MamaBlogga

I’m not really going to get into a theory of evolution debate here—really, the more appropriate headline would be “Natural selection works.” I totally believe that and I see evidence of it in my everyday life (“natural selection” is just a lot longer than “evolution”).

Genetics at work: my mother and my daughter

As a mother of very young children, I can tell you exactly how demanding and frustrating babies and toddlers can be—but I’ve come to believe that a babies’ cuteness is, in fact, an inherited defense mechanism against some of their most motherly-frustration-inducing behaviors. My evidence:

1. Cuddling: Although waking me for the eighth time in six hours is decidedly not a good way into my good graces, a quiet, sweet, snuggling baby is pretty tough to stay angry at.
2. Gurgling giggles: It’s five AM and the infant thinks it’s time to get up for the day. But before I can burst into tears, she sees my face and wham—instant gales of excited laughter. Even if I’m not quite as happy to see her at that hour, it’s hard not to forgive her when she’s just so happy to see me.
3. Nap time: When I reach my wits’ end, I know it’s time for a nap (for me and/or the kids ). This can be a double whammy, especially if the baby or toddler is obviously tired but still averse to said nap, and spends half an hour screaming—because when they finally succumb to the much-needed sleep, it’s all the sweeter to peek in on the peacefully slumbering angel (and pray it lasts!).
4. Baby talk: Sure, you can argue their articulatory muscles aren’t fully developed enough to appreciate the nuances of the lateral approximate, but let’s face it: somewhere in his DNA, my son knows that “I yub you!” melts even an annoyed heart faster than plain old “I love you.”
5. Stoic tears: Okay, this one might not be entirely genetic, but who wouldn’t forgive a tantrum from tiny child who bravely insists that he must wipe his own tears?

What other naturally cute behaviors have you seen that totally take the wind out of your frustration?

Once upon a time, Rebecca liked solid foods. Okay, well, she liked bananas like two times. But at eight months, she’s once again nursing exclusively.

Baby: folds for easy storage convenience!

I think it had something to do with the entire month she spent with teeth painfully bulging her gums. The closest she came to solids was a steady stream of Tylenol.

Also, she had the dreaded car pox

We tried a variety of foods; we gave her teething biscuits; we let her hold saltines. The only thing she had any interest in sticking in her mouth was the bottle of the aforementioned medicine.

Silly Mommy. I don’t want this!

One tooth finally came through last Friday and the second this Friday. But that wasn’t what it took to get her interested in solids.

Yesterday, I had some beef stew. She found my empty bowl very interesting, so I tried to tease her with a little of the leftover sauce in a spoon.

She ate it. She ate and ate and ate until I couldn’t scrape together enough to put in her mouth anymore. I fetched half a teething biscuit; she suddenly understood where that was supposed to go. She went to town on some saltines.

Nummy!

We haven’t attempted any more solids today, but here’s hoping she’ll be interested when we do!

Maybe I’ve been a mother of a boy for too long. Maybe I’ve been out of school for too long. Maybe I’m just clueless. But this week, it suddenly hit me.

I have a daughter.

What up, Mom?

Okay, really, I know she’s a girl. In fact, it was one year ago today that we found out we were having a girl. So I’ve had plenty of time to get used to that idea.

But I guess I hadn’t really appreciated the full meaning of having a daughter until this week. It happened gradually. First we ran out of everyday pants for Rebecca, so I went through the mass of 6-12 month clothes we finally got out for her (she also still needs a dresser). All I found were dresses and skirts. I settled for a denim play skirt.

Look at those lashes!

We went through two denim skirts that day, and still the laundry didn’t get done (where is my laundry fairy?!). So the next day, I put her in a dress.

It was at this point that it hit me. I have a little girl. She can wear play dresses and tights—and I can buy frills and ribbons and flowers. She can play with dolls and pretend to teach them to read. She can play house, pretend to cook (if Hayden will let her take over those duties, of course), and dress up in my high heels. (No comment on doing her hair.)

But most of all: she can take dance lessons. Most instruments, most sports, most clubs, most other extracurriculars are fairly gender-neutral. But, let’s face it, dance lessons are they epitome of little girlitude.

This led me to a new dilemma: what kind of dance lessons? I did years and years of ballet, and a semester of Irish dance in college. I love lyrical; I don’t enjoy tap or jazz. We’re technically of Scottish descent, so there’s always Highland dance to consider.

I’ve decided, however, not to worry about all that now. Even after she’s old enough to start “dance” lessons, it’ll be years before she’s old enough or required to choose among the various styles.

And considering it took me a year to understand that we have a daughter, I’m sure it’ll take me that long to figure out what kind of dance (if any) we want her in anyway!

What are your favorite things about little girls?

I can’t remember how long we’ve had this tradition, but every year, my mom would let us open one gift on Christmas Eve—and it was always pajamas (and virtually always flannel pajamas).

This year, Hayden and Rebecca got pajamas that match all their cousins’ (thanks Aunt Toria!). You can see Hayden’s beloved monkey pajamas with his bike on Christmas morning.

Keeping with the animal theme, my mom got us reindeer pajamas!

Here’s our happy family in front of my in-laws’ Christmas tree:

I especially like Rebecca’s “what up” expression.

But Rebecca seemed to like her PJs very much:

As promised, more photos from our Christmas celebrations!

Hayden and his gift from Santa: a bike!

Baby’s first Christmas (with Aunt Jess):

Hayden the reindeer:

Yes, we did celebrate Christmas—but with all the traveling and then the recovery, I haven’t had a chance to get around to posting any pictures from a very fun Christmas with my in-laws. But that’s changing today!

These are from our ward Christmas party:

Hayden saw that Santa was giving other children small bags of candy. So while we were in line, I asked Hayden what he was going to ask Santa for and he wisely chose “Nanee!”

Rebecca wasn’t too impressed with Santa.

But she’s Santa Baby!