Awesome Avery

OK, deep breath....back to normal.  Kinda.

I needed a happy post and a kitchen spill this morning gave me the perfect topic: my gorgeous little girl, Avery (I'll 'splain).

Quick birth story...  I actually went into labor with Avery while visiting my newborn niece, Riley, and her mom in the hospital.  Well, I lost my mucous plug and the contractions were noticeable.  (Did I gross you out?  Good.  It's a MOM blog, for goodness sake; of COURSE I'm going to talk about that stuff!)  But the contractions were far apart and irregular, so we went home, went to bed and assumed it was another (after 3 already) false alarm.  The next day, I couldn't pee and the contractions were still there, if still irregular.  Called the doc, they said I was dilating and to head to the hospital.  Went to the hospital, they hooked me up to stuff I didn't want hooked up to.  Epidural ran out, second one was screwed up, third (yes third) only kinda sorta worked.  After 26 hours, I was only 7.5 cm dilated (from the 4 when I checked in) and they pushed for a c-section.  Funny thing is, she apparently dropped while I was waiting for the OR.  She was so low, the doctor cut her nose during the incision.  So her first cry was while she was still inside me.  Weird, but kind of awesome, too.

Which is Avery in a nutshell.  She's a strange, fascinating child.  After my PPD and her colic, she was a pretty easy baby, and remains a pretty easy-to-please kid.  Just some of the reasons that I find her so awesome:

1.  She's an amazing big sister.  Most parents worry about changing that first-child dynamic when bringing another baby into the world.  She took to it like a fish to water.  Her personality was always a little more mature, but she's patient and helpful and still the irritating big sister she's supposed to be.  Most importantly, she adores Isaac.  I find her having the same exasperated-humored reactions to him that I do and I know that, despite the fact that he's a bothersome little brother, she loves him as much as Chris and I do.

2. She loves to help out.  The cat spilled water today and, while I was content to just let it dry 'cause I had stuff to do, she said, "I'll take care of it, Mama!" and grabbed the mop.  She does this all the time.  For a while, Isaac would only let her wipe his face and she was the only one who could get him to lie down for a diaper change without a fuss.  When dinner is being made, she's right there helping (usually Daddy) out.  When there's yardwork to be done, she wants to know what she can do (shovel, rake, sweep...).  Coolest to me is her willingness to clean up the stuff that I find gross, like cat hairballs, without batting an eyelash. ;-)

3. She's so loving.  She gives fantastic hugs.  When anybody is sad (and Mommy had a few moments last week), she's quick to climb up on their lap and comfort them (or, if it's Isaac, snuggle up beside him).  With two funerals in the family the week before my m/c, she knew her "job" was to simply hang out and give hugs.  (As I'm typing this, she's playing with her Tag Reader.  She stopped and said, "Mama, I love you.....sometimes all day!")  

4.  She's got an awesome brain.  She asks great questions.  For example, she's already asked where babies come from (she has a general idea; I haven't gotten into specifics).  She observes things in nature and wants to know more about them, like where the sun goes at night (a different part of the world) and why clouds sometimes have rain and sometimes don't..  But she remembers this stuff.  They say kids' minds are like sponges, but she memorizes lines for plays in an hour (her teacher has remarked on this) and remembers something I told her a year ago at appropriate moments now.  She truly amazes me with her thought processes.

5.  She's the little girl I never knew I wanted needed.  I was pretty freaked out when I was unexpectedly pregnant.  Then, I was hoping for a boy because that's what I knew (I have 2 brothers and 6 male cousins). When we found out we were having a girl, I told my husband as we were leaving the u/s that he was going to have to teach me what the hell to do with her (he had a few nieces at that point, one of which he had helped raise for a few years).  I was a tomboy, late to the fashion/makeup game, and ambivalent about mommyhood at all.  Not a great mix.  But she's amazing.  She thinks so much like me sometimes, even her tantrums amuse me and I relate to why she's upset.  It's one of those "kindred spirit" situations; I get her and she, somehow in her childlike way, gets me better than my husband does sometimes.  I really am a better person for having her.

As I listen to her making up songs (which she does all the time) and entertain her brother and tell stories and create games -- things she does all day, every day -- all I can do is sit back and smile.  We have very serious conversations about what snack she's taking in for school ("I need to remember my crackers...  No, wait.  What am I taking?  Oh, that's right.  Now...what's on them?") and silly conversations about serious topics ("Mommy, why do you love us?  Even when Isaac's stinky?")  She tells me what she needs ("Mommy, I need a kiss on my scratch.") and I do my best to provide those things.  And she's one of my favorite people...ever.