Wordless Wednesday

Amelia Art

Last year, I discovered wordle.net and plugged in this here blog and got the following result: (click to enlarge)




It made me so very sad to see the words that turned up to provide a visual representation of my thoughts on Amelia. I mused and hoped to someday plug in this blog and find a happier vision.

I just tried it again tonight and here is the result:


Better, no?

Say WHAT?!

I’m 15 Months Old Today!

What a difference a year makes! For realzies. Last year at this time—on this day more specifically—Amelia was three months old and our days were agonizing. Everyone had told us that she would settle at 3 months and that colic goes away at that age and we so looked forward to hitting the milestone. The fact that we had such high hopes for this turning point only made the next month completely unbearable, as she continued to scream endlessly and I grew sick from the exhaustion of it all.

I took these pictures in the morning—the only time of the day when I could get her to smile it seemed—and used the opportunity to put the cutest dress on her. It was size 3 months and since she’d worn newborn clothes for 3 months, I had to wait until it fit. When I put it on her that morning, it was still big, but it fit . . . and I wondered if she’d get another chance to wear it?

She grew out of her 3 month clothes in less than a week. In posting these pics originally, I was forced to see that Amelia was growing and looking more and more like a normal baby and less like the fragile, 5.5 pounder we’d brought home. In fact, as you can see, she’d gotten serious chubs!

These days, Amelia is quite a different spirit altogether. Well, I suppose her spirit is the same, but its chance for exposure has changed. Her personality is so . . . familiar to me. She sits quietly in the corner and reads to herself, enjoys being around other kids, but keeps a distance, loves her pets more than anything, and clings to mama when someone talks to her. She laughs only for the most clever jokes and appears to look straight through people—and their BS—into their souls. She takes a while to warm up to most and would rather cuddle than run away. She talks my ears off all day and then clams up the moment she is around “others.” She closes her eyes when she smiles and laughs through her teeth.

She is much like I remember being as a child.

Her locks are full and curly and mature beyond her mere 15 months, making her appear more a little girl than baby girl. She’s gotten more and more petite with the last few months, still wearing 12 month clothes that she first wore at 9 months. She sleeps great through the night and loves her morning nap. The afternoon nap is iffy at best, but we are still trying. She knows many more words than many at this age, including “plane,” which makes sense since we are near an air field. She says “Hi dogs” in the morning and “hi Dada” in the evening and loves her stuffed animal loveys.

She’s pretty cool, this one. I think we’ll keep her. (Something I couldn’t have concluded at this time last year! whew!)

 

Not too bad for 12 short months, eh?

She may never remember

Amelia was especially lovey all day today, giving out hugs and snuggling without solicitation. Since she skipped her pm nap today (ARGH!), she was very tired this evening, but still in good spirits, surprisingly enough. After bath time, she ran about the house naked . . . as usual. This is aptly named, "Naked Baby Time" in our house and is thoroughly enjoyed by all. When after jammies, we snuggled into the rocker and had our last cup of "milk" and read a story. She laid her head on my chest and talked quietly to herself. (This is usually when she would start pushing me away and pointing at her crib.) Seeing as it was a unique moment, I held her close for a long while until it was apparent that she was increasingly tired and not able to sleep on me. I picked her up and took her to her crib. This is the point where she starts to whine and ignore all attempts for hugs. But tonight as we stood there swaying, with her head against my chest, she looked up, turned her head towards my face, and kissed my lips with hers. It was a real, honest kiss. She pulled away, looked at my face, and kissed me again. I gave her one last squeeze, put her in her bed and as I walked out, she made a kissey noise in my direction. I threw one back at her, closed the door, and snuck away with a bit of a tear in my eyes.

It was one of those (so many) moments that she will never remember . . . but I will never forget.

Sleep tight, my sweet angel.

Utter Sophistication

These days, when people ask me (often out of obligation, it seems) how my daughter is, I have the same, simple response . . . "Well, she's all grown up, essentially." An overstatement perhaps, but a true sentiment all the same. At this time last year, we were in the depths of despair over our poor, helpless child who wailed endlessly and seemingly had little personality out of pure misery. This year, I spend my days with a girl who listens and responds to me, has her own plan, and eats off a stinkin plate! Can you believe that? Where else to go from here, is what I want to know!

Amelia, according to a neighbor mommy is "a thinker." She loves to put things together, observe them, and then take them apart to figure it all out again. Quietly, while the other kids are running around and screaming, I might add. She is most pleased by things that fit together perfectly, perhaps reflecting a bit of a Type A personality. She loves to read, bringing me books and sitting waiting for the story to unfold. When by herself, she picks up books, and reads them to herself, touching the words as she goes. She can sign all of the essentials in baby communication and knows almost all of the parts of her body. She can walk across the toddler pool almost completely by herself. . . well, until a plane flies overhead and she stops to point, upsetting the precarious balance between child and water.

Even in thinking of new blog posts, I run short. Sure she is doing big things every day, but she's a kid in so many ways and the milestone are so very different than that of babies. Maybe they are happening too fast, or seem less dramatic?

Or maybe she's so much more fun to hang out with these days that I don't want to do much else. . .