Scarlet's Birthday Surprise

On Saturday, when we were passing out cupcakes in honor of Scarlet's birthday and she was opening up toys, books, and clothes from her family, we also had a bit of a reveal. We took off her hoodie sweatshirt and let her walk around in this little gem:

I love her unhappy face. She was upset to be taking a picture, but it looks like she's upset to lose her only child status. So funny to me!

After a year of wondering and waiting, we're happy to announce that we're finally having a second child! Baby number two (gender to be determined this Friday) should be here around July fourth, and Josh and I are so thrilled to add more tiny people into our tiny apartment. Life is so good right now!

Scarlet is Two!

Oh my gosh, I still can't even believe it. I've been calling her a two-year-old for months now and claiming that she has been acting like a two-year-old since she was 18 months, but now it's finally true! Scarlet turned two years old yesterday. *Fanfare trumpets*

We had a whole day of activities planned on Saturday, all of which were designed to let Scarlet have fun even though she had no idea why we were doing anything out of the ordinary and she probably didn't care at all. It was so much fun for Josh and me that we went ahead and did it all anyway. We started the morning off with our first ever visit to the aquarium. Scarlet was fascinated with the dull-colored fish at eye-level and less intrigued by the sharks, starfish, anaconda, penguins, and virtually any other, cooler creatures there. We caught one of those 3-D movies up on the second floor, not really paying attention to which movie was available, only that we were five minutes early for it, so we got in line. All of the pictures of the movies that I could see were computer-animated cartoons, so I knew it'd be kid-friendly.

It was not.

Apparently we caught a terrifying 20-minute film called Sea Monsters and it was horrifying. Scarlet insisted on being held by her dad after the first monster rose from the depths to reach out at those of us wearing our 3-D glasses. Random sprays of water or air burst out of the seats and the sides of the theater, terrifying me at random, unexpected moments and causing Josh to laugh at my growing irritation. Finally, after the little extinct sea creature's mother had been murdered and her older brother had also been murdered, we got to watch her sink slowly to the ocean floor as she died of old age. And then the film ended.

The three of us got up uncertainly after that shocking, sad, kid-unfriendly film and went to look at more fish, but the experience was sort of ruined after that, so we ended up leaving soon after. It was lucky we did, too, because the parking lot was jam-packed when we left and we had been lucky enough to get there close to opening so it wasn't very busy for most of our visit, but the crowds were pouring in as we left.

Scarlet fell asleep on the drive back home, so we put her down for her nap and I ran out to the bakery to get cupcakes for her non-party. When she woke up we had pizza for lunch and then took her to the dollar store so she could pick out a few cheap gifts for herself. We let her wander the toy aisle and she ended up only being interested in the empty gumball machines because they were very colorful even though she had no idea what they were. So I picked up a Magnadoodle knock-off, a doctor play kit, and a picture book for her myself. Back at home we wrapped them all up in the same birthday wrapping paper and then took Scarlet to her grandmother's house for dinner and cupcakes.

We had a meal of pasta and salad (Scarlet only ate the bread, which surprised no one) and then we sang to her and she got to blow out her candle (after virtually weeks of candle-blowing practice) and open up a couple of presents. It was a great birthday. I think my favorite part was how she seemed to sense that Josh and I were paying her particular attention (even more so than every other day) so she turned on the charm and just glowed under all the attention. She was so pleasant and wonderful all the time that I just loved spending the whole weekend devoting myself to whatever she wanted. Today she has her two-year checkup and we'll just have to see what her doctor has to say about her growth and progress.

Catch Up

Oh my gosh, so much has happened since I last blogged. Lots to gloss over since no one cares about long posts. Let's get going...

These past six weeks I have been inundated with school assignments and I've been loving every minute. I NEVER expected to enjoy this program, but I'm having a lot of fun with it. It's so intrinsic in my assessment work currently that I don't even have to study as hard or as long as maybe others might to get through a class. I'm steadily working my way through the course of study and enjoying the things I learn in a way I never expected. The MBA was SO BORING to me that I figured I wouldn't like this program either, but I got really lucky. Apparently I love instructional design! I think I love the layout and organization of the WGU course of study too, which really helps. It's just been a lot of fun and I'm really pleased that I am in this program.

Scarlet has been pushing our buttons for the past six months or so. She keeps pushing boundaries and pretending that all attempts to discipline her are just a hilarious joke. I recently took a personality quiz that said I'd struggle to discipline my children and I had to laugh. No kidding. I see the value in discipline but I have a hard time doing it myself. It just makes my heart hurt. I seriously never thought I'd be a softie but poor Josh has had to pick up my slack for months now. (Incidentally I just paused to put Scarlet in time out for yanking out my laptop cord when I warned her not to. See, I'm not a total slacker!) She is practicing sounding out the words we speak to her and she can go for weeks not saying a certain word we've been working on and then just out of the blue say it. The other day she just blurted out "Purple" for no particular reason. She was immediately showered with such praise, love, and affection that she felt no obligation to speak any new words for a few days. We're working on numbers, colors, and random simple nouns. She occasionally will make animal sounds (lions, cats, and dogs) and can now identify her nose, ears, and belly button. She may be quite a bit behind other almost-two-year-olds in speech development, but she is making wonderful progress in our eyes and we are thrilled with her.

Scarlet and I spent three weeks visiting my sister in Pittsburgh and we've been back home for just over a week now. It was a surreal experience. I loved being with my sister. I loved talking with her and watching Scarlet develop and progress so much faster with her four-year-old cousin around her, and I loved being able to provide tiny acts of service for my sister like babysitting on Friday nights so she and my brother-in-law could go on dates, and cleaning the kitchen. I didn't love working remotely (I just wanted to play with my sister and my niece!), and I HATED being a single mom (Scarlet often had hard nights so I got very little sleep), and of course I missed my husband fiercely. Josh passed the time by working 12- to 14-hour days and collapsing into bed afterward. He worked himself silly to avoid the empty apartment, but on some days he made the time to hang out with some work friends after hours since there was no one to come home to. Josh NEVER goes to movies or bowling or whatever--least of all with people who are not me and Scarlet--but he saw three movies in our absence and went bowling with his work friends. I was relieved that he wasn't spending all his time working or sleeping, but it was still hard to be without him for so long.

My sister and I took turns working on our schoolwork and babysitting the kids while I was in Pittsburgh, so the days were really busy after work. I remember feeling tired just all the time, but overall it was a wonderful trip. I'm attending an editor conference for work in March and it takes place in Pittsburgh (the coincidence made me laugh) so I'll get to see my sister again for a few quick hours next month. After that, I can't even fathom when I'll next see her. It is so hard for her to live so far removed from everyone else.

When we flew home and Josh picked up Scarlet for the first time, that little stinker wouldn't look at her father for a couple of hours. She allowed him to hold her, but she turned her head to avoid his gaze and when he caught her gaze, she closed her eyes to avoid him. It was a little sad, I guess, but it made me laugh so hard because it was just so funny to me. Scarlet did the same thing to me and Josh after we returned from Wales last summer, and just like that last trip, she got over it in a couple of hours and loved playing with her daddy.

Scarlet's birthday is on Sunday so we're taking her to the aquarium on Saturday to celebrate. We'll bring cupcakes up to her grandparents' house and sing happy birthday to her that night as well, so she'll know she's loved. I can't believe I'll have a two-year-old. This year has really just started off with a bang and I'm excited to see what the next six weeks bring.

Also, please enjoy this brief video depicting one of the many things Scarlet learned from her twice-as-old cousin: