"New Mom Chronicles" - 5 new articles
Pumpkin PatchHi! I'm sharing this video - not because I expect all of you to donate, but because I don't know when I'll have the time to make another one of these and I thought you might like to see it. Enjoy! Trike-a-thon! from NewMom on Vimeo. Two and a halfHi everybody! Long time no write! I know, I know. I'd love to get back into this blogging thing, but I gotta tell ya, I'm not promising anything. Right now, Zoe's still napping, and the house is vacuumed, and I'm all alone, so I thought I could take a few minutes to write. Drumroll please.....here's Zoe! Isn't she precious?? Doesn't she look like a Girl and not a Baby anymore? It's so hard to believe how fast this is going. I am totally in love with her. WE are totally in love with her. She is so much fun to be around. Mind you, we've had a couple of really nice weeks. A few weeks before that...not so much. Lots of whining, testing, whining, OHMYGOD DID I MENTION THE WHINING??? Wow. Seriously. When she whines, this is the conversation we have: Us: What is that?
It usually goes pretty well! That is, when we can catch it before our brains start oozing out of our ears from all the high-pitched, screechy whining. In that case, we say "Zoe, please stop whining," which of course she hears as, "More whining please! Man, we love that whining!" and continues. You know how it is. Then our heads explode and she takes over the household. Hey, she can do it. I don't call her The General for nothing. So like I was saying, we've been having a blessed period of not too much whining, not too much testing, and an awful lot of cuteness. She often hugs me out of the blue, saying, "You're my friend." or "I love you, Mommy" or "Can I have the Star Song?" (see post bout this song here) Ah! My heart! It is bursting! She dances and sings a lot. By that, I mean all the time. She's always humming to herself, and her new Favorite Thing is that %$@&*%$ dancing & singing alligator that Nanny (my MIL) gave to Scotty sometime during the 90's. It sings "Crocodile Rock" and she has this love hate relationship with the thing. At first, it was in the basement and she was pretty afraid of it. She was afraid anytime either Scott or I would go to pick it up even. We started turning it on for her, and she would stand waaaaay back away from it, staring with her eyes like saucers with a mixture of amazement and sheer terror. Oh so funny. I know, I'm mean. A few weeks later, I did get her to actually push the button on the thing by herself to get it to turn on (BIG MISTAKE, by the way). Even after that, we took it with us to S&A's house to visit my little Fisher Girl. When Zoe's little girlfriend walked right up the alligator and HUGGED IT, I thought Zoe was going to crap her pants right there. No, seriously, her mouth was wide open and she was looking at me like, "OH MY GOD! AREN'T YOU GOING TO DO SOMETHING?? THAT THING IS GOING TO BITE HER HEAD OFF!!!" Hysterical. Again, yes I know I'm mean. But that was really funny. She's had a little fear of the Cookie Monster ("He's going to BITE me!" she says), but nothing like the Alligator. Man. Had to get that one in writing for posterity. Oh, so here's the thing. I was always very good in school. My report cards were regularly glowing, with mostly A's and a few B's here and there. But there was one report card that had a little note on it. When I was in kindergarten. The note said this: Shelby can be a little bossy with the other children. I know I know. SO surprising, isn't it? So what that I had to be Princess Leia at every recess. I was PERFECT FOR THE PART PEOPLE!! I had the white vinyl boots and EVERYthing. And Jonathan Olson we Han Solo, and he was practically my boyfriend. So who else was going to be Princess Leia? No one. That's who. Well, it appears that Zoe is, indeed, my daughter (as if you couldn't tell from the picture). Because she is Bossy! With a capital B! She even orders her dolls around, not to mention the poor dog. That's about all I can think of to say right now. My goal is to keep writing, but not feel obligated to write these big, long posts. Just keep everybody updated with the latest and greatest, even if it's something funny Zoe said that day. Oh, on that note, here's a SUPER cute one... We went to Sunday Streets the other day up here in our neighborhood. We took our bikes, had them tuned up, and Scotty worked on installing Zoe's bike seat. It took him a little while, as these things do. We had a great day riding around on the closed streets. It was Zoe's first day riding a bike, and she really enjoyed it. After her nap that day, I asked her if she had fun riding bikes today, and she said, "Yeah! I ride the bike! [and then, wistfully] Daddy...Daddy made a seat for me." So sweet.
20 month letter - My how things changeDear Zoe, I had an experience today that made me realize that you are quickly becoming more a little girl than a little baby. A new property manager came by the house today, and he sat down with Daddy and me to do a meet-and-greet. You were in the room, too, and you hung out for a minute or two to check the new guy out, but then were off playing on your own. Quietly. Entertaining yourself. With only the occasional "Hi-eeeeeeeee!" and frantic wave to make sure that each of us was, indeed, aware of your presence.
I remember doing the same thing myself as a kid. Entertaining myself while the Big People had their Talking. Um, which means probably that you're going to remember parts of these days that we are spending together. Much like I remember my own childhood and my mom. You will remember who I am/was right at this moment in my life. It might seem obvious, but when it was just yesterday that all you could do was coo and kick your legs and smile...this seemed so far away. Then, we were giving the new guy a tour, and you laid you head down on my shoulder while we were walking around. This in itself is odd enough. You're not a big leaner or cuddler. (You much prefer hair twirling.) But then, you - my sweet little baby - fell asleep on my shoulder. I happened to pass by a mirror, and you're not so little anymore. Your legs are hanging down to my mid-thighs, and your head is nearly hanging over my shoulder. I held you like that for a long time. It was precious.* I am enjoying every moment of this stage in your life. You talk more and more everyday. A few days ago your daddy discovered that you can repeat the entire alphabet back to him. You are starting to sing to yourself the songs that we see on the "Bounce" music class DVDs, and oh how you light up when I join in and sing them with you. It's like you're thinking, "She knows! She knows what I'm singing!" You're saying phrases like, "I don't know," and "Ready, Set, Go!!!" You are dancing more and more these days, and climbing is one of your favorite activities, although you are reasonably cautious most of the time.
I just started working a new job in the Mission, and this means that you're spending more time at Anna's. For the most part you are handling the transition well, probably better than I am. I miss you terribly when I'm gone all day. But at the same time, I'm so happy that I have found a job that I love and that is fulfilling for me. I think that it is incredibly important for you to see me have this. I want you to know that you can have anything that you want in life, and that your job does not have to be something that is tedious or too stressful or contrary to your own beliefs and ways of being. The point of telling you that is that, because I am gone more now, I get a Queen's welcoming every time I walk in the door either to Anna's or home. You smile a huge, toothy grin, start your funny little half-laugh/half-breathless puffs, stomp your little feet, and come running over to me saying, "MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMEEEEEE!" This ends with the Leg Hug finale. I love this more than you can ever know. Almost as much as our "I love you"s before bedtime. ;-) You are a star. Such a precious little beam of light and sparkles. Aaaaah-eeee love you.
*That was, until I accidentally dropped you into your crib and you started wailing. Sorry about that! I'm Mom of the Year! Happy Birthday!This past Friday, our little family took our first trip to the California Academy of Sciences. We purchased a family membership as a birthday gift from my mom and I to Scotty (a.k.a. Husband). It was crowded and insane (Fleet Week anyone??), but we still managed to have a good time even though we only ended up staying for an hour and a half. The best part of it was watching Scott with Zoe - and hearing him talk about it to other people afterward. These are the moments that he has dreamed of having with our son or daughter - and that I have dreamed of witnessing - even before we were anywhere close to having a little one of our own. Science is such a blast for Scott, and he has been bursting at the seams waiting for some little angel to come along with whom he can share his excitement. Now, she is here, and she is just starting to understand the world around her, and can appreciate special experiences like sitting under a glass tunnel filled with a bunch of different kinds of fish swimming all around her. Honey, I have loved you from the moment that we met. Standing by your side through the last 7 years of exuberant partying, deepening commitment, and emerging parenthood has been an incredible blessing. There is no better partner for me. I'm so thankful for who you are, and I'm excited for the years to come. May your excitement for life never wane, and your ability to persevere never falter. Much love to you on your birthday, Scotty.
Songs we singOne of the things that I am proud of most as a mother, is that I sing to Zoe all the time. I don't use my musical talents all that often these days, aside from playing flute in the Symphony up north about 4 times a year. Not that this exactly makes up for the tens of thousands of dollars my mom spent on a music eduction (Thanks mom!!! I really had so much fun!!! Oh, and, um, learned a whole lot!!! Heh.), but I'm hoping that Zoe will appreciate it for years to come.
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