I’m starting to get really excited about having another little one in our house. I watch Kate when she’s around other kids and she just shrieks with joy and runs and laughs. She adores babies. Today she kept touching her cousin on the cheek and patting him – then later running up and down the hall giggling with them. Obviously Ember won’t be playing with Kate for quite a while, but I think she’ll enjoy being a little helper, taking care of a little baby. Kate didn’t even object to me carrying her cousins around for a while today, though she did climb up to share my lap with one of them. There was a time when she would have a major melt down if I held another baby, but it seems she’s chilled out a great deal.

Also I’m excited to see who Ember is, to get to know her. Right now she’s still such an unknown, and every time I think about holding a baby girl I can only picture Kate. So who is this child in my belly? What kind of personality will she have? Will she look a lot like Kate?

And of course I’m starting to get really mushy over the whole baby thing. I’ve been talking with friends a lot about babywearing and sharing newborn pictures and it just has me feeling all sappy. I’m going to get to cuddle a tiny little baby again – and not just someone’s baby, my baby! To nurse her, cosleep with her, listen to her little coos and gurgles and watch as she finds her hands and learns to smile. There are so many good things about the first year!

Weirdly I’m not stressed at all about being ready for a baby. I remember when I was pregnant with Devin and Kate, I felt this enormous pressure to make sure the room was done and the clothes were all counted and laid out and everything had to be just so. This time I feel so relaxed about it. We have all the big stuff – the car seat, the cosleeper, the swing. We have the bins of girl clothes. We have baby blankets galore. I guess I just realized last time how little you really do need for them. Newborns, in a lot of ways, are really easy. I plan on wearing Ember and still taking Kate to playgroups and gymnastics and the mall. It’ll get challenging at times, but I’ll adjust, like I did – and keep doing – with Kate.

I’m working on Kate’s scrapbook a lot right now, trying to get it up to date, and I keep thinking, wow, soon there will be two scrapbooks to do!