Teething, Growth Spurt, Mood Swings,... Demonic Possession,... It's Anyone's Guess!

     We just returned from a very successful trip to Shreveport, LA for Sophie's Baptism.  She travelled well, she adapted to new surroundings like a seasoned globe-trekker, she worked the post-Baptism brunch like the party hostess that I believe she was born to be.  We were so proud!
     Truth be told, I haven't written much lately because life has been good.  No crazy shenanigans.  Pretty even-keeled stuff, which is great for day-to-day living but not so interesting to write about.  However, all that was about to change.
     We drove home the 3 hours from Shreveport to Dallas gloating about how well our little angel behaved on the trip, how pretty she looked on her big day and how good she was being in the car.  We got home, still wrapped in our stupid reverie, went about our day, got our gal down for bed and .... all hell breaks loose.  There is a saying, "don't count your eggs before they're hatched."  Well, I get those old sayings now.
     My husband and I drift off to sleep with visions of happy travels dancing in our heads when the 2am screaming wake up call comes a knockin'.  Yes, our good sleeper was awake, sitting up in her crib and screaming bloody murder.  Two trips in to rock her, multiple lullabies (some I must admit had some curse words inserted in them as the hours wore on) the smallest dose of baby Tylenol and a diaper change later (2 hours had passed) I'm now storming around the house.  My husband, who had been in bed until now, wisely jumped out of bed like a scalded cat (without lecturing by me!) and hurried in to help.  Last attempt was a bottle.  Maybe I should have come to the bottle conclusion sooner, but she hasn't needed a middle of the night snack in awhile so that obvious solution did not come to my sleep deprived mind until much later. 
     Husband administers the bottle because I'm about to willingly run into traffic at this point, and gets her to bed....finally....at 4:15am!  And then she's up again at 6!  Yea parenthood!
    Well, 3 days later, filled with fussy baby, interrupted sleep and zombie-parents, I give my gal a serious mom-daughter pep talk stating that this grumpy phase is now over and we are kicking it to the curb.  I'm not going to lie, I did resort to singing Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" in order to emphasize my point.  I may have taken liberty with some of the lyrics as well, so I am infinitely sorry to Dee Snider and all 80's metal heads.  However, Twisted Sister's genius lyrics (plus some of my own) seemed to have worked.   A couple of hours post pep talk/sing along I took my gal to run some errands.  She falls asleep in the car for like, 30 min., wakes up, smiles, laughs and is a delight again.  The clouds have parted and the angels are singing.
     Now can someone please explain the last 72 hours to me?!!  Yes, yes, yes I've read all about teething (which we are in the thick of), I've read about growth spurts, but maybe,...just maybe, she decided to be an a-hole for a few days?  I mean we all have our "off days".  However, I have to hand it to her yet again, it's a rare (wait, I mean NEVER) occurrence that I get to go on a multi-day "bitch fest"with the response to my actions being even more love and affection, being fed foods that I am known to love, and getting gently rocked to sleep for every bedtime and nap.  I'm telling you, this girl is good.  Its good to be a baby.

     Moral of this story: My husband and I have survived another strange "spell" of babyhood.  Our happy gal is back and the demon has again left to go party with another baby. 

Sorry "other baby!"






     

Honey, I Didn't Know Your Head Could Spin Like That!

    I married a stereotypical, All-American, "guys guy."  He grew up in a small town in the south where athletics and football, in particular, are King.  I think it's quite fair to say that he is athletically gifted, as he excelled at basically every sport he played, and the first day of football season (LSU and pro) is better than any holiday and birthday combined.  And, his close knit band of guy friends would walk into traffic for one another if necessary.
     Yep.  He is definitely a guy's guy.  So when it comes to the ways of the woman he is particularly unskilled and uneducated.  Now don't get me wrong, and he will kill me for writing this, but he was quite the little ladies man back in the day.  However, that experience didn't aptly prepare him for the true lifestyle, with all it's intricacies, of the female.  So, naturally, he was blessed with a little daughter.  Talk about being thrown into the deep end of the pool!
     It has been quite entertaining for me, these past few months, to watch this burgeoning relationship develop between my little gal and her daddy.  I now understand how little girls get their dad's wrapped around their little fingers because I have had a front row seat for this evolution.  The, previously, bumbling and uncomfortable dad has quickly become the object for most of Sophie's  laughs and smiles.  Daddy is definitely the funniest person on the planet.  Then we get the smile, followed by the bashful head turn, burying her face into my shoulder, then peeking at dad again with a giant smile.  My God!  This girl is a master at 9 months!  I'm in awe.
      However, she has her work cut out for her, because daddy still has a lot to learn. To go into all the in's and out's of being a girl and all the things that baffle mankind would take novels in volumes so I'm just going to touch on the most recent "Big Ugly Surprise" as I like to call it, that my husband has had to face.  CLOTHES!
One of my favorite subjects, one of my husband's least.
     So our 500 degree per day Texas weather has finally started to turn.  BUT, horror of horrors! Our daughter is not sufficiently wardrobed for the upcoming fall season.  She has more options than I thought possible of adorable, very hot weather appropriate clothes but nothing for Fall.  Pretty standard stuff for anyone with a new child.  However, this seemed like a giant mystery to my husband who thinks that Sophie has more clothes than Rachel Zoe.  The fun part for me was when I got to inform him that she would indeed need a whole wardrobe, EVERYTHING! As she has nothing for cool weather.  I thought he might pass out on the spot.  (I forgot to mention-He is also very knowledgeable in the finance dept. and very spend conscious so this is a concept that is very hard for him to wrap his brain around)  However, the REAL fun came when I informed him that she would likely need a new wardrobe for every upcoming season for the next several years as she grows like a weed and will, in no way, fit into last season's clothes. WOW!  Head spinning commences!
     You know the saying, "youth is wasted on the young."?  Well I say, "fashion is wasted on the young!" If someone were to buy me a whole new wardrobe every season for the next several years I would be the slap-happiest gal I know.  I can guarantee that my Sophie could care less about her new duds.  Sigh.  Oh well, at least I'm enjoying it.
     So for my parting words, I offer advice for my husband and daughter.  To my husband: Breathe, deep breaths, Relax, you have a girl and there will be so many things that you get to look forward to paying for that you need to just accept it and go to your happy place.  To my daughter: work really hard at that Pro tennis career that daddy has all planned out for you so that you can, maybe, someday, pay him back.
     As for me, I just sit back and enjoy my husband getting schooled by a 9 month old and him loving every minute of it!