Celebrating Milestones

Yesterday before I left from work Baby A's caregiver, we'll call her Grams, said she'd stick around 'til I got home. These days I never know when I'll get home, but I looked forward to chatting with her and hoped that there was nothing serious on the agenda.

Much to my chagrin my husband and my mother were both home when I arrived and they were celebrating a huge milestone that Baby A achieved -- my dear girl finally has a tooth! Well, as you can tell by the pic it's more of a nub than anything, but it broke the skin, I promise you, I felt it! This has been three long months coming and I was so excited I did my little happy dance. Oh yeah, and I made up a song for it too but no one seemed too impressed beyond me & Baby Girl. Well, maybe the dog, but at his age it doesn't take much to excite him.

I digress. What a delight it was to come home to my adoring family and to the news that a tooth finally popped through. I know there will be many more milestones that my darling girl will experience, but now I'm at a place in my life where I won't have to feel guilty for missing them. I get to be right there by Baby A's side, when she needs me, and even when she doesn't (or at least thinks she doesn't if she grows up to be anything like me).

In the words of one of my favorite poets, Maya Angelou, in her book Celebrations, I'm going to enjoy this moment, and all of the others that come to pass because as a mother I deserve it baby:
"Clap hands, celebrate
We deserve it
Jubilate!"

Water Baby

It was quite a relief for my husband & I to find that our darling daughter absolutely loves the water, especially since mom (uh, me that is) simply had to have a pool (not that I'm a swimmer or anything, I just like to chill poolside with a frothy beverage and a good book. That's the good life for me).

Anyway, back to the story, we were utterly shocked when Baby A showed a love for the pool 'cause this kiddo hates, and I don't use that term lightly, taking baths in the tub. So at six months we are still bathing her in the sink. Thank G-d she's not a ginormous child like her cousins, or else who knows how we'd solve that problem.

Since the first day she dangled her feet in the water, Baby A has become a water baby. Esther Williams she is not, there can't be much synchronization at this age. But boy is it fun seeing her in her little Mickey floatie. G-d certainly knew when he brought me to this house that it would be perfect for our family.


It's such a joy to watch our Baby Girl having so much fun in such a simple setting. And she kicks her little legs and babbles all the way (much like her mother, she's got a lot to talk about all the time... poor daddy, now he gets the babbling from both ends).

Although this summer has brought much turmoil to my life emotionally and physically, Baby A is the one thing that grounds me and helps me focus on what's good and important in life. So even if she doesn't become an Olympic swimmer, that won't bother me a bit 'cause I'll have these moments to cherish for the rest of my life.

Jump Around!

After six months of hearing Baby A beg for a jumperoo, "All the cool kids have them Mom," I finally caved in and bought her one. I swear Cassidy the dog taught her how to work the puppy dog face on us, 'cause it does the trick every time. But it was worth it to see her face light up with joy as she played with all of the gadgets and naturally, jumped around.

I'll fess up to the whole bit of it--I bought an exersaucer too. I'm not big on having lots of toys around the house. We have blocks, books, Baby Einstein DVDs, and teethers, but other than that we haven't gone nuts in the toy department in an effort to keep it real with her. We're blessed we even have a child, and we want to teach her the value of "things".

So my rationale in splurging on two of these things that the books say really aren't necessary is that she needs to be upright more. And that's not MHO, that's her actions. If that kid could stand up and walk on her own already, she'd be out that door. Of course I want her to crawl, and we're working on that. But that girl wants to move, and how can I stand in her way? I'm just a sucker for this kid. All that shopping I did formyself back in the day is now all for her. Who cares though? If I want my Baby Girl to have a fanfrackingtastic onesie, by golly she's gonna get it (and then who's gonna stop the Grandmas and Aunties from doing the same--certainly not me).



OK, so I got a little freaked that I could be spoiling my child. I know, what a ridiculous concept for a 6-month-old. It just scares me how kids today expect all the gagdgets and stuff that we had to earn growing up. Oh hell, let's face it, most of that stuff didn't even exist back then. But she was so happy, and hopefully I'm not imprinting her brain to think that mommy = cash register and/or gift machine (when, come to think of, I think that's how I looked at my mom as a kid, but I didn't know any better).

Anyhoo, I guess what I need to do at this point is simply enjoy the moments we share together, toys or no toys. That's the cool things about kids. I can stand around and do the funky chicken in front of Baby A and she just laughs and laughs. No bells or whistles, just me being my dorky self. Who is madly in love with this child and will do anything for a laugh, and I rarely need props (most dorks don't).