It's All a Blur

Tomorrow, LP will be nine months old. That means she will have been out of me as long as she was in me. And this week our little munchkin is transitioning at day care. That means she is going into the next classroom with the "bigger" kids (9-18 months). I am not sure how we got to the end of February 2007 so quickly, so I thought I would take the opportunity to review some of the changes in our life over the last 9 months.

First of all, the cliches are all valid: no, I can't imagine life before her or without her; yes, time flies; and no, I can't really remember her when she was an itty bitty tiny thing. This may be because LP was never an itty, bitty tiny thing, but she was a newborn.

Second, I can carry 20 pounds with one hand! While doing a million other things with left arm (and the occasional additional thing with my right)! Who knew! And I didn't even have to work out. If you had asked me to stand from a sitting position, without using my hands, while holding a very fragile 20-lb. package two years ago, I would have laughed in your face and most likely fallen over while trying. Now I am an expert and I have the muscles to prove it. Of course I also have the back and knee pain to prove it, but let's focus on the positive here.

Third, I continue to be in awe of this little person we created. I have been in a state of awe for the past 18 months and I probably will be for the rest of my life. Just last night I was looking at LP tear things apart in our living room while giggling and I looked at the Hoos and asked "Can you even believe that is our daughter?". She is even more gorgeous, loving, and wonderful than I ever thought possible.

Fourth, it does get easier. When LP started day care at three months old and they told us to bring in a schedule for her, I wanted to simultaneously laugh and cry. A schedule? Ummm...she sleeps every once in a while, eats every 2-3 hours, and the rest of the time, well, I try to fill that time up with interesting things? The 'schedule' we delivered on LP's first day basically said "She eats every 2-3 hours, when we drop her off we will let you know the last time she ate." Six months later, LP has a perfect schedule. It is flexible, but there are certain windows of time when she does things. She eats five times a day, she takes two naps, and she goes to bed at 9:30 after her bath and nursing.

Finally, we have learned to be happy with what works for us and not worry too much about what everyone else is doing. We are LP's parents. We love her more then we ever thought imaginable and we are making stuff up as we go along and so far things are turning out just great. Just ask LP!