Where do you hide your Christmas presents?

Do you shop for Christmas presents before December?  I do.  I shop early for three reasons:

1. By shopping throughout the year, I spread out the expense of Christmas, at least somewhat.
2. I buy things on sale, second-hand, or on clearance, and save a TON.
3. I buy what I think people will really enjoy when I see it rather than being stuck with a list of 20 people to buy for all in the span of 2 weeks and not enough creativity to go around.

These are all positive reasons to shop ahead of time.  There are some drawbacks, however.  For example, if you purchase things for your immediate family members before December (when it's appropriate to just wrap them and stick them under the tree), then you have to find places to hide the gifts.  This is what has been particularly problematic for me this year...

This summer I hit the jackpot!  I found something for Lily that I assumed she would love and something for Chase that I knew he'd love.  I paid only about 20% of what it would have cost me to purchase these things new, and I just stumbled across them when I was garage saling - no creativity required!  Just eyes to see what my family would love to have!  :)

Both being somewhat large items (a doll-sized stroller and car seat for Lily - Graco brand that look JUST LIKE what I will use when baby #2 comes along - the car seat even sits inside the stroller just like my car seat does! And a poker tabletop for Chase - he loves poker) I snuck them into the garage and stashed them between the luggage and the off-season dress clothes in the closet in the garage.  I am the only person who ever gets anything out of that closet, so I figured I was home free!

But then last Wednesday night happened.  Chase needed a bag that we couldn't find in the usual places, and because I was too tired to help, he dug through the luggage in the garage closet by himself... aaaaaaaand found his poker table.  Awesome.  So much for that surprise.

Oh well, no tears shed - I rarely surprise him anyway.  At least the car seat and stroller were safe from Lily.  My plan was actually to give them to her when baby #2 comes along in April.  It will look just like what I use for the new baby, I thought.  She'll have her own little set for her baby when we go on walks in the spring and early summer, I thought.  Good thoughts!  Until...

This evening, Chase went out to mow and Lily and I worked on putting flower pots away and other fall yard odds and ends.  We ended up in the garage where she saw this Pooh bear thing sitting on the ground.  One look and she had figured out that (despite it was folded up) it was a stroller.  "Open this stroller," she said.  So I complied.

And for the next 45 minutes she pushed that stroller All. Over. The house.  It got to be bed time, so she strolled it into her room, over to her crib, and asked for her plug (i.e. pacifier).  I got a plug for her out of her crib.  She popped it in her mouth and turned the stroller heading out of the room.  I told her that if she was going to keep pushing the stroller, she needed to give me her plug.  (This was a sure fire way of getting her to give up the stroller.  She loves her plug.)

Without skipping a beat, she turned around, hurled the plug across the room at me, and strolled out of the door.  Fail.  Eventually we did get her to bed, and we didn't even have to put the stroller in the crib!  Eventual success!

I'm sitting here in the living room looking at her bears tucked snugly in the little car seat sitting next to the stroller.  I think to myself, I should hide it.  We're busy tomorrow morning.  Maybe she'll forget.  To use one of Lily's sayings, "Probly not."  I know her.  She wouldn't.

So much for that great idea.  At least the stroller is a hit.  I guess I know what my family will like... if only I could find a great (secret) place to hide things.  I once "hid" one of Chase's Christmas presents on my dresser for weeks before I got it wrapped.  He never noticed it.  Maybe if I'd put the poker table in his side of the closet I would have had better luck.  But Lily is way to observant.  Time to come up with a better spot for her stuff...

Differences the 2nd time around...

I've been thinking lately about the differences between this 2nd pregnancy and my 1st.  The books say that just as each child is different, so each pregnancy is different.  Thus far, I'd have to agree, and they're different in more ways than I'd imagined.

I did a pretty good job the 1st time around documenting when I felt ill, when I felt well, when I started to gain weight, when I had to change what I was wearing, etc.  So those comparisons are easy.  I've definitely felt better and had more energy with this pregnancy than I did with Lily.  In part, I think that's because I know better how to take care of myself (i.e. eat every 2 hours during the first trimester, even when I didn't feel like it), and take naps in the afternoons when I can.  

But I also think that differences in my life style have made this go around a bit easier.  Last time when I found out I was pregnant, we started planning a cross-country move, deciding when we'd quit our jobs, saving for the move, house hunting, etc, etc, etc.  This time, I have known since the day I found out I was pregnant what the room looks like that I'll put this baby in.  I have not had to worry about how we'd pay the bills (any more than I do any other time), and I have not had to plan, pack and execute a huge move.  I think stability in life style and daily routine has been a benefit this time around.

My "cravings" (though I don't really crave things, I just prefer to eat some things over others) this time around have been very different.  I ate sweets and ice cream and mostly my "normal fare" with Lily.  This time, I can't handle too much sugar at all - it makes me feel crummy.  I'd much rather have salty or protein based foods over sugary sweets - that's a HUGE change for me.  (I know, I know, now you think I'm having a boy... Time will tell.  We should know by Christmas.)

But probably the biggest difference I notice with this pregnancy is how little I think about it on a daily basis versus when I was pregnant with Lily.  I don't mean that I don't think about or pray for or dream about what this child will be like (in fact, I dreamed last night that I had a very hairy boy who we couldn't name the name we've been talking about because one of it's meanings is "bald."  Thanks, Pastor, for focusing on Jacob and Esau in Sunday School yesterday...)

When I was pregnant the last time around, we changed everything about how we functioned, where we lived, where we worked, who we were in order to accommodate the little life that was joining us.  And we haven't looked back for a second!  But this time around, we don't have to make those drastic changes.  I already feel connected with this baby in a way I didn't with Lily.  I cannot wait for the moment when labor and delivery is over and I get to hold him/her!  I KNOW that any pain, sacrifice, effort, even labor and delivery will be worth every second!  And I KNOW that I do not get him/her forever, but for whatever time I do, I will cherish it all.  

I think about this baby coming and I think about the things I need to prepare for Lily - moving her to a toddler bed, getting her baby doll things just like what I'll use for the new baby (stroller, high chair, pacifier), making sure she knows she's loved and cherished as we bring home #2.  Maybe it's not fair that I focus so much on preparing her, but I hope with good preparation, the baby will get the benefit of the love of the 3 of us (Chase, Lily and I) without jealousy from Lily.

Maybe it's not fair, but it's the way it is, and baby-focused preparations will begin once we know if this is a boy or a girl - do I need to get boy things?  Do I need to go through what I already have and figure out what I need to get new?  And what do I need to get/do to make life function smoothly with 2?  Those things will come.  

But for now, I'll enjoy the differences this time around - that I have Lily to focus on already, that she's healthy, that she's learning and growing, that she's happy and energetic, and that she'll be the best big sister ever.  To that end, here is a little of what we've been doing lately...

I let Lily watch Curious George, Cat in the Hat, or Elmo 

while I shower in the morning - whatever's on at the time.  Frazier appreciates the snuggles.

Chase and I got Lily little markers for her birthday, and they've been a HUGE hit!

She sits and colors with them for like 20 minutes at a shot.

I set up my little artist in the kitchen at her own little table in her own little chair yesterday.

I got to do dishes in peace for about 25 minutes!

Well... almost in peace.  Every 7 seconds Lily said, "Mommy, look!  Look at my picture!" 

So I'd look and say, "It looks so nice, honey!" and she'd say (without coloring another stroke)

"Mommy, look at my picture!"  Still, the dishes got done without a single tear.

This morning, we made the dough for molasses cookies.  

Lily LOVES to help make cookies and sample them at every stage. 

She tasted the flour.  She tasted the sugar.  I told her not to lick the spatula with molasses and shortening on it.  I turned my back.  I turned around.  She (with spatula in hand and molasses on face) said, "Mmmm, it's good!"  Molasses and shortening with no sugar?  Yuck!  

By the time she licked the beater clean, we stripped her, wiped up hands and face and went for outfit #2 today.  Amazingly, she didn't get any in her hair!

This is my first attempt at uploading a video to the blog, so bear with me.  I'll test it to see if it works once it's posted.  The video is Lily and me singing her favorite song of late:  Hush Little Baby.  She mixes up the verses at the beginning, but she does know almost the whole thing when I sing it with her.  And, shockingly considering her 2 parents, she already has a sense of tune!