Month 8 - Recap

Happy 2/3 year, my sweet Bear (we like reduced fractions in this house ... seeing 8/12 would give me the willies).

I wasn't sure I was going to be right, but you rallied in the last week of this month - you are now no longer toothless or immobile.  Granted, I can hardly see your one tiny tooth.  But truuuuuuuust me, I feel it.  With my finger, and um, with other things.  Your sister bit me a grand total of two times.  She quickly learned that biting meant that Mommy closed up shop, so to speak.  You, however, aren't phased by me closing up shop.  You giggle and simply wait until it's time to eat again.  Punk.

You're not technically crawling, but you're definitely going from Point A to Point B.  You haven't quite figured out that you need to be on your hands and knees to crawl - you're happy inchworming along, flipping and flopping using your toes and elbows until you reach your intended destination (usually Natalie's shoe - you find them tasty.  I find that 'ew'.)  Natalie is your biggest cheerleader.  When she sees you start to move, she claps and squeals "Come on, Char-yee Bear!  You can do it, Buddy!" (wait a few seconds) "Heeeeeeey!  Waaaaaaaaait!  That's MY toy!  Char-yee!!!  Don't crawl to MY toy!!!!"  Hopefully, by the time you're old enough to read these recaps, Natalie will have learned to share.

You're turning out to be quite a good eater.  You've liked everything I've given you (I almost don't remember all the foods you've had!) except you don't seem to dig peas.  And I can't say I blame you; they're gross.  (Don't believe the lies Aunt KK might tell you.)  The mesh feeder has proved invaluable to me/us.  It soothes your gums and allows you to feed yourself (which is all you want to do - you have no desire to be fed by a spoon anymore).  With Natalie, I had plenty of time to heat up her food and sit and feed her.  With you, alas, I find myself scrambling to feed you (and me and her).  Oh, the burdens of being the second child.  I feel your pain, dude.  Enter the mesh feeder (and cue the lights shining down from above).  Even though your mouth doesn't seem to bother you anymore, I still use the mesh feeder so you can feed yourself (so that I can get Natalie's lunch fixed).  I fear that makes me a Lazy Mommy, but I just prefer to think of it as me being an Efficient Mommy. 

You seem to be starting with the separation anxiety a little bit.  Up until this month, you were perfectly happy me dropping you off in the nursery at church or the gym. But now, your little face crumples into a pile of pitiful despair.  It's heart-wrenching for sure, but I rest easy in knowing that you're a big fat faker and are all smiles and giggles not five seconds later.

Daddy's mommy, your Nana, passed away late last month.  It was (and still is) such a loss, but I'm confident that God has been with us through it all.  His hand was evident in every aspect of her illness, and His mercy surrounded her.  Even though you're too young to remember her, I want you to know - to always know - how much Nana loved you.  Her face always broke into a huge smile every time she saw you, and she often commented on how you look like just how Daddy did when he was a baby.  You loved being held by her, and you always tried to take her glasses off.  Nana ooh-ed and ahh-ed over your sweet smile and your laid-back personality.  Your face was one of the last she saw before she passed away.  What a great way to enter into heaven: with a new body and a fresh memory of your adorable gummy grin, your impossibly chubby cheeks, and your crinkly eyes.

My heart is forever changed by you.  I don't know how to explain it, but 2/3 of a year ago, something inside me changed.  You, my darling big-headed Baby Bear, are amazing.  I'm a better Mommy because of you, Daddy's a better Daddy because of you, and Natalie's a better Natalie because of you.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

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Headlines for July 9, 2012:

• Sharks Ply Waters off Cape Cod in Search of Seals
• Blind Passenger Causes 12-Hour Emergency Landing
• Man Nears 3 Millionth Mile in '66 Volvo
• US to Get a Reprieve From Heat Wave
• Emirati Officials Find Baby Hidden in Carry-on Bag
• Oscar-winning film star Ernest Borgnine dies, aged 95
• 'American Idol' shakeup could bring in Adam Lambert as judge

June 2012 - Recap

Cue the angels singing!  SOMEbody finally figured how to do EVERYthing in a certain receptacle.  And does it like a CHAMP.  It was touch and go there for a while though.  I was afraid I'd have to sell you to the circus or something.  Because trying to convince a stubborn-as-a-mule toddler to use the certain receptacle when the stubborn-as-a-mule toddler didn't WANT to use a certain receptacle was, quite possibly, the most maddening experience of my life.  You had convinced yourself that you were scared to do it.  DESPITE the fact that you had already DONE it months before.  We decided to go completely diaper-free after you decided that you'd just hold your, um, business until we put a diaper on you at night.  There was never any motivation to learn to go in the certain receptacle if you just hold out for your trusty diaper at bedtime.  Well I showed YOU.  We went diaper-free and you were all about it.  Super stoked to do EVERYthing in the toilet.  I had a big bag of chocolate ready and waiting to reward you.  Did you go?  No.  Of course not.  That'd be too easy.  What DID you do, you may ask?  Instead of going, you followed me around the house and whined.  WWWWWHHHHHIIIIIIINNNNNNNEEEEEEEDDDDDDD.  Whined that your tummy hurt.  Whined that your booty hurt.  But you had psyched yourself into believing that doing your thing on the toilet was scary.  And that it would hurt.  Which unfortunately was the case.  AFTER YOU REFUSED TO GO FOR THREE DAYS.  Of COURSE you won't feel well if you hold it for that long.  I got so desperate that I gave you juice.  Straight-up, non-watered down juice.  Lots of it.  I had no idea that the effects of fully-leaded juice would be no match for the willpower of my three-year-old.  I had no idea that the effects of fully-leaded juice PLUS suppositories would be no match for the willpower of my three-year-old.  I had no idea that the effects of fully-leaded juice PLUS suppositories PLUS Miralax would be no match for the willpower of my three-year-old.  You know what IS?  Fully-leaded Juice PLUS suppositories PLUS Miralax PLUS an enema.  (Is that too much information to put in your monthly recap?  Probably.)  As I'm writing this, I have a hard time realizing that this happened only a few weeks ago.  Because now?  You are a toilet rockstar.  And since you're way too smart for your own good, you've figured out that since you get chocolate every time you go, you spread out your, um, business-time over the course of the day.  Just to maximize your chocolate intake.  I have to admit, that makes me pretty proud.

All it took was one time in Target's toy section playing with a Barbie cash-register-price-scanner toy for you to become Barcode Obsessed.  You look for them EVERYwhere.  You notice them on your books, your box of hairbands, the box of Triscuits.  When you see one, your eyes open up wide and you have a sly little smile on your face as you say in a sing-songy voice "Momma!  Yook what IIIIIIIIIII see!  It's ... a ... BARCODE!!!!"  You're none too happy about there being an absense of all things barcode on things like apples, your teddy bear, and Charlie Bear, though.  Bob came over earlier this month wearing a black-and-white striped shirt.  When you saw her, you squealed "BOB!  You're wearing a BARCODE shirt!!"
 
You've started to really like writing, particularly smiley faces and the letters 'N', 'A', and 'E'.  You fill up pages and pages with your delightfully out-of-proportion letters and get so excited by your handiwork.  You're welcome in advance, by the way, for naming you with a name that can be constructed completely out of straight lines.  As for the smiley faces, they're pretty fantastic, too.  Except for the whole I-Must-Add-Noses-To-Smiley-Faces idea you adhere to.  I'm a proud, card-carrying member of the Smiley Faces Do NOT Have Noses club, but you, you little trailblazer, insist that every smiley face be be-nosed. 

Far and away, one of your most favorite things to do is to go on a Daddy-Nattie date to Tom Thumb to get lemonade.  Wait.  Scratch that.  You like to get yemmonade.  And I'm pretty sure it's not actually the lemonade that you like; it's the special time with Daddy you love.  You and I don't get lemonade (we could, of course, but I make a point not to.  Lemonade Dates belong to you and Daddy).  In fact, when Daddy brought home a big bottle of lemonade from the grocery store the other day, instead of being super stoked to have lemonade at your beck-and-call, you looked shocked and said "But Daddy!  Now we can't go to the yemmonade store and get it TOGETHER!"  Every time we pass a Tom Thumb, you proudly announce "That's where Daddy and Nattie go to get YEMMONADE!!!"  I love that you recognize a Tom Thumb as the Lemonade Store.  You also recognize Waffle Houses, but that's another story for another day.

While I'm on the subject of yemmonade, you're starting to pronouce Ls properly.  It takes a lot of thought on your part, and you speak really slowly and deliberately, but there are definitely some words that have Ls instead of Ys.  I'm simultaneously proud and bummed.  I do love your 'little girl speech', but I totally get you need to outgrow it before applying to yaw school ...

You have been on a mission this month.  A mission to find all the fire extinguishers and hand sanitizer dispensers whenever we visit Nana.  And being that she lived in an assisted living facilty, there was a plethora of both fire extinguishers and hand sanitizer dispensers.  You love to walk the halls and count every one you found.  You never seem to catch on that the place where Nana lives is one big loop, because when we finish one lap around and ended up at our starting point, you'd continue counting.  I think at one point, you counted 47 fire extinguishers.  (I'm pretty sure that's about 37 too many.)  Then you'd run into Nana's room and report your findings.  She was always excited to hear your report.

Speaking of Nana, this was a really tough month for Daddy and me.  Nana passed away very early on June 24th.  She had Stage 4 lung cancer and end-stage renal disease.  For a few weeks before her death, I was really frustrated with God for 'allowing' her to go through all of this.  Like, God can't you SEE how she feels?  Don't you CARE she feels miserable?  What's the hold up?  Now I know.  He knew EXACTLY how she felt and cared deeply that she felt miserable.  His timing was perfectly perfect.  If He had 'listened' to me, she would have passed away months ago.  And Aunt Lisa and Taylor might have missed seeing her.  Her passing when she did allowed Daddy, Aunt Lisa, Taylor, and Draigen to be there together with her.  She passed away at precisely the right time.  God answered my fervent prayer that she would not be on this earth one second longer than she needed to be.  It was a beautiful example of God's unfailing mercy.

Daddy and I will work hard to remind you how much Nana loved you.  She was so proud of her grandkids and doted on them tirelessly.  You were no exception. She was always tickled by how smart you are, by the wackadoo things that come out of your mouth, and your seemingly endless supply of energy.  When we visited her, we would go outside in the courtyard.  You would immediately want to play Hide-and-Seek with me, and Nana really got a kick out of watching you run around, trying to find the perfect hiding spot.  She was so proud of you when you told her you finally learned how to use the toilet.  She loved seeing what treasures you brought to show her - pictures you colored, your newest book, or your current favorite stuffed animal.  She cherished you, my sweet girl, and I want you to know that with every fiber of your being.


Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy


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Headlines for July 1, 2012:

• Residents to Tour Areas Devastated by Colorado Blaze
• Mom Who Lost Custody Because of Cancer Spent Final Weeks With Kids
• Student Mauled by Chimp Hoped to Help Abused Animals
• Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes to Divorce
• California cities balk as feds strictly enforce marijuana laws
• 100 and hotter; power failures add to misery