Monday, October 4, 2010

11-Month Update

(Written on Sept. 24, posted on Oct. 1... because I couldn't find the pictures I wanted!)

Dear Hazel-Basil,

This month has been full of excitement for you. We have had quite a few visitors come see you. Notice I didn't say us... this is because it's all about you these days. You finally got to meet your Uncle Vince and his daughter, Avery. Avery was pretty excited to meet you, since the two of you are the lone girls amongst all of the cousins. Keep that in mind in the coming years when we go to the family reunion at the beach. You two need to stick together!

Anyway, the two of you were adorable together. It was love at first sight. Avery was sooooo great with you and you were so excited to have another kid running around making noise in the house. It gives me hope for when Squirt comes along.


The following weekend, Uncle Bart came to visit with his son Matthew and your Aunt Natalie's son, Kyle. Oh. My. Goodness. All of this excitement was almost too much for you to bear! Both of your cousins are so pleased with you and I know that they're always going to look out for both you and Squirt. You're so lucky to have been born into such a great extended family.

After they left, and your Daddy and I failed miserably to entertain you with the same kind of excitement, Aunt KC came over and I've never seen you get so excited without peeing your pants. (Although, that last part is supposition... you probably DID, in fact, pee your pants... just cuz that's what you do!). Aunt KC crawled around the floor with you, chasing you, letting you chase her and then... well, then Mommy brought out the Choo-Choo train and made Aunt KC take you out on the sidewalk. From that point on, it was THE BEST DAY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD for you.

Ah, the Choo-Choo Train. Let me give you a little background about that little ditty. Last month when we visited Granny and Gramps up in Preston, you had a blast pushing around my old baby rocking chair. You pushed it and pushed it and pushed it. And laughed and laughed and laughed.

So, your father and I, being those parents who will do ANYTHING to hear you laugh again and will spend their last dollar on a toy that you like, rather than the toilet paper we so DESPERATELY need, immediately went to Target and picked out a Winni The Pooh Choo-Choo Train that you can either push or ride.

And, let me just state for the record what a HUGE mistake THAT was. Because while you love to push the train around, you don't quite yet understand the laws of permanency (i.e.: walls, fridge, sofa). And when you run your train into the wall, you scream holy terror for someone to please, MOVE THE WALL! I'M ONLY TRYING TO WALK HERE!

So, yea... we're banking on you learning how to actually steer the train sometime in the next few months because when that train is out, ain't NOTHING getting done in the house. That's why, when Aunt KC comes over, she is instructed to take you outside and let you push the train to your hearts content. And then when your legs finally get tired, you can ride the train the rest of the way.

It makes you happy because it's awesome.

It makes me happy because I can actually cook supper.

And it makes Aunt KC happy because she's counting that as her workout for the day. So it's aces all around.

A couple of weeks ago, I introduced you to the world of peas. And things have never been the same. My goodness, baby girl... do you. love. peas. I just pour them on your tray, and it's like Christmas in September. We call it the scoop and score because you grab them - sometimes a handful at a time, sometimes one at a time, depending on how dainty you're feeling that day - and shove them down your gullet in no time at all. And things only got better when we sliced up some watermelon and put it next to the peas. You couldn't decide which one to eat. Ultimately, the watermelon won out. Which makes sense since I pretty much lived on watermelon when you were just a twinkle in your dad's eye... and an elbow in my bladder.

And adding the peas to your diet has really made my life easier because I just couldn't find a green veggie that you would tolerate and I was stuck trying to sneak in chopped up broccoli in your spaghetti. And, I'm sorry... BUT THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT.

You know what else isn't right? The fact that my sweet, precious, darling baby girl is starting to throw fits. Like full-on, throw herself face-first into the floor when she doesn't get her way... or when Mommy's had enough of the train and takes it away... FITS. And I've heard this stage lasts a while. Fantastic.

My biggest concern with these fits? That you'll chip a tooth on the floor when you hit it. Sersly... you've got 4 on top and 4 on bottom now. A full mouth! And I just know that one of these days, that headbutt to the floor is really gonna cause some problems and I'm gonna have a snaggle-toothed baby until your real teeth come in... in about 5 years. FABULOUS. The fact of the matter is that I'm just not ready to go dentist shopping for you. So, if you could hold off on leading with your face during your tantrums, that would be spectacular. Really.

Besides throwing the fits, you're also a big fan of snuggling. Man, do you like to snuggle with both Mommy and Daddy. Especially in the mornings when you've just woke up. You're a big snuggle bunny then. It takes about 5 minutes for you to really come out of your grogginess and then it's game time.

Speaking of the mornings, when it's just you and me getting ready for work and school, you make it a point to be in whatever room I'm in. And when you locate me, you squeal in happiness and then proceed to see what you can do to "help". If I'm in your room trying to pick out an outfit for you, you make sure that you pull out every single article of clothing and throw it on the ground. You know... to help.

If I'm in the bathroom, you make sure you open all of the cabinet doors and attempt to eat the AJAX while I'm drying my hair. Because Mommy and Daddy haven't yet gotten around to baby-proofing the bathroom. So then Mommy has to hold the doors shut with her knees while she applies her makeup. And that's fun. Yep... you're great and locating and accessing the most vulnerable area of any room. Very helpful.

And when I'm making breakfast, you find it most reasonable to be underfoot because if you're under my foot, then you know exactly where I am, don't you? AND THIS IS THE WHOLE POINT OF YOUR EXISTENCE, IS IT NOT?

I think the other point of your existence is to make sure that changing your diaper and your clothes be like shoving a badger into a picnic basket. Seriously, baby girl... you. are. impossible. If you're not wriggling out of position, then you're screaming bloody murder. With your screams, one might wonder if your PJ's are, in fact, made of acid. It's THAT bad. I don't even try to put you on the changing table anymore because I'm not sure I can keep you from falling on your face from 3 feet up. So, we do most changes on the ground... and hope that no poopy's fall onto the floor. I could really get over this stage quickly... but it's been going on for a few months now with no end in sight. Heaven help us.

This month, you also got to go to your very first football game. You were enthralled by it all and we can't wait to take you to the next one. You loved all of the action and seeing all the people and kids at the game. You especially love the band and got really excited every time it started to play. You were a total rockstar and stayed awake and pleasant the whole time we were there until we left midway through the 3rd quarter because it was already 45 minutes past your bedtime. I suspect that you're a bit of a social butterfly. Who knew?

(Side note: Holy blond hair! Where did THAT come from?)

And I absolutely cannot forget to mention the swing. Oh... how you LURVE the swing. You like to get pushed up as high as possible and then just swing until you stop. At which point, we must start the whole process over again. You also like to throw your woobie down on the ground and then try to look at it from the swing as if to say: "Hey! Get back up here!" Yep. Cause and effect is big time in your world right now.

And the horror that comes with LEAVING THE SWING? Unforgivable. Unless there are goldfish involved. In that case, all is forgiven. I seriously can't believe we didn't have this all summer... such rookie parents we are.

You'll learn that as you get older, Hazey. Your Daddy and I? We have NO clue. And we're just trying to figure things out day-by-day with you. And once we've finally got a handle on whatever new thing you've got going on... well, then you go ahead and throw another curveball at us. And we're not quick learners like you.. our brains take a while to wrap around an idea and come up with a plan. I can only ask you now that you don't hold this against us too much when you're old enough to understand just how clueless Mommy and Daddy really are.

Love,
Mama

PS - The fact that you're almost a year old now? HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?

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