Kess Update

As we get closer to baby boy's arrival I keep thinking about how ready I am to just have him here. I'm pretty much done with being pregnant. Totally over it. I don't remember being this uncomfortable or this ready to have Kess here. I was so excited to see her, but I never felt miserable or cranky about my big ol' belly. That is so not the case with baby boy. I feel bad for wishing the pregnancy part away, especially knowing that I'm down to my last few weeks alone with my best girl.

We've done a lot to "prep" her for baby brother to arrive. She understands that "brudder" is in my belly & that he is going to come out. His room is almost finished so she understands that everything in there is his. She talks about him every day & always asks if any of the new stuff we are getting is "brudder's." She loves to play with his blankets, his baby toys and everything else. I hope she handles it well when he actually arrives. I think the fact that they will be about 2 years & 10 months apart helps a lot. She's out of the baby phase in a lot of ways. She still loves "snuggles" in her rocking chair... which I love.

I've been worried about her psychologically as we teach her that she's a "big girl" and brother is a "baby." I don't want being a "big girl" to be this scenario where she gives up all the things she loves so brother can use them and she can't. She's transitioned into lots of "big girl" phases of life during this pregnancy. She is now potty trained. She sleeps in a big girl bed. And she recently let go of her beloved pacifier (I'll share our journey on that process here soon.) I worry that we are pushing her too much to be a big girl sometimes, but then I realized that she's well on her way to being 3 years old & she's been flawless through all of these transitions. Including 3 big moves over the last year. Seriously so proud of our girl. I know that it might be a rough few days/weeks as we welcome baby boy into our world, but I think she's going to handle it like a champ. She will be the best big sister.

Kess loves her "mountain." We have a beautiful view of West Mountain here in Donnelly. We can see it right out our kitchen windows. It's "our" mountain - in case the rest of you didn't know that. ;) We go on walks almost daily & she loves every minute. She loves her Kane dog. She asks "Kane wead stowies wif us?!" every night. She always walks by him, pats his head and says, "Kane, you a good boy."

Kess loves anything crafty. She loves to paint with water colors. She plays with play dough daily. She likes to color. She is a master su chef & taste tester. She still loves popsicles and never fails to ask for 2 "popsies" after nap time. She seems to be on her way to giving up naps, but we still push for nap time or quiet time every afternoon. I need nap time & will definitely need it in the next few months. I'm hoping this little stint is caused by dropping her pacifier & will resume as she figures out how to soothe herself to sleep differently.

Kess loves puzzles. Actually, that's a total understatement. I bought some dollar store puzzles on a whim one night when Matt was working in McCall & we were still at home. I was desperate for something else for her to do besides TV & play dough. At first she struggled with them & needed a lot of help - which was totally fine except when she wanted to "do puzzos" every waking minute of every day! ;) Now she puts her dollar store ones together like a champ & recently got a few more puzzles from Matt's mom. She actually just busted out a big puzzle all on her own while I typed up this post. Isn't it the coolest thing to watch your kids think something out & execute it! I'm a gushy, proud mom. I don't even feel bad about it.

Kess loves to sing. She sings along with Moana, Trolls, Mickey Mouse, and pretty much everything else. We recently saw the live action Beauty and the Beast and bought a few songs from the soundtrack. She sings along with those, too. The first time I heard her little voice singing "Evermore" I cried. Literal tears, my friends. She also walks around singing "Tale as old as time, tune as old as sooong." Again, with the tears. 

Kess loves the outdoors, just like her daddy. She loves to go on walks, look at birds and wildlife with dad & throw rocks into water. She is Matt through and through when it comes to the outdoors. She is determined to climb the mountains when it's warmer outside. We have a few hikes planned when the weather warms up & I have no doubt that she will love it. She is determined to catch a pink fish with daddy... I'm excited to see how Matt pulls that one off. ;)

Kess doesn't love to share. It's a little unnerving considering we are having a baby in 3ish weeks, but I hear they grow out of it. Fingers crossed. She's pretty possessive of all of her things, but she is also possessive over other people's things as well... meaning, yesterday when Matt was using my phone she snapped at him and said, "Daddy, that's mommy's phone. You give that back to her RIGHT now!" She even pointed her finger at him. Yikes. She means business. I'm hoping she relaxes on the sharing front once brother gets here. 

I'm loving this stage that Kess is in. OK, I'll be honest - I don't love every aspect of this stage, but for the most part it's awesome. She's super inquisitive, smart, funny, quirky & down right hilarious. She's also sassy, too smart for her own good & has some serious attitude. We do our best to keep it in check, but sometimes I'm like, "Ok you be sassy - I'll be over here, let me know when you're done." ;) All in all, she really is beyond sweet. She loves her daddy so much, she apologizes so sweetly, loves her whole family including "brudder." I truly can't wait to see her sweet spirit as a big sister.