The Owl

Having a three year old is quite an adventure.  We have our ups and downs here in the Becker house, good behavior and bad behavior.  Sometimes we listen and sometimes we don't.  But what we ALWAYS have is a very imaginative little girl.  These days it's all about the owl.

It all started a few months ago.  Aunt Telcia came over and watched the girls while we were at an OB appointment seeing our little baby in-utero.  When we got home Ila said "Aunt Telcia has a baby in her belly, and mommy has a baby in her belly an
d Ila has an owl in her belly."

An Owl?

"Yes, mommy, Ila has an owl in her belly."

We went with it because it was pretty cute.

A few weeks after that, Ila got up from a nap and wouldn't eat a snack and was moping around the house.  Fairly uncommon behavior for her.  I even tried to give her a cookie and she turned it down.  She laid on the kitchen floor and said " Mommy, my owls hootin'."  Trent, in all is wisdom deduced that Ila had a tummy ache.  Sure enough, within minutes she was in the bathroom barfing and pooping like crazy.

Over the next past weeks (about a month now) Ila has been saying with every little tummy pain (which usually comes right before a poop) "My owls hootin'!" Off she runs to the bathroom to go. It's become pretty funny to us, and we never discouraged or encouraged it, we just go with it.

Then the day came, the day for Aunt Telcia's baby to be born.  I waited several hours to tell Ila that Aunt Telcia was going to have a baby.  Here's how that conversation went:

Me: Ila, Aunt Telcia is going to have her baby today!
Ila: Aunt Telcia is going to have a baby?
Me: Yes, Aunt Telcia and Uncle Jon are going to have their baby today!
Ila: Aunt Telcia is going to have a baby and Uncle Jon is going to have a baby?
... conversation about how the baby will be Aunt Telcia's and Uncle Jon's...
Ila: Can they come over to my house and play?
Me: No, not today.  You can meet the baby in a few days.
Ila: Mommy, can Ila have a baby too?
Me::::pause::::  Ummm, yes, you can, but not yet.
Ila::::longer pause, looks to be really thinking something over::::  Ila needs to have her owl first?
Me::::  silence, unsure how to answer::::
Ila: Yep, Ila needs to have her owl first. Then she can have a baby!
Me::::silence continues, trying to think of SOMETHING to say:::
Ila:::runs off to the living room::: Chessidy!  Aunt Telcia is going to have her baby today! And I can have a baby too, but I have to have my owl first!

So, if you are ever around Ila, and she tells you her owl is hootin' please take her to the bathroom.  I'm not sure when the owl will be born, but I think at this point we're planning on giving her a toy owl when our new baby is born.  A couple more months of carrying around an imaginative owl in her belly can't hurt, right?!

Chessidy, walking

Everyone else is doing well here.  Trent started his new job a few weeks ago and it's going great. He's even had time to continue working with his dad some, and I know he loves that!  Chessidy is walking all over the place and I am doing my best to stay caught up on my household duties and chase after the kids and grow a baby.