Because I so often relate tales of woe and distress regarding my little ones, I thought it appropriate to share that I found myself absolutely rolling in laughter several times today and am currently totally in love with Mia & Maggie! I also want to relieve your mind – this will contain no content regarding personal hygiene or bowel movements. My mother has gently reminded me that the girls will one day be old enough to read these little anecdotes and I’m digging a very ugly grave for myself – they will probably not find them humorous in the least when they are 12 years old. (Which, in my opinion, is the time in a human’s life when they are absolutely the ugliest they will ever be. No wonder there’s so much angst in junior high. I have no need to add to their suffering... well, at least not right now.)
Anyway, this afternoon I walked into the living room from the kitchen, Maggie in toe on the hip (I can put her on my hip now! Thank you Lord for her mastery of head control!!!) and discovered that Mia had emptied my storage basket of blankets and squashed herself into the approximately one foot by two foot container. As I watched, she pulled her feet to her cheeks and flashed me a dimpled grin. Have you seen the movie Ocean’s Eleven? Picture the Chinese acrobat getting into the money safe and you’ve got Mia’s posture.
Apparently she is ready for things that cover her head. (Last night she was locking herself in a dark closet with her little friend Trinity while we were at Bible Study. I do not understand the reasoning of this child but she enjoys things that I most certainly do not. I will blame her father’s genes for this.) I began to think creatively.
I got the comforter off of our bed and made a tent, draping it over the top of the sofa and across two chairs. Ha, ha! The ensuing minutes were wonderful – I would lie in wait for Mia to emerge from the tent and then jump out to scare her… she would cackle with laughter and retreat under the tent and onto the sofa. Such great fun – and free! J
Now, during our rambunctious play time her hair erupted from its pony tails… which made it levitate off the tops of her head. Imagine Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura. Actually, I’ll attach a photo that will give you a visual. She had also discovered my Swiffer (I had hopes of cleaning the kitchen floor today. They were crushed when both of the children began to scream for attention. Who am I to argue? The Swiffer certainly wasn’t sweet-talking me into compliance.). So, she found the Swiffer and tried to take it with her under the tent, the better to spear me with the next time I tried to get her.
I am not so easily out-witted! I snatched the Swiffer from her and ran to the kitchen, laughing maniacally the whole way! She chased me down, only to round the corner of the refrigerator and find me brandishing the Swiffer toward her… she ran to the living room and I followed her, nudging her with the Swiffer as we went as though it were a cattle prod.
We both found this entertaining and it went on for quite some time. Maggie missed it all because she had fallen asleep when she realized this game required use of one’s limbs. (Her limbs only have the ability to knock a full plate of food onto her mother’s lap at this point, something she has demonstrated not once, but twice in the last week.)
Finally I let Mia steal the Swiffer away and she ran, giggling toward the kitchen. Too late, I realized that she was holding the spear horizontally and it wasn’t going to fit through the doorway. In slow motion, I saw her smack into the doorway and bounce to her bottom. It was almost like she had hit a rubber band. She came to her final resting spot staring at the ceiling with a bewildered look on her face. I rushed over but think she didn’t appreciate my hysterical laughter in addition to comforting arms.
Later in the cafeteria when we were having dinner, she got distracted by the food line and flat out walked into a wall. Just, bam!, and all of the sudden she was on the floor. Again, I’m dying of laughter. Why do I have such a sick sense of humor??? All I know is that she hasn’t been anywhere close to seriously injured today and my abs hurt from laughing. I love it!
The last few nights I’ve spent on the sofa. No, Izzy and I are not fighting. J Maggie is teething. She can’t seem to get more than about 20 minutes of sleep at a time throughout the day and at night she’s been waking up in the “Oh My Goodness” hours and either crying or starting a lively conversation with her toes (she’s just recently discovered that they exist). Izzy has tried to get up with her but it seems that she’s in the phase where no one but Mommy will do.
So, I groggily slide out to the living room and have been watching ridiculous shows on t.v., rocking the little one until she falls back to sleep. Then, if I attempt to lay her down, we start the whole process over again. Because of my lack of enthusiasm toward holding a crying baby I have just submitted to her demands and sleep on the sofa, holding her all night.
Strangely enough, I really haven’t minded that much. Yes, I wish I were getting uninterrupted sleep and I really wish I were not awakened to the screeches she makes… but I’ve found the holding her part really rewarding and nourishing to my soul. You see, ever since she has been born I’ve had this feeling that the nights belong to Maggie. Mia has exited the stage of the daytime hours and when the little hours of the night roll around, Maggie steals the show. I’ve almost come to cherish the times I have with her, quiet and intimate, with the rest of our family lost in dream land. There is truly nothing better than being totally absorbed in the mundane of a diaper change, half asleep, and then looking into your baby’s face and discovering that she has been waiting to catch your eye and smile a smile that is for you alone.
Those smiles are what has kept the little thing alive this long. Don’t tell me that babies don’t know how to manipulate you. J
Anyway, that’s my story so that’s all I have to say about that. Many happy smiles to you!
~jj
1 comment:
Loved the picture and story time; you are a gifted communicator.
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