:::pocket:::

1. for the first day(s) that you're around her, she will. not. smile at you. you will either get a perturbed glare, or a stone cold, spine chilling, i'm-watching-you-don't-mess-with-me, stare.

{hours later, and the glare has only just begun to soften}

2. mama had a rough start in life with her breathing, so she has to have regular breathing treatments and an inhaler. it's such a part of her daily life that she doesn't fight it. i had to give her the inhaler one day and i was afraid that she was going to freak out, but as soon as she saw it she sat still, i put it over her nose and mouth, pumped it, and she started taking deep breaths to inhale the medicine. it's so sad. someone that little shouldn't know how to take medicine so efficiently.

{sarah giving her a breathing treatment as mama sits patiently}

3. she will feed herself at every meal. you will not interfere with her. she will have the same, exact meal that everyone else is eating.


she will throw her plate on the floor at breakfast. she will start screaming bloody murder. you will spend 10 minutes trying to figure our what's wrong, until you finally realize that she saw you putting extra syrup on her brother's pancakes without giving her any. you will give her more syrup. she will stop crying.


4. she is very good at feeding herself. she uses a spoon and fork as well as her older brother (she had moved on to using her hands in the pudding picture above).

5. sometimes after taking a nap, she gets this awesome, puffy hair do.


6. she has to be near her mother, or be being held by her mother, almost every waking minute of the day. it's taxing for all involved, but especially for the mother.

{again, she may have spaghetti on her forehead, but you will not interfere with her}

7. she doesn't have any security items that she has to have with her at all times. wait, i forgot about the mother! ha, ha!

8. she's tiny, tiny, tiny. so small, so doll like. they call her little polly pocket.

9. she doesn't fuss during diaper changes, as she prefers to be clean. after she is done eating, she lifts up her hands for you to come and wipe them off. when the kids were in the shower one night she almost jumped out of my arms because she was so eager to be in there.

10. she snores just a little bit because of her breathing problems.

11. she has curly hair, and we think it's going to stay that way.


12. she didn't like me until my second-to-last day there. at that point she not only acknowledged my presence, but i was actually a suitable stand-in for the mother on a few occasions (but only for five minutes).

13. my last night there, she let me put her hair in a bun. it was so cute it almost broke my heart.


14. she is constantly taking off her shoes.

15. unless she is having a fit, she is almost completely silent. she isn't a babbling baby.

16. she has the cutest diaper bootie.


17. she is the third grandchild, the second niece, the one that pushed the envelope past a tiny little brood into the realms of Family with a capital 'F'. she drive us all to distraction. she makes you want to cry, run away, give up, hide in a closet, pull out your hair...oh, mama. i love her so. she is so adorable. we can't wait (we think) until she grows up.