Tonight my daughter told me she wants to be a boy so she can have that “stuff” in front. What can you say to that except, “oh?”
Archive for Growth
Teeth
Coco brushes her teeth every night before bed. Lately, I’ve been thinking she should brush in the morning too. Just now I suggested this to her after explaining that daddy and I always brush twice.
“That doesn’t sound reasonable,” was her response.
A Chip Off the Old Block
When I was small, I astounded my parents by making a telephone to a friend who lived a half an hour away. Some kind operator assisted me in placing the call, which is amazing if you think of it. As a three year old, I am sure I didn’t give her much information to go on. My parents, becoming suspicious when the babbling they heard in the next room seemed more like conversation, picked up the phone and were shocked to hear Janie Wilson and I gabbing.
I had surely the same feeling of surprise two nights ago when I picked up the phone, said hello and heard, in addition to the caller’s hello, a young-ish voice say, “hi.” It took me a minute to realize that Coco had picked up the phone upstairs. She’s never done that before.
As I entered the den to ask her to hang up, she shouted at me, and into the phone, “someone’s callin’ to you!”
Bye, Bye Baby
We’ve reached a big, BIG milestone. Coco is, tonight for the first time, sleeping in her new big girl bed. Hum. Maybe that last line isn’t all together true since she just poked her head into the den for the third time after saying goodnight.
Daddy is angry. He has just raised his voice, telling her sternly to get back into bed. Unfazed by that command she has now brazenly entered the room and is staring at me. I am trying hard not to look. Op! She is dancing now to the music I’m playing. Daddy’s getting up–she’s run back into her room. Uh oh.
Back to the subject at hand. After a week or so of Coco liberating herself (very dexterously, I might add) from her crib in the morning and after naps, we decided it was time to make the switch.
I do not believe that our baby is nearly 3!
An Impromptu Visit
Shortly after I dropped Minky off at daycare, I went back for a visit. My students have music first thing in the morning which leaves me with little to do. I guess Minky had other ways she wanted to spend her time, because when I explained why I was there she said:
“Go upstairs, Mommy.”
A Fish
Big news! Here is the first recognizable drawing we’ve had. It’s a fish. I like the eyes.
College
This weekend the second baby, Sinéad, went gone off to college. She moved into the dorm today. It is hard to believe that she is on the road to adulthood now. She was just a tiny girl when I first met her.
It will be very sad not to have Sinéad here on the weekends regularly. Coco especially will miss her sister. Luckily she is close by in Boston, so we have a better chance of seeing her than if she were in another state. Of course, if she really loves being at school we might not see her until Thanksgiving.
Watching children grow up is a delightful experience but bittersweet. The day that they leave home is far in the distance when they are small but before you know it, it arrives. You realize that not only have they grown up but you’ve grown older too. It gets you in the gut, the mingling feelings of happiness for them and sadness for you.
Have a wonderful time at school, Sinéad. We’ll be missing you.
Sinéad riding 42 miles through the 5 boros at Bike New York in May.
Moo
Coco is now saying moo when asked what the cow says. She tries pretty hard to say meow, too. We had a breakthrough last weekend with dada. For a couple weeks there Layr and I were both mama. She initiates peek-a-boo with us and complete strangers. Last week I was at the paint store buying paint for our bathroom and the salesman helping me was quite interested in Coco. She enjoyed the attention and decided the salesman looked like a guy who would want to play peek-a-boo so she held up her blanket and waited for him to notice. Last night Layr, me and Coco were all in her room playing, an unusual thing these days since Layr is working late every night. We started tossing this very small hedgehog to Minky, telling her to throw it. She picked it up and flapped both arms wildly like she was ready to take flight and then let it go. Larry and I then would say “yay” and she’d clap, looking very pleased with herself.
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Moving On
Before Coco was born, I got this wonderful book as a gift called Annabel Karamel’s Complete First Year Planner. A friend, Amy, bought it for me in London. It’s got tons of information about the first year. It’s divided into sections. The first, 0 to 3 months, is entitled Birth; the second, 3-6 months, is Settling In. The last section is called Moving On. In the last few months, when I’ve looked up stuff in this book and seen that title, Moving On, it’s made me sad. The sort of sad I get at the end of Christmas or vacation.
It’s been a magical year. I remember being so exhausted in the first weeks of Coco’s life that I felt sick. Yet each morning when there was just enough light in the room to see her I’d stare at her little face in wonder. I felt jittery, like I had butterflies in my stomach. A feeling I surely hadn’t had since I was nine. Every week there is some fun new thing – smiling, rolling over, eating cheerios, crawling, laughing, first teeth, clapping, standing, swimming, saying mama.
Life is exciting in a way I never could have anticipated.
And now we’re moving on, me and my baby girl, to new things, tremendous things, with me knowing all the while that I’ll be looking back at the time that’s past, sorry to have seen it go so quickly.
Coco is ten months old today.
Eight Months Old
Coco is eight months old today! We started off the day with a bang by bringing Rocky the skunk scented dog to the beauty parlor. Then sped off to IBM to visit and have lunch. Followed by a short visit to the mall. We picked up Rocky and went home. I keep forgetting it’s best to only do one thing a day.
After getting a very tired but refusing to nap Coco inside I took some photos and a movie to mark the occasion.
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