Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Just A Month Away!

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Next month, my Ginger-bear turns 2! Her birthday is still 6 weeks away, but I know it's going to be here before I know it.

In the blink of an eye, she's gone from being my teeny little baby...

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to a beautiful little girl.

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Her name means cheerful and carefree. I think it suits her. She is so full of joy, so full of life...and so carefree. When we were thinking of naming our twins, we kept coming back to the name Vivian, which means full of life. We had decided on the name before the twins were born, and we kept it even after they had passed away.

Sometimes when I look at Ginger, all I can think of is: full of life. Vivian.

Which I know is going to sound so strange to some people...and maybe even a little weird. But when I look at her, sometimes I see a glimpse of what her older sister might have been had she lived.

All that to say, Ginger really is such a joy to us. She is so happy and carefree. Most of all, she is herself...and her name suits her best of all!

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Ginger is talking so much more lately. She has quite the sense of humor and is always correcting me.

She will steal my purse, and I'll say to her: "Please give that back to me! That's my purse!" And she'll look at me with a twinkle in her eye and say: "No, it is MY purse! It is baby's purse!"

If you show her a tomato, she will correct you and tell you it's an apple. Show her a marker, and she will correct you that it's a pencil. She is so sure of what she knows! Ha!

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Ginger loves dogs. I mean, loves them. Real dogs, stuffed dogs, pictures of dogs, even just the word doggie. She lives for dogs and is so fascinated by them.

She loves to go on adventures and is ready and willing go anywhere, anytime. She loves to feed the ducks. She loves going to the park, to Paprika's school, and to the beach. If you're going somewhere, she wants to go!

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She also thinks her name is Baby. I think it will come as quite a surprise to her when Pavenzia arrives that Ginger's name is not really Baby. I will call her Ginger, and she will say, "No. Baby first. Baby Ginger." She really won't even respond to her name unless you tack a "Baby" on the front of it.

I know it's because for the past two years, we have called her "Baby Ginger" - and it has just stuck. For the past year, I have been trying to drop the "Baby" part of it...but she just won't let us! At some point, maybe she will grow out of the name on her own!

I have been trying to talk to her a little about Pavenzia, just because I know it's going to be a big deal for her not to be the baby anymore. Paprika has always been very secure with her place in the family and has never once displayed any kind of jealousy towards Ginger (or anyone else for that matter). I don't think it's ever occured to Paprika to be jealous of anyone for any reason.

Well, I can see that it might not be the case with Ginger because she gets a little huffy when Paprika sits on my lap during storytime or wants to sit on my lap during dinner. I only have room for one on my lap, and Ginger wants it to be her! Paprika is always really accomodating and lets Ginger sit on my lap (and Paprika gets plenty of alone time with me, so I am not worried about it).

It will just be interesting to see what November brings, assuming that November brings Pavenzia home to us!

And just so you know, no...we are not using the name Pavenzia for real. It's just the name Paprika has been calling the baby, so it has stuck! If we find out the baby is a boy (we should know in a month), I might have to change the nickname to Pavenzi-O! Ha!

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Today is also a special day because it is my dad's birthday! Happy Birthday, Dad! I wish I could be there to celebrate with you today! :-)

We had such a great time when my Dad and Nancy visited us in March (when I took these pictures). I am so looking forward to the next time we get together!!! :-)


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Today is also exciting because I am in my second trimester! I can start feeling better anytime now! Really!!! Just waiting for that to happen! ;-)

5 comments:

Sheila said...

"Baby" it is, probably forever in her case. Hehe! I love her spirit :)
Ginger is 100% sunshine on a cloudy day and I love all her live wire fun.

What type of party does she want to have for her birthday? I'm sure she knows and I can't wait to hear about it.

You could always refer to the newest edition as the "little one" or by name till you find your own term of endearment. I would even ask "Baby" for a suggestion as to what ya'll should say when referring to the "little one". We let our daughter help in naming the caboose since we knew it wouldn't be the sister she had been asking for. There is only so much a girl can take... 2 new babies in 15 months and both are boys. Someone clearly wasn't listening to her requests.

christine said...

Okay wait, I'm confused. I thought I read somewhere on your blog Ginger and Paprika weren't your kids real names, you were just using them to hide their real names? So is her name Ginger for real or not? And congrats on getting to the second trimester! Soon it will be the third and then it'll be November and you'll be holding your brand new healthy, beautiful baby! :) (I predict boy!)

Tina said...

That doesn't sound strange at all...in fact, I completely get it.

Erika said...

christine- those aren't their real names...i guess if you were being sleuthy you could look up what cheerful means in the baby name book and figure out her name! haha! :-)

sheila- i have NO idea what we're doing for her birthday. if she had her way, we'd go somewhere and pet dogs all day! haha!

Sheila said...

That sounds like a GREAT birthday, all about the doggies and you don't have to own one.
I too, think "baby dear" may be male and I think you are due for some of Mr.Mustard's red hair this time. How it hasn't shown up yet is a mystery to me. Guessing and wondering is such fun. I'm glad you are chugging along on the prego train right on schedule.