The other day as I was playing with Amy I noticed how pretty the afternoon light was, and decided to try to capture it. This is part i, “Rattle.”
I should also mention that Amy has recently discovered the joys of banging things.
I remember before you were born, and the moment we first held you.
I remember when you slept in your basket on the coffee table while we lurched about in that first week’s exhaustion.
I remember when we had to hold or rock you to sleep; how carefully we’d lay you down, but how often it would wake you up again anyway!
I remember when we put you to sleep in the crib without the basket. You didn’t seem to notice the difference.
I remember when we started helping you fall asleep in the crib; at first we’d hover over you, patting, talking, waiting. Now you’re so good at it you can fall asleep without us hovering, and you’ve been sleeping through the night long enough that I hardly think about it anymore.
I remember when your bottle held only two ounces at a time, and we fed you so often I’m not sure how many bottles you’d have in a day. Now you have your six or seven ounces quite regularly, at 8, 12, 4, and 8.
I remember how much fun it was to introduce you to solid foods. You got the hang of eating pretty quickly, and now you enjoy your oatmeal or veggies with relish. And it looks like you’re also learning how to eat without sucking your thumb between spoonfuls.
I remember the thrills of each new skill and development. When you started holding up your own head, reaching for toys, grasping them, smiling a real smile, laughing; or the two months it took for you to get from lying-sideways-arm-flailing to actually rolling over. All the new sounds you have gradually formed: first different kinds of cries, now a great variety of tones, pitches, and volumes, plus “d’s” and “g’s” and some vowel variations.
I remember how often I’ve had to set aside clothes that no longer fit; the fun of seeing you in new ones, the sadness of putting away our favorites among the old.
I remember how tiny your first cloth diapers were, and now you’re wearing the big blue-edged ones.
I remember making your sling, and how frustrating it was when you didn’t like it. Now you like it well enough, even if it’s not your favorite thing in the world.
I remember how you hated your first bath, but gradually you’ve grown less distressed by it, and now you like almost all of it, except getting your face and hair washed. You even splash in your little tub now.
In just two weeks you’ll be six months old. I remember taking your pictures on each month’s birthday, reflecting on how you’d grown that month. Looking at them from month to month, the changes seem so gradual and slow, but what a big girl you are now compared to those first pictures in the hospital.
You’re sitting in your entertainer now, leaning backwards to look up at me, chewing on your fingers and smiling, and wisps of your hair curl out over your ears.
Austin commented about wanting to hear Amy’s lungs. This video is a fairly mild example.
1. My friend Sara called me last night. It’s always nice to get a call from a friend.
2. Her daughter Alejandra was delivered yesterday morning; 8 lbs 13 oz, 20″. Mom, Dad, and baby are all doing well.
3. We put Amy in the church nursery yesterday, thinking it would be nice for her to be with some other kids. She didn’t last very long (wanted a nap) but it was sort of nice to have her calm down when I came in to get her. Sometimes I feel like it doesn’t matter to her whether it’s me or someone else, and at least at that moment having her mom was a comfort to her.
4. It’s nice to be home again, where the kitty is.
5. I started a new sewing project yesterday. I found an online pattern for cloth balls with a baseball seam, and I’m doing three for Amy, each with an appliqued letter from her name.
Playing with a book –
And with her toes:
And with Grandpa’s face:
In the high chair:
In the yard with Grandma –
And with Grandpa and one of his tulips:
Showing off her new outfit:
And as if to say, “hey, that camera looks like a fun toy!”
