Sasquatch and the woodpecker

I couldn't resist the comparison....

It is hard to believe that we are rounding out our second week in Raleigh! In a way it feels like we have always been here, but then sometimes it just seems like we are headed back to our house in Charlotte tomorrow.

Alden had a rough couple days of being two last week. I think she had a little bit of a cold, and wasn't taking good naps, and has been getting up an hour earlier than she was in Charlotte...I think she hears Matt get up and shower in the morning. As a result, Mom had a couple hard days, too, and I was about to ship her off to China on a few occasions. Alden is getting very testy, and is trying to get away with as much as possible. This has been an adjustment for Grammy, too, who has had to lay down the law a little bit and can't always be the "nice guy." Alden knows a sucker...

She has also learned how to open doorknobs all of a sudden, and lets herself out of her room in the morning, and then either into the bathroom, where she has surprised Matt in the shower a couple times, or into our room, saying "Hi!" and running in. It is cute to see her, but I was getting really used to waking up at 8:15-8:30 in Charlotte...

We played a lot in her crab sandbox and the little pool out on the deck. She loves being outside, and it is great to have a shady place to play. We have visited a couple of the local libraries for story time, but have yet to find one that compares to Miss Susan at Rea Road. They do sing Raffi a lot here, which pleases Alden. Last Wednesday, we went to the Cary library and after story time, Alden ran to the adult section, and ended up finding a book about whales that we looked at FOREVER. Our visit was cut a little short, though, because as I tried to divert her back to the kid section, she had a fit. So much for killing time that morning.

On Friday, Mom and I took Alden to Marbles, the children's museum in downtown. She played a long time with the Thomas the Train set, and then spent a lot of time "shopping", filling her grocery cart with food, and picking the vegetables. It was a great place to let her run around, although there were a ton of kids there with summer school camps. Alden was quick to point out the "bad boys" of the group.

Matt and I took Alden to the Cary Y pool on Saturday, which Alden calls the "Ooo Y" (New Y). They have a great kid pool, and she swam and played in the sprayground for a long time. She took a great nap that afternoon, as did Matt and I.

We tried a "Ooo Church" on Sunday, the only PCA church in Cary, and thought it was ok. One neat thing was that my high school geometry teacher was in the nursery! How about that?! We are still excited about finding a new church home, although it will be hard to take the place of Christ Covenant. After church we went to Smithfield BBQ, and Matt and I did some looking for more work clothes. No luck. Who knew the right size dress pants were so elusive?

Last week, Alden started calling us "Mommy" and "Daddy". Now instead of "Ma, Ma, Ma,..." it is "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy..." until you make eye contact and say "Yes, Alden?"

This has been the week of three very specific books. "Click, Clack, Moo, Cows that Type" (Me, ma, moo) which came from Chick-Fil-A, "The New Baby" (Ooo Baby), and "Grandma, Grandpa and Me" (Ba-ba, ba-ba, a me). Alden "reads" them ALL the time, and will not let anyone else touch them, much less read them to her. No kidding, the other morning, she spent over an hour looking at them over and over. She is really bossy about who can sit on the same furniture while she is reading, too. She has told us all to move to the couch, or chair, depending on her whims and preferences.

This week has gone by quickly. We had a doctor's appointment on Monday afternoon, and everything is still good with Hudson. They checked my fluid again on the ultrasound, and said it shouldn't be an issue this pregnancy. I measured right around 36 cm, and didn't gain any weight, which was a surprise to Matt and I after a week of eating at my parents' house. I am SO tired of being pregnant, and keep hoping that Hudson will come soon...

Amber was here on Monday and helped get a lot of Hudson's things organized. I still need to pack my hospital bag, but then I think, if I don't have it packed, maybe I am more likely to go into labor earlier. It will probably get done this weekend, at the insistence of Matt and my mom.

We toured the hospital on Tuesday night, which was really nice. It will be great to deliver at Rex, with Mom and Amber so familiar with it. It was strange to see the babies in the nursery...they looked fake. We still can't believe that we are going to have one soon...and a BOY at that!

Alden and I hit up the "Ooo pool" on Wednesday, although it was a little cool. She took a lot of breaks to eat and warm up, and made some friends with the "big kids" who were playing in the kiddie pool. She slept that afternoon for 3 hours, which was glorious, because that morning had been the trauma of the week.

I heard Alden around 6:20 crying in her room "Mommy, mommy". Matt was already up downstairs, but it is unusual for her to wake up so early. I went to the bathroom before I went in to get her, and every time I heard a woodpecker outside, she would scream louder. She was terrified of the sound, until Matt and I came in and explained that it was just a bird looking for bugs in the tree bark. Unfortunately, she was not in the mood to go back to sleep. We talked about the woodpecker a lot that day, and even heard him again this morning, although thankfully, a little bit later!

This morning Mom and I took Alden to the NC Hunter/Jumper Association Show at the fairgrounds. She got to pet some ponies, and was very good watching the rounds, being quiet while the horses were jumping, and then cheering enthusiastically when they were through. She was very concerned about the horses stepping on her feet, like she was even close enough to them for that to happen. Where does she come up with this stuff??