Summertime and the Living's Easy

Emmalee and I have really managed to start our summer off with a bang.  We’ve been running ourselves ragged for the past couple of weeks.  I honestly feel more exhausted when I finally crawl into bed at night now than I did while I was working.  Though, admittedly, I’m having quite a bit more fun.  Due to either the busy schedule or possibly just a summertime haze that has invaded my brain, I’m finding it impossible to write a decent blog.  So forgive me for the subpar quality that follows.

I have been literally dragging my poor little toddler all over town in the 90+ degree Florida heat because I hate just sitting at home with her (despite the thousands of dollars worth of toys we have to entertain ourselves).  Here is a brief recap of where we’ve been, what we thought (okay, maybe just what I’ve thought), and whether or not we’d do it again.

Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon/Blizzard Beach

I have mentioned these water parks previously in my spring break blog, but since we’ve been frequenting them so much this summer I thought I’d mention them again.  I was initially unsure about how Emmalee would do at a place like this, but it turns out that she seems to enjoy herself.  I have an annual pass and Emma gets in free, so this is a fun place to spend a couple of hours.  Sometimes we go with others and sometimes it’s just me and Emma.  Either way we have fun splashing around in the kid area, sliding down the kid friendly water slides and relaxing in the lazy river.  I’ve found its best to get there when the park opens at 9 and then head home by about 12:30 or 1 to avoid Emma’s Oscar worthy meltdowns.  She is usually sound asleep before we’ve even left the parking lot.  We bring lunch and Emma has a blast running in and out of the water and keeping the pool clean by finding any leaf, pebble or trash floating in the water and yelling “No!” while picking up and then handing the intruding debris to me so that it can be disposed of properly.  (Or dropped back into the water once she turns her back.  Whatever.) 

Leu Gardens

I was really excited to bring Emmalee to the butterfly garden here.  I envisioned an enclosed space filled with hundreds of butterflies and beautiful flowers where the photo ops would be numerous and exquisite.  Instead I found a so-so garden, a handful of butterflies that were gone before you could really get a good look, and a stifling, breezeless heat that made for a pretty miserable time.  Emma did get to see some turtles and a frog, but I do not feel that we got our admission fee’s worth.  I will not go back.

Chuck E. Cheese’s

We went here with some friends as soon as the place opened on a weekday, so it was pretty deserted.  The nice thing about bringing a fifteen month old to Chuck E. Cheese’s is that there is no need to purchase tokens.  Emmalee is happy enough just to sit in the vehicles, push the buttons and watch the blinking lights.  She doesn’t need for anything to be moving and she doesn’t realize the games aren’t actually functioning.  We were able to spend some time entertained in an air-conditioned environment for free, so I’d say the trip was successful. 

Monkey Joe’s

This is a place filled with a variety of inflated bounce houses and slides.  There are some toddler areas for children three and under, but I still ended up feeling like Emmalee is a little young for this.  She loves to bounce and flop all over my bed at home, so I had high hopes for Moneky Joe’s.  But Emmalee was more amused by the colored carpet squares and bright blue plastic chairs than she was with trying to navigate the unstable, bouncy surfaces.  I was also surprised that all children pay the same admission fee regardless of age.  If there was a lesser fee for children two and under, I might be a little more eager to return.  Though Emma did have fun, I kind of feel like we didn’t really get our money’s worth.  This is a place that I think Emmalee will love next summer, but this summer she just isn’t quite ready.

The Peabody Hotel’s Duck March

While Googling for things to do with Emma over the summer, I discovered that the Peabody Hotel has a twice daily event in which ducks are marched down a red carpet to a fountain where they are fed.  Emmalee loves ducks.  Specifically, she loves to quack loudly at them.  I was really excited to take her to this and she ended up loving it.  While waiting for the march to begin I had a very difficult time keeping Emma off of the red carpet.  But once those ducks made their appearance she was transfixed.  At first she just seemed to be in awe that real live and actual ducks were before her.  After watching for a few moments though, she began quacking away.  The whole event only takes about twenty minutes, but it was definitely fun and something that we would do again. 

Toys R Us/Target

Toys R Us might not seem like a summer destination, but it really is.  Emma and I go and spend an hour or two walking around the entire store.  We browse, we read books, we play with the Thomas train table.  Emma visits the stuffed animals and pushes the buttons on the electronic toys that light up and make noise.  It’s another air-conditioned place to kill some time.  Admittedly, I usually end up purchasing something, so I cannot say that it’s free.  At Target we have a similar tradition.  Emma also thinks it’s funny to scream “No!” and run in the opposite direction from me when we’re shopping.  I set a great example by then chasing after her and grabbing her with an exuberant “Gotcha!”  She laughs so hard at this that she gets hiccups.  The employees and normal people in the store probably don’t appreciate us treating these retail havens as our own personal playground, and I’ll probably regret engaging in this behavior with her someday too, but for now I’m enjoying the moment.

This ended up being really long, so if you’ve actually read the whole thing then go you!  A gold star is in order.  Emmalee and I have been busy but we’ve still got a lot of summer to go.  I’ll be sure to share again in another epically long, poorly written ramble for your reading enjoyment.

Social Butterfly

Emmalee stopped letting anyone other than Mommy or Grammy come near her at about four or five months old.  People could look at her, as long as they only did it briefly and from a safe distance.  Touching was completely out.  And if someone tried to hold her, Emma had a complete emotional breakdown.  This was kind of cute for a minute or two, but it quickly got old.  For one, it was frustrating to be in a room full of people and still unable to go to the bathroom without taking the baby with me.  And two, I felt really badly for the people who wanted to get close to her.  It was kind of embarrassing that my baby was such a clingy mess that no one could come within two feet of her without causing hysterics.  I don’t know what caused Emmalee to behave this way, and I really had no idea what to do about it. 

Recently, though, I’ve been noticing changes in Emmalee.  She is becoming much more interactive with the people around her.  Though she is not yet ready to let others hold her, she will now regularly make eye contact and will offer smiles, even to total strangers.  Last week we were in Lenscrafters and Emma was flirting with a man who she’d never seen before.  There is really no other word to describe the giggling, the peeking, the bashful grins she was flashing his way.  It was cute, but left me completely shocked.  Who stole my anxious, reclusive daughter and replaced her with this social butterfly?  This morning Emma didn’t even cry when I left her in the care of my father to go to work, something she’s done every time I’ve left her with him since we started this arrangement in January.  Who is this child?!

I am thrilled because, though I may be a bit biased, I find Emma to be an adorably engaging little person.  Now it seems as if others will be able to enjoy her larger-than-life personality right along with me.  I am more than ready and excited to share her with the world… or, rather, close friends and family members and maybe an occasional patron of Lenscrafters.

Emma is walking.  She’s saying some words.  She’s feeding herself table food.  She’s going to sleep on her own with barely a protest.  She’s taking (some) things in stride.  It’s like she’s becoming a little person right before my eyes.  I am so proud of her and of all the things she does to amaze me every day. 

Bizarre Encounters

Women have babies at all different ages and in a variety of different situations.  Whether a new mom is 16 and still in high school or 39 with a steady career, there is one thing that they will all inevitably have in common, which is that they will never truly be prepared.  No matter how old you are, no matter how many books you’ve read or Google searches you’ve done, becoming a new mom will always be harder than you thought it would be.  And I say this as someone who was lucky enough to have a relatively “easy” newborn.  Nothing can prepare you for the exhaustion.  You might think you know what it means to be tired, but you will never know real, true, bone-crushing, mind-numbing fatigue until you’ve cared for an infant for several weeks.  It is also impossible to understand the overwhelming responsibility of holding a completely helpless little life in your hands until you are there.  Babies don’t know anything, and as a mom it becomes your job to do everything for them and to teach them everything they’ll ever need to know about anything.  It is a daunting task. 

The thing that I was most unprepared for, however, was taking my baby out in public.  I’ve found that walking through a store with a baby in your arms is equivalent to walking through a store while wearing a sandwich board that reads “Please violate my personal space and abandon all normal social boundaries when interacting with me” while ringing a loud bell.  In other words, you draw attention to yourself.  And as someone who prefers as little attention as possible, this definitely took some getting used to.  Most people are kind and will simply gush over your baby for a few minutes (or sometimes for an awkwardly long amount of time), seemingly so excited just to witness the new little life you’ve created.  There are others though who seem to think that since you’ve so carelessly brought your baby into their line of vision then you must be simply begging them to stop you and critique every parenting decision you’ve ever made. 

Emmalee is not a fan of napping.  In fact, she dislikes it so much that she will often fuss and cry until she falls asleep.  This happens whether we are at home or out and about.  One such time at Wal-Mart Emmalee was in my arms, overtired and in desperate need of a nap.  While she cried I bounced and shushed her, knowing that within a few minutes she would give in and sleep.  A woman approached with a look of pure horror on her face and demanded, “What’s wrong with your baby?!”  Being the kind and non-confrontational person that I am, I simply answered, “She’s just tired.”  The woman proceeded to give me a look that clearly said I must be the most moronic person to have ever taken care of a baby and she seemed to be using every ounce of self control she could muster to restrain herself from ripping the baby from my undeserving arms.  Because anyone with any sense knows that babies never cry just because they are tired, right? 

Getting older is strange.  With each year that goes by I find myself thinking “I don’t feel older.”  Well, apparently I don’t look older either.  Someday I might view it as a good thing that people think I look young, but at the moment it is rather irritating to be mistaken for a 17 year old.  Especially now that I have a baby in tow.  Before Christmas I took Emmalee to get her picture taken with Santa.  Due to Emmalee’s fear of anyone that isn’t Mommy or Grammy, I chose to have this done at a portrait studio that would work with us to get a good shot.  Santa came out to introduce himself and to see how Emmalee would react.  He said his hellos to the baby and then asked her, “And who is this holding you?”  When I answered Mommy I thought he might faint from the shock.  He proclaimed that I was way too young to be her mom.  I proceeded to explain that I am 26 years old to which Santa replied, “Well I thought you were only 17!”  This exchange was rude for a variety of reasons, but the main one being what if I was only 17?  Come on, Santa.  You’ve got to brush up on your people skills a bit.

Emmalee has chunky feet.  Due to this it is very difficult to find shoes that fit properly and that will actually stay on her.  One day in the Dollar Tree a woman approached and exclaimed in an absolutely flabbergasted manner, “Doesn’t your baby have any shoes?!”  First of all, we are in the Dollar Tree.  Maybe she doesn’t have any shoes.  Are you offering to buy her some?  If so, Target is right around the corner and I’m totally jonesing for a trip.  Secondly, I know she looks like she’s two, but she’s only 10 months and she isn’t walking yet.  Is it really that big of a deal for her to just wear socks when she’s being carried?  And lastly, mind your own (insert choice of obscenity here) business!  What makes you think that you have the right to question the choices I make for my child?  Oh right, I wandered into your direct line of sight, didn’t I?  My fault!

These are just a few of the absolutely bizarre encounters I’ve had while venturing out into public places with Emmalee.  While I try not to let these things affect me, I will admit that I go to great lengths to keep Emma from crying when we’re out to avoid the “look at that teenager without a clue” glances.  I also carry Emma’s shoes around in the diaper bag religiously, even though I have no intention of putting them on her.  And I’m very seriously considering having a shirt made that reads “I am 26, married, I have a college degree and I own a home” and wearing it every time I leave the house.  Emmalee will have a matching shirt that says “Yes, I do own several pairs of shoes.”  You know, just to let people know.