You are the Sunshine in My Life!

Isla has been adjusting to me being home...
She is generally thrilled, but we've seen a few things that indicate she is a little stressed. She's been having lots of toileting accidents and is unhappy when they happen. She's also been a little clingy around me and frustrated when I spend too much time talking on the phone or to other people. She is also acting out a little and yesterday when we left her with her best friend she was happy as can be until we mentioned we were going to the doctor and then she got worried and asked if I was coming home. I promised her we would come back, because even if something had been wrong and I would have just stopped by to see her before going to the hospital. Also today she told me that she was doing all the "watching of Isaac" - I think with the assumption that if she does the "watching" I won't need to go to the hospital for "watching."

This is all kind of understandable given the upheaval of the past few weeks and the adjustment of having me home, but not quite as active or capable as she remembers. It stinks that I'll have to go back to the hospital to deliver, but hopefully she will understand that a little more, since we've been talking about "Mama going to the hospital to have the baby" for a while.

On the other hand, she has been a super helper and is just as enthusiastic about life as ever! She seems so much older and more capable than she was just three weeks ago. (I think the fact that she's grown an inch in the last month might be a factor.) She loves doing things for herself and really can do most things well - eating neatly, getting dressed and undressed, taking off her diaper in the AM, washing her hands, squeezing toothpaste on and brushing her teeth, etc. etc. etc.

Right now she loves singing more than ever! She sings favorite tunes with new words, favorite words with new tunes, and favorite songs with the corresponding tune. Every night she has a concert in her room before falling asleep and we hear her singing many of the songs we sung before she fell asleep. She also watches us carefully and mimics our words while we sing new songs. Her two new favorites are, "Day is done... (the camping version of Taps)" and "Eenie Meenie Minie Mo!" (We are using it to choose everything!)

She has been great about her bedtimes and naps. She is really into the Bernstein Bears and the story Sailor Dog. Both feature bunk beds. Since I've been home Isla is putting her throw pillow next to her big pillow and walking up the throw pillow and curling up on her big pillow. She's been telling me that she has a bunk bed, but tonight I realized that the "bunk" is her pillow. She clarified things tonight when she told me that the throw pillow was her ladder to get up to her bunk. (Tonight she used two throw pillows & said, "I have two ladders! My bunk is really high!") To add to the realism, she shoves a few stuffed animals under her pillow to be on the bottom bunk.

You can see for yourself... (although in these pictures she just has one ladder).


For the past two mornings Isla has helped me do my morning kick counts. We snuggle on the couch and watch TV (yep, she has seen more TV in the past few days than she has in her life...) and do kick counts. Isla's version is to kick her legs a lot and count.