August 16
Pursuit of Busyness
We haven’t had to pursue activities to keep us busy; they seem to hunt us down and pummel us until we surrender. Not that we are giving up. We will continue to hide from obligations, but we know we are no match for that social butterfly that seems to beat us senseless whenever we attempt to plan a weekend at home.
Bruce’s sister Karolyn got married last weekend. It was a beautiful wedding. Well organized and fun. We were able to see and meet most of Bruce’s relatives from the States who came for the occasion. We were also able to have Bruce’s grandparents here at our house for a few days preceeding the festivities. I wouldn’t say it was a relaxing weekend, but it was the best it could have been. My parents and sister were also invited, so they were able to watch Bronwyn while Bruce and I attended necessary wedding functions. A 12-month old is just not capable of keeping soy sauce ON the table we found out!
On our return we brought 2 more house guests. Elaine and Ryan had returned from England, tanned and pregnant after a European vacation following their stint as teachers in the UK. We were able to visit with them for a few days before Obligation called them back to Sudbury to deal with such mundane necessities as finding a job, setting up their apartment, and attending prenatal appointments.
This week has flown by! I have been furiously attempting to regain some semblance of control in my life, and grasp what shreds of routine may still be salvageable for Bronwyn’s sake. Today is the first day we have ventured from our home, as outings seemed too arduous and complicated for my exhausted brain. As it is, Bruce has been wondering (aloud, conveniently) what on earth is wrong with me lately. That’s always nice to hear in one’s overly pregnant and hormonal state. I muttered a quick “baby brain” under my breath and resolved not to let it bug me. I bet HE never forgets what he went to the store for, or why he is in the basement with a garbage bag, a toothbrush and a pillowcase…
Tomorrow we depart for Sudbury. My family is having their “Congratulations, you’re another year G’older!” reunion. It should be a fun time, with many relatives I have either never met, or won’t remember meeting. But it is a good opportunity to show off my not-so-baby. We had to miss it last year because Bronwyn was only a few weeks old, and I wasn’t up for travelling to Arnprior at that time. Why couldn’t we have had the Arnprior one this year?!
Well, I know it is time to end the blog, when I can’t even remember what I was going to write, let alone concentrate on individual words. So, if my creativity and/or grammar are not up to their usual standards, please find it in your hearts to forgive me. After all, this time I have both a baby and a toddler literally and figuratively eating away at my brain.
August 24
Edentate no longer
It has happened. Finally. Bruce and I were hanging Bronwyn upside down and making her giggle uproariously when I noticed something. Something hard and white and protruding from my little girl’s gums. That’s right folks, Bronwyn is now 13 months and 2 days old and officially has her first tooth! It is the top right hand one (which is perhaps why I didn’t see it before), and from the size of it, it is apparent it has been there for some time now. It is also HUGE. So, unfortunately she inherited the big tooth/small mouth gene from my side of the family. Years and years of teeth pulling ahead of us I see. Can the opposite of edentate be aedentate I wonder?
On another note, for those of you who haven’t heard, Bronwyn also started walking. Well, she is capable of walking- she takes steps between us and has great balance- but she refuses to actually WALK anywhere. Cautious child.
I guess this all proves what I have been expecting and yet dreading- the official start of toddlerdom. That magical time of growth and independence. For good or for bad, we have arrived.
August 31
August is over- Autumn may begin
Today is the last day of what I consider summer. After the Labour Day weekend it is officially fall in my opinion. I think that fall clothing is the most flattering and exciting of all the seasonal clothing. I can hardly wait to bring out my long sleeve shirts and cords and jackets etc. It is even better this year because I have a little person to dress up too. It is like getting dressed twice each day…or three or four depending on what Bronwyn ate at mealtimes!! I know I know, she was around this time last year too, but she was pretty little, and I was still adjusting to motherhood, so I was unable to really take full advantage of last year’s fall wardrobe. Now that I am a veteran mother of thirteen months, I feel I can relax a little. I remember hating to leave the house with Bronwyn because it was so stressful. What if she needed to be changed, or fed, or I needed to use the bathroom? What would I do with all my stuff? Now I rarely leave the house with anything other than the actual baby, and when I do remember to bring along a spare diaper or a toy or snack I congratulate myself profusely (and then forget it in the car).
This autumn is frought with other dangers though. The dangers related to a cranky, over-tired, hungry toddler who refuses to stay in the shopping cart a second longer than necessary (so…a second) and who hates her stroller and who wants to walk everywhere only when I am in a hurry- otherwise she insists on being carried. It takes a whole other mentality to prepare for excursions with Bronwyn now. Which is better? Definitely this year. Being self-assured is the greatest gift I can give myself, and the months of doubting and anxiety were harder than any late night feeding marathons or teething woes or temper tantrums in WalMart. When I think ahead to December and how having another baby will change our already whirwind lives, I am reassured that this time it will be easier. Not because I know what I am doing; but, since the fear of the unknown has been removed, I can proceed tentitively through a forest where, although I cannot always see the trail, I am confident that there is a way out, and I can find it.
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