Plug

Remember Sunday is Grandparents' Day- yes, mostly a Hallmark holiday, but still matters.
I secured hokey, pastel, typical cards for all of the lil' dude's grandparents and great-grands.
These people are very important to her. They always will be. They deserve one day to feel the love.
So, mail those cards and make those calls.
Next year, the lil' dude will be nearing 2 (OMG, BTW) so we will start our tradition of making crafts for Grandparents' Day.
Hokey, pastel, typical crafts.

Excited

Dear lil' dude-
Last night as you clung naked to the side of the tub in anticipation of getting in, you got so excited you peed.
All over the clean bathroom rug.
All over the bath mat.
All over the floor.
And a little on Mama's leg.

I'm happy you get so excited over things you pee.

Wordless Wednesday: Lil' Redneck

Own Bed

Know how on day 6 of vacation you start to think going home won't be so bad because you'll get to sleep in your own bed?



Yeah, it's like that for the lil' dude too.

Vintage Lil' Dude V

This will be the final installment of Vintage Lil' Dude . . . Mama's girl will already be home waiting when I get done with work today. Miss that kid!

I know someone else who misses her too. The Beagle. He might not openly admit it, he might prefer that his dog dishes are not disturbed, his bed not played it, his ears not swiped at. But, he misses her even if secretly.

The Beagle's . . . affection started with the lil' dude when she was brand-new. I know the Dad and I were relieved. He'd been our baby, our little person with a tail for 2 years before we had a baby. I told the Dad I wanted the Beagle in the delivery room as my focal point. He is such a relaxed, chill dog I thought that would help me relax if I needed to. In the end, though, the Beagle spent the delivery weekend at his pseudo-mom's house. My focal point turned out to be Victor Newman as the Young and the Restless played on the TV in my room.


Here is the Beagle meeting the lil' dude for the first time. That he didn't eat her, we were grateful, ensuring instant BFF status.


When we were home on maternity leave, the lil' dude did the majority of her day sleeping in her chair with the Beagle never far away.


First thing every morning, he had to find who was holding the baby. He would get her in tiny face to sniff her, to make sure she smelled the same as the day before. Only then could he start his day.


The Beagle had always loved his toys. With the introduction of the small person and all her sweet, fuzzy, squeaky playthings, I worried the dog would simply think they were his and we'd be forever finding shredded Little People in our house. To this day, it's never been an issue. He did however, find her chair too tempting to resist one evening the Dad and I were de-Christmasing the house downstairs. Too bad he couldn't figure out the Vibrate/Sound function.


As the lil' dude slowly morphed from slumping, snoozing lump into a little mover and shaker, the Beagle became even more intrigued with her. He loved the jungle gym mat time each day.


Oh, how tummy time would wipe these two right out. I think the presence of the Beagle helped the lil' dude fight through it because wow, did she hate tummy time. When she would scream, the dog would wince, his ears pulled back tight. But he never left her side.


As the days of leave dwindled down, I began to worry more about the Beagle's transition back to routine than my own. Or, the lil' dudes. He had 12 weeks during the dreary winter spent inside the cozy house, next to his pink BFF. How could I get him to understand his return to the garage kennel would break my heart more than his would?


Here's the two after a long day in daycare and the kennel. He would inchinchinch closer and closer to her on her blankets and just take her in. I miss you, he would say with his whiskers.

Lately, there haven't been two many pictures of them together, at least not in the same frame. They both move too fast now. I view their relationship like that of a big brother and little sister. It's all on his terms, and when the little girl finally gets big enough to reciprocate her feelings and attachment, he acts too cool. Like he can't be bothered by a girl. She chases him as fast as she can, and he retreats to the small areas of the house she hasn't mastered yet. But I know deep down he adores her, and always will. I know the day where I find the two of them stretched out in the sun, snoozing all tangled up together is not far away.

Vintage Lil' Dude IV

It was an outfit that sealed the lil' dude's fate.

The Dad is an avid CRAZY fan of Syracuse Basketball. Go Orange! is heard grunted around our house all the time. The grunting gets particularly bad during March Madness. Very loud grunting.

Anyways, the Dad was perusing the Internet last fall looking for an Orange outfit for the babe in my belly. He must have checked eBay everyday of my entire pregnancy. He finally settled on the one, ordered direct from the college's famous mascot shop, and ordered it up. It was a tiny Nike onesie, bib, and booties all in the school's true orange and navy colors. Grunt, grunt! He ordered it in the size the baby would likely fit in during March Madness.

A few weeks go by, and I finally remember to ask the Dad about the outfit, for he had not shown it to me. "Is it back ordered?" I asked.
A weird look came over his face. "No, it came," he said super quiet.
"Can I see it?" I asked.
He hesitated. "I didn't want to show you . . . 'cuz it's not right."
I was confused. Did the outfit have three arm holes, or what? Why would he not be excited about his tiny treasure?



He disappeared to his secret hiding spot (where he hides all my Christmas and event gifts) and returned with it wrapped tightly in its shipping bag.
As I pulled open the top of the bag, I saw PINK everywhere in the bag! My heart melted a little! Pink!
The Dad said, "they sent me the wrong outfit. This one is for a GIRL! It's not orange and navy!"



"So what?" I asked. "Send it back. Exchange it. You have plenty of time."
The Dad looked at me solemnly. His voice was a far away. "No. This just jinxed it. We are now having a girl. It's a done deal. It's going to be a girl." He was dead serious! He told me he had called the mascot shop and they told him they simply made a shipping error. Told him to send it back. But, the Dad decided to wait to see if he would need a pink outfit, if the lil' dude was going to be born a girl.



He was right! And . . . Syracuse never even made the tournament this year.
SHE, the baby GIRL, still wore her Orange! outfit though.

Vintage Lil' Dude III

At my baby shower last October, a mama-friend gave me a fuzzy Carter's sleep sack. "C. lived in them when he was a baby," she said. She said how nice they were to zip and unzip so quick in the middle of a tired, drowsy nighttime change. I quickly set out to find 6 more so the lil' dude could wear one every night of the week. And although this sleep-sacked little beauty never woke up for those nighttime changes, she stayed all warm and contained in her crib!


This is the green one from my mama-friend. The lil' dude has always looked so good in green. Here she was right before being swaddled back up! Awww, the sweet little swaddle . . . the Dad and I would have contests to see whose baby burrito was better. He won most times.


In ducky yellow. I bought the same one for a prego-mama-friend before her AJ was born . . . in May. She probably doesn't wear it being it's summer and all, but it was fun to send anyways. Made me remember opening the green one. I bet this picture is from a Saturday morning. The lil' dude has been put back to sleep in the early AM right next to our bed. So we could get more sleep, that's right. If I could reach down and hold her fingers while her chair hummed to her, it would take minutes for her to fall asleep. The Beagle's bed is to her right. I bet he hated not having the #1 spot.


In bulldog blue- my mom found this before the lil' dude was born. She still wears blue pajamas. No one cares at our house! This picture was definitely a maternity-leave morning after the Dad left for work. We said from the get-go we would not let the lil' dude sleep in our bed, ever. For it would be too delicious and warm and snuggly a habit to break. Well, there were just a few times I snuck her in . . .


"I Love Hugs" white. Here we are after a breakfast bottle and probably 4 days of not washing my hair. I let most mornings go by without moving much from this position. I was simply taking her all in and remembering to remember.


In pink lambs. Her first and only pink sleep sack. This one arrived the same day Grandma did for that whole week! This picture is from Christmas morning, look at that perfect little smile. She is going to love Christmas just as much as Mama does, I can tell already!


In giraffe polka dots. Look at how big she is, she's even smiling on purpose! That is MY baby blanket I have wrapped around her head. No, she doesn't sleep with it, but I do. Yes, I am serious. No, I don't want to talk about it!


In #7 purple. I loathe the color purple, but this one I found on clearance for a few bucks. We're doing laundry right before I left for Vegas for work for 5 days. "You're leaving me with DAD? And the Beagle?"

Until two weeks ago, all seven of these sleep sacks were still tucked in the lil' dude's pj drawer. I told the Dad I just couldn't pack them away yet. He asked why those were so much more special than the rest of her mini-duds. I couldn't explain it and still can't. To me, they embody my winter baby girl and all our lazy memories. She wore her sleep sacks until mid-April, over four months. Putting her in her first pair of big-girl pajamas was a bittersweet night. For me anyways.