Kelly and Miss. B

Now that we are almost six months into this parenting thing, there are a couple of observations that I have to make.

First, Kelly and Bailey are SO SIMILAR!!! Really. Sure, Bailey may look like me and she may have my temperment, but her Mommy is her hero and it shows. Bailey just lights up when Kelly is around. In fact, she smiles and giggles at her in a way that is just amazing. Even in the little things it's obvious...like, they both play with their hair the same way. At night, we all snuggle on the bed. I hold Bailey while I am giving her a final bottle. She's usually very tired at this point, having just come out of a warm bath and being snuggled in her PJ's. She curls up into my arms and Kelly curls up beside me. The last few nights, I have watched them and they both just lay back and run their fingers through their hair as they space out. Kelly saw me watching the other night and noticed that I was trying not to laugh. She saw what was happening and got the most beautiful smile on her face.

Second observation - what I expected didn't happen. LOL - that's loaded and it's very true...but what I'm actually talking about is in the way that we parent. I really did expect that I would be the easy one (the "nurturer" as my mother-in-law put it). But that isn't what happened. Honestly, Kelly is the person that Bailey needs when she needs to be calm and relax. She is the easy going, light-hearted one with Bailey. Don't get me wrong, Bailey and I snuggle and love each other all the time. But for Kelly and Bailey, it's a sacred thing.

Third observation - I apparently can't dress Bailey. Kelly hates my clothing choices for her! LOL - yesterday, I put her in a gray onsie with a pair of orange sweatpants. She made fun of me!!!! I thought it looked fine. LOL - there is no doubt that I am NOT the most fashion focused girl and I would even call myself tacky. But I didn't realize it was THAT bad...LOL!

Fourth observation - Bailey loves playing in her high chair with non-toys. In fact, this is the only thing that will keep her occupied for longer than 10 minutes. Put the girl in her high chair with some wooden spoons, some condiment cups, some measuring cups and measuring spoons and she is a seriously happy girl! She'll pick one up, spend some time tasting it and then put it down and select another. She just keeps picking up a different item when she is bored with the first one. I think she likes that she can see what is happening in the house - she is "tall" enough to see what is going on, but has something to do with her hands.

Final observation - our little girl has a shoe fetish. She really does. Of course, she's had interest in her feet and toes the way that any little baby does. But during the weekend that her Nana and Pappy Dale were in town, she literally spent a long time licking Pappy Dale's sneakers. Gross, I know...but have you ever tried to stop a determined infant from doing something? We thought it was just a weird fluke...but last weekend she attacked little Danny's shoes with the same frenzy. In order to get her to leave his feet alone, we had to give her one of her new sneakers. She spent about a half hour eating the shoe. LOL - the girl has a shoe fetish.