Toddler talk

Conversation overheard this morning at Adeleigh's daycare between Adeleigh and her little friend, Makena:

Adeleigh - "Hi Makena. This is my Mommy, Heather." (She introduces me to her friends every day.)
Makena - "That's cool, Adeleigh."
Adeleigh - "Kena, see my ponies? You like them?" (Ponies = ponytails)
Makena - "That's cool, Adeleigh. I don't have ponies. See my bun?"
Adeleigh - "Aww cute. See my dress? That's cool?"
Makena - "Cool, Adeleigh. See my shirt?"
Adeleigh - "I like your shirt, Kena."
Makena - "Thanks, Adeleigh. See my shorts?"
Adeleigh - "Cool shorts, Kena. Mommy did my ponies today. This is my Mommy."
Makena - "Cool, Adeleigh. I like your ponies.,,,"
.....
I love having a toddler. Conversations tend to be so much less complicated with her around.

:)

A $5 ice cream cone

This week -

Adeleigh taught me that the baby cows we see on our way to daycare every morning "Aren't cows, Momma. They are goats."

I discovered that Fruity Pebbles are gluten free. And they are a hit with the whole family.

After weeks of demanding that my coworkers please tell me when I start to waddle, it became official.

I realized that I had been taking for granted the lack of spiders that live in a 3rd story condo.

I started price-comparing local pest removal companies. Because what does a waddling pregnant arachnophobe do when she kills the biggest, hairiest spider she's ever seen in her new home??? She tries to justify spending hundreds of dollars to prevent it from ever happening again. (And she refuses to unpack another box until she's reassured that it is bug-free.)

I am still able to paint my toenails.

I learned that pregnant women aren't meant to fall asleep in toddler beds.

We discovered that spending $5 for an ice cream cone is totally worth it. Even if only half of it actually makes it into a mouth.

Perks of not living in a 1-bedroom condo (Day 1)

Being able to let the dog out without putting on our shoes.

Not watching the TV above the volume level of Mute after 9pm.

Not sharing our bedroom with the garbage disposal.

And the real perk of the evening - 

Watching my husband create makeshift shower curtain rings out of old boxer shorts because the other rings are packed in a box somewhere, and hearing him justify it by saying he's creating inspiration for Pinterest.

.....

They did turn out pretty cool :)

Love at first sight

Seeing Baby on the ultrasound screen made it all the more real. Our ultrasound tech asked us before the first splat of blue jelly, "Are you wanting to know the sex of your baby?"

"YES!" We both yelled...kindly.

"Well, okay! Let's get this started then." And she didn't waste any time. We took one quick look at the head and profile, then the arms and legs, then - 

"Do you see that in between the legs? It's a BOY!"

We both started giggling and crying. Our tech handed us tissues and said, "I cried too when I found out I was having a boy." We giggled some more.

If you had asked me before today what I wanted, my answer was something like this - "Well, of course I would be happy with either....But, secretly I want another girl....But, I would love a boy too....But, Adeleigh is convinced she's going to have a baby sister...."

And to be honest, [secretly] I was kind of nervous about having a boy because I feel like I have the whole raising a girl thing down. I've clearly had more experience with a girl baby. I can relate a little bit more to the girl drama because it is all-too-familiar, and very much surrounding me (even at the present moment). I have felt nervous that I wouldn't really know much about having a boy. 

Would we need to start playing basketball? Or buy some baseball bats to keep around the house? Do I need to learn to love spiders and start collecting them in mason jars? 

How does an arachnophobe learn how to love bugs? And how am I going to tell my little girl, who is wholeheartedly convinced she's going to have a baby sister, that she's not?

I quickly realized how much I was over-thinking everything, because once we learned that our little kicker is a boy, all of that hesitation and nervousness went away. And I couldn't help but start to cry, thinking about how new and different and exciting all of this is.

___

So, this afternoon when we went to pick Adeleigh up from daycare, we couldn't wait to tell her the exciting news. 

"Adeleigh, we have a surprise for you."

"A surprise? What?"

"Mommy has a baby boy in her belly! You're going to have a baby brother!"

"A baby brother? In your belly?" Her face lit up. "....Can I have my surprise now, please?"

We laughed. "That is the surprise, Sweetie! But, after dinner, we're going to celebrate and get a treat."

We went to Coopersmith's for dinner and Adeleigh couldn't wait to share her surprise with the entire west-facing patio. One by one, she walked up to each table and said, with the biggest smile on her face, "I have a baby brother. It's in my mommy's belly. See?" And she'd run back over to our table, pat my belly and say, "See? Right here." I got teary-eyed again, thinking about how amazing it is to see the joy and love that our little girl already shares for our little boy. And how proud of him she already is. 

She's going to be such a good big sister.

And we are already so in love with him.

Happy Valentine's [Mother's] Day

Today this Momma -

Woke to a cute little girl who handed me her favorite toy flower, kissed me on the cheek and said, "Happy Valentine's Day, Mommy."  (I knew what she meant. And it was very sweet.)

Ate 4 or 5 (or 6) delicious gluten-free double chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast...guilt-free.

Took my first uninterrupted shower in a long time, and used up all the hot water.

Received a red construction paper heart with buttons glued on it from my little one. "This is for you, Momma. Happy Valentine's Day." (I knew what she meant.)
Received a thoughtful card from Phaeton that made me cry...they always do.

Ventured to my favorite part of town with my two favorite people.
Ate waffles in Old Town.

Went shopping and bought a few big purchases for our new home.
Checked a few more things off of our Moving To-Do List.
Experienced toddler meltdown #1 (for the day).

Continued shopping and bought one small purchase for myself - The Lumineers CD.
Didn't care that I was the only person under the age of 60 shopping in the CD section at Best Buy.
Endured toddler meltdown #2.

Met up with my mom, sister and nephew for dinner and enjoyed free TCBY for Mother's Day.

Played at the park and watched the kids run wild.

Survived toddler meltdown #3.
Decided that naps are no longer negotiable.

Ended the day snuggling with my girl on the couch.
Was reminded of how special it is that, despite the ups and downs in a day, she and I always end up this way.

Felt the baby kick more than I have any other day so far.

Received some late-night, invaluable words of wisdom from my mother.

Especially today, this Momma is -

Feeling grateful for my Mom. And so grateful to be one.

Boy or Girl?

The other day Adeleigh's daycare provider called me to say, "Well, I was going to tell you to keep it a secret, but Adeleigh has been telling me all morning what you're having. So, Congratulations!"

Me - "We haven't even had our ultrasound yet. We have no idea what we're having!"

Her - "Seriously? She says it with such conviction. I totally believed her! She said that she's having a baby sister!"

Me - "Yes. She really wants a baby sister. No. We have no idea yet."

Her - "Well, maybe she knows something no one else does! So, now I can say it. Please keep it a secret from me! I want to be surprised!"

____

Our ultrasound is next Thursday! Already! And yes, we will be finding out if Adeleigh is going to have a baby brother or a baby sister. And no, I doubt we'll be keeping it a secret.
I've added a poll to the right side of my blog, so please feel free to tally whatever your intuitions might be. I'd be curious to hear!

If you have "no hunch", here are a few tidbits to take into consideration:

• According to a friend's Chinese calendar apps, every single one says we're having a boy.
• According to our realtor's "psychic" calculations, if the baby is born in September, it will be a girl; October, it will be a boy. (Due date is October 5th and babies in my gene pool tend to come early, including Adeleigh. She was born 3 days early.) 
• Side note - Our realtor is not really a psychic. But when it comes to predicting gender, she claims to be right 100% of the time.
• Between all of my siblings, we collectively have 5 girls and 4 boys.
• I have had many more migraines with this pregnancy than with my first, my morning sickness lasted longer, and I break out more. Many people tell me this is probably because it's a boy. However, some of the Old Wives Tales suggest these symptoms are likely because it's a girl. 
• In fact, if you believe in the Old Wives Tales, they lean slightly more towards girl.
• Before we had the ultrasound with Adeleigh, I wholeheartedly thought she was going to be a boy.
• Side note - She wasn't :)
• Adeleigh says with conviction that it's a girl.

To be continued...

:)

Friday

We really love this town. And even though we'll be moving twelve minutes south to Loveland at the end of this month, we've made a promise to one another that we'll still frequent Old Town at least every weekend this summer and fall :)

___

This evening was the First Friday Gallery Walk in Old Town. And as bad as I wanted to meander through every single art gallery we walked by, all I saw were displays of glass artistry and extremely valuable, fragile designs conveniently resting at the perfect toddler-wrecking height. So, in an effort to not destroy our local artist's livelihood, we window-gallery walked instead. And still had a blast.

First stop, Big Al's Burgers, for what might have been the best burger I've had in this town. Ever.
Our little social butterfly took it upon herself to sit at the neighboring table and make friends with a few members of local law enforcement -

Here she is telling the policemen about her dog, Rico.

We couldn't leave until she actually became one of them - badge and all - 

You're looking at the cutest member of the Fort Collins Police Department.

Then, we made a stop to visit our friend, Donald the "really really big horse", as Adeleigh calls him.

And of course, we made a non-negotiable stop for ice cream at Ben & Jerry's. I didn't get a picture of Adeleigh enjoying her strawberry ice cream cone because I was too busy sharing my double scoop of mint chocolate chunk with the baby. 

_____

Have I mentioned how much we love this town?

:)

Maybe we caught her at a bad time

This evening while playing in Adeleigh's bedroom, Rico came to join us. He sat beside Adeleigh's pile of beads and pennies, and Adeleigh scolded him, "No, Swiper. Don't touch the treasures." So, Rico (a.k.a. Swiper) got up and walked out.
We giggled.

Phaeton - "Adeleigh, do you like Rico?"
Adeleigh frowned - "No, I don't like Rico."
Me - "Do you like Nubi?"
Adeleigh, still frowning - "No, I don't like Nubi."

We giggled again, recognizing that it was approaching bedtime and that she really does love her pets.
Then, I asked a question that I thought would lighten her mood and make her smile. I was wrong.

Me - "Adeleigh, do you like the baby in Mommy's belly?"
Adeleigh - "I don't like Baby if it's a boy. I only like Baby if it's a girl."
Me - "Oh. I'll bet you would like it if you had a baby brother."
Adeleigh - "No, I only want a baby sister."

Recognizing that it was late and approaching bedtime, no matter what we find out in five short weeks, we're pretty sure Adeleigh will love the baby no matter what.

:)

The Princess

Princess -
[prin-ses] (noun):
1. a female sovereign; a daughter of royalty
2. a girl who is so cute, her parents let her rule the house
3. Adeleigh

Examples, as witnessed in the Gaglio home -

To wake up in the middle of the night sobbing, demanding that before anyone gets any more sleep, both of the princess's feet must be kissed. (And since it was 3 a.m. and everyone really needed more REM time, both feet were quickly kissed.)

To wake up in the middle of the night, crawl out of the princess bed and into Mom and Dad's queen, push everyone to the edge so that [said princess] can sleep horizontally, and actually get away with it - every. single. night.

To wake up at two in the morning in Mom and Dad's bed, demanding a cereal bar, a bowl of strawberries, a glass of milk and a movie.

To actually get three out of four middle-of-the-night demands, on any given night.

To convince Mom and Dad, night after night, that it's time to get a King-size bed - - - for the princess, of course :)

Adeleigh
[add-a-lay] (noun)
1. a girl considered to have the qualities or privileges of a princess

Reasons I must be pregnant

Other than the countless days of nausea that left me glued to the couch, here are a few strong indicators that I have a human being growing inside of me:

I hate the news.
I love celebrity gossip.
I cry at Starbucks, Subaru and diaper commercials on a regular basis.
For the first time ever, I bought a jar of pickles at the grocery store. And for no apparent reason, other than it just felt like the right thing to do.
I keep losing and forgetting things.
I eat everything.

If you ask my husband how he can tell I'm pregnant, apparently:

I sit like a man.
I hate the news, but insist on watching it anyway.
I bore him with celebrity gossip.
I cry at everything.
I keep demanding that he buy me a Subaru.
I lose the mail key - every day.
I eat everything. And what's left uneaten, is probably spilled or stained on my clothes.
And my favorite -
I'm always right. :)