Thursday, May 24, 2012

wild Iris

Hazel, our little wild Iris, turned 6 months old.  At dinner, we pass her back and forth like a football and lately, especially, I have been all, This time next year, we won't have a baby to juggle while we cook.  I'm going to miss this.  I have been acutely aware of the quickly passing baby-ness of our youngest, trying to soak it in while I can, memorizing every square inch of her very being.  Her sweet smelling head, the feel of her tiny fingerbones loosely gloved with soft, translucent skin; the place where her bald head meets the back of her neck, the fan of fat-creases in her Popeye arms, the way she tucks her chin and throws her arms above her head when we tickle her, laughing and inviting more.  
I'm going to miss this.  I love having a lap-baby.  Look at her hands....  Look at her feet....  Did you hear her laughing at Juniper?  I love her laugh.... 
I am trying so hard to lock Baby Hazel away in my brain, it hurts.  And I know it's futile.  I know because it's so hard to bring up a memory of Juniper as a baby, it's like trying to grasp water.  I am better off to enjoy the flow and stop wishing for a freeze.
^Baby-in-the-chair idea from this blog.  1 week, 1 month, 1 1/2 months...I only missed February.^  
6 months is a big deal for me.  This is the beginning of a shift.  Our pure, sweet-smelling baby will ingest something more than breastmilk, her poops will smell like something more than European cheese, she will soon crawl on the ground and shove all kinds of who-knows-what in her mouth.  Our littlest angle is slowly coming down to earth.  Once the weather warms up again, we'll likely do another ground-touching ceremony. 
First Food (besides the smidgeon of avocado last week): mashed banana.  She likes it.  I've learned a few things the second time around.
On Hazel Iris' half birthday she: waved bye-bye, or attempted to, as in, Did she just WAVE?  And, she sucked on my finger (common) after just having crushed some hot red peppers (uncommon).  The poor girl whimpered then developed a rash around her mouth in two seconds flat.  Guess we'll stick to bananas for now.  Also, I made her some 6-month trousers.
^My first attempt at this "quick change trouser" reversible pattern (which, despite being led to believe otherwise, does not accommodate bulky cloth diapers.  So even though I made a 9-12 month size, I'll need to throw in some side panels soon and make the next pair significantly wider.)^

Six months already.  Holy shit.  The smell of our bathroom still reminds me of our labor and birth.  We did it together, girl.  And now, you will be extending yourself farther and farther from my embrace.  Your wings are sprouting.

1 comment:

  1. I STILL remember reading your post for Juniper's 6 month birthday - isn't that when she 'touched ground' for the first time?

    Hazel Iris = squishy!!

    p.s. I'm still taking month-by-month pictures of Maggie. Will post a movie of her 24 months soon.

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