Nine Months

Dear Giuliane,

Three – quarters of a year and 100% of my mommy heart. (like the Barosaurus, I have multiple hearts reserved for daddy, family and photography)

This month has been a special one. Not only have you spent an entire month in daycare, but mommy has ALLOWED you to spend an entire month in daycare. Well…almost. Somehow there were already numerous gov’t holidays, a snow day, school delay AND a trip to California!

Admittingly – your life at home has become quite repetitive…
8am: wake up in a panic (how is it 8am ALREADY…wasn’t it just 6am???)
8-8:30: rush to get you ready and walk up to school by 8:30 (which never happens)
4-5p: pick you up
5:30-6: eat & snuggle time
7:30: bed

It makes me SICK that at most, I only spend about 2.5 hours with you a DAY. Somehow in the big wide world of things that matter ~ this doesn’t seem cosmically fair. Hopefully, someday you’ll understand the cost of living, mortgages and perhaps the consequences of bad decisions and forgive me.

But in an attempt to buy your love at such a young and vulnerable age ~ we took you on a trip to California!!! (ok, perhaps we took you out there to meet your Great Aunt Joanne, and see Aunt Jude, but believe me baby…a trip to the beach is a trip to the beach!) You in turn have rewarded us with learning how to wave. Perhaps it was all of the friendly faces you met out there, the warm weather, the sand and ohhh how you loved the swings.

At LAX we were sitting & waiting not so patiently for the plane to board. Daddy had brought me some chocolates and you were playing with the wrappers. (crinkly stuff is a favorite still) You had crawled a few feet away to assert your independence and appeared to be waving at the random passer by. At first it looked like a freak accident that your arm was waving while someone walked past you. Then sure enough ~ your Daddy noted that it was indeed with purpose. It was soo sweet and yet so sad at the same time. Many people giggled at how cute you were and many more smiled as they walked past ~ however there was the occasional traveler who would just walk past you and completely disregard your wave. It took everything I had in my body not to go up to these people and tell them that you JUST learned to wave, no family member has yet to see it and they simply can not disregard you.

But there you continued to sit, waving at each and every passer by and smiling so sweetly.

May karma always return the favor,
Mommy

ooohhhhh wadda I do NOW?!?!

Giuliane’s been testing the waters now and again on this standing thing. She thinks she’s super cool with her lil one hand moves on the table and at the entertainment center.

Over Christmas she liked to scare us both by hanging onto the rocking chair and holding on with one hand. I likened it to a children’s version of a mechanical bull at those classy bars someone might have frequented while on spring break.

Day by day she’s gotten steadier and steadier ~‘till this morning as we dropped her off at ‘school’. (I loath the term daycare) She just stood there standing when Peter put her on the ground. Not scared, not surprised ~ but she did display the slightest hint of confusion.

At one point in this hour-long minute I called out ‘Look Miss Betty!’ ~ alerting not only Miss Betty, but a roomful of curious toddlers. It was like we were the animals on display at the zoo. Three of the cutest little toddlers came rushing up to the baby gate separating the next room and in the most reverent hushed tones you could hear…wow that baby’s staaanding!

Raindrops on Roses, whiskers on kittens…

“…bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Brown paper packages tied up with string ~ these are a few of my favorite things!”

Apparently Julie Andrew and the dear Von Trapp children hadn’t tasted the newest and latest craze in culinary delights. Maybe Daddy and I spend too much time watching ‘Bizaree Foods’ on the Travel Channel. Who would have guessed that show was on after 8pm for a REASON.

Its been a great pleasure to serve to avocado, we giggle when you plow through a teething biscuit, turkey’s fine as long as its off mom’s finger and despite a few good carrot days ~ your no longer a big fan. Egg yolks used to be a favorite but now your tastes have…matured?

Perhaps it’s the love of your kitty that has taken you over because for the love of god I can’t keep you away from the cat food!!!!! At LEAST once a day either your Daddy or I catch you in the kitty bowl.

(for grandma) Each and every time we catch you, its just seconds before one of those nasty bites of feline fodder cross your sweet and perfect lips.

(for the rest of the world) 90% of the time before we notice that you are just too quiet for your own good, you have already harvested a tasty little morsel of goodness into your aforementioned steel trap of a mouth and are happily chomp, chomp, chomping away.

And I do mean happily. There isn’t a food we have tried serving you that you haven’t been hesitant about at least at first. There isn’t a food in this house that’s hasn’t taken some getting used to. And clearly, there isn’t a food that we can get you to eat two times in a row without you giving us a look your not supposed to be able to form well until your 7th year of life. With of course…this one exception.

What did YOU do this weekend?

WE GREW A TOOTH!!! (and by we I obviously mean G, but Peter and I should get a lil credit too don't ya think?)

Its been a long, long, loooooooooooooooooooong time coming ~ so long in fact that when I plundged my finger into the depths of your steel trap mouth and annouced proudly that there was indeed a lil sharp dagger in there I was met with a giant eye roll, sigh and "yes...i know its coming."

NOO DUDE...did you not HEAR me...its THERE, OFFICIALLY, FINALLY

So I proceeded to call all my family who now officially thinks i'm insane, pathic or in need of a good hobby