9 Months Is All Of A Sudden 9 Days

Yes, only 9 days to go until my scheduled surgery date and our little baby girl will be celebrating her birthday. Not to be confused with my current little baby girl that will also be celebrating her birthday...her 2nd birthday on July 9th! So much has gone on the past few weeks and so much is yet to come. Dayton has finished preschool for the summer and won't be returning until the end of August. He has adjusted to "summer vacation" quite well, but I have not. I've done a great job of keeping him busy with little outings and projects, but now that I'm at the very end I am having a hard time finding the energy to get him out of his pj's each day. I've spent quite a few days in my pj's myself! Shhh don't tell anyone!

We've hunted crabs at the beach, gotten craft projects from the store, done some baking/cooking, a few playdates, some swimming, painting rocks, flying kites, a trip to the aquarium and somehow managed to fit in a small vacation as a family. Now I am in high nesting gear. I'm cleaning out closets that haven't been opened since we've moved in here, throwing out things I haven't used, giving away clothes, packing up old bedding and sealing it, organizing under sinks and in cabinets. Why you ask? I don't know the answer to that. Surely, I could find something more useful to do...like put the infant car seat back together, dust the baby's room, or maybe put my feet up and take a nap? I'm not sure what the purpose of nesting is, but it sort of reminds me of college days when you wait until the last night to start a 10 page paper. Your best work is often accomplished under such deadlines.

Saige is approaching "two-hood" and all that comes with it. I can't say I'm expecting a terrible two phase once she blows her candles out, but I am expecting some serious sibling rivalry and adjustment difficulties with the baby. She is most certainly a mommy's girl (I was always under the impression that little girls were somehow automatically daddy's girls) and frequently fights with Dayton over who sits beside me at any given moment. (or should I say EVERY given moment?) She talks and sings constantly and I am always impressed with her expressive language skills and clarity. She is almost potty trained and has undertaken that task all by herself. No rewards necessary. My only complaint is that I feel like I spend most of my day in the bathroom with her because she hasn't figured out that her little bladder does have SOME capacity. She is so darn cute waddling around in her big girl princess undies. She continues to show left hand dominance despite my efforts to always place things in her right hand. Lately she has made up "nicknames" for everyone and it is so funny because I have no idea where they came from. She calls her daddy "daddy paddio", Dayton "buddy", "Dayton Eero A-koski" or "Dayton bear" and I am "mommy bear" or "mommy lemonade". She continues to fight sleep and cause us all grief, but remains joyful despite getting only 8-9 hours of sleep each day. The other day I was ignoring her and she finally raised her voice and said "mama, I'm talking for you" in an exasperated tone! She's very into drama and crossing her arms while saying "no way"!

I probably have some new pictures to upload, but that is low on my nesting priority list right now...so you will all have to be patient. Will keep you all posted on any possible developments before June 29th! So, 9 days or less to go...