Holy Crap! (aka: Things I wasn't expecting as a parent)

Okay, I'm willing to admit something here that you won't often hear me say...

I was totally not prepared to be a parent.

Your dad and I knew, from early in our relationship, that we both wanted kiddos. We talked about it a lot over the years we were together before you came to be a part of our lives. We discussed timing of babies, what we'd name babies, and how we wanted to raise our babies. You'll probably hate to hear this, but we talked so much about our future kids that you didn't really stand much of a chance against us. We are a united front of parenthood. You are basically doomed to be the perfect child.

And yes, we silently judged other parents "pre-Baby G." We'd see a child acting up and look at each other like, "They need to get their heads in the game and parent those kids ASAP!" We'd talk a big talk about how we were going to do things differently than those people. We'd ponder parent-child interactions like we were doing post-game commentary for ESPN. We had been around kids enough to know the things we should expect out of them, and spent a lot of time discussing how we would react in those situations. By the time you came along, we were CONFIDENT we were going to be the best damned parents in the history of EVER.

Yeah... about that...

As it turns out, we both agree that we ARE pretty rad parents, but whoa... we were taken a bit off guard by a few things. These instances of "HOLY CRAP!" have helped shape us as parents, and all of us as a family, by learning "on the fly" how we are going to respond to things that pop up out of nowhere. Some things have left us feeling like we are ten feet tall (you know, the GOOD surprises!) Others have left us a bit battle-worn as we contemplate our next moves and how NOT to react to situations beyond our control. Overall, the lessons I've taken away from parenting a child for just a little over a year include: patience, deep breaths during anger, team-work, compassion, observation, and the intense power of the mother-child connection to instinctively "know" when something IS something (good or bad).

There have been many things over the last year that surprised us, but here are a few of the things that came to mind when I brainstormed all of our "HOLY CRAP!" moments.

*Feeding baby once you leave the hospital - Okay, in our defense the hospital was very good at instructing us how much to feed you the different "meals" you had after you were born but told us NOTHING about how to progress with feedings after we left. They told us how big your tummy was, how often to feed you, how much to feed you, and it was so helpful! I had NO idea how tiny a baby's tummy was at birth, nor did I realize how quickly it grew over the first few days! Having the staff on hand to tell us all of these things was vital. Toward the end of our hospital stay we were feeding you about an ounce of formula every 2-3 hours or so and you seemed really happy about that. The first night we had you home things were great until, all of a sudden, they were really really bad. If you remember in my first "Baby G: you terrify me" post, I discussed the first night home and how you wailed and screamed for, seemingly, no reason. Well, finally out of frustration from trying EVERYTHING else I could think of, I said, "lets just feed her again even though she just ate and it isn't time!" It went against what we learned in the hospital, but we were desperate for some relief from the ear-splitting screams. Well, what do you know? All you wanted was food! As soon as we fed you (nearly triple what we thought we should feed you, if i remember correctly) you were fine. A friend of ours told us after that to just feed you until you puked. I'm guessing it was a bit of an exaggeration, but we learned very quickly to just let you eat what you wanted and to hell with what we learned in the hospital. You're still a very good eater, by the way!

*Amount of food going in versus amount being spit up - Having never taken a physics class, I still pride myself in the basic knowledge that pouring a cup of water into a glass and then pouring that cup of water into another glass would still end up being, for all intents and purposes, a full cup of water. This does not seem to be the case with babies. For example, your dad or I would feed you about 3 ounces of formula and over the next 2-3 hours you would seem to spit up at least 12 ounces of liquid (okay, maybe that is a slight exaggeration...) We began to worry that you weren't getting any nutrition because it all came back up. Our visits to the doctor showed you gaining weight at a perfect rate, but I just couldn't see how that was possible since all of your calories ended up on your bib, on one of us, or all over your carseat/boppy pillow/exersaucer. Well, as it turns out, we were awful judges of how much liquid we wrung out of your bibs because by the laws of the universe SOME of that food had to remain in your stomach for you to be healthy and grow up as well as you have. Still, it seemed like a lot and it's very jarring when you're a new parent and all you want is for your baby to get what she needs. You're a pretty amazing baby, but I doubt you are breaking laws of physics at your young age (unless you ARE and then I'll have to update this post again someday).

*You may feel you have made a huge mistake - Okay, this one is hard for me to talk about and it might be hard for you to read. First, I need to tell you that there is nothing in this world I would rather be, right now or ever, than your mommy. You are the best thing either of us has ever done and we would just as soon hurl ourselves into the sun than experience a life without you in it. Now, that being said, lack of sleep and a drastic change in lifestyle can REALLY mess you up. There is a reason they call it "the baby blues" and there is also a reason why they drill it into your head in childbirth class that it is fairly common for a period of sadness to set in after a baby arrives. Nothing puts the brakes on a regular routine like having a baby! The first 6-8 weeks of your life were really really hard on all of us. We didn't know what we were doing and you had no way of letting us know how we were screwing up. There were times when I wondered if we had any right being parents because I felt like a failure for many reasons (some of which included: needing a C-section instead of a natural birth (I will talk about this in another post in the future), not having success at getting you to latch so I could breastfeed, not knowing why you were crying nearly all the time, and even not figuring out how to swaddle you in such a way that you could get comfort and sleep.) Eventually, the lack of sleep and the feelings of failure/sadness made me wonder if we had made a mistake in thinking we could do this. I loved my new baby, but I also mourned my "lost life of convenience" every time I tried to do something... anything... with a new baby. I missed sleep. I missed hanging out with people. I missed just sitting on the couch, vegging out, whenever I'd had a rough day at work. I missed the luxury of being sick and lazing around until I felt better. I simply wasn't ready for all of the changes. Turns out, I wasn't abnormal. These aren't uncommon feelings for new parents to have, but no one talks about it because it seems really awful to question whether you should have had your child or not. The answer in the long run is, "of course we should have had you! You're wonderful and we cannot picture our lives without you!" But sometimes the answer in the short term is, "I'm so not ready for this, but I'll keep trudging forward until I am." That's what happened and I'm so glad we did!

*Can’t swaddle like the nurses, don’t even try - Remember how I mentioned above that I felt like a total failure because I couldn't swaddle you enough to keep you happy and comforted? Holy cow... we tried so many different things but you kept breaking out of each of them! Our sleep was so fragmented because you would wake up screaming and checking on you to see what was wrong usually meant you had an arm sticking out of some random fold of the swaddle blanket and you were hitting yourself in the face with it. Damn... babies really DO NOT have any sort of control over their little arms! Until a co-worker of mine told me about the Miracle Blanket, we assumed we would just never sleep more than an hour at a time ever again. Have I mentioned how amazing that product is more than a thousand times yet? A thousand times is my goal to continue bringing up how much that invention saved our lives because it was the only thing that gave us ALL sleep. Turns out those nurses in the hospital have the strength of 20,000 oxen and no one... NO ONE... will ever swaddle a baby as well as they do. They only do it about a trillion times a day more than the average person. They are masters of their baby-origami craft and none of us can ever strive to be as good at it. I'll go so far as to say, "don't even try." The Miracle Blanket is for the rest of us and it should just be used right away.

*How quickly they “wake up” and start interacting - Okay, let me put it this way...

Age: 1 day shy of your two month birthday:

Mom: "Hi baby! Hello! You're so cute! I love you!" Baby: (blank stare with cricket sound in the background).

Age: Your two month birthday:

Mom: "Hi baby! Hello! You're so cute! I love you!" Baby: "Oooo... oooo... ahhhh.... ahhh... oooooooooo....." Mom: "OMG hubby! GRAB THE VIDEO CAMERA!!!" (click the link to see the video in question!)

Yeah, babies will amaze you by pretending like they don't know how to do anything and then, suddenly, they're actual small humans who do human-like things! This is one of the good surprises because it gives you hope that you're actually doing a pretty good job as a parent.

*Worried about milestones then BAM! - But then, all of a sudden, that same baby that made you feel like you were doing a good job as a parent will resist hitting a certain milestone and will make you worry that you did something wrong as a parent, somehow. Worrying about milestones IS good because it can help you determine if something is wrong, but worrying about them too much (guilty as charged) is completely pointless because babies are going to do what they want to do when they want to do it. Most of the time babies want to do things after they've seen their peers do it. Peer pressure starts early and shows up regularly, especially if your baby is in day care. Your child, who didn't know how to crawl when you took her to day care that morning, will all of a sudden know how to crawl like a champ by the end of the day. Once babies "get it" they master their craft in record time. It boggles the mind! You went from taking your first steps on January 10, 2012 to running all over the house a week or two later. It happens SUPER quickly! It's surprising and a ton of fun!

*How quickly they develop opinions - Oh my gosh, you are one opinionated baby! You used to be pretty laid back about things like books or foods or what sorts of activities we did. NOT ANYMORE!! If you don't like a book we're reading to you, you shut it and shove it off to the side. If you don't like a food, even if you liked it the day before, you will spit it back out. If you don't want to get in the car seat to go on adventures, you will whine and cry and contort your body so it makes it "just this side of impossible" to put you in successfully. You have some opinions and you aren't scared of sharing them! It really surprised me how early your preferences began to show their faces because I didn't think you'd experienced enough in your short life to really have an opinion on things. I guess you have! I'm going to put that in the "parental win" column for exposing you to enough things for you to have a preference!

*One day: Happy cooperative baby. The next day: Whiny needy baby - I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by this, but it's always a bit confusing to have the greatest day ever with you only to have the following day be miserable for all of us. I know with teeth coming in, unsuccessful naps, mommy and daddy trying to get you to do things you don't feel like doing, and erratic schedules at times, it can be hard to be a baby and you won't always be happy. Still, we treasure the good days and manage to get through the rough ones, together, as a family.

*Where are you learning how to do these things??? - A common phrase set heard around the house nowadays, "Do you do that with her? Where did she learn how to do that? I wonder if she learned that at day care? That's hilarious!" Some things you've learned are obvious in origin. You say "Hi" with the same intonation that I use when I say "Hi" to you, exactly! It cracks me up! Other things you seem to pick up without us having ever done them with you. I never know if it comes from day care or if you just looked in a mirror one day, made a face, thought it was awesome, and just kept doing it. Either way, you are picking up things at such a rate of speed that it makes us feel extra conscious about what we say and do around you. I've scolded the kitty in the past saying, "No! No! Bad kitty!" just to have you wag your finger at her and say, "no no no no no!" Clearly you are already watching everyone around you and picking up new things. We're going to have to be very careful from here on out!

*Babies learn surprisingly quickly how to mimic you - Which brings me to the next thing... babies learn so quickly how to mimic you! They copy exactly what you are doing and it makes them so proud to be just like you! Hearing you babble incoherently on and on and then, all of a sudden, say "Hi" just like I do is so completely amazing! It's like looking into a tiny, cute, giggly, little mirror! This is one of my favorite things about parenthood right now!

*How very much I love you - This shouldn't come as a surprise to me, but sometimes if I sit and think about how very deeply I love you and how much more fulfilled I am as a person to know that I am your mother, it really boggles my mind. I have loved many people in my life, but the kind of love and affection I hold for you is like no other feeling I've ever had. Your dad and I talk about how you have changed our lives and how we can't imagine a life without you. When we go out for date nights, you're still one of our favorite topics! Actually, I'm not surprised that I love you so much, I'm more surprised that this level of love exists in a world where people sometimes don't love each other as much as they should. This type of love gives me a bit of hope for humanity, a view I had long abandoned prior to having you.

I'm absolutely positive that you will continue to surprise us time and time again throughout your life. Frankly, I'm ready for it! I may not have been prepared for parenthood when you first arrived, but we've all learned together and NOW I feel like I have the skills to keep you safe and happy... until I don't... and then I'll learn from that, too.

Introducing: Mom!

Dear Baby G,

Hi, my name is Mom. You will probably try to call me by my real name during one of those "phases" we've heard so much about, but my name is mom, mommy, mama, best mom ever, awesome mom, or "her royal highness: mom." It's probably nearly impossible for you to believe, but I actually lived 30 years worth of life before you came along! Can you imagine? 30 years?!? Yes, it is true. During those 30 years a lot of things happened. I imagine you would probably be interested in knowing what sorts of things led up to your birth, so here is my story!

I was born in a small Kansas town called Clay Center (population: 5,000 give or take). I burst out onto the scene on January 15th, 1981 at 9:04 in the morning. (Interesting note, you were born at 7:04 pm. That extra 4 minutes is something I like to call "fashionably late!" We're obviously in agreement.) I was born via C-section just like you! Thankfully for me, medical advances allowed me to heal with a fairly small scar after having you. Not-so-thankfully for your grandma, her C-section was described at a later date as looking like "something done in a Tijuana hospital." Back-to-thankfully for your grandma, however, her C-section meant she had something to point to when I was being a bratty brat as a way of making me feel guilty and repentant. Well-played, mom!

We lived in a small house when I was born. It was so small that your grandma and grandpa had to build my room so I could have one after I got here! At the time I was born, we had a small black dog named Midnight. I have no idea what kind of dog she was, but I do remember she had puppies at one point. We lived in that house for a couple of years until my parents bought a much larger house, which needed a WHOLE lot of TLC. They spent quite a bit of time remodeling that house so it was fit for familial habitation. We moved into the house after it was "mostly" done. I had the greatest set-up! I had my own room, complete with a cute sun-room, which housed my closet. I also had an entire extra bedroom across the hall for my very own play room! Your mom had quite a few toys when she was little. I see you are progressing in the same direction and even though it frustrates me sometimes when our house is ultra-cluttered, it makes me happy to know that you have so many great things to play with. We were both lucky little girls! While we lived in that house, I had a couple of kittens. The first kitten's name was Troubles. We named her that because she was always scratching me! We found out later she was actually sick and had to be put to sleep. To make up for that, I got another pair of kittens (when your great-grandpa's cat had babies) for a present. I named them Lightning and Brandy. I have no idea why I chose those names! Lightning ran away after a couple of years and I had Brandy until dad and I moved to Idaho, but I'll get to that later.

My parents owned a service station on the south end of town. They had a radiator shop and a convenience store as part of the business. I spent many hours at the station as a child, but without a lot for a kid to really do around there, I had to get creative. Therefore, I started my own rock painting business! For some reason, back in the 80s, it was totally not weird for a small child to wield spray paint cans in a back alley! I painted rocks in different shades of yellow, red, and gold, then put them in a small box at the front counter. It cost only one shiny penny to take home one of my masterpieces! I'm not sure how many I made, or how many I sold, but it kept me out of the way and entertained me, which was more than priceless to my hard-working parents. Oh, and I also learned how to dunk tires in the dunk tank, find leaks, then mark them with a grease pencil. I wasn't completely useless as a child! Later my parents must have decided it was easier to put me in day care than worry about me at the station all day but I can't really remember how old I was when that happened.

A description about my childhood would be incomplete without talking about my Grandma G (your Great-Grandma G, for whom you are named!) When I wasn't in school or at day care, I was over at Grandma G's "house" (which was actually a retirement community set in a high-rise apartment building complex.) We would do puzzles, watch TV, go shopping, do crafts, cook together, go to "coffee", go to Dairy Queen, and basically just enjoy spending time together. She lived in that complex from the time I was born (before that, actually) until we had to move her to a nursing home a year before she passed away in 1999. For that reason, and many others, that small apartment in that small high-rise in small Clay Center Kansas meant more to me than nearly any other place on Earth. That apartment stood for love, consistency, and comfort. When we had to empty it out after moving Grandma G to Lawrence I felt like a very large part of my soul was left behind. I've had many homes since then, but no home has ever felt more like home than that did. I've often wondered if I could ever gather the nerve and the courage to go back and knock on the door, asking the current occupants if I could look around one last time. So far the answer is "no." The answer may always be "no."

My parents, your grandma and grandpa got a divorce sometime around Fall of 1989 when I was almost 9 years old. Mom and I stayed in the house for a little while until it was sold. They closed the service station, too. Mom and dad had joint custody of me, which meant I lived in two different places. At first, dad and I lived with my other grandparents, his parents, your Great-Grandparents. Later we moved into an apartment building right next to the city library. For a latch-key kid who had hours to burn between the time school got out and when dad got home, living next to the library was awesome! I soon finished nearly all of the kids books (it was a small library, but it still had to be thousands of books). Mom and I moved out of the big remodeled house and into a duplex over by the old high school in town. This part of my childhood is actually kind of fuzzy because I can't for the life of me remember how we had things set up (meaning: which house I was at on which days) but I do remember walking to school or riding my bike when I lived at dad's apartment and needing to wait for the school bus when I was living at mom's duplex.

Eventually, the job opportunities in Clay Center weren't great and my mom ended up moving to Topeka. I was very sad because I had never lived in a different town from one of my parents and I missed her terribly. When I was about 10 years old, my dad remarried a woman with two daughters and a son. We ended up moving to an even smaller town; Solomon, Kansas. My Grandma G was extremely sad when we moved to Solomon because it meant we got to spend less time together. I only remember seeing her cry once in my life, and it was one evening soon before our move. She told me how much she would miss me. I'm pretty sure I cried, too.

In Solomon we lived out on a farm. We didn't have a lot of animals, but we did raise chickens for meat and eggs. I also had a pet rabbit named "Salt and Pepper" and a pet chicken named "Blackie." My step-sister, step-brother, and I each had our own rooms in the farm house. My oldest step-sister was already out of the house. We spent a lot of time exploring the surrounding lands when we lived there. For a kid who had only ever lived in town, it was actually pretty exciting to go exploring out in the "wilderness." We lived in the farm-house for about 6 months before my step-mom got a new job with the US Geological Service... in Boise Idaho!

I should back-track slightly to say that during this time my mom moved to Lawrence when she met her partner. In Lawrence we lived in a medium-sized split level house where I also had my own room for the weekends/summers I came to visit. Mom and her partner also had a miniature dachshund named Sugar, who quickly became one of my best buddies.

When I found out we were moving to Idaho, I had mixed emotions. I had never lived outside of Kansas and I would be leaving my mom, my grandma, my friends and the rest of my family behind. On the other hand, I was going to get to live somewhere new and I was promised we would live near mountains, which I had rarely seen as a young child. I spent the summer prior to the big move in Lawrence with my mom. At the end of the summer, I got on an airplane (my first time ever) by myself and made my way out to Idaho.

While in Idaho I got to do many things I had never done before. I learned how to ski, I explored the various types of canals that ran through town, I joined the school's band and began to learn the clarinet, and I got to help work at the children's consignment clothing store my dad and step-mom owned. I even got a paycheck! Sadly, while living in Idaho my cat Brandy ran away. We found her once, but she ran away again and that was the last time we saw her. I hope she found a good family to take care of her.That Christmas I came back to Kansas to visit mom and Grandma G. It was a short visit, but it was nice to be around my family again. At the end of the school year, I said goodbye to my Idaho friends and came back to Kansas again to visit for the summer. Towards the end of the summer I got a phone call from dad saying he and my step-mom were getting a divorce and he was moving back to Kansas with all of our things.

Dad moved to Topeka and that fall I began school in a Junior High. I was surrounded by people I didn't know, but I quickly made friends. We lived in a small apartment in North Topeka where I had the one bedroom and dad slept in a bed out in the living room. Eventually, we moved into the apartment next door, which had two bedrooms, so we could have a proper living room! While living in Topeka I got a kitten and named her Willow. She was kind of evil, but I blame my guy friends who thought it was fun to chase her around. Looking back, I wish I had told them to knock it off. That poor kitty was probably traumatized! During this time, mom and her partner moved into a bigger house, also in Lawrence. Out of all of the houses I've lived in, that one was probably one of my favorites. It was so pretty and BIG!

I lived with dad, primarily, in Topeka all the way through junior high and high school. In high school I was involved in marching band, Literary Magazine, and French Club. I was also very active in my church's youth group and even had my first real job at the church's day care as a day care teacher for kids from 1st to 6th grade. I made a lot of wonderful friends during my time in Topeka, some of whom you know! (Uncle J and Aunt M, for example).

During my senior year of high school, I experienced my first major tragedy in my life. March 8, 1999, Grandma G passed away after a brief illness. I was beyond heartbroken. Losing Grandma G felt like losing a parent. We were so close for so long. As I write this post, it has been nearly 13 years since her passing and remembering it still feels like it did the first few days after it happened. Someday I want to spend time with you talking about Grandma G and what she meant to me, but I warn you... I will cry. I will shed tears because she never got to see me graduate high school, graduate college, get married, and have a beautiful baby girl. She will never know that I named that baby girl after her because I couldn't think of anyone else in this world more worthy of having such a beautiful baby named for them. It hurts my heart, even now, to think that two of the most important people in my life will never get the chance to meet each other. I will mourn for the loss of Grandma G until my days on Earth are over, but with great loss and great pain came 18 years of unconditional love and support from one of the best people to have ever been in my life. It hurt so bad to lose her, but at least I had her. I truly hope you and my mom have the same relationship because you both deserve to experience the special kind of love that comes from a grandmother/granddaughter relationship.

After high school, I spent the summer in Topeka with Uncle J and Aunt M living the crazy "we're finally free from school and somewhat free from responsibility" lifestyle! We all had jobs, but when we weren't working, we were driving all over town and being silly. I worked at a small German-American greasy spoon as a waitress. I brought home about $50-$60 a day, big money for someone who hadn't really made a whole lot in prior jobs. I set some of it back for college, but probably spent more of it than I should have on silly, frivolous purchases. Still, it was probably the greatest summer of my life and I will remember all of the fun we had before we all had to buckle down and get some responsibility in our lives!

That fall, (August of 1999) I went to KU with Uncle J. We both lived in the scholarship halls (he lived in one for one year, I stayed all four years in Douthart). Over my time in college I had several different roommates. I lucked out because most of them were really great! I only had one instance of a crappy roomie during my freshman year, but she moved out after that year was over. Someday I'll have to do an entire post on what it's like to live in a Scholarship hall because whether you like it or not, if you go to KU, you're living in one. It was a great experience and I was sad to graduate college because it meant I wouldn't get to live there anymore! I did graduate college... in four years, even! I got my Psychology degree. I spent all four years in college working in the Government Documents Library as a student assistant. Once I graduated college, I decided I still wanted to come to KU every day so I got a full-time position in the KU Libraries, where I remain today (as I write this).

Some other highlights of college include: Getting into a terrible car accident two weeks after my freshman year began. I'll have to do a post just about the car accident sometime. I'll tie it in when I make a post about driving and the importance of safety. Look for it, it's going to be great! I also met a guy in college at the end of my freshman year. We dated for two years (even going so far as to get engaged at one point) before we broke up for good. It was sad at the time, but looking back on things I am so glad we split up because we were both meant for other people. Another major thing that occurred during my time in college happened on September 11, 2001. I was a Junior when the attack on the World Trade Center happened. I remember leaving my Women's Studies class that morning and walking outside to go to my next class. I looked up in the sky and saw the contrails in the air looked like every plane in the sky had done a u-turn. I made note of how strange it was and when I got to class everyone was talking about the tragedy. We cancelled class and I spent the day back at Douthart watching news coverage and basically freaking out. I had said nonchalantly for years that someday war would be fought in the United States instead of just overseas and it seemed to be coming true. Everything was just really surreal for a while after that. People rushed the gas stations to fill up thinking gas was going to skyrocket in price, people were really nice to each other and everyone was as pro-United States as you could get. It's been over 10 years since 9/11 (as I write this) and gas DID skyrocket in price, people have gone back to being divisive and rude, and while part of the population stayed very pro-United States, many others feel like their country let them down with some of the military responses and the massive defense spending/policies that have come to be since the towers fell. Basically, back to the new normal.

After college I moved a couple of times, but eventually ended up in a small house living with Uncle J and our two dogs: Annie and Lenore. I had adopted Annie back in 2001 when I was still in school, but she lived with Uncle J until I was out of school and could have her with me. Uncle J had adopted a puppy he named Lenore sometime the year before we got Annie. They grew up together, for the most part (Annie being 2 years older than Lenore). Uncle J and I lived together until he left for Iraq (he was a Marine), and even then he kept paying his part of the rent so he could have a place to keep his things and his dog. Very soon after Uncle J left, I met your dad and as you may remember from my post about our whirlwind romance, he moved in very soon after. When Uncle J came back home from war, he moved to Leavenworth to be closer to his job and to let your dad and I have a place of our own. Oh, and we also got a cat named Astra von Battlecat to add to the collection of dogs. (Uncle J let me keep Lenore after he got back).

Well.... this is a very short version of my first 30 years of life. I've left out a lot of things, but honestly, it's how I want to do it. I need to have a few stories to keep you entertained or keep you in line during your childhood! I'm sure you'll hear a lot more as time goes by. As hard as it is to believe that I lived 30 years before you came into my life, it's a lot harder for me to believe that you will be 30 years old someday, too. My first 30 years seemed to fly by, but I'm hoping the next 30 take it a bit more slowly so I can enjoy all of my time with you, watching you grow into a lovely young woman who will, maybe, write all of her adventures out for her little baby. Until then, don't grow up too quickly like I'm sure I did with my parents.

But, by all means, have lots of adventures worth writing about someday!

Things you loved: Year one edition

Your first year as our daughter was more wonderful than I could have imagined! I was actually amazed by how early your little personality showed up. (Did I say little? I should have said HUGE personality!) You knew pretty early in your life what things did or did not make the cut in your world. Here are some of the things that made you the happiest during your first year!

*Miracle blanket: I've mentioned this modern marvel before, but it bears repeating! When we finally got our act together and realized there were ways of keeping you swaddled, despite your insistence otherwise, we all finally got some much-needed shut eye! We swaddled you until you were about 5 months old. If I had my way, we'd have kept swaddling you until you left for college. It was THAT wonderful! You'll always be my adorable little swaddled worm baby!

*Adventuring: Adventuring is what we call "going somewhere... anywhere... other than the house." You loved going on adventures with us to malls, other stores, visiting family/friends, the park, etc. From very early in your life you weren't too content to just stay home all of the time. You were (are) a very social kiddo who wanted to see and be seen by the entire world!

*Bananas: Oh dear lord... bananas. You are APE (heh... get it?) over these things. It was the first food you asked for by name (nana? nana? nana? times infinity) and whenever you see one, you must have it. Just last weekend you ate your first "entire banana in one sitting" and it was HUGE. This was no wimpy banana! But, then again, you do not possess a wimpy tummy!

*Sound machine: When I read the book Happiest Baby on the Block one of the suggestions was to introduce a somewhat loud (think: vacuum cleaner loud) white-noise sound to a fussy/irritable baby. We went to Target and found a sound machine because, prior to that, we had been using our iPods' free Rainmaker app and it just wasn't cutting it. The sound machine has been a HUGE help in getting you to sleep and, almost more importantly, keeping you there. We live in a fairly active neighborhood (aka: loud as hell sometimes) and the sound machine drowns out a lot of the noise, letting you rest and keeping me from getting all murder-y on the neighbors. It's a win-win situation!

*Music: From a very early age you liked to "dance" and "sing" along to the music in the car, on the TV, and coming from the mouths of your mom and dad. We have high hopes for you joining us at karaoke someday!

*Crinkle puppy: Crinkle puppy was your first "buddy" when it came to car rides. Crinkle puppy was pretty much what he sounded like... a puppy that "crinkled" when you moved him around. He was bright yellow, made interesting noises, and you enjoyed "talking" to him on our adventures in the car. Here he is!

*Stuffed toys: While Crinkle puppy was your favorite car-buddy, you really loved all sorts of stuffed toys. You learned to "hug" them very early on and when you learned to walk, you basically carried them all over the place from the very beginning. Between your dad and I, we have you SET UP for stuffed animals. Seriously. They're all totally cool, though. GEEK TOYS RULE!

*Books: Your dad and I started reading to you when you were barely in control of your arms. We would set you in a bouncy chair, buckle you in, then read to you for hours at a time. You loved it! You even learned to turn pages on the board books at the ripe old age of 3 months! Today, you still love books. You love them so much it was the only thing we asked for on your 1st birthday! You used to let us read anything to you, but now you have opinions on what books are good and what books just don't measure up. (Remember that HUGE personality I was talking about? Yeah!) Some of your favorites include: Friends for Calico, Moo Baa La La La, I love you Stinky Face, and pretty much anything with a button that makes sounds.

*Your kitty: Oh my goodness... your kitty Astra! (Or, as you know her... Nyeh Nyeh.) You love this cat more than almost anything. You ask for her when we walk in the door (nyeh nyeh!?!?), you follow her around (NYEH NYEH!!!), and you cackle deviously when you get the rare chance to touch her. You've loved this cat since you became aware enough to realize she wasn't another stuffed animal. The funny thing is, that kitty loves you right back. She has always run away from other babies, but she lets you do things that I never thought she would ever allow. It's because you're hers and she is yours. You two will be buddies for a very long time!

*Kitty puppet: Your love of your Nyeh-Nyeh has bled over into a love for all things kitty-related. The kitty puppet is the funniest of them all! We went to the Maple Leaf Festival in Baldwin City last summer. We came upon a booth full of different puppets. We pulled a few down to use to entertain you, and the guy running the booth saw us. He came over, grabbed the cat puppet off of the rack and said, "here, try this one. Kids love this one!" Oh my gosh... was he EVER right! You laughed so loudly over that thing that I was ready to put a second mortgage on the house if he asked me to. I wasn't *too* far off. That thing cost me $25! Well, it was worth every penny. You love that puppet. It means a lot to me, too, as your mommy because Grandpa (mommy's dad) used to play with a moose puppet with ME. His name was Mr. Moose and he was allergic to pepper, causing him to sneeze constantly. I can't wait for you and daddy to have the same sorts of adventures with the cat puppet (who remains, at this time, still unnamed. Daddy didn't like the name Miss Kitty... phooey!)

*Yo Gabba Gabba/Exersaucer: I have to put these two things together because, together, they allowed me to keep you entertained enough for me to get things done around the house! It was a glorious day (for all of us) when you were old enough to use your Exersaucer because it meant we didn't have to carry you everywhere anymore! It also meant you were kept entertained by the various toys on the Exersaucer AND you were in a position to watch episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba, the only child's show mommy and daddy could stand watching with you! Now, before everyone gets up in arms about us letting a young baby watch TV... I tell you to shut up! Not only does she love the show, but as I said... I get things done! This means we don't have a terribly filthy house (well.... most of the time), had dishes to eat off of, clothes to wear, and clean bottles! It was totally worth it and I would do it again. I may eat these words later when you have tantrums because we made you turn the TV off and go play outside. I'll fight that battle when it comes!

*Ferris Wheel toy: The Ferris Wheel toy is this really weird, seemingly pointless toy, that has a ferris wheel and makes lots and lots of noise. We got it for you for your first Christmas because you seemed to like it in the store. You still liked it at home and it seems to have helped teach you that pushing buttons makes GLORIOUS things happen. You were a bit disappointed to learn that not all buttons make such amazing noises when pushed, but it certainly doesn't stop you from pushing everything... just to be sure.

Getting your Ferris Wheel toy at Christmas.

*Bath time: You really never cried when getting baths as a very young baby, but as time went by you had so much fun during bath time that we let you splash around way longer than necessary just because you were having so much fun! You played with your rubber duckies, your Sesame Street friends, and your water-squirting sea creatures. You also learned how to make HUGE splashes thanks to daddy!

*Day care: We had to start taking you to day care when you were one month old. I had to go back to work. We started you in a day care clear across town because it seemed like a good fit and we really needed to find something. Things went well at that day care until they started *not* going well. We started feeling like it wasn't a good fit and I think you felt the same way because you started acting out (cranky, not sleeping, etc). We were also tired of driving back and forth across town during the two craziest times of the day, traffic-wise. Eventually, your day care provider and we both decided our time there was over. We took a recommendation from a friend of ours to try her day care. HALLELUJAH! It is in our neighborhood and you LOVE it there! You're very popular among the other kids and you have a blast! You run around, get dirty, play with the other kids, have circle time, and do so many wonderful things that I don't feel guilty at all leaving you there while I work! In fact, when I come to pick you up, you act happy to see me for one second before turning back around to play with the other kids. Sometimes you cry when we leave, but never when you get dropped off!

*Red, black and white blanket: We have a quilt made by Aunt Char for our wedding gift and you absolutely love this thing! My theory is the bright contrast of colors was exciting for you as a wee lass. Still, you have rolled around for miles on this thing and still show a preference for it over other blankets we keep downstairs.

Laying on aforementioned blanket with a bat on your head.

*Subway apple: You had this weird little half apple/half orange car seat toy that daddy got you when you two were adventuring one day. We called it the Subway Apple because you would grab a hold of the little wooden ring that hung from the bottom of the apple and it looked like you were riding on a subway. Super cute!

Subway apple AND crinkle puppy!

*Binky and binky straps: We decided in the hospital that you would be a binky baby. They made you happy (until they fell out of your mouth, which was nearly every 5 seconds by my best estimate). We got tired of fishing dirty binkies out from underneath everything after you would drop them, so we invested in some binky straps to, at least, keep them attached to your body. Much better! You got your binky whenever you wanted it by reaching down and grabbing the strap and we spent less time at the sink washing binkies! Parenting success!

*Puffs: Your first snack food consisted of these weird little puffed rice/corn things. They do taste pretty good, I'll admit, but you can hoover your way through an entire can of these things in a couple of days. Puffs are good eats!

*Mexican food: Your first real restaurant-food object of desire seemed to be Mexican food. You are your daddy's little girl in this regard! I've never seen something so small put back so many spoonfuls of rice, beans, guacamole, and various other delicious tidbits! We joked that we ate so much Mexican food because the music in the restaurants seemed to keep you calm. It actually wasn't so much a joke when I look back on it!

*Other kids/babies/animals: Basically, you love everything. You whip your head around when you see/hear other kids and babies. You laugh at any picture or video of an animal or when your own animals get close enough for you to touch them. You're just a happy, giggly, social little girl with nearly anything that is alive!

I can't wait to see what sorts of things you attach yourself to during this next year! Your personality is strong and you absolutely know what you like and what you don't like. Most of the time I can appreciate your independence, but do me a favor... at least TRY things before you make up your mind about them! I don't want you missing out on neat experiences, tastes, etc like I did when I was little. Know what you want and what you like, but be willing to take a chance on other things! The world is full of amazing things to explore!