This is so great

I came home from my fabulous whirlwind trip to LA last Saturday night to bask in the love of my guys.  On Sunday morning, I greeted Avi with "Happy Valentine's Day!" to which he replied, "I eat cakecups today?"

Seemed reasonable to me, so later that day, while he napped and my wonderful husband scrubbed our bathroom, I slipped into our local bakery for sweet treats for my valentines. 

While I was away, I initially felt naked without them.  It was so strange to stand in the airport, alone.  I wanted to tell everyone that I had a son and husband at home.  I wondered why I needed some time away to myself.  But then, as I sat at my gate, waiting for my delayed flight to board, I flipped through magazines and watched a mom cajole her toddler into the boarding line.  And I felt a mixture of understanding, empathy, and relief that all I had to do was settle in and catch up on celebrity gossip and fashion.  How decadent! 

Seeing my girlfriends was such a treat.  To have uninterrupted conversations, see a movie (!), eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, get pampered at the salon and nail place . . . it felt so energizing.  Not to mention that it was sunny and 70 degrees outside.  My feet basked in flip flops after being massaged; my hair professionally dried, my arms free to hold my purse only. 

I missed my guys, but it felt so good for all of us that mommy got a little time to herself.  Even though Leeor reported that Avi woke up the morning after I left and said, "I get on a plane and go see Mommy" and there were challenging moments for each of us in two days of separation. 

 

It sounds cheesy, but we belong together, the three of us.  Soon we will be four, and no one anticipates this change more acutely than Avi.  He likes to lift my shirt ("Open it," he commands) and talk to "baby sister." He kisses her, offers her toys, then decides when she is finished playing ("Close it, Mommy," he instructs, referring to my shirt).  He asks, "She's coming out of your tummy now?  She's ready to come out?" and we talk about the months that will go by before May.  I think we'll get a calendar so he can see the days, make it more concrete.  He informed me he also has a baby in his tummy.  

My Aunt Kathleen sent a beautiful blanket she knit for baby sister, and also a little bonnet.  I found myself sort of hiding it from Avi, not wanting him to be jealous, and then realized we can't circumvent jealously.  So he played with the blanket and then I remembered Kathleen sent beautiful blankets for Avi, too, when he was snug in my belly.  I showed them to him and he wanted to cover himself with all three of "Kathleen's blankets." He also put baby sister's bonnet on because he decided he wasn't "too big" for it.  

I get more excited every day when I think about the arrival of our little girl.  Leeor and I finally settled on a name.  But we are not telling. Only Avi knows, so if you really can't wait until May, maybe you can ask him.  But he will probably say that her name is baby, or baby sister.  Or seven.

My latest favorite quote from him happened one morning this week, while he and I were quietly eating breakfast together at the table.  He worships Leeor and decided he prefers "Aba's cereal" above all others, so he spooned Special K while I crunched Shredded Oats.  Out of nowhere, he said, "Oh my gosh, this is so great!" And it really was.

One last thing; Avi has been really into singing lately.  He favors tunes from Mary Poppins and the Muppets (like Rainbow Connection; he'll say, "sing the song when Kermit is in the boat!"), but then Leeor played him what we now call "The Mouse Song" from An American Tail.  I love the look of concentration on his face as he tries to get all the words.