It's One Thing to Be Cute; It's Another to Know You're Cute

Well, we're on Day 3 of Margaret having strep throat. She woke up the other morning not feeling well, feverish and sick to her stomach. Her throat hurt and by the time I got home from work about 2 I could tell by the sound of her voice that it wasn't an ordinary sore throat. I brought her in for a throat culture and it came back positive. The nurse said it was a good thing I brought her in because she saw just by looking at her throat it was sore and swollen; the test swab turned red immediately. She's on a course of zithromax and seems to be doing better although her throat is still sore. At least the nausea is better. My only hope is that the rest of us don't fall victim to it, especially Baby B.

Speaking of Baby B, she is certainly developing a strong personality. She's also developed a devilish sense of humor. She'll hold things over the edge of her changing table and wait for you to say, "Don't drop that" and she grins mischievously and drops whatever it is she's holding. You have to be fast to either catch it or take it away before she lets go. She enjoys a good laugh and seems to get the joke if you play one on her.

However, that strong personality also means she's starting to act out if she doesn't get what she wants, too. As previously posted, she bit me, although not hard, on the hand the other day in frustration over something; she bit the couch as well the other day because I wouldn't let her crawl over to Margaret, who was in the throes of her strep and stomach thing. She'll start to pout and cry if you walk away from her when she wants you or wants something you can get for her. Last night, it was Patricia's choral concert and Daddy could only stay for a while; he had to get back to work, so when he started to walk away, she pulled that pouty face and started to cry. It wasn't long, but it was sad to see that face.

She also does this very, very cute thing because she knows it's cute: she'll take one of her stuffed animals and lay on the floor with her head on the animal. We'll all say, awwww, and she poses. She's stated even saying awwww herself to get you into the game. The thing is, she'll do this even when there isn't an audience. I was watching her from the other room -- she didn't know I saw her -- and she lay down on the floor in the living room with her head on a couch pillow only briefly, said, "awwwww," then got up and went about her business. It's very cute and she knows it's very cute.

Patricia's concert, as mentioned, was last night and it was very good. Her school chorus sang beautifully. The other elementary school and junior high school choruses were OK, but the high school was phenomenal. They all sang together at the end and it was beautiful. I was very proud. And Brigid behaved herself very well. People all around kept saying what a good baby she is. We had a similar experience this past weekend when we all went to see a production of "Hello, Dolly!" that Patricia's teacher directed. Brigid was as good as can be. When she fussed a little, I just took her out to the hallway and let her walk around a bit. Then they had intermission and she was wonderful for the rest of the performance. We've been very blessed with an even-tempered (as even as it can be) child. Here's hoping the trend continues into her teen years.

When I Wave My Arms Around, it Means I Want to Dance

Brigid's new high chair and jogger arrived in the mail the other day and Daddy put the chair together yesterday. It's a pink beauty by Peg Perego. High class all the way, and Brigid looks very cute sitting in it. The jogger hasn't been so far removed from the box, but with temps in the 40s this week, Daddy may very well put it together so he can take the BB out for her first jaunt. (with Daddy's back and leg problems, it may be more like a slow fast walk). It has a lot of features, including something he can use his MP3 player with.

Brigid has begun to demand we read her certain books. She was asking for something this morning, and I began hold up various toys and books and she kept wiggling her fingers with her arm outstretched in her "I want" stance until I'd come upon a book she wanted. Then she would eagerly climb up on my lap and I'd read, or try to read, until she got bored and climbed down to start it all over again. I've been reading a book the other two liked when they were babies, "Peek-aboo" and she really likes it. Sometimes I'm even able to get to the end of it. But she really does like the idea of crawling up in your lap for you to read to her.

Also this morning, she was waving her arms around and bending at the knee, kind of crying until I figured out she wanted me to put on her John Lithgow "Singing in the Bathtub" CD to sing and dance to. I had been saying the lyrics to one of the songs on it and she decided she wanted me to play it. Once I figured it out and hit "Play" she started dancing and waving her arms around. She is really beginning to get her point across. We just have to be more receptive to figuring out what it is she's trying to say.

One thing she is able to do, however, is register her dislike for something you are doing or something you aren't doing. She gets angry if you don't give her what she wants or take away something she has. Diversion, I have found, works very well. But then, isn't that true for all of us?

One More Time: "Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You..."

Three parties and three birthday cakes later, our Baby Brigid has had her share of birthday wishes. We had the third installment of Birthday Month on Saturday when Grandma and Granddad Downs came over and Brigid's Godparents, Michelle and Fr. John, came over for a St. Patrick's Day dinner of corned beef and cabbage. Yum. It was great. Brigid didn't enjoy it as much as her guests, however, but that's OK. There's plenty of time for this Irish lass to enjoy the foods associated with her heritage but are not native to Ireland -- at least no one I know from Ireland or who has visited Ireland found corned beef to be a national dish. She did get another birthday cake and had another round of singing; I did get a combination of birthday and St. Patrick's Day balloons and we played music by the Glenngarry Bhoys, thanks to Auntie Shell for lending us the CD. Grandma and Granddad have given us a jogger for Brigid. Said jogger has been shipped by has yet to arrive. They also gave her a few board books and a fish toy that has soft fingerpuppets and a plastic fish that "eats" the fish fingerpuppets. Her Godfather John gave her a stuffed giraffe, which she has lugged around by the neck ever since, and the beginnings of a college fund. It was a grand night to be sure, but by about 9:30 I began to feel the tell-tale ache in my lower back that forewarned the pain I'm feeling now. My back went out again. Sometimes it lasts only a few days; last time I had an episode was a year ago at Christmas time and that lasted about 8 weeks. Problem was, I was pregnant then and it made getting around that much harder. I have no such excuse now and I'm waddling like I was last year. It's all I can think about. There's nothing like a bad back to ruin your day ... bad backs and sore feet.


What makes having a bad back difficult is how hard it makes picking up and carrying the baby around. You have to do it, but it's so painful at times, and I worry my leg will give out and she'll drop to the floor when I do. I just hope she lands on me to break her fall. Jack has been suffering along with his own back and leg problems. Had his first physical therapy session today. Hope it works for him.

Another thing that's hard about having a baby and a bad back is how hard it is to get down on the floor with her to play. This morning, I was on the floor and I was playing the John Lithgow CD "Singing in the Bathtub," and she's started dancing to the music.
She recognizes it because Jack and the girls play it for her over and over. But I was having a hard time dancing with her because of my back. But I did my best and she seemed to enjoy her dancing regardless. She and her daddy have a schedule they keep during the weekdays that includes play time, Sesame Street, lunch, Between the Lions, nap, second lunch and by then I'm pretty much home from work. If we do end up putting her in day care at some point I hope he's able to have an easy withdrawal from his schedule. She'll then get used to an entirely different schedule, one that is separate and independent from ours. That's a bitter and hard pill to swallow.

No Young Niece or Nephew for this Child, Please

Well, Baby Brigid had her one-year checkup on the 14th of March. She is just about 19 pounds and 29 inches tall and received three shots, so she was a little cranky and feverish as a result. She is healthy and happy and doing very well. The doctor asked Jack if she had five or six words by now. It's funny, but we hear her say things all the time. I don't know if those five or six words are things anyone else would be able to understand. We know she says Mah mah and Dah dah; she says kitty in her own way; she says doggie in her own way. She says mah mah when she wants to nurse and pats my chest. She says uh-oh when she drops something, and she says her cock-a-doodle-doo and peek-aboo in her own way. But all of these things may not necessarily be something anyone else would understand. She also does a lot of sign language that we understand.

We celebrated Brigid's birthday a few times so far this month, which goes along with the Birthday Month mantra. Baby Brigid continues the mystery, having received a rose on her birthday from a secret pal.
No one has owned up to being the mystery rose sender, but it started with Margaret's first birthday and has continued uninterrupted for her, Patricia and now Brigid. Hmmmm, the mystery continues.....
As previously reported here, we had a wonderful celebration at Michelle's house;


And on Brigid's actual birthday we had a nice ice cream cake along with the birthday song. She pouted and started to cry a little but dove right into the cake with aplomb.

Tomorrow we have the third installment at which time grandparents and godparents gather to celebrate together. I won't be spoiling the surprise when I say she is receiving a jogger from Grandma and Granddad Downs and a new high chair from Mommy and Daddy. The old high chair is going up to the lake, where all old furniture goes to die. It's serviceable but 12 years old and showing its age. It looks dirty because the vinyl seat covering is worn off in places. So, we're getting her a new pink Peg Perego chair that will last another 12 years. Let's see: Margaret will be 12 on May 1. 12 years from now, she'll be 24. It is possible that this high chair will live to see a grandchild sitting in it. I can't believe I just wrote that. The thought has made me shudder.

Happy Birthday Baby Brigid Girl

I can't believe a year has gone by. My baby is one. Where does the time go? A year ago at this time I was in labor and looking forward to meeting this little doll baby who turned into our joy and blessing. When I found out I was pregnant with her, I was stupified at the thought of doing this all over again, and now I can't imagine our life without her. A whole year. She is her own little person now, walking all over the place, letting us know what she wants (and what she doesn't want.) Here is a picture of what happens when she walks all over the place and then falls into the changing table. This is the shinner she's sported the last few days.

She is beginning to form sounds that sound like words and she understands so much more than you would think she could. She likes her books, she likes to be read to. She'll pick up one of her books and bring it over to you to have you read it. She says "cock-a-doodle-doo" in a sing-song voice because it's from one of her books. No one else would know that's what she's saying, but we do. She'll say "Peek-a-boo" the same way. She still says "Uh-oh" when she drops something. She'll raise her arms up when she's done. She does the sign for "drink" when she wants one or she'll look at her cup if you ask her "do you want a drink?" She'll give me her hand if I need to put her top on. She also likes me to blow on the palm of her hand. She's working on blowing kisses. And she still gives me pats on my back, which I love. She knows Dah Dah and says Dah Dah, and waves at him when he comes home or leaves for work. She'll come up to me and say, "mah mah" and pat my chest. "Mah mah," in that sing-song voice of hers. I'll ask, "Do you want boob?" and she'll say, "Mah mah" and pat my chest again. Michelle had us over for a pre-birthday dinner on Saturday and gave her a couple cute outfits (here's one of them)

and we had balloons. I asked her "where are your balloons?" and she looked for them until she spotted them. It sounded like she tried to say "balloon." She very well may have. We'll have a family birthday gathering on Saturday, St. Patrick's Day. March will become Birthday Month. Happy Birthday our Little Baby Brigid.

They Eyes Have Been Having It

Brigid had a very good day yesterday despite the fact that her nose is running again. Don't know if she's coming along on round two of her cold or what, but it was runny. Also, the other day she was in her room and fell, striking her right eyebrow on the side of the changing table. It's bruised and the bruise and swelling moved over to her entire eyelid, giving her a pugilistgic look. Last night I noticed that eye was teary, so we're keeping a collective eye on it so to speak. Hope it's nothing to worry about. She goes for her well-child one-year (!) visit next week.

She took a very long afternoon nap, which means the evening sleep schedule was off somewhat. I didn't get her down for the night until after 9 p.m. but she went down awake without a wimper. That's a plus. But then she woke and came in with us about 5 a.m. It took a long time to settle her back down and when Jack got up to get the girls going about 6:45, Brigid was ready and willing to get up as well. That's very unusual for her. By 8:15, she was ready to come back to bed for another nap and that was OK with me because I was so groggy from this medication I'm taking -- amitriptyline -- for chronic stomach pain. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to manage on it because it really does make getting up in the mornings difficult.

Margaret is worried because her guidance counselor called her in yesterday to tell her she's now in the band. She passed all the qualifications on the flute and is ready for band. She doesn't think so. She thinks she's not good enough, but I told her her music teacher ought to know what he's talking about. She'll see him today for a lesson and can talk to him about it then. Being in band means her schedule changes somewhat, and she's worried about that, too. But she has several study halls that can be swapped. We've been really proud of how she's been handling the responsibilities of being in middle school. She's blossomed this year from someone who didn't want to make a move on her own to someone who takes charge of her own responsibilities and requirements. This move to public school was a good one.

Today I go over to Patricia's school where I'm teaching a scrapbooking club every Thursday during the month of March. It's 12 kids in grades 3-5 with varying degrees of attention span. I don't know how teachers do it, and I give them all the credit in the world.

Babies on the Mend, Babies on the Way

Well, Baby Brigid seems to be feeling much, much better. Her cold is just a few sneezes now with some boogies thrown in for good measure. Mommy is also on the mend and just has a stuffy nose to deal with. Now that Brigid is feeling better, she's spending her energy walking all over the place. She spends more time on her feet now than on her hands and knees, although, if she really wants to get some place in a hurry, she'll drop and crawl because she's very, very fast. But walking is getting better and better and she's much more secure on her feet. It's hard to believe that in another six days she'll be a year old. Too hard to believe in fact. It went by in the blink of an eye. She's grasping so much of her world, she's understanding so much. You can see her develop. I'll tell her to give me her hand, and she'll hold her hand up. She can point out my nose or my eyes. She knows her books, and if you receite any line from them she knows which book you're talking about. I started saying some things from "Pat the Bunny" and she got it and wanted to crawl up on my lap for me to read it to her. She does all the Pat the Bunny directions and knows what's coming up in anticipation. She has been saying "Mum Mum" for Mama, I think, but also "Bah Bah" when she comes over, patting my chest. I'll say, "Do you want boob?" and she pats my chest and gets all excited. She definitely knows boob, so she's showing no sign that she's ready to give it up. But then, I'm not, either. But her eating in other areas has improved. She goes back and forth between wanting to pick stuff up herself and feed herself to wanting you to spoon or fork it into her mouth. Sometimes she'll eat very well if you feed her with a spoon even if it's regular-people food and not babyfood. I gave her some whole milk the other day and I don't think she was very impressed, but she's at the age where she is supposed to be drinking whole milk to get the nutrients from it. She'll drink whole milk until she's 2, then you switch to skim or 1 percent.

She loves to wave hi and bye to people. She waves all the time. It's adorable because she waves with her fingers. She'll wiggle her fingers ate people with her hand outstretched. She does this without prompting, too. And she loves to wave to little kids. Grown-ups get their share of waves, but it's when she sees kids that her face lights up and her fingers start waving before her arm is even outstretched. I'm working on having her blow kisses, and sometimes she puts her hand to her mouth. She's so darned cute, you just want to hug and kiss her all over.

And she sure loves her sisters. She gets very excited when they come home from school. And speaking of school, Margaret is doing very well, having made straight A's this quarter again. We get Patricia's report card next week. She's doing very well, too.

Well, I've got to run. Paula, my colleague, just reported her water broke and I'm taking her to the hospital to deliver her daughter.

UPDATE: Paula delivered a healthy 7.3 pound baby girl whom they named Mariah at 6:39 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday). Mom and baby are doing well.