May Goals Progress Report

1. Potty-training: Still waiting. With Lincoln now it seems more ridiculous that we should have to be changing someone the age and size of Emily. Just ordered more "Dora's" online. Sigh...
2. Moving Emily's room by Easter: Check! :o)
3. Deep-cleaning one room: I got the rest of the kitchen and my laundry area done this month
4. Cutting grocery budget by 25%: I ended up spending 85.5% of my normal grocery budget this month. There were some concessions made and conveniences utilized with the arrival of Lincoln.
5. Praying nightly over Emily: I'm going to add Lincoln, too.
6. Catching up on photo albums: There was a flat-rate book sale on Winkflash, but it happened during the week Lincoln was born, so there was just no way I could get it done. It just goes to prove why I need to have things ready ahead of time!
7. *New Goal* Spend at least 10-15 minutes of one-on-one time with Emily: Some days this is easier than others. Lincoln has been consistently napping around and during the supper hour, so that provides some opportunities. It's harder than you would think to find time. Thankfully, Emily has done pretty well with sharing mommy with Lincoln so far.

31 months old

Emily is now 31 months old. She is continuing to do really well in regards to Lincoln. She has shown a little more interest and asked to hold him for the first time, but lightly touched his head and then was done. She makes lots of comments, though. Some examples: "Lincoln has a dirty diaper!" "He makes funny noises!" and "That's the baby that was in mommy's tummy!"

Emily also has a fetish with jammies (pajamas). It is often a wrestling match getting her dressed in the morning because she doesn't want to take her jammies off. She asks to put them on several times throughout the day. If you tell her, "Not until after your bath" she immediately asks if she can take a bath. If you leave them anywhere within sight you're pretty much guaranteed that at some point during the afternoon she'll quietly disappear and come back down the stairs wearing her jammies. I don't always have the energy or ability to fight this battle, so she wears her jammies a lot. It definitely puts a damper on the possibility of outside activities, though. :o(

Another habit Emily has fallen into this month is switching from third person (e.g. "Emily want to get down") to often referring to herself as "he" (e.g. "He want to get down"). This is a bit annoying, and it really bugged my mom while she was here because she is an SLP (Speech Language Pathologist) and had been working with second-graders who didn't use pronouns correctly. After gently correcting using "I" the whole time she was here, my mom held an intense speech therapy session during breakfast on the last day. Emily couldn't get down from her booster seat until she correctly used "I" as in "I am finished" or "I want to get down." They sat there for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Wow--that takes a lot of patience! My mom finally got "I think" out of her. She had a few more success later in the day. Austin & I have continued the practice of immediately interrupting any incorrect use of "he" and correcting with "I". On one random occasion I got an "I want to watch George, please." Yay! Unfortunately, the answer was "no" because she had just finished watching the entire 1 1/2 hour video, but she got an M&M for asking! :o)

On a more positive note, Emily can recognize and name almost all the letters and numbers. There are still a few she gets mixed up sometimes (6 & 9, 8 & B). It's funny because if you have any words on your clothing she'll randomly start pointing out and naming letters. She knows all the letters in "PANTHERS"! :o)

Our many May pictures are uploaded to Winkflash and the video player is posted below.

Sidewalk chalk

I got out the sidewalk chalk for the first time this afternoon. Emily scribbled with it for a couple minutes until the "arranger" side of her took over. :o)

Notice her outdoor attire of choice. It was almost 80 degrees out, but she insisted on wearing a "sweater" (i.e. jacket) zipped all the way to the top with the hood up. Go figure!

Building with blocks

One of Emily's favorite toys over the last couple weeks has been her box of foam building blocks. She has constructed quite a few elaborate "castles," "bridges" and "towers" that often incorporate her Little People & animals. Austin has had fun playing with them, too. ;o)

How we're doing...

Another standard question we get is "How are things going?" The answer is GREAT! Lincoln had a check-up today, and at one week old is already a half a pound above his birth weight, so he obviously eats like a champ. :o) We're starting to figure out his eating/sleeping/diaper patterns. Note to self: do NOT let him sleep all afternoon and be sure to remember to give him a bath before 10:00pm. When those things occurred I was up until 2:00am or later trying to get him to sleep. On the other nights he was a perfect sleeper who went down at 10:00pm and woke up only twice to nurse, falling back asleep right away. I can handle that! :o)

Emily is starting to show some more interest in Lincoln. It mostly comes in statements of observation such as "The baby is crying!" or "Lincoln needs his diaper changed." Tonight she started trying to be helpful by retrieving the pacifier and stroking his forehead saying, "Wake up, buddy!" (because that's what I was doing). Tomorrow brings the true test. My mom left for home at 5:00pm today, so I'm flying solo for real. It was such a blessing to have "Grandma B" around for 1 1/2 weeks. Both Emily & I cried when she left. I don't know who will miss her more! I can tell you one thing--Emily probably won't get to have cute pigtails in every day like she has been. ;o) One thing Emily has done is develop a piercing screechy scream whenever she is frustrated or doesn't get her way. We think it's her observing that whenever Lincoln cries or screeches he gets immediate attention. This too shall pass...:o)


Personally, I'm feeling great. Of course, I'm tired from shorter, choppy sleep at night, but it's still less tired than when I was pregnant and sleeping 7-8 hours. I healed and recovered much faster from labor & delivery than last time, so I'm physically ready to take on my new role as mother of two!


A lot of you are probably wondering what in the world has been happening with our house plans. Things change daily. Here's where we're at right now: We've basically decided that we're not going to be able to build at this time. In the meantime, we've looked at several houses that have come on the market in Denver in the last month. We had our hearts set on one just 2 blocks from where we live now. We submitted a reasonable offer over the weekend, but it was rejected. Long story--but that door is pretty much closed. So now we're back to square one. We've decided to sit tight for a month and see if anything else pops up. We're ready to put a sign in our yard at any time. We're just waiting to see what God has planned for us next, because it must be even better!

Memorial Day

We carried on a Memorial Day tradition and had pancakes for breakfast. Then Emily enjoyed the 3 minute Memorial Day parade that turned the corner by our house. She got a handful of Tootsie Rolls and a little flag she proudly waved. Thanks to all the veterans who have served our country!

Side-by-side siblings

Another popular question we get is "Who does Lincoln look like?" and/or "Does he look like Emily?" Besides the fact that they were the exact same birth weight (8 lbs. 12 oz.) and almost the exact same length (22"/21"), here are some side-by-side pictures. You can be the judge. :o)

Emily's hospital picture ~~~~~~~ Lincoln's hospital picture

Emily ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lincoln

The meeting...

One of the most popular questions we have gotten so far is "What does Emily think?" We were very curious how that was going to go. So far the response has been "mildly indifferent." Austin brought Emily to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday evening. She just timidly looked from a distance and would hardly dare touch Lincoln. She was much more interested in playing with the nurse's stethoscope, listening to my mp3 player and the Cat in the Hat gift she got "from Lincoln." (see videos in May video player)

At home she is interested in some of the "toys" for Lincoln such as the musical swing and bouncy seat. She will randomly comment, "Emily is going to be a big sister!" and "His name is Blinkin'." She hasn't had much occasion to "help" with anything yet. I have managed to read a book and nurse at the same time without protest. I'm sure all of that is coming--especially after grandma leaves. ;o) For now we're thankful she is neither hostile nor completely smothering.

He has arrived!

We are proud to announce the safe arrival of Lincoln Austin Lorenzen at 4:50am on Tuesday, May 19. He is 8 lbs 12 oz. (the exact same as what Emily was) and 21" long. It was a fast and easy labor & delivery. Praise God for this amazing new addition to our family!

Laundry

In honor of my friends Kimber VE & Julie U and my soon-to-be life... ;o)

"Mary Angel"

I Double Heart Sonic

Emily & I ran errands in Waterloo this morning for the last time before the baby comes. It was already noon and I still really needed to get groceries at Fareway. Plus there was nothing to reheat in the fridge at home and we did the whole PBJ and chicken nuggets/fries thing yesterday for lunch & supper. What better excuse to go to Sonic again?! ;o) Not only was the cherry limeade heavenly, but just as I was licking the last of the dollar menu tots grease off my fingers and thinking a little shot of ice cream would taste good a carhop walked up with an extra vanilla cone and medium blue coconut slush that she was just looking to give away to someone. Ummm....yes, please and thank you! Needless to say, if anyone is looking for a gift idea for me sometime a "My Sonic Card" would great! ;o)

39 weeks pregnant

Does it look like this baby is ready to fall out anytime? It sure feels like it! I'm officially due on Monday, but I'm guessing he will come on Friday. :o)

Mother's Day

It was a pretty quiet and relaxing Mother's Day. After a nice church service and a simple lunch, I curled up on Emily's bed to read with her while Austin repainted our bedroom. After three long original Curious George stories Emily decided she'd rather play with toys while I dozed in her bed. I tried to get her to go down for a nap for a couple hours, but finally gave up. We went for a walk with the new double stroller and of course, she fell asleep then. As you can see, the stroller isn't really designed for someone her size to fall asleep in the front seat! Her feet were dragging on the ground and I had to pull her up the driveway backwards. She was really tired, but it was too late in the day for her to be napping. It was a cranky wake-up. We eventually settled down on the couch and watched the Pella Tulip Time parade on TV. :o)

One of my favorite "mom" moments during the day is when Emily asks to be a "Mary Angel" after getting out of the bathtub. I'm not exactly sure how the whole thing got started, but it was around Christmas. She has a big, pink, hooded bath towel that completely wraps her up. She likes to do that with the hood up and then snuggles in tight on your lap while she dries off. I know it won't be too much longer before the towel won't fit her and/or she won't fit or want to fit on my lap. Plus the days of me almost always doing her bath at night are probably numbered. So I just enjoy it every chance I get. :o) Happy Mother's Day!

Garage sales

This was the weekend of the spring Denver garage sales. I just did casual looking this year with nothing big I was looking for in particular. I mostly just got books, cheap videos and small toys for Emily. Below are some pictures of Emily being silly with new toys. She LOVED the Little People Farm set I found and bargained for. It entertained for 3 solid hours and she went the rest of the day without even asking to watch a video! That allowed Austin & I to get a lot of little things checked off our house projects list. :o)

Quotes of the day

Emily's sentences and spoken thoughts are getting noticeably more complex lately, although she still usually refers to herself in the third person. Here are some funny quotes from today:

"Did you have fun playing with the children?" ~Emily as we were walking home from our weekly play group.

"Emily's a real mess!" ~Emily's observation while eating a piece of toast with strawberry jam. She was right because her current eating technique is to first lick off a large portion of the jam. Then she nibbles the crust all the way around the outside. Then she maybe finishes what remains of the middle. Kind of a backwards kid! :o)

"Daycare"

My neighbor and good friend, Candace, has decided to start doing some part-time in-home daycare beginning this summer. So as a big favor to myself Emily became her first charge. For the past 2 1/2 weeks I have dropped Emily off from 9:00am-12:00pm twice a week to give myself a chance to run solo errands, complete small house projects, attend housing related meetings and go to OB appointments without dragging a toddler along. Although I have felt a few tinges of guilt for "sticking my kid in daycare," the freedom has been wonderful and could become addicting. It has been a great decision for everyone involved and will continue until either the baby or my mom comes.

Not only is Emily learning about obeying another authority figure (the first day I picked her up she was in time out :op), her potty-training has also received a new jump start. She has actually gone on the big potty for Candace a couple times using a toilet ring. I think having a different person ask and seeing both Candace's 4-year-old and 15-month-old (yes, she's only 15 months) sit on the potty and go presented some positive peer pressure. As a result, Emily regularly sits on the big potty at home for me now. She has yet to actually produce anything, but just being willing to try and even initiating an attempt is a huge step in the right direction!

One slightly negative effect of the daycare experience has been a definite increase in "clingyness" to and preference for "mommy". I think the fact both Austin & I have been completely wrapped up in home projects and housing decisions is also playing a big role. Plus, I think Emily can sense the impending doom and fall from her reign as "only child". I've heard of other kids doing this, too. I have been trying to consciously find time to spend with her one-on-one throughout the day. Some days I do better than others. It will be very interesting to see how she handles the actual arrival of the new baby!

New paint job

One of the tasks on the home projects list was to repaint the front living room of our house. With the gracious help of a wonderful friend from my Mom's Morning Out group at church (Thanks a ton, Angie!) that task got done yesterday afternoon. I think it turned out great! Here are before/during/after pictures...

My favorite week of the year

The first or second week of May is always my favorite week of the year. The grass is as green as it will ever be and is freshly mowed. The tulips & daffodils are blooming. The trees are budding out and flowering. I get to plan & plant flower pots and beds. Another winter is behind us and the full promise of spring/summer is ahead. God is good!

Sweet Innocence...

Another working weekend

It was another busy weekend in the world of house projects. Austin's main focus was the studio house. He repainted and put down new flooring. There are still some details to finish up, but it looks 100x better! Here are some shots of Austin working...

I accomplished a lot, too. In addition to helping paint and scrubbing the windows in the studio house I also packed up the curio cabinet, did a preliminary sorting of all the toys, power-washed the siding of half of the house (If Kimber can do it, so can I!) and planted 2/3 of my flowers (the rest weren't in stock at Wal-mart yet). I paid for it today when I woke up with swollen feet & hands. Therefore, I truly took a day of rest. Here's a picture of me & Emily in the late afternoon. :o)