The Drapela Family: The last few days as our only BABY!

This post is going to be all about our one and only (for right now) little princess. Not many more days and she will no longer be an only child, so I wanted to make sure I document everything she is doing right now before life gets crazy and I forget! J

o Talks all the time.
o Still LOVES to read….does not play with any of her toys….just reads her books, holds her babies, and messes with everything she is not supposed to J….she also loves dragging out the one cabinet of Tupperware, etc. that we did not child-proof just for her. She reads every book we have out every day. She points to each picture and if it is an animal she makes the animal sound. I have ordered her a ton of new board books from St. Nick and Santa….so she will be thrilled to have a new set….she also just got a lot more for Halloween….that was her Halloween gift from all of her family.
o These are the things she says that we can understand: eyes (and will point to them), oof-oof (when she sees or hears a dog), eow (meow), ow (when she sees a fire or a picture of a fire), no, daddy, mommy, hi & bye (all the time), What’s that (sounds like s-sat in a whisper voice with her hands up in the air like asking what?), shoes (and she knows she has to have them to go outside too so she is always trying to get someone to put on shoes to take her out J), all done (when finished eating or finished reading her book), ball, ish (fish), apple (if we say it she will repeat it)
o Pulls her shirt up all the time and does it to me, Nathan, my mom and dad…ugh!
o If you give her a tissue, wipe, or towel and tell her to clean her face or blow her nose she will do it (SOOO CUTE!)….she will wipe her nose but blow with her mouth. J
o Does NOT like to get dressed after her bath….ugh! This makes for a trying evening trying to get her ready for bed.
o Still goes to bed fairly easy on her own.
o Has become a little pickier with her food than she used to be. We push her high chair up to the table and she eats from the table like us. Her food always starts on a plate (just like ours) but after a while she turns it upside down and plays with it, so she ends up eating from the table at most every meal. She does NOT like us to feed her. If we give her the fork or spoon she just wants to bang it on the table or hold it so she still ends up eating with her fingers….we will get there! :)
o She has become quite the little toot lately….I am hoping it has something to do with her sensing all the changes that are very soon to take place in our household…and not that she is hitting the early throes of the terrible two’s….yikes! She runs from us (more so me because it is harder for me to move quick to catch her—little stinker!) when we tell her to do something or try to wipe her nose, etc. She bangs on the cabinet doors that she cannot open when she gets mad. She shakes her head and says no when you tell her something she does not want to hear. She has started throwing little temper tantrums if you take something away from her or move her away from somewhere she shouldn’t be (if you grab her hand she will pull away from you and whine and grunt—OR she will throw herself on the floor to crawl/scoot away from you—OR she will stomp and cry)….OH THE JOYS! J
o Still waves ALL THE TIME!
o Still loves bath time.
o Pats our backs still when she hugs us…she has quit with the kisses but is still our sweet little girl!
o She can be pretty rough with her babies so we are working on being “gentle” and practicing a lot. J
o Her favorite hang-out lately is in the refrigerator….we have to be super quick when opening it because she likes to perch in it and stay for awhile—refer to fit throwing above when we try to get her to move. J
o Another favorite toy is the toilet—she loves water so splashing in there ranks pretty high in her books. J This makes for several hand-washings….we are good about keeping her bathroom door closed but sometimes after I go to the bathroom (which she is always in there with me) and I start walking out I say “come on” so she will follow me….usually she does, but sometimes she runs back in and goes for a quick dip. J
o Her favorite foods are still greek yogurt with strawberries or blueberries and cheese….and yes she gets these everyday since she drinks NO milk at all (she refuses—we have tried everything!) we have to make sure she is making up her calcium in other ways.
o She still startles easily and is scared of loud things. If we are outside and a truck or tractor drives by, she freaks out and comes running to us to hold her….after they pass by she waves and says “bye” and then she is fine.
o She always puts her hands up in the air and says “what’s that” or “all done” or just does it when you ask her a question—she acts like she does not know the answer…pretty cute! J
o She fits in 12 month clothes except that most pants are high-waters on her because she is so tall, so I have been putting her in more 18 month clothes.
o We have been dealing with a horrible diaper rash for over a month now and LOTS of poopy diapers. We finally had to concede and get a RX from the Dr. to get this thing under control. We also had to cut out several foods at different times to see what is the cause behind this issue. We have cut out fruits for the second time now to get the acid under control. This is not fun because she loves fruit (she is not so good about eating her veggies these daysL). So because of this we have been using size 4 diapers but she also still wears size 3’s. We have been on the watch for a wheat allergy as that is the next thing we have noticed/are checking to see if it is causing these rashes, etc.
o She does the hand motions for Itsy Bitsy spider and will make a repetitive sound indicating she wants us to sing it (super cute!)….that is by far her favorite song, but she also sings her rendition of “ashes, ashes, we all fall down” indicating she wants us to sing “Ring around the rosie”. J She is a mover and shaker and loves to sing. She sings e-i-e-i, but always leaves off the "o" part....funny!
o She follows simple commands when she want to. I emphasize that part because she can understand and do what you say, it just depends on her mood whether or not she will comply….I’m telling you we are at a stage!
o Loves to turn the light switch on or off (whichever we tell her if we are holding her) BUT also can reach hers from her changing table meaning we often get her dressed in the dark…ugh! So frustrating when she won’t leave it alone! J
She climbs up and down our porch stairs by herself and she usually brings a rock up with her. This is great because it is so hard for me to carry her in the house after work, so she follows me up the stairs and she loves it because she gets to be so independent.

We did decorate (ok—Nathan did (I just supervisedJ)—thanks Honey) the house this past weekend for Christmas. I am always an early bird with the decor because I LOVE it soooo much and want to have a long time to enjoy it. However, this year we had to get it out and done because I could go into labor at any day and it will be a little crazy when the baby is here so it was now or never. She does not mess with the tree (thought we might have to leave ornaments off the bottom, but no problems yet). We let her look and tell her all the time “pretty”, etc. but she has left it alone. I still have a few things sitting out that have not found homes yet and she likes to mess with those, but for the most part she looks at everything and points and that’s it. I even set up a cute little tree in her room with pink decor that we plug in for her when she goes to bed and she seems to like that. Hopefully she is enjoying it as much as her mommy does! J

I have had extreme “Mommy Guilt” lately over having this baby. Physically, I am WAY ready to have this baby, but emotionally I need more time just with Paislyn. I am VERY worried about how she is going to act/respond/feel/behave, etc. when we bring the baby home. Also, so worried about leaving her overnight again (this will only be the second time to ever leave her overnight, and while I know she will be taken care of and loved, it does not compare to me being able to check on her 5 times a night just to make sure, with my own eyes, she is okay.) I don’t want her to feel second in our lives just because she will not be the “one and only”. I am really worried about how she will respond to me as I will be more pre-occupied with the baby (feeding, recovering, etc) so I will not be able to do a lot with her. She is already a daddy’s girl which is great, but I am worried it will make her resent me. L If she was a little older and knew what was going on I feel it would be easier, however, she has NO idea and does not understand, so it makes it hard. We are just going to come home one day with a baby (who will not be leaving) and her world is going to be rocked! L We are over-joyed and cannot wait to become a family of 4, I am just sooo worried about how my first baby is going to feel. I know, everyone says it will be “fine” and I am sure it will. But, until it all actually happens then as her mom I will just continue to worry about her and pray that it is a smooth transition for her, she still feels just as loved as always, and we will all adjust quickly and painlessly to being a family of 4. Any prayers sent up for her adjustment are most definitely welcome! J

We have had a FABULOUS (almost) 14 months with our little Princess and cannot wait to enjoy her even more in her new role as a BIG SISTER!

Paislyn, you made us a mommy and daddy and we will forever cherish all of the memories we made with just you for your first 14 months of life. You are such a little firecracker and have shown us how to love unconditionally. Always remember we are not taking any love away from you, but giving you lifelong friends in the form of siblings to play with, laugh with, torture us with, and love! J We love you to the moon and back sweet Punkin! J