To Our 18-Month-Old Daughter

Dear Catherine Anne,

It is hard to believe but today you are eighteen-months-old! You have changed and grown so much over the past year and a half and are transforming into a beautiful, energetic and curious little girl. Recently, you have grown fond of baby dolls but still prefer to smother and hit them rather than love and cuddle them. That's okay. You're learning to be gentle, an attribute your Mommy is also learning everyday. Still, you are a little girlie: you love to put all your hair barrettes and bows in your hair.





Kate, you have just recently started chattering a blue streak and it is amazing how rapidly you are adding new words to your vocabulary. Now you can clearly annunciate words like "socks," "shoes, "juice," "baby," "pee pee," and "poo poo." The last two words are a result of our recent experiences with potty training. Although you do not seem to like the potty seat right now (I think it hurts your little bottom), that's okay. We're going to take it slowly.



You have also revealed to your Daddy and me how observant and smart you are: you know all your animal sounds and can point to all the animals in your books. You are learning your colors and numbers and will probably know them pretty soon, too, because you love to sit and look at your books. Some times when I don't know where you are I will find you behind Mommy and Daddy's bed on the floor surrounded by your books, and you are "reading" them to yourself. It is always nice when you can entertain yourself and you are pretty adept at that.

Kate, you are also becoming a good helper. You help Mommy put away the dishes; you pick up your books, clothes, and toys; and you sweep, vacuum, and dust with Mommy. You also help Mommy and Daddy water the flowers and work in the garden. When you want to be, you can be Mommy's big helper, which will be really nice when Baby comes.



While to others you may seem the perfect angel, your Daddy and I know all too well that you have a fierce temper, a strong will, a stubborn streak, and have a way of throwing some horrific tantrums. We are working hard to help you tame your temper and submit your will to your parents' but would appreciate a little cooperation; that is my constant prayer!!

Still, you are a special little girl, Kate. We love you very much, and we love to see how you grow and mature each day.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

p.s. I know you will be totally embarrassed one day by these pictures, but you are just an adorable little girl right now.

Baby Tidwell

I suppose I will need to differentiate between "Baby Tidwell" and "Baby Kate Tidwell." It seems that no matter how old or big Kate gets she is still lovingly called "Baby Kate." We joke that she will be a teenager and people will still call her that. While she is still Mama and Daddy's baby girl, we do have another precious baby on the way. Yesterday, I had the awesome experience of hearing the baby's heartbeat: a firm reminder that there is indeed a baby in there! I think every time I have heard my babies' heartbeats a little tear came to my eye: life is so amazing and God an awesome God!

I have decided, although I am not sure Daniel is completely on board with me now that we're scheduled for another ultrasound to check the baby's anatomy, not to find out the baby's gender. Yes, I know this is a surprise to many because I am a planner by nature, but I really don't have a real reason to find out except maybe to narrow down names and help Kate get used to his/her name. But I would love the surprise and anticipation of finding out after I have birthed him/her. My guess is that it's a girl, but Daniel is determined it's a boy. Either way we have to get our boy names together. I think boy names are so much harder to come up with girl names. I'm not sure why either. Fortunately, I still have plenty of time to convince Daniel that while I love his grandfather and dad, I do not care for "Horace Boone" as the name for our son. People, please talk some sense into my husband. I'm all about family names but not ones that will get my kid beat up.

Thankfully, most of the nausea has ended with the end of my first trimester. Suddenly, it seems like I eat and eat and eat and never get full. The other day I ate an entire foot-long sub from Subway! But we are walking every day and I am trying to get in shape for this labor and delivery as I know it will be here before we know it. I will keep you posted on further progress!

Easter Eggs & Family Fun

Easter weekend was a fun-filled time with family and loved ones. On Saturday we went to Mema Jean's for lunch and an all-out egg hunt with over 100 eggs! Kate needed a little help at first finding the eggs, but once she got the hang of it, she did a good job spotting them. Like most kids what she really wanted was the yummy candy inside!



Ellie was too intent on getting the candy out of her eggs to be bothered to look up for a picture. Not long after this picture Kate fell down between the table and bench and bruised her back pretty badly, poor thing. What a bad Mommy for standing her up there!



Saturday was also Daniel's birthday, so Mom and Dad took Kate back with them so Mommy and Daddy could go to dinner. We had a very delicious dinner at Provino's, one of my all-time favorite restaurants. After we left I could have sworn garlic oozed out of my pores. I was stuffed but how often does one get to go to Provino's?

On Sunday the Easter Bunny visited Kate at Gram Gram and Papa's house.



After church and before a delicious lunch by Mom, we took some family pictures. What a good lookin' bunch we are!





Following lunch we had yet another egg hunt and then ate Bunny cake and ice cream outside. What a wonderful weekend full of fun and good times with our family.

My Fears List

So, I'm reading Peggy O'Mara's Having a Baby, Naturally, and she recommends writing down the things we fear while we are pregnant to help to face them. I think because I had such a relatively easy labor and delivery with Kate and because I know what to expect that I am worried that this next baby might be a lot more difficult.

Here are some of my fears:

(1) I fear not being mentally prepared for the intensity and emotion of natural childbirth.
(2) I fear not being physically prepared for the same.
(3) I fear the unknown during pregnancy, labor, and delivery.
(4) I fear the pain of labor and delivery as well as afterbirth pains.
(5) I fear for the health of the baby. (I know, a perfectly natural emotion.)
(6) I fear for Kate's adjustment to the new baby.
(7) I fear the challenges of taking care of two babies and therefore the loss of my own personal space and time. (A selfish fear but one that haunts me.)
(8) I fear not being a good mother.

While these fears are nothing profound or unique to me, they do stir up flutters in my stomach and, fortunately, motivate me to do my exercises, read my books, pray a lot, and begin to make the preparations necessary to combat these fears.