Finally, it happened

The other day a stranger touched my belly. I know this is something that happens relatively often to pregnant women, and I know that a lot of people really don't like it, but I always assumed that I wouldn't mind. And now I know for sure--I don't! I suppose it could get annoying if you couldn't walk down the street for all the people touching your belly, but this woman just seemed excited and I didn't mind a bit.

I am also ecstatic to report that my sciatic nerve pain has all but disappeared. Three weeks ago I desperately wanted this baby out, but now I'm content to wait for as long as it takes and enjoy the remaining days that we have as a family of three. A family of three who all sleep through the night, I might add.

I believe that at twenty months of age, Will has officially entered the "Terrible Twos." His newest charm is that he absolutely must dress himself, despite his complete lack of coordination and apparent understanding of the distinction between sleeves and legs in his sleepers. So getting him ready for bed takes a very, very long time. He also insists on wearing his Mickey Mouse sleeper every night, even though it's getting too small, is way too warm for the weather we've been having recently, and is dirty at least every other night. We finally figured out that although it is not at all OK for Mommy or Daddy to help him get dressed, Bananas the Bear may be permitted to lend a hand. He also refuses to eat lunch most days. Sometimes it's my fault because I wait too long and he is tired, but a lot of the days he's just being a pain in the butt and doesn't want to sit in his booster seat. Today I finally got him to eat by putting his Elmo doll in another booster seat and providing him with a plate of egg salad and a cup of water. Will thought it was pretty awesome to eat lunch with Elmo. We then, of course, had to change Elmo's diaper, read books with Elmo, and lay Elmo down with a blanket for a nap in order to get Will to do the same things.

Will's most-used phrase is "I help." You'd think this would be cute and nice, but what it really means is, "No, you cannot have this time to yourself. I must participate in every activity that goes on in this household, no matter how inappropriate or dangerous it would be for me to help, or how much longer it will take than if you just did it by yourself." For example, a conversation might go like this:

Me: Will, I'll be right back. I have to go to the bathroom.
Will: I help!

Here is a picture of Will helping me make macaroni salad. I actually didn't mind him helping with this task because it was something to do and he had a great time and was very proud of himself.



Also, Will is about as cuddly these days as he's ever been in his life. He wants to give hugs and kisses all the time and he's taken to calling me and Matt "Mommy" and "Daddy" instead of "Mama" and "Dada." It's really very cute. He's also putting sentences together, which is so cool. The other day he said, "The fork--I dropped it." And yesterday he said, "The shoes--I wear them." I think he doesn't understand the sentence structure of "I dropped the fork," but he sure is making his points.