We made it! Let’s just break this month up into the two parts it really was.

First we have a new baby – one I’ve never met before. She doesn’t have the capacity in her sad, tormented life to muster up a smile or any sort of resemblance of a giggle for the endless amounts of entertainment her mother provides her with, in the form of extreme facial distortion, dangerously good dancing skills, or the ongoing comedy show that has infiltrated her speech. You toss her in the air – her favorite thing in the world! – and, no reaction. Boy does that just send you into the am I an abusive pervert? train of thought when you nom on her legs and she just looks at you like, are you finished? I try to get along with most people but man, serious people… I’m stumped. I have no idea how to relate to them. This month we had serious Abbie and I was utterly perplexed. Where did my ray of giggling sunshine go? The lady at the store even said woah, that is one serious baby. I just hung my head and wept inside. But now she’s kicking happily next to me so DON’T GIVE UP ON ME YET! This month gets better. Anyways, for most of it we had a VERY serious, VERY whiny, VERY hold-me-or-else-I-will-make-you-contemplate-dark-scary-things girl. She has mastered gagging herself with her own fingers, chokes constantly on the copious amounts of drool she can now effortlessly produce, and no she doesn’t have any teeth to prove the culprit of this newfound baby. Also, she bites. Hard. She fell off the couch for the first time …aaaand the bed for the first time. I’m basically racking up my awesome mother points over here. I’ve really loved figuring things out on my own so far, and will of course, welcome the help that people offer, but really, I love being alone with her, even when it’s hard and I have a lot to do…. until now. There’s been several times I’ve found myself in a corner in the fetal position, rocking and whispering for help. My aunt was sweet enough to come over for a WHOLE DAY!!! and watch her so I could find just one shirt to wear in the mounds of piles that have accumulated around our house. I’m a dumper. I like to dump, then organize. Greg will never understand me. Getting rid of the bag or box that was so nicely housing our belongings makes me feel productive at the moment, then depressed the next as I live in a mess for the weeks to come. So the perfect storm of moving, dumping, and sad, teething baby has been quite the challenge but we are starting to get in a routine again and EVERYBODY CLAP YOUR HANDS because she’s back to being a joy ;) …for the time being.

She went to her first bridal shower this weekend which was beyond adorable because it’s like she knew this was a special girls day just for the ladies, and she just seemed to settle in and be so content and happy. She didn’t cry or fuss once, and when she seemed tired I just tucked her into her sling and she fell right asleep… she was kind of freakishly good which, you know, made me so proud. Yes, she’s always like this. I am a perfect mother.

HA!

She got to experience her first thunderstorm and did a fabulous bouncy thunder dance each time it boomed. Seriously adorable. She’s basically going above and beyond to win back all those points lost recently.

She graduated to a crib this month!!! She’s such a big girl. And I win 2015 mom points here too because I let her sleep with a pillow AND bumpers… tisk tisk. It’s just that we tried it without and I kept hearing BONG….WHAAAAAAAA! in the middle of the night when she’d cozy up to the side and hit her head in the midst of her nighttime thrashing. We all get better sleep with the soft sides :) She’s such a cuddler and let’s face it, wooden slats never did it for me either.

Speaking of cuddles and wood and such, they said she’d love stuffed animals by now. I laid them all out for her (and there are many) so she can pick the one she wanted to play with and what does she choose every time? The wooden toys. She’s serious and she likes hard, wooden toys. What have I raised?!

They also said you’ll know she has a favorite toy when you take it away from her and she cries. If this is true, her favorite toy is an iPhone. She cannot get enough of that neutral colored, hard object. Ok I’m a little proud she appears to prefer neutral colors and Greg’s a little proud it’s electronic, but still. At least we don’t have to bring 30 toys with us wherever we go!

She loves to stand and hold herself up on the table. Seriously, how old is this child? She’s not crawling yet but she does know how to get in position and then whine/ cry/ grunt from frustration. It’s cute. No, obnoxious. No, cute…. Although she’s not technically crawling yet, she does know how to get from one place to another. And she can do a mean circle. These are her skills.

Her hair is always in a mad scientist mess in the back, complete with multiple knots no matter how much I try to keep it brushed, she definitely knows her name and will turn her head whenever you call her, drinks out of a cup, loves sweet potato the most, and is trying so hard to say words. The other day she fell asleep on my lap, and I was looking down at her, crusty face from ALL THESE FLUIDS COMING OUT OF EACH AREA, messy hair, stained clothes – just gross – but I sat there and thought, I’ve never seen such a beautiful, special little creature. I feel so incredibly blessed that she is ours and I get to be her momma – constant crying, grunting, whining and all. I’ll take you any way you come, little girl. You are so loved.