Friday, July 13, 2012

Three years and one week and the THIRD trimester.

What a busy week we've had. Raf turned three last Saturday and overnight he turned into a '3 year old'. Oh boy. Everything belongs to Raf (it's my's), and he's suddenly so much less babyish (sad, sad!). He's also started to be very effective in getting Rich and I to respond to him in a certain way. For example, he was still awake when I went to bed on Thursday and he was chatting away about everything under the sun, trying to get me to engage with him, but I was trying my best not to respond at all so he would be quiet and go to sleep.

After 10 or so minutes, he said, "mummy, Nico push me and I cry'. Of course I couldn't ignore him and he realized quickly that he gets lots of sympathy and empathy when he tell us he's sad or he's been crying. I can almost see the glint in his eye as he recounts a 'sad' tale.

He's very funny!

Last Sunday we had a nice visit with Nico and Rosa and they had fun sliding down the slide into the little pool, and then (and this is the upside of having a building site practically in your yard), all three of them got to explore a big digger.



The rest of the week is a bit of a blur but several evenings, after work, and after we picked up Raf from Nico and Rosa's, we headed to the beach for a picnic and a swim. We've enjoyed some beautiful weather here, and although the sea was frigid, it was nice to cool off. Raf loves to swim and has dragged me in every time we've been to the beach.



Today was especially busy as Raf doesn't go to the nanny's on Fridays, so this morning we had a very fun time on a play date with a little 5 month old baby and my friend Jess. We headed out early to miss the worst of the heat and Raf LOVED Baby Nate so much. He was incredibly gentle, gave lots of kisses, and was very concerned when Baby Nate cried. He was very sweet. I am hoping it's a good sign as he didn't really mind when I held Nate, though he did want to sit on me at the same time.

This evening it was beginning to heat up so we headed to Cape Elizabeth where it's often quite a bit cooler. Much to this pregnant woman's delight it was lovely and cool there and we had a fab dinner of veggie burgers, chips, and onion rings. The latter were a really big hit with Raf. It's beautiful rugged coastline there and Raf had fun scrambling on the rocks and throwing stones into the sea








This week also marked the beginning of my final trimester with little Poppet 2. He is so active now so it's difficult to forget I'm expecting, especially when I try to get up our of chairs! Mind you, aside from ongoing nausea and crazy fatigue, I have been feeling very good and have enjoyed some fabulous runs this week. I try to run down to the beach during most runs and always stop for a few minutes to enjoy the morning sunshine.




And here's a tummy shot. I've done a few before heading out for a run.. not my finest hour but here I am the first day of the third trimester.


3 comments:

  1. Ah, what a wonderful tummy shot!!!!!! So happy for you, Alex! And this post is sweet, with lovely photos, too.

    Rafi's nighttime conversation reminds me of Sage--not just in the resistance to settling in to sleep, but in how it's during these little bedtime conversations, after lots of other inconsequential stuff has been said, that she'll often bring up things that bother her or that she wants to talk about but wasn't able to bring up before. Perhaps it is because she's finally quieted down and is looking back on the day, or because she feels safer to bring up difficult topics in the dark. But anyway--I wondered if Raf was doing that too.

    What a sweet little guy. He'll always be your baby, no matter how big he gets! (And now, of course, you can say he'll be *one of* your babies. :-).

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  2. Jen! Would LOVE to see you guys for a beach date! Let me know when a good day is for you. My sister arrives on Thursday with her two kids and Freya is just a bit younger than Sage!

    You know what's really funny is that the Nico story is fairly old!! Mind you I think you're absolutely right about those times, especially when they're quietening down, that they have a chance to share how they're feeling. Raf being able to share his feelings is really, really new and it's so wonderful to get a bit of a glimpse into Raf's world. Of course even if he is saying a few things for effect, it's a super time to give lots of cuddles and show a lot of empathy.

    Now he can express himself more and his imagination is kicking in even more, it seems, he's suddenly developed a massive fear of some birds when they come very close. It was a bit heartbreaking for him to be screaming, 'I scared, Mummy' as ducks got close to us at the lake yesterday. I'm going to have to get your wise feedback on how to contend with these early fears because so far he's been a rather fearless, though quite cautious, fellow.

    xo

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  3. Aww...such a neat little bump. How exciting (and no doubt a big relief) to know that this little one is only weeks away.
    Stay well. xx

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