“But, sweetie, it’s your birthday! Shouldn’t it have just YOUR name on it?” I asked. But she kept insisting, so we came up with a compromise. In addition to the party cake, we’d bake a cake at home — and I’d let her make the whole thing all by herself — and then I would write on there whatever she wanted. She was happy with that solution.

So she made the cake last night, and today was decorating day. We’d gotten some glitter gel for writing, but I wasn’t sure how well it would write on the cake and how legible it would turn out, so I warned her that I might not be able to write all of her requested cake message. I suggested that maybe instead of words, she could use the gel to draw some pictures and decorations.

She said, “Well, maybe I could just put ‘Big Sister [Name]‘ on there.” I told her that would work.

But then she hesitated. She said very thoughtfully, “Well, since my sister is so new and she hasn’t had her own birthday yet, maybe we could write just ‘Little Sister’ on there.”

“On your cake?” I asked. “That’s all you want?”

She declared that’s all she wanted on there.

Turns out we were able to get both of them on the cake, but I’m still just floored that she had the chance to have her own name on her cake — her once-a-year chance to make it all about her, and for the first birthday after her life became not-nearly-all-about-her — and yet she was choosing to have her sister’s name on there instead.

What a sweet girl.

That’s been my day today. Mostly about work stuff, so I won’t bore anyone with details, but suffice it to say that I’ve had better work days.

I actually enjoy what I do, but it’s days like today where I have to repeat my mantra: I’m thankful I have a job. I’m thankful I have a job. I’m thankful I have a job.

Where’s the ice cream?

*The Little Sis had to stay home from daycare on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, but she returned there today. Health-wise she seems to be back to normal. She’s still a little fussy, which just isn’t like her, but she’s improved each day. Unfortunately, this ear infection has messed with her sleeping big time, and it hasn’t helped that the (NEW) swing broke earlier this week. A replacement motor head is on its way from Fisher Price, but that doesn’t help us while we wait.

*Each day, The Little Sis is becoming more steady with sitting up, though she still can’t be trusted to sit there alone yet because it’s likely she’ll topple over in one direction or another at some point.

*The Big Sis’ drama class is going well, and she really seems to be enjoying it. I’m glad we decided to have her do it. It’s not something we can do very often since it does require that The Husband leave work early, but it’s nice to add to our rotation of classes. I think next up she’s going to do the Y’s “Little Chefs” class.

*I’ll probably get into this a little more with the bigger post I’m working on, but we have decided to severely limit The Big Sis’ exposure to TV, as it’s become quite clear that it negatively affects her behavior. She watched no TV before age 2, but once she broke her leg, we started letting her watch stuff, and it just got out of control once The Little Sis arrived and we needed occasional distractions for her. She now has an incentive system wherein she has to buy TV time. For each day, she has the opportunity to earn one gemstone (she picked amber), and we’ll have the choice to give her bonus stones for exceptionally good behavior. She can buy a TV show for 2 stones, or she can buy a movie for 4 stones. Her behavior is much improved since we cut back on TV a couple weeks ago, and I’m hoping that our incentive system will also teach her lessons about budgeting and saving in terms she can understand.

*The Big Sis has really gotten into painting with watercolors over the past few weeks. That’s the first thing she wants to do when she arrives at school each morning when they have free play before circle time.

*The Big Sis tends to be super grumpy when we have to go in and wake her up on school days. However, we have figured out the perfect solution to that: Wake up The Little Sis first and take her in The Big Sis’ room. It’s amazing how quickly her mood turns, and within seconds of some sister snuggle time she’s happy and ready to get up.

*The Big Sis has now asked for a new puppy. She wants a golden retriever. (Another one.) She wants it to be a girl. She wants to name it Marcia. I explained that The Little Sis is a lot of work right now, so we can consider getting one when both girls are old enough to help take care of a dog. I asked when she thought that was. She said when The Little Sis is 4 years old. I agreed…yes, we will consider another dog when The Little Sis is 4. Any chance she’ll forget by then? I’m not holding my breath.

First laugh…

First…ear infection.

[sigh]

It began a couple days ago with gunky, crusty eyes for The Little Sis, which last time she had with a cold and the doctor said that could be a sign of an ear infection (last time it wasn’t one). This time she had no cold symptoms, but first had the yucky eyes then developed a fever today, and I strongly suspected ear infection. Sure enough, The Husband took her to The Pediatrician and her right ear is infected.

Her first EI at just over 5 months old. Here’s hoping it’s not the start of a trend of ear infections leading to tubes like it did for The Big Sis. The Little Sis is just like The Big Sis in many ways, and that’s one way I want them to be very different!

However, I’ve always been a little afraid that something unexpected would catch me off-guard and I’d find myself longing for another child even though it’s something we’ve never considered at all.

I passed the first such test when I recently gave to a coworker some of our baby items that we’re done with — and also packed up some baby clothes to give to a friend who is due in the spring, including the tiny newborn size and some of my favorite itty-bitty baby outfits. I know that a lot of moms, whether they’re done with children or not, have trouble packing up the clothes, either to put them away in storage or to give them away. Memories are made in those clothes, and we often attach a great sense of importance and meaning to them.

Honestly, I’ve always kind of felt like an outsider in that regard. Yes, I have my favorite baby outfits, but I guess I’ve always just looked at them as things — not as the memories themselves. For a long time now I’ve been trying to figure out why I don’t have that emotional attachment to the clothes, and it recently hit me: I take pictures all the time — nearly every day, even if we’re just hanging out around the house. The memories are contained not only in my mind but in those photos. I look at them to take me back to that place and time, so I guess I don’t feel the need to keep the clothes in a storage tote in the garage for an indefinite amount of time. I did keep their hospital outfits, as well as one dress that was handmade by The Husband’s aunt, but so far that’s all I’ve kept. And confession: Even then, I didn’t feel the need to keep them, but just felt like I should. At one point I had considered making a quilt out of the baby clothes, but for some reason that doesn’t feel quite right, either, though it’s harder to put into words why.

It does help that so far I’ve been able to pass clothes and other things to people I know — both first-time moms — so I know they’re going to be used well and appreciated. I do have a couple boxes of clothes packed up and ready to sell, and I’m okay with that, though I’ll pass them on to someone if a recipient comes along before I sell them. My memories were made in those clothes, and they can go on to have another life providing memories for other families.

In fact, getting rid of the clothes has been the ultimate affirmation that we are indeed very happy with our two children and do not, in fact, desire more.

So I will continue to take pictures of my children in abundance, holding onto those adorable clothes not physically but in picture form, and being thankful that we had the opportunity to dress another child in those adorable clothes each morning.

Admittedly, the purple nail polish was looking a little ragged. At the end of summer, I tend to have my toenails looking great until that last time I wear open-toed shoes, then I often let the polish wear away on its own. This was no different. Or was it?

I said to him, “I can’t bring myself to.”

Confused, he appropriately asked, “Huh?”

I said, “I can’t. Because it’s from that spa pedicure I had. You know, right before my water broke with The Little Sis.”

I can’t really explain why I can’t just use some remover and take the rest of it off. There’s not much left there anyway. It serves no real purpose for being there. Yet I want to let it wear away completely on its own.

In a weird way, it’s almost the exact opposite of The Little Sis — as my pedicure looks uglier with every day that passes, The Little Sis becomes more and more beautiful.

I have many other things that connect me to that experience, yet for some reason that’s one I hung on to. And so I will get the full mileage (and beyond!) from this pedicure. For no other reason than it just reminds me of a very special time in my life.

(My sincerest apologies for a picture of feet. I mean, ewwwwww, right? Further proof that this blog is primarily for my record-keeping, because if it were solely for everyone else, I certainly wouldn’t post that. Thank you for putting up with it.)