things my husband says

Me: You know, I don't really believe in those potatoes.

Him: That's OK because they believe in you.

10 months

Dearest Little Girl,

Another month has passed so quickly that I feel like I blinked and it was over. I know I say it every month but you're getting so BIG. You're into everything and desperately want to do it all yourself. Like any time there's food. I'm sorry that I'm so anal retentive, and heaven knows I let you get dirty other times, but I just have the hardest time letting you throw your food all over. But I promise to work on that if you promise to work on your eye-hand coordination.

You've had a lot of firsts this month. You learned to wave, clap and stand up on your own. It's so wonderful to see your face light up when you realize you've done something new. It doesn't hurt that Daddy and I clap and cheer even when it's the 243rd time you've done it that day. We also went to the park for the first time. You thought the swings were fun but nothing could compare with all the tasty wood chips and dirt.

I can see your personality developing so quickly. You're such a fun kid to watch. Like how you won't eat a Cheerio without first biting it in half. Or how you know to clap when you've done something new. Your vocabulary is growing although you can't say all the words you understand. But you know when I'm talking about the cat or your drink and what I mean by bath.

You're growing so fast and at times it makes me heartsick, knowing that you'll never be this size again. You are the brightest part of my day even when you're being a crank. And every night before I go to bed, I tip-toe into your room to make sure you're okay then sneak out before the urge to scoop you up in a hug becomes too much.

Love,

Mama

pure cheese

9 months

Dear Penelope,

As I write this I can hear you in your crib growling. Not crying, not screaming. Roaring. Like a good little velociraptor. These sounds carry me through my day. I tease you and tickle and swing you upside down just to hear your laugh. I love that people three aisles over in the store can hear you squeal. You have always been vocal but you're starting to put together noises that sound like real words. Like when you say "Hi Dad" whenever Daddy says hi to you. I know it just has to be a random pairing of nonsense sounds that just happen to sound like Hi Dad. At least that's what I thought the first time. And maybe the second too. But after the fifth time - I've begun to wonder. During your bath last night you also made a respectable attempt at "duck." It sounded more like "duc" but that's OK because that 'k' is silent anyway.



We've spent a lot of time at the doctor's office this last month what with two ear infections and a third suspected. But through all the poking and prodding you still charm the socks off the doctors. They can't help but tell me how well behaved and sweet you are. I tell them I know, that I'm truly lucky. And I am. Last year at this time I was dreaming about what you'd be like. And even in my dreams you weren't as wonderful as you are in real life. Sometimes, after a long night, I miss you like you've been gone for a year, and I have to scoop you up in my arms and threaten never to let you go again.




Love,
Mama

runnin' runnin' and runnin' runnin'

In real time it was only about an hour. But in baby time it felt like a month. Just a little jaunt to Target, I thought. Walk around, try some stuff on, look at sales. Something to break the day up a bit; get us girls out of the house. 

My first mistake was thinking I could try clothes on with the baby around. The finding of things to try on was easy. The hard part came in the dressing room. Did you know that the space under the dressing room door is the perfect size for a baby to crawl under? It went something like this: 

Remove an article of clothing. 

Drag Penny back from under the door. Give her my keys to play with.

Try on a shirt.

Drag Penny back from under the door. Give her the keys again.

Remove shirt because it makes my skin look green.

Drag Penny back from out in the hall. Give her my shoe. (What? She likes shoes.)

Try on shorts while trying to block door with my feet.

Drag Penny back from under the door after she crawled right over me. 

Repeat through two pairs of shorts, three t-shirts and a dress. 

I didn't buy anything because I had no idea if any of it looked good since I really had no chance to look in the mirror.

So clothes shopping was a mistake. How about just regular browsing. Not too much maneuvering with that. Except that by then Penny was poopy. I made a trip to the bathroom to change a stinky diaper and then back to wandering around. Five minutes later I realized I had to use the bathroom. So back to the front of the store we went. Have you ever tried to use the bathroom while holding a baby? You should try it sometime using a raccoon or maybe a ferret. That'll be close enough to the real experience. There's wiggling and squirming and crying that they want down but you don't dare put those little butt cheeks anywhere near the disgusting public restroom floor. So finally that was done. More shopping. By this time I still hadn't even gotten to the other side of the store.

But now Penny wanted a snack. So in with the Cheerios, up with the sippy cup and then I watched as the container with Cheerios was thrown across the aisle and I was so glad that I had already put the lid back on. Take a drink. Throw the cup. Take a snack. Throw the container. Then she didn't want to ride in the cart anymore. So there I was, holding her, pushing the cart while still trying to feed her a snack. At one point I was hunched over the cart trying to steer with my elbows when an employee started following me. He narrowed his eyes, suspiciously looked over the contents of my cart and, wrinkling his nose, asked if he could help me find something. Having given all of my patience to Penny, I responded coldly, in my best leave-me-alone voice, that we were peachy. He actually sniffed and walked away. But continued to follow us discreetly around the store. If I hadn't been so worn out already from all the child wrangling I might have found it funny. Instead it was infuriating. So I finished up, paid and left. 

Next time I think I'll find that employee and have him watch the baby while I shop.