Thursday, January 21, 2010

the hazel post


gm:
37.5 weeks. it has been a unique pregnancy. a long pregnancy. a new life & new memories are quickly approaching and I can’t wait! the time & affections & attention that I now spend solely on hazel will drastically change. while I can’t begin to imagine how & I fight the “whoa!” overwhelmed feeling, I really can’t wait to meet him or her & begin this new mom journey.

the other day i was telling a friend who hasn’t seen hazel in a long time about her & i found it was good for my soul. so good in fact, that I’m doing it again here. I’m very aware that this is the sort of post that matt, myself & our parents will find fascinating & probably no one else…I’m fine with that. I know without this, I may forget what is going on in this season of her 1 year old life just like how right now I can’t possibly remember what summer feels like or it was like to not be pregnant.

in the delivery room, hazel’s first breath was quickly followed by her first scream. she had these phenomenal lungs. healthy and robust & loud. the first few days of her life we didn’t know if she would do anything but scream. and while we are quick to confess that we had no idea what to do about it, we loved that scream & those lungs. the first night she was at home with us, we tried to get her to sleep in our bed & in the bassinet in our room, but the only place where she actually fell asleep was in her own crib in her own room. i was just trying whatever worked & didn’t see then the independent spirit that was there from the start. her first little “fit” was around 8 months. she was crawling & decided that being still for a diaper change was no longer acceptable. she kicked those rolly polly thighs spastically back and forth in disgust & disapproval of the diaper change. more often than not, this trend continues & she really can’t stand diaper changes & clothes changes. we laugh & sigh & struggle to teach her a different way of dealing & although we don’t know what to do with the hard-headedness she inherited from both of us, we just love it. this independence has been a big part of her whole first year & I always find myself daydreaming about if & how it will play out in the rest of her life. like maybe when that cocky junior high boy goes to grab her hand, she’ll look at him with that same look she gives people who try to get in her face and make her laugh…“seriously? am I really supposed to be impressed with this?”

she’s never been much of a snuggler due to the fact that she just has too much to explore & sitting or hugging would only slow the exploration process down…but lately she’s actually given us the occasional hug or prolonged moment. in light of the previous lack of this attention, matt & I can be found in puddles on the ground when these incredible moments take place. she smiles & laughs, but not all the time because most of the time she’s just too busy contemplating & discovering & laughing at your attempt to get her attention only slows all the discovering down. she does give kisses with that awesome 1 year old interpretation of a kiss that is an open mouth leaning into the subject to be kissed. but don’t get me wrong she doesn’t give you a kiss when you want one, only when she does.

a while back she started barking back at our dog. it’s more of an “oooh, ooooh” sound than a “ruff, ruff” and then instead of just for dogs it became the official noise for all animals. now, she’s added some variety & there are a number of fun animal noises…a cow “moos”, a turkey “begob-begob-begobs”, sheep “baa”, monkeys “aaah-aaah”, lions “ruuuuh”, tigers “guuuuuh”. she loves books & lately will actually let me read them to her. she loves unpacking things from drawers or taking everything out of a wallet or just taking all the toys out of a bin & putting them back in so she can take them out again. it took her 9 months to finally sleep & now she is a great sleeper at night, but is not so fond of the nap. older kids are always a win & when she waves at them from across wal-mart, saying “hiiiiii” & they don’t respond, she looks at me as if to say “what’s their problem?” she talks & jabbers a ton lately. one day she woke up & it’s as if she learned Chinese in her sleep. the words she can really pronounce & say the way an adult says them…she whispers these words…for no apparent reason.

like every kiddo, she is ever-changing & always keeping us guessing & is such a blast to get to know. we love her & count it a gift & honor that God has let us be her parents.

11 comments:

Cary said...

so sweet! i love that you celebrate all the crazy stuff...y'all are great parents. i think her independence will take her far in life. "be-gob" on with your bad self, little hazel.
(i felt pressured to not use capital letters because your all low caps looks cool)

kaw said...

yea hazel!!!

Kelly Sauer said...

yes, take this time to remember. it is so necessary. I'm five weeks in to having them both here. My Piper grew up in five hours. The shock was great. Good for you, treasuring this time...

Nana said...

You're so right! This grandparent finds this post fascinating and wonderful! I often find myself smiling just thinking about sweet Hazel. What a blessing she is! Can't wait to see her and meet the new one soon.

kym brinkley said...

I love it, gin. I absolutely love your narrative of life with hazel. thanks for sharing. a beautiful depiction, and oh how lovely little ones are for showing us life lived fully.
I cannot wait to meet your new little one!
love you, friend.
:)

Lynn said...

What a precious post! You are so wrong in the fact that only the two of you and grandparents would love this post. For those of us that have grown children it brings back so many wonderful memories. I have followed your post from Eliott on to Hazel and looking forward to baby # 3. Many prayers have gone up for your family. You guys have ministered to me through your maturity and honesty as you have written on your post.

AW said...

I have to second Lynn's comments. I love reading about Hazel and can't wait to hear about #3.

All of us think our kids are always the special ones. More so than anyone else's kids. And that's why God gave them to us...because He knew we'd fan that flame of individuality in the ones that He needs to Glorify Him in only ways they can.

Elle2702 said...

I love how you are describing Hazel's birth and talking about her first moments and her first cry. As a mom with two in the bed and two in heaven...As I was pregnant I could not get that nagging it might not be ok feeling to go away until I heard my child cry at birth. I had hoped he would not need oxygen and I wanted him to give a robust cry. He did and it was wonderful! When his sister entered the world, I remember her cry less, but I know she did. I also remember the LARGE sense of relief in hearing it. I know that you compare each birth to the first. As I know you will too. Each one is a multiplying blessing. Each one is drastically different.
Blessings and I will be praying you hear that sweet robust crying baby soon.

Heely said...

Im not in any way family, but I LOVE reading about Hazel and can't wait to read about #3. Your blog is the first thing I read every morning. I read over and over alot of the posts about Eliot, too. Feeling your pain over Eliot forced me to look at my boys as God intended me to -as gifts from Him. Not crumbsnatchers to hurry out of the nest. Indirectly my sons have you and Ginny to thank for a Mama who adores them. And who tells them she adores them. My family thanks you. And I thank you.

prashant said...

i love that you celebrate all the crazy stuff...y'all are great parents

Work from home India

how to ollie said...

Excellent post and writing style. Bookmarked.