I Hope They Don't Need To Be Sealed

At the playground, Little One used some wood chips to make me a "ticket" to go down the slide.

Little One: "Ok Mama! Your ticket is finished!"

C: "Great! Thank you!"

I held out my hand.

LO: "Hol' on! Hol' on a second, mommy.  I have to sign it first."

C: "Oh, ok.  I'll wait for you to sign it."

LO: "Ok! Jus' a minute."

She runs across the park, to where the rules are posted, and very purposefully taps the wood chips.  On the SIGN. 

LO: "There! I signed them."

Six Months

A very merry un-birthday to Little Miss!
Half a year. Amazing.  It seems like She should still be a newborn, like She just got here. But no.
She's grown up so much, and She's giving us every sign that She just intends to keep right on at it. She's made a lot of progress since Her last month birthday. 

There's the sitting, and the rolling, of course. Major developments.  She gets up on all fours, determined.  Go baby go! She gives a good lurch towards Her goal. Go baby GO!  She kind of collapses into the military crawl.  It's ok! That works! Go with it baby go! But then- and this is the bane of Her existence- She starts moving the limbs, focused on that toy/dog/corner by the sofa/whatever, and even though She swears She's going right for it, it keeps getting farther away. How can it be? She reaches out for the Goal desperately- "don't leave me!!" but then She's got Her arms and legs splayed out, balancing on Her (rather ample) tummy in perfect skydiving form, and that really is frustrating. Because now She's not getting anywhere at all.  Backwards schootching.  The one and only thing that really ticks Her right off.

Because otherwise She is still going for the record of World's Happiest Baby.
I tell you this child smiles All The Time.  She barely fusses even when She ought to.  She's just a happy, contented little soul.  And She thinks pretty much everything in Her world is just delightful.  Wind in Her face.  Dogs in Her face.  Her sister singing LOUDLY in Her face.  Music, thunder, water, ice, whatever man! It's all good times!

Her sister is a fave, though, truly.  Even though Little One has Her moments of, oh I dunno, intentionally stepping on Her baby sister... hypothetically. Ahem.  Uh, even though all that, She generally does love to snuggle, coo over, and entertain baby, and Little Miss eats it up.  When Little One gets home from school, Miss does Her lit-up-happy-baby dance, every time. 

Other favorites include splashing in water- a big change from Her first opinions on baths and beaches for sure- and any toy that makes music and lights up.  Unfortunately.  Being toted around in the baby carrier and snuggled lying down are Her absolute top two happy places in life.
She tolerates the exersaucer and the jumper, She is so over the bouncer and swing (which She never really liked anyways).  She deals with the car seat and stroller, but only to be nice. 

She loves to have a nice, wide open floor to roll on and a basket of baby toys to sort through, chew on, and feng shui around the room.  She spends all morning doing this while the rest of us get ready for school and work.  She could care less what we are all up to, really, She has Her own hobby to attend to thanks.

She kinda likes reading, but the fact that you don't get to chew the books seriously bugs Her.  After about two pages She's like "ok ok, blah blah blah.  How about you keep talking to yourself, and I eat those three little bears now?"  Boring.

But there's a fine line between boring and scary.  Little Miss still does not enjoy rough-housing or sudden surprises.  She tries, but She really does get frightened by too much commotion.  She likes the playground swing, for example, but only after a few very gentle pushes, with lots of adult reassuring while She looks up with Her concerned face to make sure they know what they're doing there.  And only if She's being pushed very slowly, very gently.  Too high and She cries.  Cries and cries and needs to be held super close, clutching your shirt, and burying Her head in your shoulder for a few moments until She feels safe again.  Likewise slides are still too much, fly-baby-over-your-head is too much.  People popping out and yelling "BOO!" is way too much.  She would rather just calmly observe, from someone's nice cozy lap.  Or else She might need pacifying.  

Her addiction to the pacifier is wild.  Today, in fact, is day one of Pacifier Rehab, and we have come to rely on it so much that I'm almost sad to see it go.  She just likes it so much guys.  And it's very, very hard to tell that dimple "no".


She desperately, passionately, wants whatever it is you are eating.  She looks at it like a starving street dog would eye your Big Mac.  It's kind of guilt-inducing.  Kind of funny.  Good thing solid foods are right around the corner, or I think She might start plotting a coup to get my oatmeal.


Her fine-motor skills are pretty sharp, maybe because of all that work learning how to pick up, correctly orient, and properly insert that beloved pacifier.  She loves to find little things to observe closely and try to dismantle.  The smaller the better, to my frequent horror.

She loves to talk and babble, and sort of sing to Herself when She plays.  She will adore you if you take the time to have a 'conversation' with Her, letting Her answer you and then replying to Her coos.  She gets all excited and just pours out Her life story.  There's a lot to tell!

Like how She's still growing at a mad rate, chubby little thighs and pudgy tummy getting squishier all the time.  In fact, when you throw in that big cloth diaper, She can easily share shorts and skirts with Little One now.  Her nails grow so fast I cut them twice a week for my own safety, and Her hair is actually pretty long.  You just can't tell because it is so fine and fair.  It will be interesting to see what it decides to do with itself.

She is a morning person.  Little Miss likes to sleep promptly at, if not before, bedtime.  And She likes to wake up between five and six, like a little piece of toast springing from the oven.  She always wakes up with a sigh, and then a giggle.  She immediately starts kicking, flopping, squirming and singing.  She calls for a new diaper and some breakfast, and then She is ready for the day.  She does not like to sleepily snuggle awhile, or slowly wake up, stretching in Her crib.  No.  Up, at 'em, ready for toys and exercise and voice practice like Now.  This is turning out to be rather an adjustment for me, since 5-6 used to be my time.  But as usual, She's so cheery you just can't fault Her for a thing.  And though She's up early, She does take long, solid naps as long as Her schedule isn't mucked around with, and She literally begs for bed at night.

Little Miss overall is a social, outgoing, chill little baby who is simply in the business of loving life.  She's working hard on all those baby jobs like growing, getting around, and figuring out the talking thing.  She adores Her familiar people and toys, and we adore Her.

It's crazy to think that only half a year ago, She wasn't around giving slobber-kisses or wrapping chubby arms around my neck.  Hard to believe Little One ever had enough to do without Miss to so constantly worry about and play with and fetch things for.  In just half a year, She has up-ended and rearranged all of our lives!  And they sure look good with a smiley Miss in the middle of them.
We over-the-moon adore you, Little Miss!  A very-merry un-birthday to you, who makes a very merry every day for the rest of us.  We love you.

A Thousand Words

We went to get family portraits.
Cue foreboding music.
This is something I insist on, once or twice a year.  Despite the fact that I have more pictures on my laptop than there are bacteria on the floor of the place we ate tonight. 
It's just this urge i get; it's uncontrollable!  After awhile I glance at our last family pic- hanging out all posterity-like on the wall- and blam! It hits me!
The kid in that frame is nothing like the one I just tucked into bed.  This one is so much bigger and smarter and just different that it might as well be a whole new person and-oh no! I have no family portraits with this new person.  And in another month or so this new person will be gone. Forever, replaced by another model, without a trace.  Unless I take it to a cheap studio and freeze that sucker in time, mount it like a deer head, and nail it to the wall. 
There! She used to be TWO! See??? And look! We were there also! We even all liked each other!
Of course the last part there, while essentially true, is a little tricky to pin down in the pseudo-reality of a black tarp and strangers with big flash bulbs. 
Between Little One refusing to smile for strangers and J sulking like a five-year-old being fed cod-liver oil over having to dress up and endure it all, no one knows why I keep hauling the whole brooding bunch back in, unless it is some very odd manifestation of masochism. I need help. 
This time I wanted just three things-
-One decent picture of us as a family (We are like never all in the same picture).
-One cute picture of the girls together
-One of Miss in Her baptism dress
This was Little Miss's first of these little family adventures.  With Her extreme love of grinning at strangers and enjoying everything-I-mean-everything, I was hoping She might inspire the rest of the lot to smile without me having to cajole myself into a coma.
Not to be, friends. Not.
J, well.  Let's just be glad he didn't kick or scream while I dragged him in by his dress shoes.  Little One, oh.  Oh man.  The girl was a bundle of I-am-two-I-did-not-nap-I-can't-hear-you-what-can-I-climb-on-and-break-ness.  She did not want to smile.  She wanted to make monkey faces. 
Cover Her head with Her arms.  Or hold up a stuffed pig in front of Her face.  Or lay on the floor. Anything but cooperate.  She did not want to take a picture with Her sister.  She only wanted to be photographed by Her "own self".  The photographer, who does not follow the theory of shooting lots of pictures and hoping one is cute by chance, kept waiting for the perfect moment. 
Which, naturally, never. Never came.
After awhile, even Little Miss Smiley was over it.  Now everyone was fussing.
Finally the photog snaps a few random times and exclaims, "I got it!" "Love it"!  We move on. 
I wanted to get Little Miss's baptism picture taken next, but She had HAD it.  She began to scream "what part of AAHHHHHH don't you people understand?!" And try to actually consume a rosary. 
We gave up.  We looked at the pictures the photographer "got" and "loved". 
In one, Little One looks like She is crying.  Perhaps someone has died.  Maybe the pig She's hunched over.  In another, Her lips are pursed out and Her eyes bugging- think Cosby doing the pudding face.  Perhaps because the camera has caught Her red-handed trying to off the baby, who is clearly disturbed at being hoisted up by the collar.  In one J and I both swear to you I have a crossed eye.  It's from the insanity, people. Has to be. 
In the end, we ordered one copy of one family shot, and one of each girl solo. Only because we had a coupon and because I know that I would have to use roofies to get J to try that mess again anytime soon, if ever.  The rest seriously were That Bad. 
So by the time we left even I was fussing. 
J decided to make me happy by taking me out to dinner, because by then we were starving. 
We went to the five-dollar buffet.
Now. Back up.
This morning at church, while people were all quiet praying, there was a sudden "BANG". And then, "OOW!" My voice.  Little One had dropped the kneeler on my foot, and then jumped on it. 
Later. Because of the way I was holding Miss, I could not quite reach my mouth with my hand for communion.  So I took the wafer and kept trying as I walked, so as not to hold up the line.  The priest actually grabbed my shoulder and yanked me back, admonishing me to CONSUME IT NOW please. 
After church, we went to a craft store to get something for a project. They did not have what I needed, but I did get to visit their restroom FOUR times because Little One was having some stomach issues. 
Peanuts. 
Do you know what the perfect ending is, to a day in which you have injured yourself, hollered like a lunatic in church, been scolded by a priest, spent a half-hour in a public bathroom, and herded screaming cats around a photography studio for no reason? DO you?!
It's the $5 buffet. 
A place where a statistically significant percentage of patrons have no teeth, are definitely high, or both.  A place where there is a big sign over the cash register when you walk in, that says "No fighting.  No insulting. Be nice".  Always good. 
It's especially fun to go there in picture-day hair and make-up, a black cocktail dress, heels, and pearls.   I'll tell you what I did guys. 
I had seconds.  I had deep-fried-something, candied yams, and mac-n-cheese. I had four kinds of dessert.  In our next family portrait, I will be able to just sit on the whole family so they have to hold still for the camera. 
On the way home, we stopped at the playground.  Little One, who had been wearing two mis-matched right-foot shoes all this time, kicked 'em off and got good and dirty.  Miss giggled on the swing.  Little One called out from the top of the slide, "Daddy! You are AMAZE!" 
They got washed and jammied and tucked in. 
You know.
Today in church,  J leaned over and squeezed me and whispered "I love you C". 
At the craft store, even though She was sick, Little One laughed and made up a happy song about the fun, foamy soap in the dispenser.  And She hugged me on the way out, saying "Thank you for carry me mommy.  You are very good for my tummy to feel better".  
The coconut pie at the buffet was good.
Little Miss cuddled up to me at bedtime, cooing Herself to sleep, giggling in Her dreams.  And then Little One begged me to snuggle Her. She grinned when I said yes-as if I could say no- and pulled me close. She said, "G'night my mommy.  You may go now.  We can all be together in the morning".  
And we can. 
 I have to write it.  I have to write it all down.  Because sometimes the pictures don't work out, guys.  And when they do, they never get it.  Not really.  They never get the light in Little Miss's eyes at dinner, when Little One sang to Her, making Her laugh.  They never get the sweetness in the way Little One kissed Miss's forehead in church and called Her "a angel".  They don't capture the look on J's face as He swoops his baby up in the air or pushes Little One on the swing.  They can't show how cozy my babies are, all cuddled up and smelling like strawberry shampoo. 
And tonight we'll sleep and all that will vanish. Another day evaporated like spilled water on a Florida sidewalk. 
I'd re-live this sore-foot, frazzled, $5 buffet day any time guys.  I would, but I can't.  So I'll herd us in for portraits, I'll write it all down when I should be sleeping.  Anything to keep a shadow of it. 
Little One is in a trying phase.  Little Miss demands so much attention.  Things don't go according to plan.  But we can all be together in the morning. 
I wish a picture could capture that. 
I'd frame it and save it always. 

Day at the Beach

People, I could not have dreamed it up better.  Firstly, we got all our stuff into one bag plus a blanket.  That is a beach-day miracle.  Then we padded on the white, clean sand to the glittering blue water, just in time to watch a pod of dolphins frolic by. 

See the fin?!

There was a tidal area a good ten feet wide stretching way down the beach.  It was perfect, like a kiddie pool at the ocean.  Only a couple feet deep in the middle and warm as bath water, the babies could see the waves roll in without getting tossed around by them.  It was the perfect place for Little One to play, and for Miss to experience seawater for the first time.

Little Miss LOVED it, by the way.  She splashed like crazy.  Didn't even mid when She splashed so hard She got a facefull of saltwater.  She licked Her lips, looking all confused, and then splashed all the harder.  She plunged Her chubby fists under and came up with handfulls of wet sand.  Watched it drip slowly between Her fingers, then splashed again.  I think She'd have stayed all day, but She wore Herself out and had to take a siesta.

Meanwhile Her big sister- and I'll try to refrain from getting all nostalgic and metaphorical with you here- left the kiddie water and headed across the sandbar for the big waves.  J and I took Her out where the water was deep.  Silvery fish leaped out of the air right next to us, rolling waves lifted us like a gentle rollercoaster and set us down again.  The water was warm, the sun was just bright and hot enough, and Little One's giggles were everywhere.

We've been back a few times since, and we've yet to be disappointed.

 

We might get used to this. 

Weather Report

It's been awhile now since we've arrived in this little Floridian town.  J has miraculously and fantasmazingly been on leave this entire time (he started work yesterday), and my mom and sister have each been to visit. So we have had a nice big team out on expedition, seeing what we've got here.   Supposedly, this is the "Sunshine State".   I personally was looking forward to this promise more than just about anything, as we all know that my teeth start chattering around 70 degrees.  Of course, when my mom first arrived there was this:

Buckets- no. Barrels.  Barrels of water dumping from the sky- all day! Sapling-uprooting wind! Blazing lightning! Crashing waves! Ooh! Aahh!Because it was a hurricane watch, we went to the beach of course! To watch!

It was so windy the sand came at us like needles and sent our hair leaping in all directions, trying to escape.
It was kinda fun.  But not very sunny.
But then the rain moved on like a rock band leaves a hotel room; having made a lot of noise and fairly trashed the place.  The day we woke up to clear skies, Little One walked out the front door and declared, "Ooooh, Mommy.  Someone made a big big MESS!"   Tree branches, sand piles, and palm fronds everywhere.  But it compensated us for its battery by leaving cool, gentle air and clear sunshine.  We took that compensatory check and spent it at the beach! I'll tell you all about it later.
We've also been hanging around downtown, exploring the historic district, and driving through National parks.
So far, here's what we've got on our new digs:

* People here are nice.  No, seriously.  Really nice.  Awhile ago I was slightly lost, slightly distracted, and well...just being myself, and I seriously cut off another driver while trying to pull into a gas station. After a good scolding from my mother, I walked over to apologize and she was all, "Gosh.  Well it's ok! You just sur-prah-sed me a little, that's all!" Big smile.
In DC? I would have been lucky if all she'd aimed at me was a certain finger, much less a big old grin.  I was pretty suspicious that she might have been on drugs or suffering from a recent lobotomy.
But no.
*When J and I walked Little One to school the first day (three whole blocks), people pulled over to ask if we needed help, or a ride, or gosh just anything a'tall!
*When Little One's curiosity got the best of Her in an antique shop, the owner did not glare or ask Her to keep Her hands off the expensive breakable stuff.  He chuckled. And patted Her on the head.  And said, "Aw, you like that thing doncha honey? Lord! She's cute!"
*Our neighbors have already introduced themselves and offered to make us a good Southern meal, and to teach me to fry things.
*J and I admired some plants at a market. After being flirted with by Miss and Little One, and learning that J is in the navy, they insisted- "Sweetie now I am in-SIS-tin'"- that we buy them for a third of the already cheap price. 
*When Little One and I asked a waiter to direct us to the ladies room, he escorted us there personally.  And waited until we were done, to escort us back to the table, lest we get lost and become damsels in distress.
Yes, the locals here seem to err a bit on the too nice side; something we recall from our previous encounter with the South.  And everyone wants to talk talk talk to you everywhere you go.
I. Love. It.  I love getting "honey"ed and "darlin"ed and "sweetie"ed.  I love waving at everyone without getting that DC finger in return. I like that no one gets huffy if you chat with the check-out girl, because they are already chatting the the person behind them in line.  Kumbaya, people. That's what I say.
Another thing about this town is that there really is more to it than I thought there would be. My mom and I took a Thai cooking class.  The historic district has great little shops, tons of character, a fun outdoor market each weekend, and the best vegan restaurant I've ever been to.  We belong to a co-op choc full of stuff Little One can eat, that offers great, free yoga classes every week. There are a lot of small local businesses and holes in the wall that turn out to be gems.  There are playgrounds everywhere and the water is never more than a few minutes away.  Traffic is virtually non-existent and even downtown you can always park right where you are going, as soon as you get there.
I might actually be hallucinating this whole thing.  If I am, though, don't wake me up!
Despite all those days of rain, and even if it rained all the time, I totally am feeling the motto around here.  It's not just about the weather, Peanuts. It's a state of mind!  It's the local ambiance!
When we went to the DMV (where we waited in line for exactly ZERO minutes) to register our car here, they let me choose between several little slogans for my new license plate.  I knew right away which one I wanted.

And She's Saucy; We're a Perfect Pair.

C: "No, Little One, you may not."

Little One: "Mommy! You are im-pasta-bul!"

C: "What?! I'm impossible?!"

LO: "YES.  You. Are. Im-PASTA-BUL! YOU! You...you are jus'....jus' a bunch of SPSGHETTI!!!"

Sitting Pretty

I'm so excited about this picture. Because you don't always get a photo of the very first time something happens, and here it is! The very first time Little Miss sat up, all by Herself.  Look how proud She is! Me, too. 

5 Months

    

It's been a busy month!  For the whole lot of us, but not least Little Miss. While we've been all saying goodbyes and driving and saying hellos and unpacking boxes, Miss here has been trying to take over the whole world!
Ok, well.  Not take over maybe, but win over.  And She's doing pretty well.  Look at that face.  I did not dangle jingly toys, make monkey faces and/or obnoxious noises, jump up and down, or even beg for that smile.  If you have little children and a camera you know what I mean.  Sometimes you have to put on a circus act to get them to smile at the right moment.  Not this kid.  That is just Her normal face.
The best adjective I could use to describe Little Miss is Joyous.  She loves to smile.  She loves to laugh.  She's hard to disgruntle and easy to please.  All you have to do is look at Her to get one of those sunbeam smiles.  All you have to do is talk to Her- say anything!- and She nearly bursts with happiness.  She thinks all your jokes are funny.  She thinks whatever you find funny is funny.  She thinks Her toes are funny.  Life is one big giggle, really.  This has led to legions of admirers in public places.  Miss has yet to meet anyone She didn't like, and She practically leaves trails of melted hearts in Her wake whenever we go out.
Of course She fusses like any baby when She needs a change, a snack, or a nap, and there are some things She likes better than others.
She's just come around to enjoying baths, for instance. Since She learned about splashing, it's been a whole new ball game.  She loves to be sung to, especially if She does happen to be out of sorts.  It calms and soothes Her...a little auditory margarita!  In fact, we have more than once put the girls to bed with Little Miss fussing about it, and listened to Little One sing Her to sleep.
Which is still one of Little Miss's favorite pastimes. She sleeps from about 8-6:30, and takes two or three naps during the day.  We're still sorting out our new schedule, and Miss wishes we would hurry up.  She seriously wants to have a rigid sleeping routine, and one of the few things that really ticks Her off is being put down late for a nap.
She loves the pacifier- a true addiction- which She quickly recognizes and can easily grasp, turn more or less the right way, and pop in all by Herself.  Also toys of all sorts. She has really become interested in playing with things and trying to figure them out.  Or figure out how to eat them.  She's very interested in food, and seems to think that She's ready to hit the buffet table like, yesterday.  I suppose, in fact, that after the face plant She took into my peach on the drive down here, we should probably call that Her first solid food.  She loved it.
There are few things She doesn't like, really.  But there are some.  For instance.  This laid-back little zen buddha likes chatting and playing, even tickling (She is insanely ticklish), but is not a fan of roughhousing in any form.  You know that game all babies love, where you sort of gently toss them up, or "fly" them around, or bounce them on your knee?  This baby does not love it.  She gets scared and Her grinny face crinkles up and cries.  She doesn't like to be squeezed too tight.  She doesn't like cold water.  Or to be cold in general.  She doesn't like Her back rubbed when She's fussy, like Her sister did.  She prefers to be patted and for you to "sshh shhh shhh" Her.
She would highly prefer to be held all the golly-gosh-darn time, snuggled to sleep, and generally always attached to somebody She loves.  But She will go to sleep all by Herself if She has to, and She is really very good at entertaining Herself.  Talking to Her toes, banging on the little piano, exploring toys during tummy time, practicing rolling onto Her back, and trying very, very hard to crawl.
She's almost got it! Sort of! She can actually get up on all fours, chubby belly off the floor and everything.  And She can get those legs moving just like they should! But- the arms.  Those confounded arms get in the way every time.  They just don't budge! So when the legs go, Her top half is propelled forward, over those planted hands, and the poor thing faceplants- I mean eats it- right on the floor.  Since She can sort of wriggle Herself forward now, that too often happens just past the edge of Her blanket or play mat or whatever, and She comes up, all red nosed and offended, little pound signs and exclamation marks flying from Her toothless mouth.  She's tenacious, though.  She keeps at it.
One day soon She will get it, and then we'll all be in for it.  Right now we're just enjoying this babymoon phase, where She's all interactive and fun, but still for the most part stays right where you put Her and- for the most part- only gets hold of whatever you (or Little One when you aren't looking) give Her.  Life will get more and more interesting from Here on out.
She's growing becoming more and more like, well, Herself.  "Her own self" as Her sister would say. She's growing at an amazing pace- due to outgrow Little One any week now it seems- and is even getting a little teeny bit of hair.  It could be just me but I think She gets prettier, smarter, and sweeter every day.
It's not just the strangers at the mall who adore Her and Her smiley, bubbly self.  The rest of us are besotted as well!  Happy (slightly belated) Birthday Little Miss!  All those dozens of smiles you keep beaming at us flip our grins on too.  You fill the place with light.  We love you!