GIRLS

here i am, keeping my promise to talk about my giirrrllzzzz. let me just say that the *sisterhood* has begun. amelia knows EXACTLY what to do with adeline to really piss her off...& adeline knows how to sorta do the look-n-push (you know, no adults looking, now i can push my little sister). then there are the other moments when amelia is starting to bother adeline, but instead of getting upset adeline decides to appease her sister & give her whatever toy it is amelia is after. THEN there are the times when they are giddy-happy with each other, like they have just found their best friend for life (which i hope they have; i have found my sister irreplaceable!). so the first picture is of wes roughhousing with the gals, which they *love*.

as you can see, amelia is being tossed upside down, as addy is clapping & waiting her turn on the couch. see, *this* is why we opted to buy the less expensive couch years ago. (you don't even want to know what bodily fluids & warm milk, etc that this couch has been wiped clean of). anyway, on this particular night, adeline was crawling behind amelia, chasing her...both girls squealing with laughter. soon enough they will be running after each other, eh?

wrestling in the princess tent. this is how it went: amelia tried to climb up the sides, knocking the tent over, adeline gets a pouty face for all of 1 second. adeline then pushes the tent back upright, knocking amelia to the ground & then she will roll or pull or do whatever it takes to get amelia sitting upright again as well. only a few boo-boo's were had.

SO...

this was playtime...dress up with gram mum (my mom was not dressed up, btw). how many hats can one girl wear? *smile* BUT the next morning, addy comes sprinting downstairs with *only* the superwoman dress & bumblebee headband on. we DO have a hard time keeping clothes on her...

so if you've been around addy at bed time, you know she is head over heels in love with her teddy bear, aka little bear.
this is a shot of her lovin' on little bear circa august, 2007.
BUT, according to adeline this past week, little bear smelled like 'pooPP'. she would give her a sniff & say pooPP with a look of disgust, but would then give little bear a hug, as if to say 'little bear, even though you smell like pooPP i still love you.' geez oh man, it's only taken us about 2 months to convince adeline that little bear was in dire need of a bath (laundered)...finally, little bear does not smell like pooPP. we were a bit hesitant to take little bear down to the basement to get bathed b/c the last time adeline followed me with wes thinking i knew she was behind me & me not knowing she was behind me & then adeline fell 6 feet from the basement steps onto concrete (that was a week before christmas?). soo... we were happy *she* suggested the bath this time.

AND...it's amelia's birthday party tomorrow!
her birthday isn't until august 26th but the park we wanted to rent for the party wasn't available except for tomorrow, so, amelia is lucky to have an early birthday party. AND i didn't plan it. can you believe that my sister & mom planned her 1st birthday party...you know, from cake to hats to decorations, etc. my mother in law made some scrumptious side dishes & another amazingly adorable tutu...the theme is butterfly amelia. we *will* have pictures, no worries. (i may even finally slip in my hair cut picture...i've gotten some good reviews so far. my mother in law even thought i had a weave put in, that's how good my stylist is {i do not have a weave})... the point of this line of thinking: MY BABY IS TURNING 1 SOON?! where did the past year go?

if i were to close my eyes & tell myself 'you're 8 1/2 months pregnant with j2 {our name for baby #2, junior 2 = j2}, just finished hovering over the grimy toilet, then drank a ginger ale to keep the rest down' OR i could place myself in the delivery room at st. ann's hospital, trying to keep myself from yelling at my 3rd nurse who was an idiot & in some severe back labor pains OR i could be holding our freshly new wee-tiny amelia anne gerbick (to we gerbickians, a 6.7 baby is wee tiny, even though my twin nieces were below the 5 pound mark, still...) thinking i'm so glad labor is over, why didn't nurse #5 believe i was ready to push *thought shift* i am in love with this wee baby, she's so tiny & snugly OR i could place myself in week #5 of amelia's life, when she wouldn't stop crying & vomiting & wrenching her tiny body around after eating & i can feel the frustration of not knowing what is wrong (GERD & some sort of allergy to some unidentified food in my breast milk) & then i can place myself also in that wee #5 crying & crying b/c amelia loved formula more than my breast milk & also b/c my engorged breasts HURT LIKE HELL & i felt guilt & guilt & guilt wash over me b/c my reflux baby was on medicine & formula & i felt like a failure OR i could place myself around month 4 1/2 when life started to calm down a bit & a bumpy rhythm was found with both girls & i was getting all these wonderful snuggles from this gorgeous baby...

i could go on & on. this year has been *so hard* on many different levels. i don't think i have EVER gone to so many doctor's appointments in a year as this past year. my freakin goodness. it was like we lived with medical professionals, ya know? anyway, it was a hard year, but here we are, content, happy, in love with each other (all of us). i will remember that this year taught me to trust my medicinal instinct. i knew around week 3 that amelia had reflux & food allergies when the doc said try a different position for burping her (??); i knew that adeline had food allergies before the doctor confirmed it via blood tests; i knew that my weird host of symptoms was not 'hormonal' but something more serious {i did *not* think a brain tumor, though, lol}, i mean, i could go on & on about our medical woes, but... in quick verse: parents, trust your gut.

oh my, i must go to bed. yes, 10:15 p.m. is LATE for me.