Up until now, it has actually made sense to tell people Grace’s age in months, because saying “One” doesnt get us the same amount of sympathy as everything from 18 Months has seemed to. That said, something tells me that after she reaches 2, we are going to want to stop counting in monthly increments and focus on the big milestones like “Only 3 tantrums in a day” and “Sharing her first toy”.
At 1 month shy of the big 2, iSelf is learning so much and surprising us everyday with something new from school. Where we were once so proud when she learned the word for “More” and asked for “Wahber”, now she requests “Mas aqua”and sends us scrambling for the the Spanish-English Dictionary. She is developing her own opinions everyday and letting us know exactly how she feels at least a few times an hour. She has pride in her accomplishments and they are many, including climbing into her highchair, putting on her ladybug boots and now, rocking Hazel.
Grace’s interactions with Hazel have, up until now, been limited to kissing toes as we tried to protect the youngest Topliff from tough-or just clumsy-love. Today she showed that she thinks Hazel rocks and that she is nearly as interesting as a fish…
Grace’s Stats:
Days old: 702
Weight: 31 lbs
Her Current Favorite Things:
Books: Sister Book, Potty Book, Where the Wild Things Are (“Max”) and Goodnight Moon (“Moon”)
TV Shows: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Elmo and More Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Exercise: Tantrum Yoga
A month or two ago, Grace suddenly “got” the concept of me…of her…of Grace, or as she often calls herself “Gacie Gace”. I think both Grammie and Day Care people call her that and she finally understood it to be her. The other her, or at least one of them is “I, Self”. When something needs doing and no one can—or should—do it but Grace, she announces “Self do it” or “Do it I Self” either way, it means hands off (“No Touch!”). Since Self doing things is non-negotiable and Self does not tend to do things in the fastest possible way or even a way that is at all possible, like taking off your pants while sitting down, life can move a little slow around here. It is nice to see that Self can climb into a high chair or into a car seat with a great degree of Self-satisfaction. Sometimes, if Self can’t get it done or feels satisfied that she has been allowed to try, Self will ask for a little Self-help and things can move along a little faster. Other times, Self does not want a helping hand but the clock is ticking on something else and help comes anyway. And hilarity ensues.
Now that I am back at work, I am asked by other parents of more than one child how it is being the parent of more than one child. My answer now is “Oh, I think you know the answer to that.” To which they tend to get a faraway look in their eyes and laugh quietly at some unseen life that they used to have while slowly shaking their head. “Yes,” I say, “it’s WONDERFUL!” And it is…at least some of the time. Hazel actually articulates the experience very well in the video below.
If there was a transcript of her play by play, it might read like this:
It seems like a lifetime ago that we got to meet Hazel and everything changed. I don’t mean her lifetime either. When we can stop and consider Hazel, we know that she is wonderful and adorable and cuddly and tiny and everything a baby is supposed to be. And someday, she and Grace will play with each other, tell each other secrets, make up languages, let off peals of laughter, get dirty, bake stuff, tell jokes and just be made of sugar and spice and everything nice. For now, there is an exhausted Mommy, a Daddy who runs in circles, a confused older sister and a nearly forgotten dog-like creature here to ring in a new month with the promise, Hazel, that we will get it together soon, very soon. We love you! Happy first month!
We have been swearing up and down that Grace and Hazel don’t look a bit alike. “Not true,” says Grammie, “look at those NICU pictures again!” So I did… I think you can tell which baby is which…
That may sound like a reality show based in Arkansas but it is what showed when Aunt Christie brought two of Grace and Hazel’s biggest Southern California fans (Ryan and Jack) down for the weekend to meet Hazel and to help out. Since Grace brought an ear infection and 103ºfever to our normal level of chaos, the help was more than welcome. For Grace, Ryan was better than Elmo and “Mick-uh Mouse” rolled into one (which is a very scary mental picture). Everything her oldest cousin did was so hilarious she barely noticed being ill. Jack would have spent every waking moment with the girls but he had to stay down at Grammie’s house (and had to play video games and had to go to the Exploratorium). He ultimately got to spend time with both girls and claim the title of the youngest person yet to hold Hazel. Christie and Ryan even took care of Grace for a night so Jenn could force me go see “Valentine’s Day” go on a date with me (with Hazel as a chaperon).
The visit was so fantastic for all of us we are hoping to do it again ASAP, next time with Uncle Jim and Evan included.
If we haven’t been completely clear before, Hazel is a pretty amazing breast feeder. She took to it immediately and surpassed her birth weight by her 1 week doctor’s appointment. So she sucks and grows pretty well. Unfortunately (for Jenn) that sort of tethers her to Mommy. Every 3 hours she remembers that eating is fun and starts a high pitched wail that makes the smoke alarm sound like a lullaby. As soon as “that sound” starts Jenn complains that it is making her ears bleed and any teenagers within a 5 mile radius stop breaking whatever laws they are breaking and spontaneously purchase some sort of birth control.
Over the weekend, we started the process of shifting the burden away from Mommy (and presumably on to Daddy) by introducing a bottle. Jenn has been dutifully pumping whenever she can to build up a freezer full of boob juice to untether herself and try to regain some sanity. The good news is that Hazel took to the bottle as well as she took to the breast. The milk comes out a little faster so we have to regulate things to make sure it stays down, but this first baby step has been pretty successful. Next step is to Rho-Sham-Bo to see who has to get up at 3am.
We are trying to find a new look for Graceandhazel.com, so don’t be surprised if the Blog looks different everytime you look at it. I don’t think this will affect the emails, but I’m not sure. The look we had was trying to look like the original graceperiod but never quite made it.
If you like one in particular, take a screenshot and let us know.
Of course, she is really a Water Big Girl, but it had been awhile since we’ve taken Grace to a swimming pool, what with winter and…you know…little miss Hazel causing a ruckus inside and out. Last weekend, we finally managed it again and after a little reluctance, she LOVED it! She didn’t quite get the bubble-blowing part but kicking was ALOT of fun. So was floating on the noodle (“noonal”) and going FAST with daddy. The look on her face suggests a long, wet summer ahead.
While Grace has certainly seen a bouncy house before, she has thus far lacked the coordination to make any use of one. On Superbowl Sunday while Mommy (conveniently) had to nurse Hazel in front of the game, I drew yard duty and Grace rocked the house.
For those of you who can’t just pop in to get some quality baby holding time, here are some virtual substitutes. Enjoy, and see if you can resist calling…
