This is the thing about babies: sometimes, they do not sleep very well. Or, they decide that they must be held twenty three hours out of each and every day, which makes such desirable routine activities such as driving a car or taking a shower difficult, if not impossible.
But then you realize that they make sock monkey socks for babies to wear. You know, those socks that the omnipresent knitted toy monkeys are sewn from? And the sight of a pair of chubby little legs sticking out of sock monkey socks is enough to make all the tricky bits of baby rearing seem fleeting and temporary and even a little ridiculous. Small potatoes.
The raising of the second child turns out to be an interesting business. The experience of that first baby, particularly if you are a bit on the young side when she is born, is magical. But it is also surprising and raw and somewhat confusing at times because you have no idea whatsoever what you are doing. And then the second baby comes along, eight years later, and it is just so different. Now, whatever tiny amount of wisdom has been gathered up from the loving of that first baby is convienently stashed in a metaphorical back pocket for necessary moments.
And thankfully, it is just enough to get you through those mornings when you wake up covered in baby pee for the eighth day in a row.
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A few other points of interest:
* The always loveley Amanda is having a little pop-up shop. How fun are these? I think that paired with a jar and a pound of coffee, they would make lovely gifts.
* The also lovely David and Lisabeth have a free Halloween story up on the Sparkle Stories site. You can have a listen here. Did I tell you that I had coffee with Lisabeth one morning a couple of weeks back? She is just as wonderful in person as you might think and, she has completely fabulous rain boots.
* Ginny's giveaway has ended now, but the discount code is good all this week. Enter "smallthings" at checkout for 15% off issues of Alphabet Glue. And thanks again to Ginny for her incredible support of Alphabet Glue. Really and truly.
* Thanks so much for all of your input about residency options. I can't tell you how much I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and thoughts!
* Alphabet Glue now has a page in the reviews section on mothering.com. If you are a Glue family and wanted to share your experience there, I'd be ever so grateful. You can find it here.