I cannot believe it has been 5 days since my last post! My goal was to write a small post every day this week and here it is Thursday already! Is the party really over too? How is it you plan and plan for something then it seems like it is over in the blink of an eye? (Thank goodness for photographs!) I feel like it is the same thing with the baby. We prayed and prayed and planned a little and "poof"...she is THREE! I think I am feeling a little sentimental today in that I realized, during our banter while out picking up her portraits at Sears earlier, it was exactly three years ago today that we brought our tiny baby girl home from the hospital. I caught myself looking at her through my tears several times today...this morning when I went up to get her up, during lunch with Daddy, in the car on the way to Sears, and while shopping at Target...when did she get so big? So tall? So smart? So talkative? So...everything? It seems like it truly happened "in the blink of an eye". Don't misunderstand...I am so happy, so proud, so in love with my amazing daughter...just wishing the "baby" stage had lasted a little bit longer. I truly "get" why people have more than one if they can.
One of the things I find hardest to recall is how tiny she was. I know what she weighed and what size she wore and it seems impossible that she was ever that small. She weighed herself today and is almost 30 pounds. I have a photo of her on the scale before leaving the hospital at two days old...topping the scales at 6lbs.11oz. Her little face was all red as she screamed for us to put her clothes back on! So long, skinny and tiny. She was 20 inches long.
Three short years later...she is almost 30lbs. and about 38 inches tall. She is still kind of long and lean. I remember how surprised I was when she was swimming in some of the newborn sized clothing, so I picked up a couple of preemie sleepers. Now our peanut wears a pretty solid 2T, but she can also wears some 3Ts for length in shirts, jackets, and dresses. I remember thinking she had such long feet for a tiny baby, now I look at her little socks and shoes from back then and they seem impossibly small. She's wearing some 6 and 7 toddler sized shoes now and little socks in 2T-3T. Oh, and the diapers! I kept one of each size...teeny little newborn Pamper Swaddler diapers! So precious. She was in them for quite some time. Now she chooses her "big girl" panties every morning. She tells me whether she will choose from the Minnie Mouse/Tinkerbell drawer or the Gymboree drawer! Sometimes she takes so long looking at each pair, contemplating, putting them into piles and deciding that I have to say, "Rachel, if you don't choose a pair soon...Mommy will need to choose for you!" Her response, "No, Momma, Rachel choose Rachel's big girl pants!" Okay then...choose already!
I remember trying to learn her "cries". Mommy's are instinctively supposed to know what each cry means, right? I remember crying when I couldn't figure it out and comfort her. I remember the (sort of) comfort I got from reading it was okay and completely natural for her to cry...her only means of communicating at the time. I still remember coming unglued a few times, gotta love sleep deprivation, and just having to set her down and walk away. That was around the same time she taught her Mommy a very important lesson..."Do not let me get overtired and please, please, please! swaddle me tightly with my hands down at my sides!" Yes, she taught me one of the most invaluable pieces of knowledge ever! It was magic! She was always an amazing sleeper too. Swaddling and slight sh-sh'ing and some swaying always immediately calmed her down. Just don't let her get overtired! Our sweet girl STILL loves her sleep. She actually told me on the way home from Target today, "Momma, Rachel sleep in Momma's car while Momma drives home." I asked her is she was sleepy to which she told me "No!". Then I asked her if we should take a nap when we got home. She said, "Yes!" She's napping right now and I'm supposed to be.
I remember so many things. I just wish I could remember holding her...and how tiny she felt in my arms. I wish I could go back and relive one night of just holding her and staring at her realizing just how fast it was going to change. I want to just enjoy her without any other pressures. It seems like there is always a million things that need done, a million things to do etc...Wish I wouldn't have "blinked"...it really does go too fast like "they" say...
We are definitely enjoying "three" so far! I just can't help but wonder something some days..."Why does she seem smarter than me sometimes?!" I swear sometimes she looks at me as if wondering what takes me so long to figure things out...like she has some secret stash of knowledge that I do not possess. She loves to count and spell. The other day I gave her some oyster/soup crackers. They are little hexagon shapes. We were waiting for our lunch and passing the time so I asked her, "How many sides does your cracker have." She glanced down at one and said, "Six!" Huh?! I asked if she wanted to count them. She then told me the cracker has six sides! I was speechless. Then I thought, "Okay, smarty-pants...what is a shape with six sides called?!" I was kind of pleased when she said, "A cracker!" and not, "A hexagon, Momma!". Whew! I can still teach her a few things:). We talk constantly or rather she never stops talking. We read, sing, play games, talk through tasks/problem solve, recap our day etc.... She always amazes me by what she comes up with. She loves several Disney Channel shows...especiall Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Special Agent Oso. Now instead of a story at night, she sometimes tells us she wants to talk about Agent Oso or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Then she'll say, "Talk about Paw Pilot first!" She knows the characters, different story lines and details etc...She is constantly breaking things down into "three special steps!" like they do on Oso. It is so much fun! She was upset the other day and was crying. When something upsets her or she gets hurt she'll say things like, "Blankie help." or "Cheesy fishy cracker help." or "Some juice help Rachel feel better." and so on...well, the other day she fell and was crying and I offered to kiss her boo-boo on her hand. She informed me that, "Blankie and Mr. Dos help." Really? Mr. Dos is the recorded voice on Agent Oso that gives him his special assignments! I told her I think a kiss from Momma would help faster! Seiously, Momma is NOT being replaced by Mr. Dos so easily! (or quietly!)
I think one of the funniest things is she is learning new things every day and so quickly and sometimes does not completely understand the context. I was not having a good day yesterday and when it came time for bedtime I kind of appealed to Frank to do it all and just let me sit on the sofa. Just not feeling too well. I made the comment to him that I had had a rough day and wanted to just stare at the TV a bit. So this morning I am getting ready...feeling better...and have decided to take Rachel to have lunch with Daddy, then pick up portraits at Sears, then stop at Target. While I am fixing my hair I hear a little voice over the monitor. She says, "Momma, please come get Rachel out so Rachel can have a rough day." I wasn't sure what I had heard and asked her to repeat it. Sure enough, that is what she said. I laughed out loud on my way up the stairs. We had a little conversation about how she wants to have a "good" day not a "rough" day! Rough days are no fun!
She usually tells me when she gets up that she wants to "Go places. Go shopping. Go to Shee-Shee's doctor." etc...We were going to Sheena's doctor every day or "every single day" as Rachel puts it. With her improved blood counts we go once a week now. Well, I guess Rachel got pretty used to that being part of our everyday life for a bit. She was getting her dog ready the other day. I asked what she was doing. She told me, "Taking Rachel's doggy to the doctor." I asked her why she needed to take her doggy to the doctor and asked her if her doggy was sick. She said, "No, Rachel's doggy need to go to the doctor for two tests!" I asked what kind of tests. She informed me, "Rachel's doggy needs two blood tests!" Wow! They really do pay attention and remember, don't they?
(She surprised us here as every time we get photos
they ask her to lie on her tummy.
She tells them no.
This time she just did it herself!
Love this shot!)
As I finish this little reminiscing post which has kind of turned into recent reflections...I hear my sweet girl up from her nap. She is counting. As she gets into the 20's I find myself listening closer. She usually gets to 30 pretty well and accurately. As she reaches "27, 28, 29..." I hold my breath knowing this can go one of two ways...Sure enough I hear, "20-10, 20-11, 20-12, 20-13, 20-14..." Oops! Makes sense though, doesn't it?! Gotta love her...and we sure do!
Just sharing some more of her poses from the big birthday shoot.
Our photographer, Ashley, sure makes it hard to choose!
A favorite collage...
