The young and very restless

I am definitely slowing down; today it seems that I'm out of breath and I'm sitting in a chair doing nothing. Not sure how that is possible, but it is. Ugh. And of course, Addison seems to be more and more active and full of energy the slower I get. So thankfully we have places nearby like the Early Works museum.

Addison focused on fish at the Early Works

Located right downtown, it's full of old timey store fronts depicting centuries old Alabama, a riverboat so kids can pretend they are on the water, and a couple of places for toddlers to play pretend or splash around with the duckies. Addison absolutely loved trying to fish for the plastic ducks... And thankfully she never fell in the tank! The whole museum is geared towards kids, and is great since I can saunter slowly around or sit and watch as she gallops her way from one thing to the next at hyper speed.

I'm sure there were places like this when I was growing up, I just don't remember them well. The old timey storefronts remind me of the High Desert Museum in Bend, OR, but that museum certainly didn't have a duck pond we could fish in. I guess that makes sense as there are more fishing lakes around here than in Central Oregon. Hmmm. And I remember places where we could do crafts like spinning paint art or giant light up walls that kept your shadow after you walked away, but I don't think my memory goes back far enough to remember the places I enjoyed as a toddler. I wonder what Addison will remember.

Our friendly neighborhood dinosaur

It's likely that she will remember very little from this time. Perhaps she'll only have memories that include a little sibling; what a strange thought. It seems the past 2 years have had so many memorable moments for me, it's odd to think that she won't have those same memories. Although I'm sure they'll be buried in there somewhere, and I know they have helped shape who she is already, so they're not entirely lost.

Man, having a kid makes me feel so old sometimes!

Nesting has struck!

 I never realized how strong the nesting urge was when I had Addison, which could be for a number of reasons. Maybe it really wasn't as strong last time (after all, pregnancies are different each time). Or perhaps it was the fact that we packed up and moved our entire house from California to Alabama right around this time in that pregnancy. So although I was in the mood to rearrange, the timing was perfect because we had rooms full of boxes that needed to be unpacked and furniture that needed to be set out. I think it masked the nesting so that neither I or Derek realized it for what it was. This time is not so subtle.

It seems not a day goes by where I don't find myself looking at some chair or table or dresser and ask "wouldn't that look better over there?" Or perhaps I go as far as considering that it really would look better painted a different color or recovered in a new fabric. Poor Addison; I think I rearranged the furniture in her nursery every day last week. Thankfully it doesn't seem to disrupt her sleep that her crib is in a different spot every night.

Now at first I tried to focus my nesting urges towards an old creaky rocking chair we had (that could really use a major face-lift). Unfortunately the thing creaks so loudly that I'm pretty sure the neighbors can hear it down the street. It's not as inspiring to paint and recover a chair that you have no real intention of ever using. So that project hasn't gone anywhere, yet.

Then today I had a girlfriend over who always has such great ideas. Of course as soon as she left I started looking at fabric to recover a pair of chairs I hadn't thought to touch before. And then there is the dining room table and chairs that could really use some updating. But I can't forget that the wardrobe in Addison's room would look good if it were painted, or that awful orange recliner that I've been planning to toss but now am contemplating recovering instead.

So basically I've decided that all of our furniture is in need of paint, or recovering, or both. This shouldn't be confused with me hating all of our furniture; I don't mind most of it, but for some reason at the current moment I know it would just look that much better if it had something done to it. And it's making Derek's head spin. So far I haven't actually done anything aside from moving things around and looking at fabric swatches online, but maybe one of these days I'll take that next step.

One of those days

I love my daughter, but there are days where it takes an amazing amount of patience not to scream. Like this morning - it is just after 8am, and yet Addison has already managed to spill a full cup of coffee all over the counter top in the kitchen (which was covered with clutter, of course). She then proceeded to slosh bubble solution on the carpet (yes, I'm still a bit hyper sensitive to spills on the new carpet). Her current reaction to situations like this is to whine-cry in a rather annoying pitch that does nothing to calm any of us, unfortunately. I think it's a 2yr-old thing.

Once we calmed down from the spills, she asked for an apple. About halfway through slicing and peeling an apple for her, she begins demanding toast. Now I know what my parents meant when they said "I'm not a short order chef!" It really never made as much sense to me as it does now.

And despite all of this, she is adorable. She smiles and giggles and it's amazing to watch her grasp more and more complex concepts, and hear as her vocabulary struggles to catch up. I just wish that my patience for the little ups and downs were stronger; that I was able to always see the joy and wonder in her eyes as she correctly spells out the letters on the laundry basket rather than the poop stain in the middle of the hallway where she stopped to spell.

I admit I'm a bit worried that after having baby #2 this will only become more difficult. The ability to take that deep breath and see the world through her eyes, or at least appreciate in the moment how awesome it is that she's my daughter, is an ability that takes constant attention and focus. Perhaps with two kids it will give me twice as many opportunities, although I have a feeling it will also give me double the challenges.

So in the next few weeks I am challenging myself to enjoy as many moments as I can; to slow down (as my body is urging me to anyways) and smile when she wants to work on that same puzzle for the 30th time today; to calmly explain why it isn't a good thing to spill coffee or how the puddle it makes is not ok to stomp in. And maybe, just maybe, I won't feel the urge to growl next time she misses the potty and finds the hallway instead.