On the Brighter Side

Whenever I try to clean crumbs out from under Bronwen's chin, I get this:

I Can't Help It

I am well aware that I should not compare my children, but I can't help myself.  

There is no mistaking a Gutsy Girl.

Here's one-year-old Jillson.  Blue eyes, two bottom teeth:

And almost-one-year-old Bronwen.  Blues eyes, two bottom teeth:

 One-year-old Madelyn:

And Bronwen again:

Madelyn:

Bronwen, Bronwen, Bronwen:

I could stare at her all day.  Lucky for me, I can.

She is One

Bronwen Eliza is one.  It happened when I wasn't looking, when I wasn't ready, in the middle of a busy week. It happened without fanfare, with little celebration, but with much, much sentimental reflection.

She is one. And my heart breaks a little knowing that I will never have a child under the age of one again. Measuring age in weeks and months is over. She is one.

She is one and full of beans.  Into everything.  Crawling and yammering and giggling and singing and cooing.  She says Mama and Papa and Yayayayayayaya!

She is one. My final baby is barely a baby anymore.  She stands on her own.  She cruises.  She walks with assistance. She commands a room.

She eats indiscriminately: all fruits, vegetables, protein sources, snacks, anything you put on her tray, as well as books, paper, toys, dolls, dog toys, shoes, keys, dirt, sand, rocks, dog hair, clothing, binkies, stuffed animals, playing cards, hair things, stickers, blocks.  She has six teeth.  Three on top, three on the bottom.

She claps her hands.  She points at things.  She bats her arms to say "hi" or to mean "gimme."  She may or may not have socked the rector in the nose.  She makes the sweetest, lightest singing noises you have ever heard.

She has a crazy, deep, chortling laugh, just like Jillson had. A real belly laugh.

She is fiercely independent already (Lord help us all), unless she wants to go somewhere on her feet or unless she is hungry.  Then she crawls over and climbs up my leg, patting my knee until I do her bidding. 

Do not stand in the way of this girl and her food.  She growls.

She is an amazing and self-assured member of this crazy clan.  She rolls with it all.

In spite of her independence, her choice is often to be wherever her sisters are.

Did I mention that she loves water?  She will play in the bath, the ocean, the pool, the sink, a puddle for hours.

She is trusting and laid back.  A good sleeper.  A snuggler when exhausted or ill.  She gives funny, lean-in, head-only snuggles at all other times, a sort of reassuring pressing of temple to temple, or cheek to cheek, letting the full weight of her head meld into mine.

She is adored by her biggies.

Sweet Bronwen Eliza, I love you beyond all measure, beyond reason, beyond explanation.  Like your sisters, you are a piece of my heart. I can't wait to see what you'll become.  

You are one.  And you are on your way.  

I love you tremendously.

xoxo Mommy

Crawling Practice

Pay no attention to the sounds of the big kids in the tub, the annoying coos and baby talk coming from the pushy mother, or the broken drawer in the dresser, and you've got yourself a fine video of a baby learning to crawl.

What do you think? Will she be able to motor across a room before the Gutsy Dad gets back? Baby gate time fast approacheth, I fear.

Love,

The GM

Five Months

Just a little something to think about:

Bronwen Eliza is five months old. I'll have much more to say about this if I can just find the time to write it down. I'm also working on posting some updates for all of my 2012 projects. Life is good over here. More soon.

Four Months

Check out Little Miss Personality up there. Can you believe it? Here I am with my monthly photo shoot pics for Bronwen Eliza. Never mind that I feel as though I only just posted her three-month photos yesterday. Time is flying!

I've been working on a scrapbook layout that has three pictures of me on it (bear with me, there is a point here): one when I was 15, one when I was 25, and one when I was (am) 35. This last picture, taken in the hospital when Bronwen was born, looks like it was four years ago to me and also just four days ago. Time is a wacky, wacky thing.

The part of me that feels that hospital photo was taken only four days ago barely can grasp how quickly our babies grow and change and become something totally different from what they were only a few months ago. It was just a few days ago (right?) that I was holding her, teeny weeny, in my arms. When she did nothing but nurse and snooze.

Now, suddenly, she has personality.

As I sit here at my desk typing up this post, Bronwen is on the floor of our bedroom, lying on the "baby gym" mat, the same one her sisters used.  She is telling a puffy fabric rainbow and a jinglebelled sunshine thingy just who is in charge.  She is rolling around.  (This is reminding me that earlier this week I laughed hard when I heard, from the other room, the Gutsy Dad say to Bronwen, "That's right, baby, you kick that flower's ass!" Thankfully no big sisters were around to repeat that one.) But she does love to bat at her toys with her hands and feet. She fingers the crinkly ones in deep concentration. And she loves to growl at them.

She responds to her name and grins in delight when you look at her. She weighs 13 pounds and 13.5 ounces, so she has not yet doubled her birthweight.  Close, though.

Couldn't resist including this one. Love that belly.

I wish you a wonderful weekend,

Love,

The baby-besotted Gutsy Mom

Father & Daughter

"I'm gonna stand guard like a postcard of a golden retriever..."

Nothing more than this picture and this song needed to bliss out to today.

Three Months Old

Bronwen Eliza turned three months old yesterday. Today I remembered to weigh her (12 lbs 0.5 oz) and take her pictures, but the camera battery ran out after only a few test shots, and by the time the battery had recharged, Bronwen had eaten half of her "3 months" sticker, and I had lost my natural light.

It was a "real life" sort of day. I am trying not to apologize for the crappy photography.

Nevertheless, in the midst of 7,000 Christmas parties and nursing my sore muscles (from killer boot camp classes at the Y), I was happy to take a few moments just to focus on her.

My sweet chunk-a-munk. She grins and giggles and says "agoo." She makes adorable screechy noises and then laughs at herself. 

She nurses like nobody's business; she owns the boobs. 

Madelyn, who calls her Bubby, is her biggest fan. But I think it is fair to say that we are all pretty enraptured. 

The View From Here

I just love what I get to see from my corner of the couch, the place where I have sat and nursed each of my girls for what amounts to hours every day. These days, in this phase of motherhood, I spend more time right here than anywhere else, it seems.

I am so very, very lucky.

Two Months Old

Well, here we are!  Bronwen is two months old and full of personality. She "passed" her two-month well-baby exam today with flying colors. She's 10 lbs 11 oz, 21.75 inches long, with a head circumference of 15 inches. 

She has a small, tan birthmark just under her left eye (not visible in the photos) which has surfaced over the last few weeks. The doc thinks it is too early to tell if it will be permanent or not.

These are smiles, above and below. She gurgles and coos and tries very hard to speak and laugh and giggle. She surprises herself with little gaspy shriek noises.

Today we had a good 10- or 15-minute exchange of goo-goos and smiles while at the doctor's office. The nurse thought it was pretty funny. At one point I said "ooh!" and Bronwen repeated it and immediately started to (try to) laugh. So much fun!

She is still totally laid back. And sweet. She goes with the flow. Sleeping on Papa's chest is still her happy place.

She's quite flexible; does not yet need to be in a special place to sleep or eat. Here, at the Chili Fest on Skidaway last weekend, the Gutsy Dad is feeding her a bottle of breastmilk with his chin so that he can also enjoy some chili. Superdad at work. Super baby, too.

Here she is with Mama on a particularly chilly day.  (It's in the 70s again now, so looking at this picture makes me feel overheated.)  I've been enjoying trying out different slings with her.  She seems to love them all.  This one is a Moby wrap. Makes her feel as light as a feather.

Here she is in the Hotsling I'm borrowing from a friend. This one is easy and so very snuggly. Perfect for our twice-daily walks to the bus stop.

Last but not least, here is our Grinny Grinnerson:

Until next month!

Tricks, Then Treats

On Saturday, before we headed out to a Halloween party, we took some practice pictures of the kids in their costumes. Of course, Jillson insisted on using her usual "smile:"

and Madelyn was deeply upset that we wouldn't let her bring her trick-or-treating bag to the party:

Thankfully, on actual Halloween, the girls were all smiles.

"Let's get out of here!" the good witch proclaimed.

And they were off:

All the while, our littlest trickster was like this upstairs:

Today, however, Bronnie obligingly let me put her in her Halloween get-up for a few photos. You know, for posterity.