The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Technically, G2 isn't scheduled to arrive until March 28, which is nine days from now. That said, LG was 10 days early, and Hollie started feeling some contractions more than a week ago. Given those facts, and the natural urge to want to meet our son, we're getting a bit antsy at Casa Griffatolo.

I mean, there are only so many ways to explain to a 2-and-a-half-year-old kid that her little brother is coming soon before she loses any sense of what those words mean. She can see that her mother's belly is bigger, and she knows (because we've told her) that her brother is in there. But it's all sort of abstract, to say the least. Heck, it's sort of abstract to me, and I have some idea of what's happening.

That said, she does have some notion of what's coming, and it's shown through in odd ways. For instance, when we brought baby stuff (e.g., Rock n' Play, baby swing, car seat) out of the attic, she wanted to put her baby doll in all of these things. But it didn't end there.

We may need to establish some ground rules concerning acceptable baby receptacles.

And the last time she got into her Play-Doh, she wanted to use her Mr. Potato Head parts to make baby brothers.

Which is exactly as creepy as it sounds.

What can you expect, though? The feeling of "what's next?" has permeated the air at our house.

Addressing the to-do list I posted last time, we've done practically everything except get the oven fixed (still my fault). We've cleaned, cooked, celebrated my birthday (early), and we're almost totally sickness free (the occasional cough notwithstanding). We've even jumped ahead a few weeks and made some Easter finery.

Division of labor in our house: Hollie made the hat, I made the bow tie.

Now that I think about it, the fact that I made his Easter outfit probably dooms us to a late delivery after the holiday.

Get a move on, G2. I spent like half an hour on that thing.

What to Expect in the Last Month of Expecting (and After)

G2's due date is March 28. With less than a month to go until his arrival, I've started mentally dividing my future plans into two categories: "before 2 kids" and "after 2 kids." There are things that I NEED to get done before G2 gets here and things that will undeniably occur afterward. (Of course, I say undeniably because we expect him to hold to his due date or earlier. He could surprise us and show up late, but for Hollie's sake, I hope not.) There are also significant (to me anyway) dates on the calendar that are going to happen when they happen, because that's how time works.

So without further ado, my life divided into two lists.

B2K

• Raise the crib to its highest level.
• Get a pile of things out of the attic and wash them (Rock n' Play, baby swing, infant clothes, etc.)
• It would be nice to stock the freezer with more food we can easily thaw, reheat and eat. I was much better about this the first time around.
• Speaking of the previous item, I need to get the oven fixed. It's been broken since November. I hate dealing with repairmen.
• Expunge sickness from my house. We're just now getting to the end of another round of everyone being sick. This needs to end, NOW. I do not want to deal with this crap with a newborn in the house. All viruses and bacteria, you have been warned. I will terminate with extreme prejudice, and copious DayQuil and antibiotics.
• Part of the above item: Aggressively clean the entire house.
• Cram in as much Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword as is reasonable, cuz I won't have time for video games that can't be played on an iPhone once the kid gets here. (Yes, I realize this game is more than two years old. I have a toddler. Don't judge me.
• Celebrate 33rd birthday. Celebrate is a strong word. I don't think I'll have time for celebration, even if G2 waits until after March 20 to arrive. Dutifully acknowledge my 33rd birthday?
• Finish LG's potty training. It would be nice to have only one set of diapers to change.

A2K

• Finish LG's potty training. Yeah, I hold no illusions that potty training will survive the impact of a baby brother entering LG's life.
• Re-arrange the kids' room. We need to make room for the crib AND toddler bed by replacing the futon with a comfortable chair (that hopefully turns into a bed).
• Doctor Who returns March 30!
• Celebrate Easter, though in what capacity, I have no idea. At the very least, LG will hunt for eggs in the backyard, provided it's not too cold or rainy.
• Movies I want to see, but will probably not see (at least not in theaters): Iron Man 3, Star Trek into Darkness, Man of Steel.

If it seems that the A2K list is a little pop culture heavy, it's only because of the season. It's summer blockbuster season in the age of the geek! I'm always going to miss something, but I can't think of a better reason to do so than integrating G2 into our lives.

Year 2 in Review: The Pictures

The 2nd Annual Solving for G Year in Review focuses less on how different LG looks, and more on the ways in which she has developed. At 12 months, she could stand, take a few steps unassisted, pass a baby doll several dozen yards, and say a small pile of words (most of which were animal noises). Now, she runs practically everywhere she goes, has a vertical leap of an inch or two, and her vocabulary has increased beyond my ability to count accurately (several hundred words at least, a few of which are still animal noises, and some of which are Muppets).

Without further ado, here's the 2nd Year in Review, with commentary as necessary. As with last year, each of these photos was taken on or near the 12th of each month.

September 12, 2011

Here's where we left off last year, the morning of her 1st birthday in Ocean City. As happy as my daughter is most of the time, this pensive look is pretty typical, even a year later. You can always see the wheels turning, like she is going to figure out whatever is in front of her.

October 14, 2011

Favorite pastime at 13 months: piling rocks on things. Sometimes benches, sometimes the rear bumper of the car. One day I pulled into the driveway after running a bunch of errands and when I went to open the rear hatch of the Cruiser, I realized there were three rocks on the bumper. This is either a testament to the stickiness of the rocks in my driveway, or the smoothness and stability of my driving.

November 14, 2011

At 14 months, she didn't like couscous. She still doesn't, although I've never been able to figure out why. It's so good! However, she had discovered how to look at me with eyes that said, "Seriously Dad. Not gonna eat this couscous."

December 16, 2011

It feels like she's been holding markers, brushes and pencils her entire life, but maybe it's just me. She will grab any writing implement and scribble on any available surface. You may remember how that turned out with paint around this time in December.

January 12, 2012

It's also kind of amazing how many places she's found to hide in our small house. Behind the rocking chair in the living room was one of the first.

February 12, 2012

On her second trip to the Philadelphia Zoo, LG got up close and personal with a baby orangutan. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was awesome, and she still talks about the orangutan. Side note: How awesome is that she knows how to say "orangutan"? She also know what an aye-aye is. Just sayin'.

March 11, 2012

We bought this sand and water table before LG was born. Cuz we're those people, and it was on sale. I don't remember if this was the first day we had it out, but she liked it from Day 1.

April 8, 2012

On Easter this year, we could've hid just three eggs over and over again. She was primarily interested in breaking the plastic eggs open before dumping them in the basket.

May 14, 2012

By 20 months, we definitely had her helping in the kitchen, although I can't remember what the heck she's eating here. Sweet potato? Squash? Tomato sauce? She's pleased with herself, whatever it is.

June 13, 2012

In Hollie's ever-expanding attempt to make the most absurd kind of mess possible, she bought a can of Barbasol and some food coloring gel and let LG go to town. And there you go.

July 7, 2012

This was our first visit to the Please Touch Museum. It can be fun, but man it crowds up fast. This was in the blessed first 15 minutes of relative quiet.

August 13, 2012

Another favorite game of the last year: running around the front yard like a crazy person, making the neighbors look at us funny. Specifically, she says she is "a lion in the jungle," and "daddy is a dinosaur." Let it never be said she doesn't have a healthy sense of imagination.

And because the more things change, the more they stay the same, here's a shot of her on the beach this year, compared with the trip last year.

September 11, 2011 - September 12, 2012

It's been a year, but she still really wants that umbrella.

But for the honest-to-god, real-deal, Year-1-to-Year-2 comparison, here are shots from her birthday, 2011 and 2012.

September 12, 2011 - September 12, 2012

Oh man. Where did the baby fat go?

Resplendent in Her Easter Finery, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bonnet

If you recall, LG had roughly 4 bajillion different outfits for Christmas. It was her first major holiday, and we may have gone a bit overboard. Maybe.

Easter, it turns out, didn't have quite as much variety. (Not for lack of trying. We went to the Limerick outlets and looked at what felt like 4 bajillion Easter dresses.) But what we lacked in quantity, we made up for in quality, at least as far as pictures were concerned.

So without further ado, and precious little additional commentary, I present Little G's Easter photo shoot.

Much appreciation to my mom for just happening to have a selection of straw hats and ribbon that was an eerily perfect match for LG's dress. (Seriously though, who keeps eight straw hats on hand for emergencies? My mom. That's who.)

The conversation went something like this:
Hollie: We're happy with the dress we bought her, but I really wish we had time to buy an Easter bonnet. It would really complete the outfit.
My Mom: Would one of these do? (Nearly a dozen hats of varying size appear out of the ether and land on the table in front of Hollie.)
Hollie: Umm... yes. This could work.

We didn't have any particular plan for taking posed pictures this weekend, but when we decided to use the freshly mowed lawn behind my parents house, we realized the perfect accessory was this little lamb that Hollie's parents had given LG the day before. Just awesome.

So there you have it. Cutest Easter ever? I might be a little biased, but yeah, I think so.