Annie has baby fever. When she’s not asking me repeatedly to tell her stories about when she was a baby, she’s looking at pictures and videos of herself and Madeline. And when she’s not doing that, she’s pretending to give birth to her dolls. Which…yay for imagination? But then she handed me a Minnie Mouse plush and said, “Mama, Georgie and I had a baby, see!” I’m too young to be a grandma. At least she and Georgie are in a committed relationship.
Yesterday my best friend Tara had her fourth and final baby. This time she and her husband elected to find out the baby’s sex at birth, so I was at the hospital bright and early to meet The Acrobat’s future playmate. I was certain Tara was having a boy, but out popped Baby Cait.
Baby Cait is going to get all of Annie’s adorable tiny girlie clothes. It makes it much easier to pack up those things knowing they are going to a precious little baby that I already love so much.
I texted Mike the above picture, and he showed it to Annie. After some initial confusion (“Is that my brother?”), Annie was beside herself. “Can I meet her? Can I see her foot? Does she like the sun? Does she want me to give her a bottle? Can I kiss her? Can she talk to my brother? Can I play with Georgie?”
She then spent the next twenty minutes with her head on or near my stomach, telling her brother all about Baby Cait, the baby in her belly (!!!), gymnastics, and the book she’d just “read.”
Last week she had a bit of a crying jag at bed time, begging us to put her in a crib. I just told her over and over again that she will always be my girl, always be my baby, and nothing will ever change that. And while I expect more nights like that over the next few months (and after The Acrobat arrives), I do think it will help her tremendously that a lot of her friends are getting new siblings right now. And her friends that aren’t getting new siblings think it’s very cool that she is, which is helping her realize this is something special. On Saturday night we had dinner with friends, and their almost-five-year-old daughter hugged and kissed my belly several times. Annie’s belly-affection has unsurprisingly gone up significantly since then.
When I watched Tara’s older kids lay eyes on their new sister for the first time, I got butterflies in my stomach. I can’t wait until Annie sees her brother. I can’t wait to plop Baby Cait and The Acrobat down on a blanket together while their siblings run around them. This little Acrobat needs to get here safely. I have baby fever, too.
Pgoodness says:
Sigh. Babies.
Jenn says:
Ya know Heather….she just might surprise you. Before I had my 3rd baby, EVERYONE told me how jealous our then 3 yr old daughter would be and I must admit we were bracing ourselves too. But, too our utter AMAZEMENT there was NO JEALOUSY!!!! Instead we were delighted to witness this profound bond that continues to grow this day!! Sydney fell madly in love with him the second we placed him in her excited arms and true to her word “I will love him for always and always makes sure nobody bugs him”. Ha ha
I suspect Annie will be the same way and Heather, I for one cannot wait for you to experince the love they will have for each other. The other night before I went to bed I went into each of their rooms to check on them. Too my surprise, Sammy wasn’t in his bed. My confusion slipped away as I went into Sydney’s room to find them both sleeping soundly next to each other, holding a picture of their grammy whom we just lost in Sam’s little hand. I couldn’t help but cry when I witness the love between them and just how much they comfort each other in their times of emotional need!
You and Mike have so much to look forward too. I cannot Wait to hear!!! I guess your not the only one with baby fever!!! Ha, ha
Michael says:
An absolutely beautiful post
Maris says:
Heather, u look just like ur dad here. Congrats to Tara!
TamaraL says:
Ok – weird confession…I had a dream about your family the other night. Yes, we’ve never met but I still had a dream about you. I don’t remember much of it, just that your family was at home, hanging out, doing nothing special…but it was you, Mike, Annie and a new baby boy.
And another weird confession, I have a history of my dreams coming true. Most recently I had a dream about my house catching on fire. Thankfully MY house didn’t catch on fire, but two days later, my old childhood home burned to the ground.
ANYHOW. All that to say, I just can feel it that baby boy will get here safely!
ldoo says:
Have you gotten a book about becoming a big sister for Annie? I used it for my oldest, and I think it really kept the jealousy at bay. Try this: http://tinyurl.com/bffr4ob
Heather says:
We have that one! We read it to her a couple times a week!
Donna P says:
Annie is going to be the best big sister ever, which only makes sense since she has the best parents EVER. There’s a lot of love there in that Spohr household and I can’t wait to see photos of Annie with her little brother.
Lenora says:
Aww, so cute! Congratulations to your friends. I love the randomness of her questions (Can I see her foot?) I think Annie is going to be a wonderful big sister.
Heather says:
Our niece is a little younger than Annie. When new baby arrived last summer, baby sister arrived with a gift for big sister. A brand new Aurora doll from disney store. It definitely got them through the first couple of weeks when people were all about baby sister.
Tara says:
Be still my heart! These stories about Annie and her love of babies are just awesome. LOVE!
Also, you look radiant and beautiful in that picture of you and Cait!
jessi says:
Perfect!
Annie + Georgie
The Acrobat + Cait
Boom, done. Arranged marriages are the way to go.
Annie is already an amazing big sister; what a lucky little boy her brother is.
Auntie_M says:
I just love this!!!! That picture of Annie with her head resting on your baby-belly!!! Love, love, love!
Oh! And congrats to Tara & family on Cait's birth!
Java says:
Hi Heather!
Are Tara’s other children boys or girls?
Heather says:
She has two other girls and a boy.
Jana Frerichs says:
When I first read the title of this post, I thought … “oh no, is Mike at it again?” after the controversy he created a couple of years ago! HAHA!