I’ve been told many things about “number 2.” Most of them, I am finding, are true. First, time flies by. I can’t believe it’s already been a month since little Liesl arrived. During that time we certainly haven’t taken enough photos, written enough thank you notes, gotten enough exercise, or slept enough. I’ve been horrible about responding to emails, haven’t cooked, and rarely cleaned. Yet, the time has flown by. As I sit awake at 2 am, I think about the blog entries I should be posting to capture these days. I will try to capture some of the thoughts here.
First, we were so fortunate to have our family willing to help for such a long time! When our doctor thought Liesl would arrive three weeks early, my mom came over to be here for Chiara when we went to the hospital. When Liesl hadn’t arrived by the end of the week, Mom went home to be with Megan and Carolyn came over. She had no idea what she was in for! She arrived in sunny, warm weather. A week later, fall began to make its arrival and she went shopping for sweatshirts, sweaters, and socks! Two weeks passed and Carolyn missed the big quilting expo in order to be here with Chiara. Three weeks passed and finally, my doctor decided it was time to induce. Carolyn once again opted to stay for a little longer to meet this reluctant infant.
Chiara, of course, was in heaven. For more than a month, she had not only Mom to herself, but also Grandma and Gra. Life couldn’t get any better for her! Thank you, Carolyn, for giving up so much of your time to help us during the transition from one to two!
Friends have told me that the second child is so much easier than the first. They say that it is because you are more relaxed and don’t worry about quite as much. I thought I was pretty relaxed with Chiara, so I worried a little; where is the line between relaxed and negligent? It turns out they are right, but perhaps for different reasons. I have found that, this time around, it is easier because of the support we have received. Thanks to all our friends, most of whom I have met from having Chiara, we have been enjoying meals without having to lift a pan! In addition to all the dinners, I’ve had a friend bring over coffee and homemade zucchini bread, friends offer incentive to get out of the house, and friends and neighbors come and hold Liesl to give my arms a rest! Thank you to all the support you’ve offered us!
And number 1: how is Chiara doing? She is great! She is gentle with Liesl, always asking if she can kiss her on the forehead. She has held her a couple of times, but mostly is content to look at her. When Liesl starts crying, Chiara will often sing to try and comfort her. Liesl, in turn, loves to watch her big sister. While Tom is concerned that Liesl doesn’t really look at him, she will follow Chiara around for quite a while! Chiara has become very independent, too. For the many, many hours I spend feeding Liesl, Chiara is content to play on her own or sit beside me and read books. She has been so patient.
Not only is Chiara acting so maturely, but she seems like a giant now. Relative to Liesl, Chiara’s legs seem to go on forever (and given her parents, we know that is not a trait she inherited!). I keep looking in her face to try to see some of the baby that was there just a few years ago, but instead I see a teenager looking back at me. Time really does fly by.
It has been fun to introduce Liesl to friends and family. Grandpa George and Julie came over after Liesl was born to meet her. Such fun to introduce Liesl to her first cousin! And then my parents came back over. Dad and Tom ran the Dirty 2nd Half (with Tom taking 15 minutes off his first half-marathon time this race! Pretty impressive for a sleep-deprived dad!) and Mom held Liesl for hours, but still found time to make dinner, clean the floors, and play with Chiara. (Four children trained her well!)
After a brief absence, my parents came back to babysit so Tom and I could go out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. Just six years, but I realized that when it comes to relationships, time is not a relevant measure. Each evening, I am thrilled that Tom is the person sitting across from me at the dinner table. Thanks to my parents, we enjoyed a lovely Italian dinner and time to ourselves, something that will not happen again for a while!
And then a trip to Portland to introduce Liesl to the Buck family. The “Sip and See” my parents hosted was wonderful. We got to meet our new nephew, Ryan James (two days older than Liesl!) and see family and friends. We can’t wait for the next celebration with family.
Now it’s all about pumpkins and costumes, but I’ll save that for the next blog entry…hopefully I’ll get to it before Christmas arrives!
