging Your Pardon

My most sincere apologies to "anonymous" for my blogging delinquency. I really feel terrible about not posting more often. No, really. Actually, if I didn't know better because Bill won't likely let her go to the prom, I would have guessed he had made the latest comment on my last post! Anyway, I will try to do better, but perhaps expectations should be lowered now, since once Speck arrives I can only guess how often the updates will occur.

Speaking of that, once he does arrive, I will be switching to a different blog name to document both children, and therefore "Super Reina" will go into the archives (can't put updates about Speck on a blog called Reina, how unfair!). The new blog site will be www.theweeknights.blogspot.com and there is already a link off to the right on this page, in case you forget. But hang in there for now, nothing's happening on that blog either.

Since my last post, we've been busy around here and in the process of making momentous decisions as well. To start with, it has been cold, or "supa-cold" as Reina says. With temperatures down in the single digits, we've been having lots of tea and comfort food. We went to the local Boat and Travel Show with some friends where Reina and Bill discovered they both like expensive watercraft. If anyone has an extra couple grand laying around, you can put that on the wish list for us.

Speck continues to give us some minor trouble. Previously, his growth was not enough for my OB's liking and so we've been monitoring his size via ultrasound. As of earlier this week, he has caught up in size (something Reina still hasn't done) but is apparently not cooperating in the positioning category. He is still in the breech position, which, although there is time for him to flip, we are rapidly running out of that commodity. We'll have to wait and see what this now average-sized guy is going to do. The clock is ticking rather loudly at this point. No word on his actual name as of yet. He may be Speck or Baby Boy forever.

I have finally gotten his room ready for his arrival, and Reina's reorganized as well. I am in full swing of my nesting phase and a good thing, too. After a few discussions with Bill's Uncle Chris, we may be in the market to sell ours and buy their house. Nothing is official as of right now, however we are very excited to potentially acquire this family heirloom that Bill's mom grew up in. The timing is less than ideal, what with the birth of Speck and of course the stellar housing market and economy in general. A friend told me today that Bill certainly likes a challenge! I'll say. The plus side is it is only a few miles away from where we are now.

So, this week, I've been painting baseboards and repairing nail holes. I also taught myself how to grout and have been cleaning and organizing closets like a madwoman. Trying to take advantage of the nesting instinct and to get a large chunk out of the way before this baby makes me slow things down again. We've discovered that we have way too much junk, however we already miss the numerous pictures I've taken down in order to make the house more marketable.

Reina is trucking along and surprises me every day. Like today when she woke up she didn't call for me like usual, but instead announced "I need a tissue!" through her door. She is also making increasing attempts to escape from shopping carts, something I'm trying to put a stop to. She loves to sing and dance to her kid music. Loves to play with those baby dolls. Loves to pretend to cook. Although she'll occasionally go before her bath, she's shown no true interest in the potty, and I'm ok with that. We can tackle that one over the summer once our big family and living situations have had time to settle back down to normal.

I can trust her alone for short periods of time in a different part of the house and up and down the stairs. She's becoming more and more a kid and less baby like. She may back slide a bit once she sees the attention a baby gets around here, but I'm happy to see her so eager to want to try and do new things and make her own choices. Over the past week or so she's been giving her opinion about clothing as well, refusing to wear something if she didn't choose it. Yesterday, the shoe of choice was a pair of blue plastic dress-up Cinderella heels. She clunked around the house in those for half the day! Today, there was no way she was going to wear jeans, no matter what. She is certainly trying to be her own person! I love her independence, especially since she still likes to cuddle.

Now, I just wish she wouldn't flirt with the idea of giving up her nap so often...today looks like another napless day...

Test drive at Toys R Us. No, she doesn't need a car yet. Remember I said we had too much junk? Especially $230 junk!

This is more like it, a super fancy $300,000 "boat" at the boat show. We just wouldn't be able to fill it up with gas.

After the boat show.

Chillin

As I look out the window right now, our apparent 1st "snowmagedden" of 2009 has started. The snow is actually quite beautiful and floating slowly down in medium sized flakes, no blizzard-like conditions or stinging sleet or anything like that. It is starting to stick on the roads, so hopefully traffic won't be too bad for Bill getting home, although it isn't even deep enough to cover our grass yet (granted the last time it was mowed was in August, I think). The real problem that people are likely to rush out to the grocery for milk, bread and eggs is coming tomorrow when the high temperature will only be 12 degrees Fahrenheit. In our city, even less than dramaitc weather conditions get hyped out of proportion.

I'm a little bummed about the temp, I was looking forward to actually getting out with Reina to play in the snow, but if it is too cold, we'll have to make our fun inside. Not that I mind, I'm not fed up with winter yet. I love the indoor creature comforts that come with hibernating, like tea, my electric mattress cover, books and precious quiet. I think I'm enjoying it extra this year since I know it all will change in a few short weeks.

Meanwhile, Reina has started to sing real songs. Starting around Christmas with "Jingle Bells" and "Happy Birthday" she has moved on to songs she's only heard a few times from kid CDs as well as some old standbys. Please enjoy her dancing/singing in the videos and have a cozy day!

I'll be drinking something hot while pondering how to tackle cleaning out Speck's closet-to-be.

Sha-bye

According to Reina's American-English Dictionary, 2008/2009 Edition, the term sha-bye may have several meanings. Used most often by Reina herself to ask a question, sha-bye seems to take the place of more commonly recognized words such as: "who," "what," "where," "when," and "why." While the term sha-bye has started to catch on in certain cultural dialects, predominantly within our family, most individuals unfamiliar with Reina-speak need an explanation the first 8 to 12 times she uses it. Sha-bye can also be used interchangeably with sa-bye, with no change in the meaning or inflection. Alternate spellings may exist.

With that being said, this week's blog will be a little bit of this, that and sha-bye. We've finally exhausted all parties and travel and are settling in for a long winter's nap...or at least long winter's grocery-shopping-laundry-Christmas-decoration-removal-Speck-room-readiness-and-general-New-Years-resolutions.

Little Martha, complete with fake grin, busy at work in her new birthday kitchen from Nana and P-Ga.

Reina knows all the chords. Thanks to Uncle Matt and "Uncle" Jen for the hand-me-down Guitar Hero. Now Bill's to-do list will totally get done for sure!

A rare shot of Bill and I together at friends Jamie and Brian's beautiful, fun and exhausting wedding! Bill Cosby regrettably, was not there.

Bill, John and Brian...Jamie must have been dancing, oh to be under 30 and not gestating!

Reina and I had a spur of the moment trip to Indiana to visit with Amy and baby Leah and to meet Stephanie's baby Anna while they were visiting from Germany. Reina liked the babies ok, but likes being an only child more....well, she's got 9 weeks to savor it.