Dear Hazel, As part of our new family life routine, I get the drop you off and pick you up from day care every day. I may have mentioned, you LURVE day care. You are fascinated by the sites and the sounds (even if it is a baby losing his/her mind when you arrive) of day care and can. not. wait. to get out of your car seat every morning when I drop you off.
Because there are new faces there! And new sounds! And smells!!! Yes, even THAT smell.
And when I pick you up every night, you're usually in a jump-a-roo or a high chair, happy as a clam either jumping up and down or banging something against the tray to make a ton of noise and delight the eardrums of everyone in the vicinity. Of course, the last couple of days you have not been in the jump-a-roo... since you had a blow-out in it and it has to be laundered. That's right... you're THAT kid. And it cracks me up every time I see the jump-a-roo with the missing seat sitting there... all lonely. Because of you. That's my girl.
Today, however, as I entered day care, I could hear the very unhappy cries of child. Unhappy cries that tore at the heart and, wait a minute... that sounds like.... you! I mean, I could be wrong because I rarely hear you cry these days (unless, you know... I'm trying to suction out your brains through your nose cuz you have another head cold) but it definitely had a familiar ring to it. I assumed if you were crying, it was for a bottle and that maybe the day care worker had miscalculated your feeding time and you were just letting her know. But, no... the crying wasn't stopping. So, instead of going to the front desk and checking you out, I poked my head in to see what was going on.
And that's when I discovered that yes... the little girl losing her ever. loving. mind? You.
And the reason?
Someone touched - TOUCHED - your giraffe. AND DON'T NOBODY TOUCH YOUR GIRAFFE, MKAY? You might not believe that someone touching your giraffe would be THAT catastrophic and that surely, something else was going on. But when the offender (he might have been 3-years-old) stopped touching your giraffe and walked away? The crying stopped. And my little girl was happy again.
See, this... this is new for us. I didn't realize that you'd developed an attachment to the giraffe. The kind of attachment that would cause your brain to melt when someone looks at it the wrong way. But apparently, you have. This giraffe... this giraffe currently has no name. And we don't even know who to thank for giving it to us because I just found it a few weeks ago stuck in the back of the closet for use when you were old enough to appreciate it.
Guess what? Today? You are old enough to appreciate it. And you're kinda possessive about it.
You're also old enough to appreciate the teether that a friend of mine sent after reading my complaining about not having appropriate-sized teethers for you. (Thanks, Erica!)
This giraffe... well, she DOES have a name. Her name is Sophie and she is adorable. And you absolutely love to chew on her hooves. And don't even get me started on the delight she brings you when I squeeze her and she makes a squeaky sound. I'm still trying to get that particular reaction on film.
Sophie is still lagging behind The Giraffe With No Name in overall popularity. But I think that once more teeth start breaking through, she'll pull ahead.
And I'm not even going to think about how when I was a kid, one of the mean nicknames that other kids gave me (for being the tallest person IN. THE. WORLD. and always being the tip of the peak for class photos) was Giraffe. And now I'm purposely giving giraffes to my baby girl.
My baby girl that is off the charts in length and is now in Stage 3 diapies. For. Real.
That giraffe theme? It continues.
But... keep in mind that to this day? I think giraffe's are beautiful creatures. See? The theme continues with you!!!
We here in The House That Benny Built and Jaynee Burned the Asparagus In have been going through our own little version of March Madness.
The March being... well, self-explanatory.
The Madness being that someone or someones done got a bee in their collective bonnets that perhaps, maybe... well, suppose we took down the wall between the kitchen and the hallway?? You know... the one that adds absolutely nothing to our space and looks like crap? That one.
And - let me just blow your mind by continuing to suggest that we get rid of the fireplace in the living room. You know... the one that we never use anymore? That one.
We've been talking about this wall removal for a few months now... but it took just a simple visit from a architect friend to really bring the possibilities of removing a non-loadbearing wall into focus for us.
But... Benny and I... we like to discuss things thoroughly. And when we're done talking about it... well, we talk about it some more. So if we start talking about something, say, in February... maybe by October, we'll have made a move. Why do you think it took us so long to get knocked up? Yea.... we talked about THAT decision FOR. EVAH. Like... three Ironman's, a marathon, grad school and a trip to Europe FOR. EVAH.
The point is... a month of talking isn't really enough talking to actually make a move on taking down a wall.
But...
GUESS WHO GOT THE SURPRISE OF HER LIFE THIS AFTERNOON WHEN SHE WALKED IN THE DOOR AFTER WORK??
You all... did you notice that little closet door on the wall? That... that's a pantry!!! I NOW HAVE A PANTRY.
IN THE KITCHEN.
A.
PANTRY.
I've NEVER had a pantry in the kitchen. NEVER. This opens up so many possibilities for us!!! Like... maybe I'll learn how to cook... what with having a pantry so close by.
It's like a brand new house. I feel like I've moved without go through the hassle of moving and packing and worrying about all the wine making the move without breaking the bottles.
And look at all that natural light? There's so much natural... it's almost unnatural.
Tomorrow, Benny's got to do some work on the ceiling. Which means that Hazey and I have to leave the house so that when he sands the ceiling down, the two of us Typhoid Mary's (that's right, we're both sick. AGAIN.) don't start having coughing fits. As we are wont to do in these kinds of situations.
Eventually, we'll replace the floor with nice new dark wood flooring. But that will have to wait until we save enough money. (It make take a while since Hazel's about due for a high chair. And I'm somewhat addicted to Mexican Cokes. A lot of them.) But, I'm really excited for that day, since it will mean that we get rid of that fugly blue slate in the entry way. HOW I LOATHE THE BLUE SLATE. You have NO idea.
The question we're asking ourselves right now? Why did it take us 7 years to make a move on this wall? I mean, besides the fact that we were afraid the house would fall down? Originally, we thought we would take down the wall and then repaint the walls a cheery yellow color. But I've got to admit... I'm really digging the red. I think we'll keep it for a while. Plus, it looks GREAT at Christmas time.
But, before I finish, I have to give a shout-out to Benny. He that worked his hiney off all day removing the wall and the fireplace. And LYING to me about it by saying that he was going to go on a hike up to Malan's Peak. EVEN THOUGH IT WAS SNOWING. He's lucky his wife is so gullible. Makes for a great surprise. One of a select few surprises that I will never forget.
There was the day he proposed... The day he bought me a scooter... And today.
Dear Hazel, Today you turned 5 months old. I can't believe how the time has flown by. In the last month, you have grown out of your 3-6 month old clothes and are now comfortably wearing 6-9 month old clothes. You also rolled over for the first time. Unfortunately, the first time you rolled over was at day care around the end of February. That night, I thought you might roll over again, so I turned away for a second to grab the camera to document this historic moment... and while my back was turned, that's when you decided to roll over. I looked back and there you were... just chilling on your tummy looking around like: Yea... this is pretty cool. It's funny... you have no idea how many times we had the camera trained on you thinking that you were just about to do it and we'd always have that on film. And when the time came, I completely missed it!!! We finally got to see you roll over for the first time on March 1st. It's fitting, really. March comes in like a lamb and the first time we saw you roll over, I'm pretty sure I heard you say: "baa". Which is a slightly different sound from the quack's and squawks we're used to with you.
In the last month, you have also sprouted not one, but TWO teeth. Or as we like to call them: teefisis. Your first one popped up on March 14th. Daddy discovered it when you were sucking on his finger. I was out of town on business so I didn't find out until I got home that afternoon. And just tonight, we discovered another tooth popping up right next to the first one. Both of them are located on your lower gum and you LOVE it when we rub our fingers against them. It must feel so good. We've really got to find you better teethers as you don't seem to get the most out of the ones we have for you. It's like your mouth isn't quite big enough to accommodate the teether. And if it is big enough, you have a hard time controlling the teether with your hands. Which may be way you often just give up and start chewing on your hands.
Or your feet. Ah... that's right. You've discovered your feet. And more importantly, YOUR TOES! And those toes... they are mighty tasty. Trust me. I know. I've nibbled on those things for the last five months. DE. LISH.
This newfound discovery of yours, however, is causing problems for Mommy and Daddy... in that it makes it extremely difficult to change your clothes. Or your diaper. Or your socks. But it's so damn adorable when you hold on to your toes that we just have to giggle and kiss your buddah belly and ask you when and how you got so cute. The other night, in fact, your Daddy picked you up after getting you undressed and held you sitting upright while you continued to hold your toes. HILARIOUS.
Your Daddy and I do a lot of giggling these days. And we're not the only ones. You, my dear, are quite the laugher. And when you feel like laughing... well, it just might be the sweetest sound we've ever heard. This weekend, your Grandma Paskins was in town and had you laughing for a good five minutes.
Granny Paskins, she's quite the comedian. As are you, actually. We play a game with you and your Daddy where I zoom you towards his face and he makes a funny face, which makes you giggle. Then I pull you back. At that time, you know what's going to happen next, so you physically gird yourself, purse your lips and make yourself as big as possible (it sounds crazy, but it's true). Then when I zoom you back to Daddy's face, you are absolutely delighted. Probably because your Daddy and Mommy are laughing their collective butts off. You're quite the character, sweetie-pie.
You have also discovered the joys of mirrors and you love, love, LOVE looking at yourself in any of the mirrors in the house. Sometimes you get so delighted at your reflection that you can't stand it and have to bury your head in my neck. Which is so heartwarming that I immediately melt into a puddle of goo and your Daddy has to mop me up. And, you should know... Daddy's not a fan of mopping!
For the last month, you have continued to be the talk of the town with your sleeping habits. You routinely sleep 11-13 hours per night. And, and, AND... you usually don't wake up until 8 a.m. Which is awesome for both the weekdays, AND the weekends. Although... I might have to give the props to the weekends because there is NOTHING like being able to sleep in until 8 or 8:30 on the weekend. NOTHING!
With that said, you are obviously sleeping less during the day. For a while, you were taking a 30 minute morning nap, followed by an hour or two hour nap in the afternoon. Then that changed to a longer morning nap and a 30 minute afternoon nap. The last two days, however... you've only slept an hour total during the day... which puts you at an earlier bedtime (5 or 6 vs 7 or 8). Which means that Daddy and I don't get to see you a whole lot at night. Which is a total and complete BUMMER. We don't know what to do with ourselves.
These new sleeping routines are nice, because we kind of know what to expect each night. But it kind of stinks for whoever comes to babysit you if we have a date. Aunt KC came to babysit you last week and she only got to see you for an hour before you went to bed. I'm pretty sure that she felt like she was house sitting rather than baby sitting.
Yes, your sleeping is pretty amazing. And when you're asleep... there's not a whole lot that will wake you up. Last night, you fell asleep on the way home from day care (5 p.m.!) and slept through my Book Club... which included 11 cackling women. Not a lot of humans can sleep through that, Birdie. Saturday night, you slept through Poker night. With 8 cackling men. Which, arguable, is an even bigger accomplishment. You prefer to sleep on your side. And often with your thumb in your mouth.
Yea... we've noticed more thumb sucking than before. And you could really care less for a binkie. Which is concerning... I mean, rumor has it that your mother sucked her thumb for FAR. TOO. LONG. And we're already hearing the refrains of: "You can take away a binkie... you can't take away a thumb." But, honestly... with as easy as you've been with everything else, I guess we can go ahead and deal with the drama of trying to turn you into a binker instead of a thumber.
In the last month, you have had a couple of blow-outs in day care. Something that surprised the staff there because in the 11 weeks you've been in day care, you've pooped approximately 3 times. Two of those coming in the last week and both of them being major blow-outs. But other than that little statistic, I firmly believe that you're the best baby in day care. When I drop you off, usually there are at least two babies losing their shit... which is causing the other babies to get a little testy. But you? You just get excited to see everyone there! And yes... this is probably just Mommy bias at work here, but I'm pretty sure that you brighten up that room whenever you arrive. I know you brighten any room I'm in when you enter.
You get to start having rice cereal next month. Your pediatrician didn't see the need to put you on it at your four-month check-up, as you're growing just fine. In fact, you were 90th percentile in weight... and 104th percentile in height. In his words, you look like an 8 month old. We're still nursing you and supplementing with formula because there's just no way I can keep up with your demands. You're so funny when you see the bottle or the boob... you get really excited and frustrated at the same time and squeal until you get your mouth on the nipple. But once you latch on? IT'S JUST THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD. Although, you appear to have a new rule when feeding... and that rule is that I'm not allowed to talk. At all. And by no means should I ever, EVER sneeze, cough or clear my throat. Because you will pull off and look at me as if to say: "Do you MIND? I'm only trying to eat here!"
Since the weather has been nicer, we take walks around the neighborhood as a family. You love being in the Bjorn and looking out into the world. Everything must blow your mind and you are so delighted to be alive in that moment. It's very humbling to get to watch you interact and react to your environment every day.
You are a special soul, Hazel. One that your Daddy and I can't believe we've been blessed to get to go through the rest of our lives with.
This giraffe... well, she DOES have a name. Her name is Sophie and she is adorable. And you absolutely love to chew on her hooves. And don't even get me started on the delight she brings you when I squeeze her and she makes a squeaky sound. I'm still trying to get that particular reaction on film.
