You thought this was going to be some deep, theological post about being created in God's image and bearing His name, didn't you? That would be great, except I'm not much of one for writing. I've tried a few times, but I always end up sounding like (or writing like?) a 12-year-old, eager to impress his parents, using big words in the wrong context... and, well, I'll stop now before I prove my point.
God's Creatures. This was, apparently, how I adoringly referred to bugs when I was a little girl. I'm sure my parents could tell the story better, but there was an instance when one of them was going to kill a bug, to which I protested "but they'yo one of God's cweetchos!" And of course I wanted to keep them all as pets. (In fact, I have a big scar on my head that happened while I was playing in the dirt with earthworms, but that's another story.)
I still like bugs. Even the nasty ones, as long as they aren't in my house. So we have adopted two awesome Cat Spiders. From the right angle, their bodies look like a cute little cat head with eyes and ears! Can you see it?
The Little One we just discovered a couple of days ago. He is cute. But he lives right outside our front door, so if you come to visit, be careful that you don't bring him in with you.
The Big One lives right outside our bedroom window, and has now for at least a couple of months. We can watch him through the glass without worrying that he will attack and rip our faces off. Yesterday, his web caught him a tasty meal.
There you have it. Pets that you don't have to buy food for or worry about when you go on vacation.
I love watching my two favorite people in the world together. Bryan is usually helping Chloë to explore and learn about the fabulous world around her, whether it be the beauty of nature or the over-stimulation of electronics. More often than not, he ends up making some silly noise and getting his baby girl to smile at him; or more recently, giggle.
The first 20 seconds pay off.
And last but not least, my favorite sound in the world. Chloë's sound, that is.
We have such a great little county fair here in Moscow. I'm reminded of so many memories while there. Looking at the exhibits, and remembering all of the pretty ribbons I won for my drawings and baking and sewing... the Summer I helped show goats with the Ewers'... eating an elephant ear for the first time. And now, I get to start a new phase of the being the parent. It won't be long before the kids are asking for a few dollars and then running off to explore some new and exciting wonderment. But for now, Chloë is just old enough to be slightly interested in her surroundings. She just sort of stared at the animals. At least I had fun telling her how exciting it all was.
And earlier that day, we had a little early birthday party for Samuel for before he left for Wales. Since he doesn't really care for cake, and has always been obsessed with pizza, we thought we would go with the obvious alternate to a birthday cake with candles. Last week, Samuel bought a one-way ticket to Wales, and flew there yesterday. He is there to play Rugby for the Bangor Wales Rugby Union, for an uncertain amount of time. We sure will miss him.
While I was watching Ali speed-knit yet another adorable sweater at our last craft night, I thought, hey, I could do that... except crochet. I'd spent some time looking for a cute, inexpensive cardigan for Chloë to wear with some of her dresses now that Fall is upon us. The problem was, I didn't have a pattern and I had no clue what I was doing. So I chained a long strand, eyeballed it, figured it look like a good start for a neck line, and kept going.
Part way through, wondering if I had made it big enough.
I decided I wanted some cute little flowers to go on it, so I came up with these.
The finished product! I had to re-do the sleeves a couple of time to figure out the proper amount of tapering. But I think it's adorable on her. The only problem is that it barely fits her. So I guess I'll just have to make her another one.
Here's my very own supermodel baby modeling her favorite new sweater.
My baby is three months old today. Three months. She has changed so much in such a short amount of time. Three months ago, she slept constantly, woke up every two hours to eat, and pooped at least five times a day. Now, she rarely sleeps, still eats every two hours, but can go five days without pooping. My, how things change.
All of her awake time is such a joy. Instead of being a lethargic little baby, she's this adorable, chunky, interactive little person. She smiles when I smile, and sometimes, just for the heck of it. She coos when I sing to her. She chews on her tongue. She looks at me when I walk in the room. She chatters cheerfully at the toys that hang above her bouncy chair. She reaches for colorful objects. She throws fits. She likes to rub her burp rag or blanket on her face while she's falling asleep. She snores. She sticks her tongue out and makes "pppt" sounds when I stick my tongue out and make "pppt" sounds. She stares at herself in the mirror. She stands when I hold her up. She belches like a man after she eats. She sucks on her chubby fist if she doesn't have her pacifier. She cries when she's startled. She becomes wide-eyed and very still when she hears music. She giggles.
She's a little person now.
She now weighs 13.7 pounds. For those of you keeping track, that's over 6 pounds in three months. She's is 24 and 3/4 inches tall. That puts her in the 70th percentile for weight, and the 83rd percentile for height. Baby clothes are much like grown-up clothes in the same way that size is often irrelevant. (And baby sizes are weird. There is "Newborn," "0-3 months," "3 months," "3-6 months," "6 months" and so on, and then weird ones like "0-9 months.") She still has a couple of "newborn" things that fit, but she wears mostly 0-3 and 3 month clothes. The 3-6 month things still seem a little baggy.
She's a pretty good little baby, even though she gets fussy sometimes. I don't know if she's having pre-teething pain, or tummy bubbles, or ear aches, or if her hemangioma is hurting her. So when she fusses, I hold her and rock her and bounce her and pat her bottom and talk softly to her. And sometimes it works, but sometimes she's so angry that all the soothing in the world doesn't cheer her up. Sometimes, she just likes to arch her back. But she is a content and happy baby more often than not. Even though she prefers being held, she enjoys her swing and her bouncy chair much of the time. I like being able to put her down and be productive once and a while, and I not feel like I'm completely abandoning her if she's happy.
She is such a joy. I love being her mama.
(Her "pppt" is really just in the first couple of seconds. She doesn't always perform for the camera.)
Genetics are amazing. The first picture is of me, almost 27 years ago. I'm guessing I was about two months old here. The second picture is Chloë, almost three months old. I wish I could have gotten a better angle of my little girl to compare (especially the nose and mouth!), but she woke up before I could.
Tonight is Craft Night. Which is a wonderful excuse to hang out with a couple of my favorite girls and actually get something crafty done. Last week, Ali finished this sweater. And now she's giving it away on her blog. Yes. It is awesome.
