This Week in Mommyhood

As if having a toddler wasn't a reminder of the importance of living in the presence, this week Alex's great uncle passed away. He woke up one morning, seemingly fine, and then had a massive heart attack. It was a shock to everyone and completely unexpected. Losing someone always hurts but this loss has left all of us feeling like we need to work harder at truly appreciating the blessing that is each day because we never know which day will be our last. So I've been trying to be more patient and reflective the past few days. I've been trying to savor and enjoy the moment and spend less time being mad or upset. It's so easy to get worked up or bothered, especially when you have a child and are trying to learn to be a disciplinarian yourself. The frustrations aren't worth it and the focus should be on all the positives, joys, smiles, kisses, and rewards of parenthood. 

Here are some fun Cati developments from the past couple of weeks:

Love You. The sweetest words I could hear are "love you mama." They are even sweeter when unprompted.

Messes and Clean Up. Cati is into everything and she loves making messes. From playing cards to candies to anything that was packaged compactly, Cati loves to undo things and spread them all over the house. My saving grace is that she is good at cleaning up and will sing "clean up clean up" as she cleans. I'm not the neatest person but having a toddler has brought new meaning to messy.

Teeth Galore. Cati has gone on a teething spree. She's gotten six teeth in the last two months and her mouth is full of lots of cute teeth. I can't believe I'll never see her gummy smile again.

Chatterbox. The words coming out of Cati's mouth are amazing. She literally repeats everything and I can have full conversations with her. She's learning everyone's names but the real treat is hearing her sing "happy birthday" which comes out more like "appy day to you." This gets me excited for her birthday!

Here are some Baby D updates:

Still don't know the sex and that's ok because at the very least we have agreed on names. I was really struggling with a girl name until I remembered another name I loved. I'm not revealing the name but I will tell you it isn't a common name.

Other than that, I feel huge and uncomfortable. My body aches and I am constantly wondering how I will make it to the end. I'm measuring right on time so my belly is normal but I just feel huge and tight. I can't sleep at night and I have a slight waddle going on. I'm hoping a new work out routine of cardio and pilates will help alleviate some of this discomfort.

Here's to another few weeks of surviving and relishing the experience of being a pregnant mother to a wonderful little girl.