We had a nice quiet weekend here. Papa took the kids to Greenville to go to the zoo, hoping that being 45 minutes away would be enough to get this baby business started. This kids had a great time and were even in good humor as they had to stop at the only natural food store in the upstate that carries Cramp Bark (which I heard is supposed to ease postpartum pain- the only thing I'm rally worried about). They also stopped at a mattress store and finally got June a mattress for her big girl bed!
Look who is so happy to be in the bunk bed!
Henry was even more excited for June to share the bunk bed at last.
But the joy did not last. We didn't even make it out of the room before Junie decided she did not want to sleep in the big bed. So she moved back to the crib and Henry was heartbroken. What he really wants is for June to sleep in the top bunk with him, but that's not happening anytime soon. Brandon was upset that she didn't want to sleep in the bunk, but I'm happy to keep her in the crib as long as possible. Our next plan of attack is to get a bed rail for the bottom bunk. That, along with the ladder coming down from Henry's bed, might make the bed more hospitable for June and much harder to get out of.
Henry spent Sunday morning earning quarters by doing chores around the house. A few weeks ago he decided he HAD to have a Joey Votto shirt (he's the first baseman for the Reds). He asked me how much one cost and I threw out the figure $15. He immediately pulled out his piggy bank and started counting. Surprisingly, he had over $11 in spare change! So he decided he was going to earn some money to get his shirt. It's been a great experience for him (and me) because I had to come up with chores for Henry to do (usually vacuuming and sweeping- our house has never been so clean) and we got to practice counting coins. Henry is getting very good at counting by 5s, 10s, and 25s now.
Here's what $15 looks like. We were all so pleased that Henry met his goal that we all had a sucker.
And here's the proudest boy in the world. We found his Joey shirt online, but could only find a youth size small for under $25. Well, at least he'll be able to wear it for a few years.
Coolest shirt ever. Now Henry has a Joey shirt, Brandon has a Jay Bruce shirt, June has a Sean Casey jersey (he's retired, but we still love him) and the baby has a few Ken Griffey, Jr. outfits. I'm the only one that remains unaffiliated.
Do you think Joey wears Winnie the Pooh glasses?
This afternoon, naps were cut short because we went down to the hospital in Anderson for a "new sibling" class. Biggest waste of time EVER. I'm sure there are some great classes out there, but this one was awful. First off, there were 4 kids. Us and two 3 year old boys. the nurse leading the class spent the first 20 minutes asking each kid their name and how to spell it. Christian, Everett and June had no clue. That didn't stop this woman. She just kept asking OVER and OVER. Then we listened to the same "Mama loves her baby and she loves me too" song four times in a row. We took a tour of the hospital. Instead of taking the time to point out that this is where mommy is going to have the baby and it's going to take a long time and mommy and the baby will both be tired afterwards, she instead asked "Can anyone find the phone? the TV? the toilet?" At least we got to look through the nursery window on the way out. At no point did anyone mention anything about how you need to be gentle with the baby, or that mommy will need time to recover, or that having a baby can be long, loud, and mama will be in pain, but that's why the doctors are there to help her. Before we left, we got to watch a video someone made walking through the hospital, showing the rooms and taking special care to zoom in on the toilet and toilet paper dispenser. Excruciating. Then we sang the "Mama loves baby" song AGAIN. Grrr. We stopped at Dairy Queen to ease some of the frustration.
June had her first conversation this weekend! When she got home from the zoo, I asked her what she saw. And she told me all the different animals she saw. "I saw tiger. I saw giraffe. I saw crocodile. I saw elephant. I saw BIG BEAR!" It's crazy how much she's talking now.
No news on the baby front. On Friday morning, I woke up at 5am with contractions. But they stopped by 10 am and haven't returned regularly. We're not superstitious people, but June was born the day after I finished the quilt I was making her. Just in case this baby is waiting for its quilt, I finished it up today. Here's the front.
And here's the back. It might have been finished earlier, but I didn't like the quilting and ripped it all out and resewed it today.
I'm very pleased how it turned out. For good measure, I'm putting the final touches on the quilt for our new Turner cousin that will be born at the end of the month. Maybe I can get it done tonight and officially be finished with all the 800 projects I've started in the past 2 months.
It's your move, baby Gus.
