should've named her whiny

little bean is 9mos old now. how in the hell did that happen? and more importantly, when will it stop??

i've read in some books/emails- (you know the ones that all new moms read and then panic about because their baby is doing something waaay different)- that it's usually around this age that your baby may choose a lovey.
...please tell me you understand me when i say "lovey". The Mr. had never heard that term before, and for the life of me i can't think of another word for it- except for the clinical transitional object.

i'm a pretty idiotic new mom. i've wondered about little bean's lovey for about 6mos now. i wonder how it gets chosen. i wonder if i'm s'posed to just make her love something she likes to keep with her when she's needing comfort. & if so- which do i choose? i think i read somewhere that it usually just happens b/c baby will pick up on one of the objects you may leave in the crib. but i've read in lots of places that objects shouldn't be left in cribs. soooo you see i'm perplexed.
(and stupid. yeah that).

LB's at the stage that she just wants to eat everything we give her anyway. there's no favorites here. if it feels good in her mouth at the time, then great. but before long she gets inexplicably frustrated and tries to literally rip it apart w/ both hands. she flails it aside. only to grab it again and stick her big mouth and 2 bottom teeth on some random piece. begin again.

she has eaten: her rabbit, her lamb, my curious george (both large & small), a tiny soft monkey book, a remote, a soft block, a nerf ball, any of the pieces to her stacking toy, any book we give her, any toy in the basket, oh yeah- the basket itself.
she will put just about anything in her mouth. except for teething rings. not a big fan- especially if they're cold. (what about those damn books again?)

well, i've been thinking about loveys & i have some stories to tell.
i vividly remember one christmas i got a new doll for christmas. it wasn't just any doll. it was a Drowsy doll. incidentally, one of my sisters had also gotten this doll way back when she was a littly, too. so i guess Drowsy made the rounds in my family. which makes me wonder- how could they stand it?? not once but twice!!

if you clicked on the picture link above, mine was the pink one at the bottom. and wow. with adult eyes, i say: does she look stoned to you? i'm guessing they did their best at making her appear *ahem* drowsy. thus the name.

she was made back in the dark ages (i guess began in the 60s. i received her in the late 70s). back when nobody cared about children and endangerment and all the cool toys had pull strings.
so you pull on Drowsy's string and she would call out some phrases that i can hear in my head even now. the site mentions them as well. i remember only 2:
i want a drink of water & mommy, kiss me goodnight.

but to hear her tell it? a little different.

how about: iii waaant a driink of waaaaaatterrrrrrr. & mommmmy, kiss me good niiiiiight.
her tone and inflection is still etched in my memory. i repeat it sometimes for The Mr. when i want to be particularly annoying. even as a kid, tho' i loved her, i did realize she was a bit whiny.

i cannot believe this doll survived in my house thru karen and then me.
hmm, thinking that thought "on paper" makes me realize i don't have her in my memories for very long. ya know, i bet one of my brothers probably ended up stealing her or something.

oh i would kill to hear her voice now. to see how off target i really am.
maybe i should get one for little bean. The Mr. would love it!
of course, she'd probably choke on the string.

easter is for chocolate

easter has come & gone. little bean's first one. and since she's still so young, The Mr. & i didn't feel the need to hypocrisize this year. (can i make up that word?)

i was talking to a friend of mine who asked me if i had gotten the bean an easter dress. i may have even chuckled a little when i said "no". it's not that the idea of having an easter dress is preposterous. but we weren't even considering taking her to church. and if not, well, then why get the dress?

christmas was concentrated on the Santa. easter on the basket. (which should've been filled with candy- but she's 9months old, so we'll wait on that. along with dyeing eggs & hiding them...)

i knew that the first time we take this unpredictable baby out to church should not have been the day when all catholics come out of the woodwork. growing up, that day was always standing-room-only!
i know before too long, The Mr. & i will be setting a good example. taking her to church, eating vegetables, speaking more kindly, etc...

christmas is obviously a big holiday in the christian world. but it wasn't ever just about that for me. maybe because i still believe in Santa. i understand it's about the giving & the spirit of christmas. i understand the hidden meanings that aren't about Jesus/religion per se, but about goodness & cheer. to me, there's more to celebrate than just Jesus being born.

but easter has always been a confusing holiday for me. it's pretty much the day that culminates everything a catholic believes. we even 'believe' that when we take communion that it is not a symbol of Christ, but a miracle of Him in itself. well, in order to have that, He would've had to die (& then rise again).

i never knew why the egg was chosen to center all activities. or had such a great feeling about the Easter Bunny as i do with Santa. but i always enjoyed it. & i will enjoy it again next year. this year, however, we laid low. she wore a onesie outfit w/ a bunny bib. she had an easter basket from the bunny filled with books & gerber graduates, plus a toy. gramma & grampa gave her a basket with some of the same types of things. we enjoyed spending time together & watching her be able to interact differently than at christmas.

but nowhere did Jesus come into play.
for that i know i'm failing...
i'll fake it later.