Dear Naima, 6 months old
9:56 p.m. on October 30, 2006
my darling baby girl,
you're now 6 months young. time just keeps racing by and you are growing just as fast. i keep thinking, slow it down, mother time, i want to savour every little bit of my baby girl.
you now weigh 19lbs but, trust me, it feels more like 30lbs! abuelita's arms are in constant pain thanks to your little chunky butt. and you're measuring at 29in long. yup, that's right, you're as heavy and long as a 1yr old, according to the doc's stats. i guess you want to be amazon woman!
we've been having pictures moments like crazy around here. mommy has the cutest little muse, of course! i'm still trying to figure out this camera but i am learning. personally, i think you look cute in any light, but i am biased.
and, of course, we had to photographically document halloween of 2006.
you look absolutely gorgeous in your costume. yes, this is mommy being biased again but i can't help it! and you've gotten quite comfortable in front of the camera!
the minute we sat you down you gave that big bright smile we love so much.
i fall in love with you just a little bit more every time i see you smile or hear laugh. i forget all about the sleepless nights and the crazying crying tantrums you're already dishing out when you don't get your way. yea, your smiles and laughs are something powerful! so much so that they really get us talking about another baby around here.
tomorrow is halloween and we're going all out. when before daddy and i would turn off all the lights and hide inside watching tv, this year it's all the opposite. you will be dressed up in your little "flower child" outfit and we'll be sitting outside passing out candies to the neighborhood kiddos. daddy plans on welcoming them in his anikan-star-wars-dude costume. it should be fun and i can't wait to see you enjoy your first halloween. if halloween is this much fun i just can't wait for christmas!
now, i think it's important to note the other "cute" things you're doing now. temper tantrums. they're cute right now but i'm beginning to see the cuteness will quickly wear off. you have got to have it your way and fast. there's no other way but yours and it just can't happen fast enough for you. it's all about you and what you want and it all better be done right away and meet your specifications. crazy!
it started off with your bottle. at the start of a hunger pain it's a panic to get you fed fast or else it's a cry-fest with screeching high-pitched screams. and the minute you get your bottle into your mouth and the feeding begins you're blissfully happy again.
that was cute the first few times but it's starting to scare me now.
if it were only that i'd be fine but that's not the only time you throw your crazy bratty celebrity tantrum. you do it when you're sleepy. when i put you down and you want to be held. when we put you in your car seat and you don't want to be strapped down. when you're not the focus of our attention. basically, you do it every time something is not being done as you like it.
as i said, scary!
i do hope this is just "a phase" as they say. or maybe i'm getting pay-back for all those times i said to myself man, that's kid's a brat! in my mind every time i saw a show like that at the store.
oh please don't be that kid, baby girl. i always thought i would be my mother's example of a mother when it came to discipline but i don't think i can do it. it's so hard for me to tell you no or to hear you cry. i know all about what they say...don't give in...be firm...be the disciplined and discipline when necessary...but that's easier said than done for me. daddy has already said he'll take over in that department because he isn't having any of the tantrums...ever. i just never thought i would be one of those mommy's with the ever-ready phrase of, just wait 'till your daddy comes home!
maybe i'll change and see things differently. maybe i'll grow a backbone when it comes time to discipline you. or beter yet, maybe you'll change and those tantrum tiraids will be a thing of the past soon!
something tells me i shouldn't count on the later of the two.
love,
your backbone-less mommy
