Friday, July 24, 2009

My Angels

They're sleeping.


All day long they live and breathe and exclaim and defend. They poke and yell and grump and squirm. They need and love and hug and generally have presence.

By the end of the day I sometimes wonder who will outlast whom. But inevitably, they sleep. And when they do, they are so precious.

Today we traveled with my family up to Lake Erie for a getaway vacation. We, especially the kids, played hard in the sand and surf. Predictably, by the end of the afternoon they had sand in every crevice. And they found the whole experience glorious. In light of the happy memories, I am trying not to begrudge the layer of sand now gritting up my car. And stroller. And everything.



For now they are sleeping. Hard.

Lulu seemed to like the beach, too, although her experience mostly included being lulled to sleep by the stiff breeze gently buffeting her protected stroller bed.

After six months with Lulu, I still feel like I have two real live kids, and a Baby Alive. I still sometimes wonder if I might get a half mile from home only to remember that I left the Baby Alive home sleeping in her quiet corner.

Lulu is a baby doll in more ways than one. She is the third born, so she just comes along for the ride to everything we are doing with the big kids. She is unbelievably agreeable, and constantly smiles. After my serious second child would not meet his own mother's gaze for almost a year, this sweetie radiates charm to everyone who passes by. She looks good in pink. I'm also willing to bet this girl is going to like tea parties--she already sizes up my coffee with a knowing look.

When you first become a parent, you tend to hope your child will show signs of genius. You expose your baby to educational movies, and play games to help her walk and talk, secretly hoping she will re-invent the curve.

By the third time, I have learned that my baby doll will grow up soon enough. So I don't work so much on trying to uncover her genius. Years ago I read a comic in which a harried mom observed, "You spend the first two years teaching them to walk and talk, and the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up!"

At six months, Lulu has yet to show any inclination to roll over, sit up, or feed herself a bottle. Despite drooling for months already, she has yet to erupt a tooth.

And that's okay with me. I want to enjoy my Baby Alive as long as possible.

4 comments:

  1. Your words are loving and wise.
    Thank you for a reminder to rest in the peace of it sometimes.

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  2. your daughter is sweet. :) I feel the same way about my third.

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  3. Ah yes, the sand. Once you make peace with it, it really is your friend. :-)

    And your little one--a happy third child--is precious. And you are wise to cherish this stage with her...the kind of wisdom that comes from having been here before twice and again!

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  4. oh, all your sentiments are so very familiar. thank you for sharing them with us!

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