My Daughter

Pearl is making leaps and bounds recently. She got her first tooth on Monday. (I think.) (To clarify, I know she has a tooth, I'm just not quite sure which day it came in.) Her new trick is sitting up by herself. I found her after nap time sitting in her crib, like it was old hat. Here is a reinactment. Bottoms up.

And then sitting.

Ta da!!

Oh, and the crawling. She is so close. She scoots and army crawls and moves just about anywhere she wants...slowly. I like slow. It means I can leave her for a minute and not worry about polly pocket pieces several feet away, or stairs around the corner. But she is not going to hold still long. If she can just figure out to keep her left leg under her, there is no stopping her.

She is so curious and cute. She is eight months today. (I really didn't remember that until just now, and sadly that means I need to schedule another doctor visit. Blat.) I can't keep her from growing. So I will just love her everyday.

And truly that is all you can do. Just love love love them. (You know, with the right amount of discipline and responsibility thrown in there too.) I love June at 8 years old with her smarts and continual writing. I love Robyn at 6 with her I love you more, plus infinity, plus squato, plus every number in the world, plus 1. I love Ivory at 4 years with her amazing coloring abilities and her dislike of almost everything I cook for dinner. I love Daisy at 2 because she cuddles better than anyone when she isn't drawing with a pen on my computer screen. And I love Pearl at eight months because she is my baby and I feel like that part of my life is slipping through my fingers.

Speaking of things that are gone never to return...nursing.

My poor body struggled this time around trying to make enough milk. I supplemented what I couldn't provide myself, but I still enjoyed nursing, if only for a short time each day. However, Pearl is voracious. She cries when you don't feed her cereal fast enough. She cries when the family is eating and she is left out. She cries after finishing a 10 oz. bottle. (Child, that is all you can fit in a bottle.) From the amount she eats you would guess that she would weigh over 20 lbs. by now, but she is such a twig. (I'm guessing another one that takes after Dad.) Regardless, I think that my milk did not come in the quantity and speed she desired. She would get bored nursing and turn her head to watch her sisters instead. Or she would eat for three to four minutes and then practice chomping her gums. (Ouch!) And so we stopped and she didn't care in the least. I'm a little saddened by this, but what do you do? I've had my cry about it and moved on. I sure did love nursing my babies.

I guess the timing was good though, what with that new tooth.