Do you remember Y2K? Many people were concerned that all the computers in the world would spontaneously implode at midnight on New Year's Eve, because their internal clocks weren't programmed for a year larger than 1999. Do you think we wondered whether it was safe to bring a brand new baby into such a world? No, instead we rented a Ryder truck!
The Girl was born at 10:34 p.m. at 10lbs., 12oz. December 21st was also my Nana's birthday, so it was nice to share. Her birth was somewhat dramatic, and she entered the world a very purpley shade of blue. Like many "larger" babies she had low blood sugar, and because of the drama she wasn't breathing well, so they put her in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit.
In the NICU, she was the biggest baby they had ever had! The nurses had to go the the pediatrics floor to get diapers and clothes to fit her, since they were used to premies.
It all turned out just fine though and she came home at 3 days like most newborns. The only problem was, we'd been mistakenly informed that she might be a boy!
Drama continued in her life, as she spent only 10 days in her first home. On day 3 there, her loving older (18 months old) sister reached up to look into her bed (a suitcase) on top of the dresser (I know! Not too smart!) since we were in the middle of moving. She tipped the suitcase and the baby over, onto the floor! I heard one loud cry from the baby, and a panicked cry from the toddler, and rushed into the bedroom. Lifting the pillow and suitcase from the baby, I found her sleeping peacefully on the floor, right where she had fallen. I was frightened and kept checking her for damage, but she never felt a thing. As it turned out, she had a penchant for crashing.
By day 5 at home, we were wondering when she was going to wake up and start crying. This baby seemed to sleep all the time! On her 10th day of life, I got onto a plane with these two precious girls, leaving their father and grandfather to pack a moving truck and bring it all the NY. Both girls slept the entire plane ride! What a mercy for Mom! her middle name is Butterfly, and if we'd stayed where we were, I feel quite sure she would have been called that all her life, it got so much attention.
Our new home was at a Christian camp where we worked. I worked part-time for a couple of months and then full-time, and Grandma was there in the afternoons with the girls. During the summer, when camp was in session, they had a babysitter. Consequently, I don't have many pictures of this particular season of life.She's cute though, with big blues eyes and a bald head. She was a thumb-sucker, so she slept well and long. When she was tired, which was often, she would rub
That's about when the crashing started. I could fill a photo album with pictures of black eyes, fat lips and dented foreheads, all her own. At one point I took her to the eye doctor to make sure she didn't have a vision problem, such a depth perception. (If you're wondering, you can do this simple test at home: hold up a paper towel tube and ask her to stick both fingers into the ends at once. If she overshoots, there's a problem.) She was fine though; what she lacked was risk aversion and luck. We visited urgent care and the emergency room several times, for household accidents of various sorts, and called poison control at least twice (she ate Vicks Vap-o-rub, which is dangerous in large quantities, and drank hydrogen peroxide, which is not)! In spite of herself she made it to her second birthday, and managed to sprout some hair, too!We bought a house when she was 3, where she crashed down the basement stairs and broke her arm above the elbow, requiring surgery. Shortly after that she crashed her bike on the same arm, leaving a huge scar. After that, the crashing seems to have slowed down. We sold that house after 5 years, and in quick succession she obtained addresses 6, 7, 8, 9 10 and 11. That's an average of once per year!
Home schooling began after 2nd grade, and move 6. I never realized until I brought them home how much it would change our relationship. I think I know them better and have insights into their personalities and needs because they don't spent 8 hours or more per day in someone else's care. This led to some discoveries about the Girl's work style! She never had a hard time in school, and at home we are still figuring out how to make it work. She's truly a people person in that regard because she wants me to do everything with her.
This beautiful young lady is mine?! She would rather do something distasteful with a group of people, than be left alone. She's a morning person who can't hide her exhaustion in the evening, but she hates to go to bed if everyone else is still up. She's a cookie baker, likes her room neat, and loves to help put the Little Princess down for naps and wake her up again. As far as school work goes, making connections between words seems to be her thing, and she inspired me to add Latin to her curriculum last year.This summer, she found a new hobby, though it still involves some crashing:
We hope she'll be testing for her Yellow 2 belt in tae kwon do soon. She goes to lessons several days a week. She's been baking and selling cookies, returning bottles and cans, and rolling change to make money for her own lessons while we go through a rough patch. I'm so proud of her for finding something she enjoys that is all her own, and working so hard to make it happen.
In the crazy all-around-the Northeast life that we have led, one never knows what a year will bring. Some possibilities for the new year: oral surgery and braces? Another move, this time out of the country? Probably another 5 inches in growth, making her taller than me? She'd like some more friends, since we seem to be settling down for a few months.
Happy Birthday, Girl. Can't wait to see what the year brings.
Your family is so blessed to have this young lady in your life. Thank you for sharing her So Far story with us. (My little girl waited a couple of years to get hair, too, and also has a tendency to get into physical trouble. Correlation??)
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