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My Little Beach Girl
My Little Beach Girl
Baby Bug and I walk down to the beach nearly every day. Most days we just stand there at the water’s edge and sigh. We watch the waves crash for a few minutes and then we head back up the hill to home because it’s almost her bedtime. But lately when we stand on the beach, she has been waving her arms up and down excitedly. She jumps up and down inside the carrier by pushing off me with her legs. Since I’m a sucker for a happy baby, I’ve been taking her out of the carrier and letting her “walk” on the wet sand.
She loves it! She just plain loves “walking” in general. She can’t really walk, she doesn’t have her balance yet. But she loves it when I hold her hands and she can use her legs to take steps. She take high steps like a soldier. It’s very funny to watch, just ask Whoorl. She walked a bunch when we were over there visiting Anders the other day.
When we’re at the beach “walking,” Baby Bug leans forward in eagerness and sometimes backwards because her legs are going faster than I can keep up. She loves the waves. She has no fear. She just wants to run out into them. Today I let her go all the way to the frothy small waves lapping on the shore. She squealed in delight. She is so joyful right now, it’s contageous. I love this stage.
I love it that she loves the beach. She really is my dream baby come true.
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Since I promised, here is my attempt to write a pantuom for my Grandma. I usually like writing poetry but for some reason I’m not getting the trick of this form. I think I must be misunderstanding the rules. By the last quatrain I’m forgetting where I am. But I also read that you shouldn’t try too hard to make it work, so this is me trying hard not to try too hard.
The ocean waves glisten in the golden sunset air
Foam decorates the water’s edge like lace upon a dress
My daughter smiles from ear to ear as closer we draw near
Her little toes wiggle back and forth in blissful eagernessFoam decorates the water’s edge like lace upon a dress
Reminding me of summer days from many a yesteryear
Her little toes wiggle back and forth in blissful eagerness
Laughter blows into the wind like whispers in my earReminding me of summer days from many a yesteryear
I think of white sundresses with spaghetti straps or less
Laughter blows into the wind like whispers in my ear
Taunting me with stories and secrets to confessHer little toes wiggle back and forth in blissful eagerness
She is looking at the water, unlike me she has no fear
She kicks me as she’s fastened in her harness on my chest
The ocean waves glisten in the golden sunset air -
Contact Paper is my Friend
You wouldn’t think that when I’m in the middle of it. The stuff is so sticky. It never sticks where I want it to. It wrinkles and it goes on crooked and then there’s the cat hair and finger prints, it’s just a big mess. BUT when I’ve finally managed to finish my project, it’s a thing of beauty.
My project was this: I was tired of Baby Bug displaying her artistic talents on the cupboard wall beside her high chair. Sure, I could move the chair (and I will when she gets big enough to kick herself off of it) but it fits there and it’s out of the way next to the wall. However, being close to the wall also provides lots of surface area for Baby Bug smear stuff on. I was tired of scrubbing the butternut squash, the bananas, the rice cereal and pureed carrots off the wall. It feels like all I do all day long is scrub up after the baby. Scrub scrub scrub. Every surface has to be cleaned. It’s a lot of work. So I schemed up an idea that would turn my laborious scrubbing into a simple wipe. Contact paper! A coat of high gloss paint would do the trick too but I’m not up for painting these days.
So I stuck some pictures of her favorite people and a favorite toy between two pieces of contact paper and taped it up on the wall beside Baby Bug’s high chair. Presto: sticky swipe problem solved. As an added benefit we also have a fun game to play during our hour long “feeding the baby” sessions. While I try and dodge her swiping hands and sneak spoon fulls of food into her mouth, she can point out where her Daddy is or where Pounce is..
She’s learning too. I say, “Where is Daddy?” and sometimes I swear she bats at the picture of Toby. Sometimes she just bats at the whole thing… but at least it’s easy to wipe off. She loves it, I love it. It’s great. I just wish I could contact paper her too.
