This is a long one . . . because I haven't posted in a while. I've been very busy, trying to get the everyday things done, and a little extra. We still have to finish the guest bathroom and what will become Elena's new bedroom (which has been untouched since we moved into the house) before the baby comes. It's a lot. And there's really not much I can do to help. Jorge doesn't like me being near the home improvement supplies that he's using, out of fear that some kind of fumes or something will harm the baby. So he's tiling the bathtub surround by himself, and he won't let me paint either, even with the paints that are not supposed to have any toxic fumes. So I've been putting my efforts in elsewhere, trying to ready the rest of the house for the baby, while he does all of the back-breaking work. If you'd like to help, it sure would be welcomed. Anybody???
I love how happy and silly Elena is. She loves to dance, sometimes even without music. Here she is dancing by the duck pond.
And here she's dancing in the playroom, shaking the tambourine along with the music.
Here she was dancing to "Head, shoulders, knees and toes," and she's showing me her toes.
She engages in so much imaginative play now, I love it. She's always cooking, or taking care of her dolls or animals, having full conversations with them. The other day she was talking to one of her animals, playing doctor. She said "hurt head?" Then she checked it and said "Feel better? Okay!" So adorable.
See this ridiculous pile of clothes? My friend gave us clothes for Elena, and a lot of them are too warm for summer, so I was packing those away for a few months to save closet and dresser space. Elena got hold of them and made a mess. A big mess . . . but I didn't mind because it kept her amused for a loooong time. She would move the clothes one piece at a time, forming a pile in one place and then another. So it gave me a little break. And yes, these clothes are all piled on top of her tiny cart.
Here she was making a butterfly with tissue paper and contact paper.
We're still doing swim classes. She's been resistant to going under the water for awhile now, which makes it difficult. This started all of a sudden. But I'm hoping that it will pass soon, and I just get her to go under the water one time during each class right now. Jorge got to go to this class and watch.
She's always willing to kick though.
What's funny is that most kids are resistant to the floating. She was resistant to it in the beginning too, but now she likes it. Here I only have one hand under the back of her neck.
Since she doesn't want to go in the water, she's not too excited about jumping in, but she did it anyway.
I've been moving a little bit of stuff at a time out of what will be her new bedroom, since it's pretty much been storage for the last 3 years. I took out this old bouncer-type baby chair, intending for it to go in the garage. But Elena fell in love with it the minute she saw it. She calls it a "carseat," and will climb in and turn on the music and vibration. Clearly, though, she's too big for it!
This is her new stool, so that she can wash her hands without me holding her up. She loves it and talks about how she can do it all by herself.
Have I mentioned that I love Pinterest? It's motivated me to do so many things, a lot of them related to organizing in preparation for baby number two. I organized my closet.
My drawers
And I even have shelf space available in my closet now.
These are our craft supplies.
And I've gone through paperwork to file, cleaned out Elena's closet, and put together two big bins of my own clothes to donate. It's amazing what you find when you clear everything out, and how much you don't need at all. Pinterest has also motivated me to take up some new practices that are better for the environment and save money. Like giving up paper towels in favor of these bar mops.
And making reusable napkins, again to get rid of paper towels.
Now I use microfiber cloths to clean. But I didn't realize how difficult it would be for Jorge to give up paper towels. When I told him he said "Noooo, I need paper towels." So they're still out on the counter and he's taking baby steps to give them up, only using little pieces at a time. It's kind of funny to me. I've also started making my own household cleaners, and it's really easy; I wish I had done it a long time ago. Right now I'm making some wool dryer balls so that we can stop using fabric softener. I'm happy to give things up to reduce the amount of chemicals and toxins that we're exposed to. When we finish our laundry detergent I'll be making that, too.
Anyway, the pregnancy is going well. I'm almost 30 weeks now, which is unbelievable to me. This pregnancy has flown by. I still feel good, but I feel the sleepiness of the third trimester coming on. Jorge and I are both getting really excited for our newest addition. And no, we're not 100% decided on the name . . . and no, we won't be telling people before the birth what we are naming our son, so prepare to be disappointed if you ask!
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