Sleepless Nights

Well, it's only 8:54 p.m. and I'm exhausted. My day started at 4:45 a.m. when my insomnia kicked in. I know I need to be sleeping now since I will probably be having many restless nights once Baby D. is here, but it's really hard to sleep when you are uncomfortable and have a 10 pound baby kicking around in your stomach! :-) Just kidding. That's not my vote. I'm guessing 8 pounds 6 ounces. My nesting is in full swing as I felt a strong urge to come home and shampoo the living room carpet. That's not something I would normally do after a long day at work, but the urge hit me.
Did anyone notice the comment from my friend in Taiwan who is now polling people around the world regarding the Ella/Emma quandry? Isn't that funny. Jen says that Ella comes out "Erra" when a Taiwanese person says it, so they vote for Emma. I just think it's so funny that we have come this far and still have no name, and now it's a serious enough issue that it has gone global! Keep up the good work, Jen Ren!
Well, since it's my last night with just Gracie I am going to go read her as many bedtime stories as she wants. Tomorrow she is leaving to stay with Brent's family in Hannibal at a hotel so they will be well rested for Friday's events. I predict that Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White and Good Night Princess Pruny Toes will be among the stories she wants to read. A princess theme, right? Ella...Cinderella. I'm feeling it! Now if Brent would just feel it!

Many Thanks

It has been fun polling the public for baby names and baby weights. Only time will tell what happens in each case. My funny story for the day is that a customer told me it looked like I was well cooked because she could see that my belly button is kind of protruding. It isn't totally out, but it is out there enough that my shirt doesn't hide it too well. She said it looks like the plug you put in a turkey before you stick it in the oven. When it pops out, you're done. Well folks...I feel done. Tomorrow is my last day at work, and I can't wait. I am exhausted from being on my feet today. Brent's school is closed until next Monday because of the flu. They had over 50 kids gone today so that puts them in the percentile of absences that forces them to close. He will get to put in a couple extra days on the basement before Friday's big delivery. We are all excited, including Gracie. Feel free to keep commenting on names and such. It has been helpful.

Ella vs Emma

Well, since you guys are doing such a good job voting on things, I thought I'd let you voice your opinion on baby names. Brent and I are both in favor of Ella but just today I told Brent that Emma was one of my favorite names. I went on to say that I would never use it since my name basically starts the same way (Emma-ly). It was like a light bulb went off in his head. He loved the name Emma and thought we should use it. Personally, I've grown fond of Ella, but like I said, Emma is a favorite of mine. Any opinions on either name or on Emma and Emily being so similar? Oh, and who in the world is Moses???

Baby's Weight

Last week I told Brent's mom that I think this baby I'm carrying will be her biggest grandchild at birth. She didn't think so, but I feel so gigantic. This will be the Doolin's 8th grandbaby. I was telling my mom that "Fuzzy" was going to be a beast of a baby, and she suggested I take a poll on the blog to see what people predict she will weigh. Dr. Bennett hasn't given me his prediction yet, but I plan on pinning him down tomorrow. So, if you want to play along, go to the comment section and post what you predict "Fuzzy's" weight will be. Be sure to type your name you anonymous posters!

Our Little Secret

Last night I had to pick up Gracie at one of Brent's basketball games he had to supervise after I got off work. We were on our way back to Macon, and it was nearing 7 p.m. I asked Gracie if she wanted to go through a drive-thru and get some supper to take home. She thought about it a few seconds and said, "Hey, I have an idea. Let's go get some supper inside a store. Let's go out to eat." I asked her if we could just take it home and she said, "No, let's go out to eat. We won't tell daddy. It will be our secret."
I haven't mentioned this yet on the blog, but Gracie is now calling the baby by another name. She would still like Fuzzy, but 2 times now she has called it by one of the names we are contemplating. I think we are making big progress. She may be helping us to narrow down our choices. We have exactly 1 week to settle on something.

Ear Infection #2 This Season

Gracie hasn't been feeling well the last 2 days, so rather than prolong the agony, I took her to the doctor today. She was not excited to be going, and was even less thrilled that it was a male doctor. She asked me as we were leaving the house if she was going to Dr. Bennett (my OBGYN). I told her no, and she was relieved. I don't think she enjoys my examinations! :-) However, when I told her she was going to a man doctor this time she cried the whole way there. It ended up being fine, but she did have another ear infection. I think her picture must be in the encyclopedia under the description of ear infections. We usually have 3-4 every winter. The best part of the experience was when she took her antibiotics and realized she got the "yummy kind." They make Amoxicillin taste so good that I think she would drink the whole bottle in one dose if I let her.

Bathroom Humor

Last week I took Gracie with me to get my hair cut. She usually stays in the waiting area where there are some toys. This particular day, she was there alone. There were 4 hairstylists who were all busy cutting clients hair. About 10 minutes before I was done, Gracie approached my chair and said, "I have to go poopy." The stylist told her, "It will just be a few more minutes." I added, "I think you can hold it a few minutes." Well, she walked away and the hairstylist fired up the hairdryer and began to dry my hair. After several minutes, the stylist shut off the dryer and we heard Gracie in the waiting area talking to herself loud and clear singing, "I really don't want to poopy in my pants. They think I can hold it but I don't know if I can hold it. I really hope I don't have to poopy in my pants." I jumped up and said, "I think I'd better take her now." Everyone died laughing. When we got in the bathroom Gracie said, "I didn't know you could hear me." Well, I think everyone heard her!

Role Reversal

It's a good thing our family had a little road trip last weekend since Brent has been gone every night this week for ball games or board meetings. One night we met at Taco Bell before he had to go to his meeting so that we could swap Gracie and eat supper. They had to wait for me because I got off work a little late. Brent said someone tried to take their order before I got there and he said, "I'm waiting on my wife." Gracie looked up at him, snickered, and said, "Your wife?" He said, "Yes. Mommy is my wife." To which Gracie replied, "That's silly, Daddy." Brent said, "No, Daddy and Mommy got married. Mommy is my wife and I am her husband." A light bulb must have gone off in her little head, because Gracie said, "Mommy had a beautiful gown." He thought she understood the whole thing, but after he left Gracie looked at me and said, "Daddy said you were his wife." This was followed by her laughter. I think she still thought it was silly. This was the same night that Gracie and I had a role reversal of sorts. After Brent had left she said, "So, did you have fun at work?" It was a total reversal of roles because I always ask her, "Did you have fun at school?" She's always listening!

Scolding the Dog

Yesterday Gracie and I were home together, and she saw the newspaper lying in our driveway from her bedroom window. She volunteered to go pick it up, and when she went out, Molly the dog went with her. Molly is supposed to protect Gracie, but she ran across the street instead. I'm watching the whole thing from our front door, so I stepped out and called for Molly who is now running wildly around the neighbor's yard. I finally walked over and made her come home because she's not one of these good dogs who mind their owners. We all came back in the house and I went upstairs to do some dishes when I heard Gracie scolding Molly. It went something like this. "Molly, that was a bad girl. You were a bad girl. You don't run in other yards. If you do that again, we will take away your new collar and put an old collar on you. That was bad. Do you hear me?" I shortened the scolding for the sake of those of you that have better things to do, but it went on for literally 2-3 minutes.
Well, last night Gracie asked Brent if he knew what Molly did while he was at work. She then proceeded to tell him about her running into the neighbor's yards, and she ended the story with, "So I had to have a talk with Molly." At 3 years old Gracie gives an excellent lecture, so poor "Fuzzy" may have to put up with a lot in the years to come.

Deal or No Deal

I know I'm probably the biggest dork in the world, but I think it would be really fun to be a contestant on either Wheel of Fortune or Deal or No Deal. I like to watch both shows whenever I get the chance. I know I've also mentioned before that Gracie is pretty capable of running the computer by herself, and she knows how to click on Deal or No Deal on the computer and play it. She has no concept of what she's doing, but she likes to click no deal and keep picking cases. She never clicks on deal. Anyway, last night I was reading her bedtime stories and Deal or No Deal was playing in the background on the TV. I was paying attention to the story when I heard her say, "What did she say, Mommy? Deal or no deal?" I looked up and realized Gracie was watching the show instead of paying attention to the book. The lady on the show had an offer of $300,000 from the banker, and said "no deal." Crazy lady. She plays the game just like Gracie. Just keep on rolling the dice even if you may walk out with $10.00!

Feeling Shy at 3 years old

We were on a weekend trip last weekend, and made it through Kahoka to visit some friends and attend a wedding, then on to Keokuk for a brief stop at the reception, then on to Carthage, IL to stay with some friends for the night. Sunday we were able to go to our old church in Keokuk, which was great. After lunch we had to drive over to Unionville to attend the visitation for a dad of one of Brent's high school friends. Anyway, Sunday night before we left U-ville we ran up to the hospital to tell Brent's mom goodbye since she was working. One of the nurses on duty was an old classmate of Brent's and she came up and was trying to chat with Gracie to no avail. She finally gave up and just talked to Brent. We finally said our goodbyes and were walking away when Gracie said, "She was very nice, but I didn't want to talk to her." What is it about kids??? One moment Gracie will talk up a storm to a perfect stranger in grocery store line, but when we want her to talk, she clams up and acts shy. She tells me that she is shy, but I don't see it most days. Any suggestions from our readers??? Should you apologize when your child doesn't speak to someone, or just ignore it? I almost always apologize or try to explain why she isn't feeling like talking at that particular moment. I need to get all of this figured out before baby #2 arrives in 17 days!

Coining New Phrases

Gracie is at a stage where she kind of makes up phrases and sometimes even words. We need a dictionary that is strictly meant to help us understand her. I asked her if she would do a favor for me, and she said yes. Then she turned right around and said, "Mommy I will do a favor for you if you will do a favor for me." I agreed. Her favor was that I needed to watch her pretend hammer while she did my task. The next day she said, "Mommy, I have a favor for you and you will have a favor for me. I need you to watch for the garbage man and I will have a favor for you." I said, "Umm...ok." Luckily that got me by, but I didn't really understand what she meant.
Now today she was helping me make some invitations for her birthday party. She was putting Princess stickers on them and she kept handing them to me saying, "Here's an offer for you, sir." I just said, "Thank you, my dear." She would proceed to put more stickers on and say, "Here's another offer for you, sir." Right now I think it's funny, but when I'm sleep deprived from having a new baby in the house and she throws that stuff at me, I may go loony!

Only 24 Days to Go

Today I told Gracie, "We only have 24 more days until your little sister is here." She continues to seem excited, so I really hope that lasts. Last week Gracie told my dad that the baby wouldn't say, "Ga, ga, goo, goo" because she was going to teach the baby to talk. I hope she doesn't get discouraged when the baby isn't talking to her in the first few months!
We enjoyed the beautiful weather today and played outside quite a bit. The rain put an end to our fun, but we sure had a good time while it lasted. Gracie walked around our yard and managed to find some "flowers" a.k.a dandelions that she shared with me. They continue to be her favorite flower. Gracie told me she is ready for spring. She's growing up to be just like her mommy. I'm not a fan of winter!
Oh, and for those of you who read the last post, here's an update on the sleeping situation and the reward chart. We have an empty reward chart so far this week...no sleeping through the night. It was worth a try, right?!

The Reward System

Gracie is currently participating in a new reward chart system. My parents gave her a felt chart a few weeks before Christmas, and she gets to put a velcro felt star on her chart when she does a certain task. It's great because it reinforces the days of the week which she already learned at school, and it's a fun way for her to earn rewards. The only problem is that she is catching on that she can earn stars deliberately. Saying "please" and "thank you" is one of the items she can get a star for, and I've noticed her saying please and then looking at me like, "That should earn a star." We're trying to teach her that it's not a one time accomplishment. She needs to spend the whole day being polite. She can be in the midst of the biggest temper tantrum and if I mention that her behavior won't earn a star she will dry it up and turn into an angel. Ah, power! I'm sure it will wear off in time, so we are trying not to overuse it. Anyway, most of you know the struggle we have with Gracie not sleeping through the night...ever. Well, the last two nights she has slept in her bed all night and has earned two big stars for it. If this works, Grandpa and Nana deserve a trip to the Bahamas for buying us this chart. Oh, but don't count on it Grandpa and Nana. If my Publisher's Clearinghouse entry makes me a winner, we'll talk.

Fuzzy is not a joking matter!

When I went to pick up Gracie from her Sunday School class this week, her teacher pulled me aside and told me about an incident that occurred that week during class. She said that she told the class Gracie would be having a little sister soon. They started asking her questions and they asked what we were going to name the baby. Gracie proudly said, "Fuzzy." The teacher said all of the kids started laughing and Gracie started crying a little bit. Then the teacher realized Gracie was serious and said, "Hey. She can name her baby anything she wants to. Now come give her some hugs." Gracie seemed pleased with the hugs because she told me about that part later. As I said previously, we're still working on getting her used to a different name, but it looks like it may be challenging!