Waiting for our sister and fall to arrive

That's what I feel like we've been doing lately.  Every time the weather started to give us a little mercy in these last couple of weeks, a couple of 88 or 90 degree days would sneak themselves in and bring back to humidity and misery. Despite my best efforts, I've found myself swelling up in the ankles and fingers and my body aching from lugging this big ol' belly around in the heat. Perhaps it's because my muslces are more worn out this time, the position the baby is in, the fact that it's summer instead of spring, or all of the above, but I am having a much harder time getting through this last stretch of it this time. Every time I have to bend to pick something up or put something on, my moves are calculated and planned. I've even taken to using the broom to push things close together to maximize the efficiency of each bend. I know. It's a pathetic that is in a league of its own.  Today was the first day that was *cold* all day long, and it was truly fabulous. I was on cloud nine all through school, delighting in listening to the kids complain about the open window and asking to get sweatshirts from their lockers. They could layer all they wanted, I was going to continue to relish in my goosebumps and ability to think clearly.

Another thing that has made this pregnancy different than my first is the heartburn. I've been getting really bad heartburn pretty regularly for the last month or so.  Luckily, I've been able to keep it mostly at bay by taking a liquid antacid before bed religiously regardless of how I'm feeling or what I've eaten. But even then, there are a few nights here and there where I am up for several hours at a time trying to calm it down and get comfortable again. If the old wives' tale is true on that one, I'm expecting a daughter with flowing locks of hair like Rapunzel to come forth next month.

Despite my small miseries from day to day, I am trying really hard to relish in watching Evalee continue to grow and change and not take anything for granted. She is starting to talk in sentences more and more frequently, use her imagination to play, and even start conversations with you about things she did or saw that day. She has started singing her ABCs often when she's playing or when we're in the car, and she gets A-G and L-Z 100% accurately and pretty clearly every time. She likes to repeat the song over and over and see how fast she can get through all the letters. 

She has shown a new surge of interest in using the potty and has even successfully used the potty a few times over the last week or so. She's been in love with the movie Wall E for about a month now, and the Pixar pack of underwear Grandma bought her had a pair with Eve on them in it. She requests to wear her Eve underwear quite often, but she loves them so much she doesn't want to pull them down to go on the potty. So, poor Eve has taken her fair share of accidents and Evalee has had her fair share of hard cries when we don't let her continue to wear the wet underwear. We're hoping the tragedy of this occurrence is what eventually teaches her to keep them dry.

She has also been such a big girl at bed time ever since I went back to work. We moved her bedtime up a half hour and started putting her to bed when she's still awake, and she's been doing a great job of falling asleep by herself. It seems silly, but it's truly amazing how much that extra half hour to ourselves makes a difference in our night.

Because of the fact that I can't lift her in and out of the bathtub or do a lot of the things I wish I could with her after work, we've been spending lots of time at Grandma and Grandpa's house. With the start of football season comes a loss of Daddy time on Friday nights as he works his normal day shift and then another few hours of over time to shoot football for The Score. This has been thrilling for Evalee, since it means more time with her beloved cat, which we have decided to name Blackie. She talks about Blackie almost every day, even when there are no plans in the near future to see her, and showers her with love (often times a tad too much) as soon as we arrive in the driveway. Blackie must not totally hate it because she sticks to Evalee's side and follows her as she runs around the yard and plays in all her usual spots. It's the dawning of a special friendship, I suppose. She'll be so excited to start seeing her a couple times a week once Grandma starts her new hours at work so she can watch her and her sister. I just hope the cold weather doesn't drive her away!

There are only about 5 weeks left of this pregnancy and 22 more days of school left for me until next year. There are so many things to do before both of these countdowns run out, but somehow  I know it'll all come together in the end!