The Cutest Little Baby This Side of the Mississippi

Little Baby Gonzo (a blog name has been decided! Finally!) is the sweetest little baby. Ever. She is also the best baby. Ever. Hands down. She rarely cries, is smiley and happy almost all the time, and when she's not busy smiling, she's sleeping.

One of her favorite things to do is have tummy time, which she is infinitely better at than her older sister. I am amazed at how strong this little two-month-old is. She is supporting her head by herself almost all of the time.



And to prove just how cute and smiley she is, here's one of her in her favorite place - the changing table. (I'm not sure why she likes it so much, but Gizmo loved it, too. I can't decide if it's the elevation or the window that she likes the best.) Her hair is growing so fast, I think she might need a haircut before her four-month checkup.

I'm Questioning Whether or Not She is My Daughter

Last weekend Mitch made a late-night run to the Dairy Queen for some blizzards and Mr. Misty freezes. (I know that they are now called the "Arctic Freeze", but refuse to call them that. They will always be a Mr. Misty to me.) He also picked up a dish of vanilla ice cream for Gizmo. The next day for a snack she had the first half of it, and kept saying "cooooold" when she ate it. When she went for the second half the following day, she took one bite and said, "no ice cream". When asked what she wanted for a snack, she said, "Cheddar Bunnies, no ice cream."

How is that possible?

The Month In Pictures

Her First Label By the Educational System

Gizmo attends an Early Childhood class once a week through our school district. She loves it. She enjoys playing with all of the different toys, and has taken an interest in the art projects as of late. Her teachers are wonderful and caring, and I love that I am able to take her since I am on maternity leave. It is fun to watch her interact with other children and compare her to them, to see if she is on par with her peers.

That said, the last few classes have not gone well because the class is one where parents stay for the first half of class, then leave the room for the rest. On the first day of separation, Gizmo screamed and cried so much that the lead teacher had me come back into the room. (She was the only child in the class that behaved this way.) The next week, I stayed in the room during separation time and left for the last five minutes. During those five minutes, she melted down, standing by the door screaming, "Open the door!". Distracting her has proven useless. Every class has been this way since then. Today she made a little bit of a stride, as her crying was not ramped up to a 10 for the entire time.

During snack time today, I was talking with her teacher, and she asked me if Gizmo was persistent in every aspect of her life. At times, she can be very persistent. At the grocery store on Saturday, she was determined to put her mouth on the shopping cart handle. (Ew!) (Don't worry, I had sanitized it, but still, ew!) She didn't have a tantrum, but it took a good three or four minutes to convince her that it was too dirty to put her mouth on. Other times, she can be distracted to another activity for a while. On the way home from class today, she wanted to read her Elmo and Grover book, but it was on the floor and I could not reach it while driving. I was able to keep her calm by singing various songs, but once we stopped singing, she wanted the book again. The teacher said to me, "I know how difficult it can be to raise a persistent, intense child - my daughter is one as well."

Persistent? Intense? Did she just label my kid?

Not that I'm mad about it, of course. She is persistent. She can be intense at times. I think part of the reason is because she has a memory like an elephant. The girl remembers things forever. Today while combing her hair after her bath, she was talking about "Cawi", our hairdresser, and what color of combs she had at her booth. She's only been there once to get her hair cut, and that was in February. But she still remembers. Another teacher today said that because her verbal skills are so good, she can get easily frustrated when she wants something ("Open the door!" for me to come in), but she does not get what she wants, because she knows that people understand her.

I can only hope that her persistence and intensity will help her in her life as she works towards her goals. As for her life as a toddler, I don't think that will make life easy.

Spring Is.....Here?

Yesterday as Gizmo and I drove to her early childhood class, I caught the first whiff of freshly-cut grass. It smelled glorious!

Then I saw the man cutting the grass, who was bundled up in full winter gear, as the temperature was just barely above freezing.

Spring, please arrive here soon!