For my mother

I’ve been pondering over my parents a lot lately. As I get a little older each day, I find within myself some of the small things that are their gifts to me. One of my most treasured memories is a song my mother used to sing to me each evening before bed. On a whim, I started to sing this song to Katherine before she goes to bed. I think it is one of her favorite memories too. For fun, here are the lyrics (forgive my spelling of the foreign words):

Good night, sleep tight, and pleasant dreams to you.
Here’s a wish, and prayer that all your dreams come true.
And now, tell we meet again.
Adios, Aurevoir, Aufweidersehn.
Good night, sleep tight.

Then she gets a big kiss. Simple songs, simple words, excellent memories. And I think my favorite part of the song was that I think she only sang it for me. Of course, I have no idea if that is true, but that’s the way I remember it. It makes me wonder what song I’ll pull out of my hat for the next child.

Read Full Post »

There’s a baby in mommy’s tummy!

 Yesterday, we listened to the baby’s heart for the first time. Katherine was there, and she listened attentively. Because she had such extreme jealousy issues with Cooper, we are trying very hard to help her be a part of this pregnancy so that we might avoid a future fratricide. Fratricide is one of those dirty words that hopefully never comes into your family, especially between the 3-year-old and the newborn.

In an attempt to connect things for her, we pointed out that the heart beat she heard was the heart of a baby in mommy’s tummy. She kind of got quiet and pensive for a moment. Then she hopped up, grabbed Courtney’s mouth firmly in both hands, and wrenched her mouth open. Sticking her head about halfway down Courtney’s throat, she firmly declared, “I don’t see it.” Case closed. No baby.

I suppose for a first attempt, it wasn’t half bad.

Read Full Post »