Month fifteen was full of parties and celebrations, and you were always the belle of the ball! Some of that attitude disappeared, and you were that sweet little girl again giving wet open mouthed kisses to anyone you could grab.
The month started off with your cousin Carolyn's baptism and Mother's Day all packed into one day. We made the drive to Michigan again, and again, you decided to only sleep for about an hour of that long car ride. You never wake up drowsily from a nap. Your eyes just pop open and you say "Hi" to whatever your eyes land on. You definitely inherited that from your Momma, and Daddy is not all that excited about that. He's always telling you to be quiet in the morning, and you just run all "I LOVE MORNINGS - WHEEEE!". I love that about you. So happy to be alive and surrounded by all of your favorite things and people every morning. You had absolutely no interest in seeing Carolyn be baptised, and instead ran around the church the entire time with Daddy close behind. You were a champ going on no naps and survived the whole service and meal afterwards. Your little eyes were so heavy, but you would just not give in to sleep. I always see parents carrying sleeping kids around your age and I envy them. You rarely slow down long enough to put your head down on my shoulder, and I don't think you have fallen asleep somewhere other than a crib or your car seat since you were six months old. I long to feel the heavy weight of your sleeping body in my lap and arms, but I also love how you just can't bear to miss out on one second of anything. The world is your oyster, my dear.
Not long after our trip to Michigan, you attended your friend Connor's 2nd birthday party. You all seemed so grown up jumping around in Connor's new bounce house and eating cupcakes by yourself while us parents sat on the outskirts and had a glass of wine. You were a little apprehensive of the bounce house at first, but once the other kids were in there and screaming in delight, you just couldn't resist. You were jumping all over the place (I use the word jump very loosely), and laughing so hard you were out of breath. For the first time, when something funny happened, you were looking at the other kids to see if they noticed instead of Daddy and I. You were making friends! The night ended with you curled up in a chair with the birthday boy reading The Bible. Awesome choice there, kid. You were looking at Connor like he was the best thing in the world, and Daddy looked at me and mouthed "oh, shit." It's too early to be looking that content snuggled up with a boy in a chair! You were practically batting your eyelashes at him! Oh boy, are we in for it. You received a blow up elephant from the part as a parting gift, and now you throw your arm up in the air like a trunk and make a noise similar to what an elephant would make. I love that your first animal noise after dog was elephant. Forget those barnyard animals - let's get exotic!
Near the end of the month we made one more trip, this time to see Grandma and Grandpa H on their farm in Indiana. Your cousin Emma graduated from high school, and we arrived in time to help set up the party. During this trip, you discovered something that stopped you in your little tracks. Grass on your bare feet. It literally was a wall between you and all of the wonders the yard held - the swing, the sprinkler, balls, the sand pile, and Daisy and Wendall. You absolutely refused to walk on the grass without shoes on for the first 24 hours that we were there. You ran back and forth on the sidewalk staring out at all the fun like a trapped dog. We finally put shoes on you so that you could go out and play, but I could not stop laughing. This little girl who was climbing on furniture and walking into a strange church daycare without a look over your shoulder at me leaving finally found something that flustered her.....grass. It's just so funny! You finally warmed up to barefoot grass walking, and even graduated to running on the gravel (that's my little country girl), but for one moment it was nice to see you sitting back and not just diving straight into something you weren't so sure about.
This is the month when I realized something about myself as a mother - I had relaxed. While I was pregnant with you, and in the early months of your life, I was obsessed with you being this perfect little preppy city baby who had monogrammed clothes and listened to hip music instead of Baby Einstein. I don't know why I felt the need for us to be so cool and collected. My favorite moments with you this month involved you being in dirty clothes and messy hair just being Grace. You cried putting your hands in finger paint for the first time, and instead of being disappointed, I laughed and kissed your tears. When you decided you didn't want to wear bows in your hair anymore, I just pulled back what I could and sent you off to play. When you picked to eat a cupcake first instead of your fresh and healthy meal I put together for you at a party, I grinned.....until you wiped your chocolate covered hands on my linen J.Crew skirt. Oh well, that's what dry cleaners are for, right? When I dropped my skirt off to be cleaned, the lady behind the counter smiled and said it looked like I'd had a good time. You know what, she was right, I did have a good time. What's even better is that you, my darling, had a GREAT time. Grace, you just keep being you.
xoxo
Momma
p.s. Here's you and Carolyn during a Mother's Day photo shoot for Gramma F. You guys are going to be trouble once C is mobile. I can tell you're already scheming.
No comments:
Post a Comment