This whole parenting thing is still a bit surreal. Now that it's been 4 months, you'd think it would seem normal, but I still find myself wondering how my life has suddenly become consumed by this other little life. I think, what's this cute baby doing in my house? Sometimes it feels so slow and still, this new lifestyle- but other times it feels too fast to grasp.
We just got back from vacation. I had a moment on the beach of Lake Michigan that was so beautiful, it was almost too much to take. Adelaide was laying on her back kicking and looking up at Grant with sheer delight. These adorable little baby laughs were bubbling over and spilling into the air. The sunset sky was my favorite shade of blazing orangeish-pink with florescent lavender stripes. I wanted to eat it, it looked so good. On top of all of that, was the perfect breeze. How is one supposed to handle all of that goodness?
I go from moments like those, where I am filled with awe and don't want her to grow any bigger, back to the sleepy cycles of laundry and diapers and feedings (repeat x infinity). I sometimes wake up and can't quite remember when I last fed her, or what time it is, or who I am or what I thought I wanted to do with my life. In those moments, I wish she would grow faster... just enough so she could sleep a little longer, or pick up her own pacifier when she drops it. So it's weird. It feels odd to realize this is my life now- like it's so wonderful and so mundane at the same time.
One thing I didn't expect when we were choosing a name for her is all of the trouble people would have understanding what her name is. I have always thought of Adelaide as a classic type of name that maybe people don't hear that often, but that people are familiar with... but this is the conversation I have several times a week:
Person: What's your baby's name?
Me: Adelaide
Person: Natalie?
Me: No, Adelaide
Person: Adelie?
Me: No, Adelaide
Person: Adelayne?
Me: Yeah...kind of.
(then said person proceeds to refer to her as Adeline). It's like the painting I made that's hanging in our house that is NOT a flower. If one more person says they like my flower painting or calls my baby Adeline, I just might snap (I figure this is fair warning). Come on people!!! It's AdeLAIDE- like lemonADE, like the city in Australia, like the song by John Cale, and like your Grandma's friend!
Great Blog! I like your story about the beach. It reminds me of the time (1998) that you and your sisters were playing at a beach on the Oregon coast. We had stopped to explore one last park before heading back to Iowa. It was a sunny day and we were the only ones at the beach. The tide was low and there was a huge expanse of sandy shoreline. The breakers were crashing a few hundred yards from us and a cool mist was rising off the wet sand creating fog. The three of you were running and laughing. I remember wishing that I could stop time and keep you all right there --- safe and happy - no problems, no worries. At that moment -- everything seemed perfect!
ReplyDeleteyes yes yes. i agree with all of it and know what you mean about the name. with saela they always think, shayla, salem, sailor (the list goes on and on). and everett, it's evan, emmett, everest...everything but everett. i understand saela but everett? not that difficult and neither is adelaide.
ReplyDeletep.s.
did i ever tell you that i LOVE her name. it's amazing. so beautiful.