...and by this comment, I mean Isla. This post really isn't going to be about Isla but it's the first thing that came to mind after spending a weekend alone with the girls. Mark jetted off to Oregon this weekend to do marathon #22. Happy to say he finished with a great time of around 4 hours 22 minutes and checked another state off his list. While the travel to the west coast can be tough I think he also enjoyed the time away. Being home alone with the girls wasn't without its challenges. The body is struggling to keep up with them these days, and so while I took them to get haircuts, we did the requisite 4 loads of laundry, some mild cleaning, hit up the playground, went to the mall, and out for lunch one day I could have used a body double to keep them occupied and happy because they want to go all the time. And Isla in particular is starting to become far more opinionated about her days, much to mine and Sawyer's dismay. Sawyer especially is not used to her sister having a say in what tv show they watch, or really about anything - she used to pretty much go along with what Sawyer said. This is no longer even remotely the case. She has her own opinion, wants you to know it, and it usually sends Sawyer into a fit. Case in point, Isla was never a big talker, but recently has shown us she wants to talk more. She likes to butt in while Sawyer is talking, and while we've taught her she needs to say "Excuse Me" if someone else is speaking, she has taken that to mean once she says it, she has a free pass to take over the spotlight. Again, not something Sawyer likes to give up. Sometimes it's funny and others you just don't want to be the referee. Isla usually has a quick sentence, so I've convinced Sawyer whoever goes first gets the shortest time, and whoever speaks second gets the longest. She is starting to accept the second place more, but likes to tell Isla she's getting the most minutes. Needless to say, we're working on getting her to decrease the bragging.
But let me backtrack. This past week was my final ultrasound at the doctors as we passed 36 weeks. They wanted to check on the growth and position of the babe. All continues to be well - seems we have a very healthy baby, though potentially a tall one - leg bones are measuring in the 75+%, as is weight. Right now they're guessing an 8-8.5 lb baby, though I think they may have said Sawyer might be that big and both girls were 7 - 7.5 lbs, so I'm hoping to stay under 8. I had promised Sawyer we could have a day together and she could join me for the ultrasound downtown, so on Friday morning we took Isla to school and Sawyer left with me. We headed straight downtown and hit up the Lincoln Park Zoo. A spot we used to go to more frequently, it's a great walking spot and so we made our way around for the hour or two before my appointment. She was allowed to use my phone to take some pictures of animals of her choosing...hence some of the limited quality.
First up was the ostrich...
This big fella scared the heck out of her. This zoo has an amazing primate house, and you get just a glass away from the gorillas. He turned after this picture and walked right up in front of us like he was looking at Sawyer, and she was a bit scared and started backing away. Actually she seemed a little confused like she was unsure if the animals were truly in cages. Perhaps it's been too long since our last zoo trip.
The tiger was down in the ditch walking around but was the last animal we saw before leaving. We have some other pictures but this is just a few to remember the day.
Our girl was digging have all the attention on her. We held hands most of the day, although she was tired from not going to be on time and made me sit on a bench so she could lay down and close her eyes for a minute. Was quite a sight. We ended up leaving the zoo and picking Mark up from work. Headed out for a quick lunch where we had a VERY well behaved little girl - turns out you just need to take her places where she has your undivided attention and she's great - and then off to my appointment. The ultrasound itself was rather anticlimactic. I don't think I figured that the screen would probably just look kind of crazy to her and she wouldn't really understand what she was seeing, but she did pick up the face and nose when pointed out to her, she just wasn't all that impressed. Her and Daddy goofed around with the phone a little while we waited to see the doctor, but really our girl was ready to go home.
All in all was a good day for her I think, and something I have to keep in mind to do as they get older - to have one-on-one days with each kid. I think it's easier as they get a little older and know what's going on though. So on to our weekend. Mark left bright and early on Saturday so we had everyone up to drive him to the airport. Wish I could say we got out and enjoyed the nice weather we had Saturday but the girls were CRABBY. Going to be late, getting up early, and just constant fighting meant that the playground was taken off the table for misbehavior. Instead we opened all the windows for fresh air and played inside.
By Sunday I think we were all itching to get out though. We ended up going to the playground and for a bike ride/walk fairly early. It didn't end well when Sawyer rode her bike into me from behind and then fell off it. This continued the crying she was already doing because she wanted to head back to the playground, and I ended up pushing the bike the rest of the way home. She was a tired girl. I'm not sure why neither of them slept well all weekend but such was the case, and it made keeping them happy and calm an almost impossible job. I wish I could say that we all came home and took naps but it was futile - neither were having it. So I let them watch a show for a bit and then we headed back out in the car to go to the mall. This was I think a good idea. They got more running in, hit up the train - Isla's first time she actually went on! - some riding helicopter, and we did some shoe shopping. Isla is nearly impossible to shop with because she goes wherever she wants, even if it's outside the store. Sawyer at least can be corralled, especially if she's picking stuff out for herself. She managed a new pair of running shoes, some flip flops for summer, and a sparkly new shirt that she's sporting today at school so was a happy girl.
Isla's first ride on the train..she's happy even though it's hard to tell
And on the helicopter...
We ended up out to dinner after in the hopes that it would send us home and the girls would get to an early bedtime. Wishful thinking clearly though I guess I was lucky enough to have them asleep on time at 8pm. They did play outside by themselves in the back yard for a bit which was great. It was the sorriest game of hide and seek I've seen in awhile as Isla likes to run up to the person after they're done counting, but they were off doing their own thing, and were having a lot of fun. Isla was laughing so hard it was the kind of sound you wished you could bottle up. I'm hoping that with the nice weather we're expected to have this week they'll have plenty of time outside at and after school that it'll be a little easier to wind down at the end of the night because with Isla's newfound independence and opinions, she does not like to be told when to go to bed. Truly is amazing how these kids can go from making you laugh and smile so much to being so frustrated in a matter of minutes!
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