Privileges

I finally finished a book I've been reading called Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent. This memoir detailing 40 some years of delivering babies made me cry more times than I could count. It also left me with a feeling of profound gratefulness that I delivered Storey the way in which I did, with the support that I was lucky enough to have, and that the result was a healthy, happy baby. Such is not the case for everyone.

Birthing a little person is so strange. On one hand, it's happened everyday to thousands of women for thousands of years. Part of life. On the other, it's such an amazing gift. Such a privilege, to be someone's mother.

Sideburns Baby!

Ahh, the holidays...
Just when things are approaching normalcy (sleep, eating, smiles), family visits, visiting family, car rides and late night bedtimes throw a baby's life into delightful chaos. I do mean delightful though. Sure, I have a cold, am back to feeding every 1.5 hours around the clock, grabbing 45 minutes chunks of sleep at night, and sigh in resignation at our whiny girl who only wants Mama lately - however...

The trade-off: the pleasure of watching Jason's mom coo back and forth with our girl, spending time getting to know his cousin's teenage daughter and her tattooed & pierced boyfriend, helping oneself to two pieces of Uncle Dylan's awesome pecan pie (yum dammit!), and sharing baby photos of Uncle Wes around the table at his 16th birthday party.

The latter happened really fast... when did he become this furry young man?

Sleepy Bees

She was playing away, talking to her bee, having grand old time, for nearly an hour. Then suddenly, silence. I look over, and...

Hands Are Amazing

Who knew? But they really are. Storey will sit for ages looking at her own hand, turning it this way and that, making it do what our hand is doing, grabbing our hand and moving it over here, over there. Hands are amazing.

Yum

She's nearly sleeping through the night, loves to play, chatter and flirt and saves all her poop for one day out of very six or seven. One, some or all of these developments are making for a very sweet and happy baby. Don'tcha just want to eat her up?

Big, Big Things

Bath photos must be shared. They are so happy. We LOVE the bath. There's lots of grinning and laughing and cheery conversation going on in there every evening. It's a party.

On a more prickly note, today was Storey's two-month checkup at the doctor's. She got her first round of shots. I cried. So did she. But at least I negotiated the number from six down to three. It was sad. But we both got over it, indulging in an afternoon of just napping and nursing. Could we have had a better excuse?

The rest of the doctor's visit was super though. Storey got to share with the doc all the big girl things that she can do. She impressed the hell out of everyone. Holding her head up, grabbing at things, wiggling, sucking fist, staring at fist while it zooms in and out via arm, standing, tracking moving objects and people, whipping head around to follow mama and her voice where ever she goes, babbling and smiling and laughing away at everyone. These are all signs of absolute genius at two months, of course.

Never mind that she needs assistance washing her bum. She's well on her way to big, big things. Right after her bath.

Lucky Ducks

Yesterday was really grand. First Storey gifted me a 35-minute scream-free car ride out to my folks' house. Then she bestowed lots and lots of smiles, grins and dancing on my mom, who of course can't get enough. A peaceful nap followed while the two of us enjoyed a nice lunch and chatted. Next we headed off to my dad's workplace, where the girl smiled and flirted with the wonderful ladies he works with.

But best of all was the visit with my Grandma; Storey's Great Grandma. (What a lucky duck - she actually has three Great Grandparents!)

My Grandma Ginny is 85. She lives with my Grandpa about 5 minutes from my folks' house. She is one swell lady. Anytime we were sick as kids she'd stay with us, fix us her famous pot roast or Apple Betty, or my brother Dylan's favorite, cottage cheese on toast with black pepper sprinkled on top. We'd watch Price Is Right, then her "stories" and when we'd feel up to it, she'd play a rousing game or two of Aggravation and beat our pants off every time. She's a lady of many hugs and by example has taught us that often it's best to just have a good laugh over whatever life might bring. She has Alzheimer's now, but that didn't keep her from remembering Storey, and in turn, my girl saved the biggest smiles, best stories, and happiest coos for her Great Grandma. The two of them sat chatting for longer than I've ever seen Storey do before. I couldn't bring myself to post the photos of my Grandma gazing at my baby's face while she slept sweetly on her lap. It's a memory I'll keep close however, and share with her when she's older.

The ride home and a last minute trip to the grocery store were fussy-free as well. We couldn't have asked for a better day. Our girl's growing up. It's something to see her start to take in the world - and give back to it as well.

Little Birdies in the Bath

What's funnier than a pear-shaped, pudgy baby in the bath, flippin' all the bird because bath time's over?