(Speaking about his baby sister) Labels: quips
"She hasn't been cleaned in weeks and she still smells good!"
They say there is no perfect time to have a baby. That if you wait for the perfect time, you'll wait forever. I always said I wanted three children, but after Alex was born, life was complicated and the time was just never right. And as time went on, and Ella and Alex got older, it seemed like the time to add a third child to our family had slipped past. Here they are older, and in school, and we are far enough removed from diapers and strollers and sleepless nights. Being busy running kids to ballet and swim lessons and Tae Kwon Do, I thought less and less about lullabies and layettes. The drama of elementary school out-shadowed the peacefulness of the nursery.
It was November 30th - a Monday. We found out that this new little person was going to join our family. It took some time for me to wrap my head around it. The thought of being a family of five was just... weird! Five of us?! I had done this all before, and I knew we would love this child just as much as we love Gabriella and Alexander, and yet it was hard for me to imagine at that moment.
My third pregnancy was my toughest. I was nauseous nearly constantly, and well into the second trimester. I was working full time, so when I got home I had just enough energy to lay down on the couch and fall asleep.
I worried about the age difference there was going to be between my kids. Ella would be nine years old when this baby is born. Alex would be seven. Could our new addition ever have a close relationship with them? Certainly not the same sort of relationship they have with each other.
Our baby was born, and it was only at that moment that we learned it was a little girl who would round out our perfect family. We named her Annika Cosima. Annika, a beautiful name that means gracious, and sweet faced. Cosima is after her great great grandmother. A little girl! Perfect!
Annika changed all of our lives, of course. I quit my job to go back to being a stay at home mom. My "older kids" as they are now called, had to adapt to sharing me with another child, and one that demands quite a lot of attention at that. We had to go back to diapers and strollers and sleepless nights.
Annika is now nine months old. She is dealing with her first cold, and learning to stand on her own. She babbles and waves, and lights up at the sight of her big sister and big brother. We love her just as much as Ella and Alex, as I knew we would. She was absolutely meant to be here. She will do important things, and make the world a better place. We were always meant to be a family of five (which still sounds a little weird to me).
So as it turns out, that was the perfect time to have a baby. We didn't know it, but we didn't need to. Sometimes fate takes over. And thank goodness for that! Because it is easy to get all wrapped up in those ballet recitals.
Handing baby Annika back to her daddy - "Here's your broken baby back!" Labels: quips
I used to be quite the blog reader. (And blog writer, for that matter!) I have fallen away from reading blogs these past years as my kids have gotten older and our lives have become much busier. But my friend Amy runs a blog that I never miss! She posts the greatest deals from all over the internet, including freebies! I just love to check her site every day and see what sort of find she has for me!
Today she has a fabulous giveaway going! Head over to Dealusional and enter to win a Yoplait Light Outsmarting Temptations Gift Pack! And tell her Mommy Matters sent you!!
Seeing as I haven't written anything worth anything on my blog in quite some time, I thought I would post an update. My husband's business venture is surviving, if not thriving, which is good. I'm still waiting for the day he comes home and says we're millionaires and I can start traveling the world. (Any day now I'm sure.) My little Pixie-Chick is now eight years old, and can be a walking talking attitude at times. Good thing she's so cute. Little Man is six, and is currently sharing with anyone who will listen that he's getting his six year molars. (Apparently very newsworthy in his eyes.) I am no longer a stay-at-home-mom, as I am now working full time. With kids. Blessed or cursed - depends on the day. :) The kids aren't spouting worthy quips so much any more. I guess as they get older the things they say aren't quite as cute as they use to be. I am no longer taking meds for depression, as I have found exercise has somewhat of the same affect. I still have a bad day now and then. (Today was one of those days. Which is probably why I find myself here.)
You’re feeling: blocked
To your left: a lamp
On your mind: nothing - and everything
Last meal included: green beans and carrots
You sometimes find it hard to: write
The weather: weird!
Something you have a collections of: books
A smell that cheers you up: mowed grass
A smell that can ruin your mood: poop
How long since you last shaved: 3 days
The current state of your hair: in transition
The largest item on your desk right now (besides computer): desk? What desk?
Your skill with chopsticks: so-so
Which section you head to first in the bookstore: staff recomendations
And after that?: new fiction
Something you are craving: food
How many times have you been hospitalized this year: zero (knock on wood)
A favorite place to go for quiet time: right here
You’ve always secretly thought you’d be a good: musician
Something that freaks you out a little: bugs
Something you’ve eaten too much of lately: fried foods
You have never: smoked
You never want to: be without my family