Friday, February 22, 2013

on having a little sister at home.

i was a little nervous with how eliza would do finally having a baby at home with us. wondered if she would be confused, or not expecting this one to stay. it had been just her and us for almost 3 1/2 years.

would she be jealous? annoyed? helpful? loving? too loving?

thankfully, so far, it has been a smooth transition. she loves her to pieces (or as she says "i love your pieces") but not to the point that i have to worry about her being alone with hattie for a second.

she's not smothering, she rarely asks to hold her, she just wants to be near her and help.
and help she does. my goodness that girl does it all without complaining, and usually she is volunteering.

she'll ask if she can do something with me, and usually she just holds my elbow, or my hand as i wipe a butt, change a diaper, snap a onesie. not helping, just holding, and thinking it's a help. it's cute.
if i had to hear "eliza, would you get me..." as many times as she does, i'd be annoyed.

many times it's for a burp rag, because sister likes to puke, and i'm usually tied up nursing. once i started "eliza, would you get me..." and she interrupted "a burp rag!" she knows the drill.

there hasn't been much jealousy, but i fear that will come once hattie starts moving and stealing toys. or maybe eliza will just be excited that she can finally play with her. she already asks if hattie can play with certain toys, and tries to give her some. it's funny to walk into the living room, see hattie on the floor with a pile of toys next to her, and she has her head turned the complete opposite way!
a few outfits i put on hattie i will tell eliza that she used to wear. some of the new ones eliza likes she says "i can wear that when i grow little?"

she tells everyone we meet that "this is baby hattie jo" or "hattie jo baby" and recently she told everyone at the doctor "i'm the big sister!" usually it's "i'm big girl eliza"
she is proud.

we also have to count to three and say their names at bedtime. it started with "let's say hattie jo togedder." and now it's become "1-2-3 big girl eliza and hattie jo!"
she doesn't miss a thing. we constantly hear "what's she doing?" or "what she just did?"

in the first few days it reminded me of the one ending on friends when they are crowded around ben's bassinet. eliza would say "her eyes are open...oh she closed them again!"
a few nights ago we left hattie in the bassinet during eliza's bedtime routine. we decided to leave her in there until she woke up. after saying goodnight to eliza and coming into the living room she peeked out and said "um, somebody? you forgot hattie."

she anticipates the day they can sleep together. one of the first weeks she told james "i want hattie to sleep with me!" when he told her she was too little she yelled "but i like her!"

good argument. i had to laugh as james replied "i like her too."

last night, i did give in and got in the bath with eliza, so i could hold hattie. i asked her beforehand "do you want to take a bath with hattie?" she said "in the real bath?!" i told her "yes, but i am getting in too" and she replied "okay, but would you hold her for me?" :) i like that she thinks she had a choice in the matter.
eliza has been requesting certain pictures, and loves to look at them on my phone. i took one of hattie the other day and was going to put a fliter on it. eliza asked if she could see it, and i told her "hold on, let me make it pretty." then she said "but she's already pretty!"

in the car when hattie is crying eliza suggests we recite "hattie bear, hattie bear" (teddy bear, teddy bear) i've caught her saying it on her own a few times too.
the other day she was "reading" hattie's valentine's day card from me. i always list things i love. she must have heard me read it to hattie earlier and remembered some of them...she said "i love your body, and i love your hair...your big hair!" (i did mention i liked her hair, but i don't recall saying i loved her body.)

and finally, we may have caught a glimpse into a future nickname. one we didn't think of. remember, we always said "fawn" when we prayed before. eliza caught and corrected herself at a hilarious time one night. we all said together "God bless, daddy, mama, baby, eliza, delia, pebble and f-f-f-attie." poor thing. i can hear it now "mama! eliza called me fattie!"

oh i'm anxious to see their relationship grow. hoping and praying they are close, and that eliza continues to watch out for her. that they will be best friends and always there for each other. that hattie will know how much she is loved, how much she was wanted, and how much we waited for the moment eliza had a sibling to love on daily.
because the one thing eliza knows how to do well, is love!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

one month of hattie!

hard to believe it's time for these posts again. where has the month gone?

things she likes...
sleeping.
being held...all the time.
baths and showers, until it's time to get out.
sucking. we gave in and let her have a pacifier every now and then. she would love to suck her thumb, if she could only get control of her hands!
laying upright on your chest. she's struggling with gas and reflux so this seems to help.
being on her tummy.
co-sleeping. didn't mean to do this, but she loves it...and i do too.
snuggles...all the time.
being worn.

life is busy when you have an older sister. hattie has already gone to storytime at the library a few different times. we've been to church every sunday. bible study on mondays and wednesdays, and mops on tuesdays! she has mostly slept through everything! we do find her awake more often, but many times she is a little mad. it seems i have passed on my stomach issues to her. :( hopefully it's a phase that passes quickly! hard to see her in pain. overall it has been a great month, she slipped right into our family, and we can't imagine life without her! eliza is still just smitten with her and couldn't love her sister more!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

blessed.

we are loving our newest little valentine. she fit right into our family and we can't imagine life without her.

hope you have a happy day too!

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