Filed under: darling daughter
Dear Hazel,
Today you are officially 7 months old. It’s very early in the morning (or late at night, depending on your preference) and you are fast asleep. You are currently teething, and I guess that means you’re a big girl now who thinks she’s too old for naps. You crashed and burned hard tonight. You usually put up a fight at bed time, we rock you and hum and shh you to sleep every single night, but according to the parenting books and blogs, you should have been able to put yourself to sleep like, 4 months ago. Oh well, you’re spoiled.
You got a walker for Christmas (among a thousand other toys and clothes), and I swear, ever since then, you are progressing with your interest in everything around you. You finally can roll over from your back to your tummy, for the longest time it was like you were a turtle stuck on it’s back. You know how to take your bib off and fling it across the room. You pass whatever toy you’re holding from one hand to the other and back again. Just yesterday morning I said “HI!” to you and I swear you said it back. Of course you don’t know what it means yet, but you mimicked the sound, which I thought was neat.
It’s come to my attention that you have a thing for guys with facial hair. Like mother, like daughter I presume. When I was a baby I thought all men with beards were my father. I also thought ever black guy was Bill Cosby…so I wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box. Maybe it’s cause G-Pa has facial hair…when any of my guy friends are around you, if their face is bald you hardly give them the time of day. But if they have even lazy stubble, you are all about it. With the coy looks and the flirty blinks, which you also inherited from me. Okay, that’s it. You’re getting bars on your bedroom window and a 4 pm curfew until you’re married.
You sure are an amazing child with an enormous personality. These seven months have flown right by. I am excited for what this month will bring…teeth? crawling or some form there-of? I love how every day, there is always something new with you.
I love you baby girl.
Love,
Mama.
Filed under: darling daughter
I’ve had a nice, non-weekend break so far. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off. SCORE!
Which means, more mommy/Hazel time. Can I just say that’s she’s been pleasantly more cuter with each passing day? I know I will be doing my letter to her in a few days. But since I plan to actually print those out and do something cute like, decorate a notebook and put all those in there to give to her on a special day or a birthday, but I have to update so I don’t forget.
Yesterday (being Monday) we had a lazy day around the house. Just playing and napping mostly. Until Dannie was off work and we met up with her to pick up her wedding photos and then head over to the mall where I put holes in my daughter’s head. Soon she will have enough to drain spaghetti if she’s anything like her dang rebellious mother. But until then, it’s just some cute little earrings. I have to say I was in SHOCK when the woman who was well into her 50’s working at a pre-teen jewelery store asked if I had shaved her head. I was caught off guard because of all the stupid questions I have ever heard in my life regarding babies, I have never heard that one. So I answered with a hasty “NO! ARE YOU SERIOUS!?” and she kind of shrugged her shoulders and walked away. I now know that Hispanics like to do so and then supposedly smear tomato paste on the infants head to make the hair grow. Uhh, I’m wondering if Hispanics are blind because no offense, but their babies come out looking as hairy as monkeys. And just so we’re clear, Hazel does have hair. It may be light blonde and very very short, but it’s there. She has enough that it gets nappy and matted if I don’t brush it. So IN YOUR FACE WEIRD OLDER LADY.
Okay, so back-tracking, Hazel met Santa yesterday. She was not happy, she was making big huge “boo-boo” faces. After about 8 or 9 shots, the photographer decided he finally got one…she was only smirking. Could not get a smile out of that poor child. So after Santa, and the piercing of the ears, Dannie, Hazel, and I walked over to CPK or California Pizza Kitchen. And totally chowed down, and Hazel licked the salt off of chips. Dannie asked to see the pictures of Hazel and Santa and guess what idiot of a mother didn’t put them back into her purse? This one. Yup. 20 dollars plus tax down the drain. Sweet. I called the restaurant when I got home and they claimed to have not seen them. They weren’t in my car or Dannie’s. No where to be found. So this morning, after our WIC appointment, we ventured off to the mall so I could buy some long sleeved shirts (I sold or donated all my old ones when I was big and fat and pregnant to make room for baby clothes in my closet) and some scarves and retake a Santa picture. This time she LOVED it. They were laughing and having a great old time. Especially when the photographer brought out the Eva toy from Wall-E. Let me tell you, the kid loves Wall-E. Almost as much as she loves Sesame Street. I held on to those effing pictures for dear life. No way in hell am I wasting another twenty dollars! So here is Santa, take two
aaah I know right? So cute.
Tomorrow looks like it will be another lazy day. Looking forward to it! :]
Filed under: darling daughter
I am obsessed with my baby’s smell.
Like, the way a child LOVES the way their favorite blanket or teddy bear smells right before their mean, horrible, torturous mother washes it. I could sit there and just sniff her for hours. Especially, like the back of her neck for some reason is the best spot.
I actually prefer the scent of Hazel rather than the generic “baby” smell manufactured by Johnson & Johnson.
My mom thinks I’m crazy, and you probably do too.
Dear Hazey-poo,
Today you are officially 5 months old! You officially can no longer fit in anything smaller than 6 months. A lot of the things you wear are 9 months. You tip the scales at 18 pounds. Lately, you have been pretty cranky. It’s either because you’re teething, you’re catching the cold floating around our house, or your main goal in life is to see how irritated i can get. Little do you know the powers of swaddling and a rocking chair. Muahaha.
This month you experienced your first Halloween. One of Mommy’s favorite holidays. (And now, I totally have an excuse to go trick or treating again!) You were a kitty. I planned on getting you a mermaid costume, but story of my life, they didn’t have it at the store when I went to buy it. It was either the cute kitty costume or a skunk. Naturally, I picked the one you drooled on, I figured it must be how babies mark their territory. Um, it kind of makes sense?
This month you also started eating real baby food. No more of that disgusting rice cereal. No, my big girl eats applesauce, and bananas, prunes, and sweet potatoes. (so far…)
You also now roll over maybe 4 times a day. You’re pretty much in no rush to show off. You especially like to do it when no one is watching. You know, like if I leave you for ONE WHOLE MINUTE TO PEE. But it’s okay. The only family members who haven’t seen your newfound skill is Grandpa and Auntie Abby. Sucks to be them, right?
This month something amazing happened, which you will be learning about all through your school years, probably until your ears bleed. But, Barack Obama was the first African American to be elected President of the United States. And yes, I voted for him. It was my first time ever being able to vote. It wasn’t all that exciting of a process, I mean, we just went to the polling place, I filled in little bubbles while “G-Ma” entertained you. However, it’s history baby. And thanks to me, you were totally alive during a time that’s going to be talked about forever. And when you’re an old lady, you can brag to your great-great grandchildren about it.
Earlier this evening while hanging out at Grandma/Auntie Dannie’s (Mommy’s best friend who gets tired at
7pm so she calls herself your Grandma) she was trying desperately to get you to say “mama”. Well, since all you can pretty much do vocally is yell, scream, babble, gurgle, coo, and purr, obviously you weren’t in any rush to repeat the AWESOME word. But you would laugh hysterically every time she said it. Which means one of 3 things:
1- You think I am the best thing since…uuhh…a clean diaper.
2- You think I am the biggest joke of all time, cause I am a total embarrassment.
3- You think Dannie is weird/funny/cooler than mommy.
But since you can’t tell me what you’re really thinking I’m totally going to pick #1. Thanks, I totally know how awesome I am.
Not much has really happened this month, so I will end this letter with a list of bands or songs that you really like. Because you have excellent taste in music, which you definitely inherited from me!
Any song by these bands:
- Portugal. The Man
- Death Cab for Cutie
- Silversun Pickups
- Tegan and Sara
- Brand New
- MGMT
Random songs that you totally trip out over:
- “Just Dance”-Lady Gaga
- “Boats and Birds”-Gregory and the Hawk
- “One Armed Scissor”-At the Drive-In
- “Paper Planes”-M.I.A.
- “Corona and Lime”-Shwayze
A very merry un-birthday!
Love,
Mommy
I’ve noticed a severe drop in my page views since I decided to speak my mind about politics.
Not that I blog for the page views. I mean, it’s nice to come on and see that in one 24 hour period 80 people have visited, although they remain anonymous. But I’ve noticed in reading other people’s blogs that they will actually get comments saying things along the lines of “I respectfully unsubscribe from your blog. You should have stayed away from politics”
In my opinion, people are just too touchy. And they get mean or spiteful when you don’t agree with them. Well, no one agrees completely with anyone on the subject of politics…so get over it!
HA.
I think I’m making more enemies than friends here. So thank god there is only 6 days left, right? Then we can all get back to blogging about how cute our kids are, and amusing anecdotes that occur in our day to day lives.
I’m getting a jump start.
Hazel’s friend Amelia is only 2 months older than her, and they both share the same size clothes and are about the same length. (Her mother and father are both shorties) But Amelia is far more advanced in physical things, such as reaching for toys, rolling over, scooting on all fours. And oh my god, she loved to hold Hazel’s hand today at their play date.
And she tried sweet potatoes for the first time today. Don’t let her pictures fool you. She was totally posing for the camera. After the first couple bites, she loved the stuff.
Dear Hazel,
Today you are FOUR months old! I have a lot of catching up to do, seeing how you’ve been alive for over 120 days. So here we go, head first, into your life story so far.
You’re named after your Great-Great-Grandmother Hazel Yowell, known by all the family as Momma. And your middle name after your Great-Grandmother Dorothy Faye. During Christmas while I was pregnant with you, I still had no idea if you’d have boy parts or girl parts. I was also having trouble coming up with a name for either gender, so your Great Grandmother suggests that I should name you after her and Momma thus the name Hazel Faye was born, and when it was time for the ultrasound, you totally had your legs open as far as you could as if to say HELLO! I AM A GIRL FOR SURE! You’re still stuck in the frog leg position, I hope to god you change your ways before you become an adolescent. I mean jeez, be a lady! Not only the leg thing, but when you are in a dress or a t-shirt, you can’t help but to lift it up high to show off the goods. Auntie Zoe and I call this move “Girls Gone Wild; Pedophile Edition”
Despite your exhibitionists tendencies, you are the perfect baby, and NO I’m not just saying that because I’m your mom. I’m the oldest of 5 kids, remember, and sometimes, you even shock your Grandma with how good you can be. Don’t get me wrong, you have your moments, you did after all inherit your attitude from me. (Which I’m sure will be the cause of many knock-down-drag-out-fights when you’re older. Remember, I’m your mom, I’m ALWAYS right) :]
Here is a list all about you since your life began (not in order):
- Your best friend is the ceiling fan in the kitchen. Any other one in the house you’re not a big fan of. But when I hold you up while sitting on the couch and you can see into the kitchen you get the biggest smile on your face. You also smile and get excited when I lay you on your changing mat in the living room. But do you voluntarily smile for mommy yet? No. All you want from me is food and a clean diaper.
- You hate being dressed. You’re much happier in just a diaper, or even naked. It’s cute for now, but in a few years, that’s gotta change.
- You eat like you’re starving about 80% of the time. You hardly stop for air. If it’s been longer than 3 hours since your last bottle, you aren’t afraid to let the whole world know that we “never” feed you.
- You have a million un-related Aunties and Uncles. Okay, not a million. But you also have another mommy, named Tony. She’s my boss at Starbucks and if I ever let her babysit you, I’d probably never see you again. Everyone in our lives ADORES you. Some, more than their own children.
- Even though you will probably look back on your childhood photos, and be completely mortified on how I dressed you, I will have you know, you are the best dressed baby. Auntie Mary has great taste, the majority of your clothes come from her, and most of them still have the tags on them, meaning Ayda has never worn them.
- A few days ago you discovered how to blow bubbles, it may be the cutest thing in the world, but let’s try to be neat about it huh? I don’t live for laundry like your grandma.
- And a few weeks ago, you discovered how to purr. Shortly after that you learned that your voice has pitches, and you like to purr, or babble with the volume all the way up.
- Today you tried your first solid food. Rice cereal, YUM! Grandma says she’s never seen a baby take to it as fast as you did. So, congratulations on your eating skills.
- You’ve discovered your hands, and you think they are the best thing since a nice warm bottle. They also must taste pretty darn amazing, you usually try to see if you can get your whole fist in your mouth.
- You are growing every single second. (Not just in the physical sense, chunker) I can see new things every time I look at you. Determination, fascination, curiosity, pleasure, affection, and boredom. Yes, you now express boredom too. It even has it’s own whiny boring cry to go with it. You are transitioning into this fun, adorable, interactive baby. Whereas before: you would just kind of exist to eat and sleep and have your diaper change.
I never thought I could love a person so much. I am a selfish, lazy, fickle person. But then came you, and every time I look at you, I’m in love with you more and more. Before I start oozing gooey love spew from every pore of my body I will stop. Time will tell, I’m hardly ever a mushy gushy person, on the outside.
But I do love you more than I ever thought possible. And you are and always will be the best thing in my life.
Love,
Mommy.
For any of you who read Dooce you know that she writes a monthly letter to her daughter, who is nearing the age of 5, and she’s kept with it all these years.
It’s not really copying if it inspired me to do the same thing with Hazel, right?
I’m not a scrapbooker, I’m not a photographer, I probably would be better at taking pictures of Hazelnut if I had a damn USB cord to my camera, or even a memory card slot on my computer, but alas, I am too lazy to drive down the street to Circut City and see what my options are. I also do a HORRIBLE job keeping up with the baby book.
So here’s what I’m going to do:
My Aunt Terri gave my sisters and I empty scrapbooks last year at Christmas to make for each other and give to the sister we made it for this year for Christmas. Welllll, sorry Terri but I’m going to use the book currently collecting dust in my closet and use it for my monthly letters to Hazel. Besides soccer, cheer, dance, and drama, this year has kind of been a boring one for my sisters. Plus I don’t have a steel trap memory like my mom so in 16 or 18 years for her birthday I want to be able to give her something meaningful like my mom did for me, but I know I won’t have the means or memory to whip it out in a week or so. Something she can look back and appreciate and drool over how cute she was, or even help her remember something fun in her childhood that happened that she might have forgot all about.
So thanks Heather for doing something so cute and thoughtful for Leta, that I just HAD to go and steal!
Filed under: darling daughter
Nothing like the biggest smile a baby can make to melt all your problems away
Aren’t you jealous I get to stare at this every day?
This is the actual first real huge smile my mom has gotten on film since it became real smiles and not just gas.
