Post holiday news

As promised, here is my exciting post-holiday entry, being written between bites of split pea soup on my lunch break. On a side note, can I say how completely unappetizing split pea soup is? I am not sure what I was thinking when I bought it, except that it sounded healthy, and I like peas, at least as much as a person can actually enjoy peas, so I went for it. But really, it reminds me of Olivia's baby food in both appearance and texture and it is making me feel a bit nauseated. But I am eating it anyway, because I am hungry and have nothing else to eat. Speaking of nausea and hunger, that brings me to my big news that I have been withholding from you since my last entry on the Reading Eagle blog (I know you have been on the edge of your seat, barely able to sleep at night, wondering, "what could Amelia's big news BE??") Well, one of the commenters on that last blog got it right: I'm pregnant. Again. A mere 11 months after the birth of my first child. And yes, apparently I am crazy.
This was admittedly an unexpected turn of events, however we are extremely excited about having another child. We have weighed the pros and cons of the situation, just to take stock of what we are up against:

Pro: Siblings close in age and therefore will be close friends.
Con: Siblings close in age and therefore will bicker often.
Pro: We'll get it all overwith at once (we were only planning on having two).
Con: 2 in diapers!
Pro: Another sweet little baby to love.
Con: Another sweet little baby to drain us of sleep and money.
And on and on the list went, with the pros winning us over in the long run.
We are officially overjoyed.

It took a while for me to get past the shock, though. I didn't believe it when I took the first pregnancy test on a whim one uneventful afternoon, when just an inkling of curiosity had crossed my mind ("I'm sure I'm not, but I have that leftover pregnancy test, so maybe I'll just take it to ease my mind."). It took me a good 4 or 5 tests after that one ("The line is really faint on this one, maybe I should try another one...") to call the doctor. I didn't have any symptoms (at first) and I just didn't feel pregnant. I just couldn't believe it. It isn't that I didn't want another one, I certainly did and do, it is just that I had only recently finished breastfeeding and was just starting to fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes in a way that didn't make me cringe when looking in the mirror. I could have a glass of wine (2 even!) if I wanted to, drink enough coffee to get me through the day without wanting to nap under my desk and I could even take ibuprofen and eat all the junk I wanted without having to worry about it affecting another human being. I was really beginning to enjoy things like hot dogs and beer, just because I had missed them for so long. I had my body back, at least for a little while. But no more, my body is once again being shared with another little bean (kidney-sized at this point in time), which I wouldn't have believed had I not spotted the little tadpole on the monitor at my doctor's office, heart beating away, a tiny little life growing inside my belly. And it was at that moment that all the doubt, fear, denial and worry melted away. I was hopelessly in love, again. It's been said before that as a mother, you wonder how on Earth you would ever be able to love another living thing as much as you love your firstborn, but it only took a glance at the ultrasound screen to confirm that it is indeed possible. So there it is, I'm with child, due on August 5, which in case you are wondering, is oh, about, a MILLION YEARS FROM NOW.

In other news, that firstborn of mine is continuing to keep me busy and gets cuter and more fun by the minute.

And since it's been so long since I've written a proper post, I've got so many things that have happened in her little world. Things happen fast and often when practically everything you do in your life, you are doing for the first time. First and foremost, she is officially walking now. Yes, walking, as in upright, two feet, no hands, one foot in front of the other. Sure, she wobbles and yes, she falls down a lot. But she's doing it and I am thrilled, even if that means I've moved on to the second stage of childproofing.
Case in point, my latest and greatest source of mommy guilt: The Christmas tree incident.
Our tree is half-naked, with ornaments only adorning its top half, following "the incident."
She is a curious child, you see, and sparkly glass ornaments are simply too irresistable to bear for her. In fact, they look good enough to eat. Which is why, when I turned my back for a mere second, the child managed to grab a glass ball, burst it in her bare hands and proceed to raise a shard of glass to her open mouth, fully intending on eating it, had I not removed it from her hands just in time. It was at that moment that I realized I was not only the suckiest mother on Earth, but also that the glass ornaments had to go, at least the ones in her arm's reach.
Other than that potentially tragic episode, we had a wonderful Christmas, filled with presents and cookies and long afternoon naps. I will talk in more detail about all the wonders of my baby-turned toddler soon.
But I'm tired now and have to get back to work. But I am seriously considering that nap under my desk. I wonder if anyone will notice.

Happy New Year to you all. Have some cocktails for me.