A baby around the house

When I was pregnant with Elise, I wondered how I could possibly love another child as much as Kalina. (I'm told this feeling is common, which is why I can admit it publicly for poor Elise to read decades from now.)

The minute Elise was born, I knew. And yet, sometimes with babies there's the tough love of "Oh look, I haven't set you down once the entire day, I must really love you!" and sometimes there's the more enjoyable (admittedly) love of "Oh, cute, you were somewhat upset and now you're smiling simply because I'm singing 'You are my sunshine!'" Elise is the second type, and it's so nice.

[Okay, so, yes, Kalina was sometimes more the first type, but she's just a lovely toddler!]

And what a little sunshine Elise is! She prefers smiling to crying and has even been getting in some good laughs--most recently at any of her sister's antics (more on that in another post). None, however, have been caught on video, true to typcial baby form.

On her playmat, Elise has been known to bat at her toys over and over, so for the span of a couple minutes we'll hear the bell on her star toy ring or the jostling of her rattle.

Not only has Elise found her hands, but she's learning about them with gusto--and possibly even starting to suck her thumb. Once last week she seemed to have noticed her feet, maybe because they were clad in just the cutest little soft pink socks.

Elise is also beginning to learn to sit up--I'd noticed her straining a lot and, with my tired mommy brain, finally realized a few days later that she'd prefer an upright position, please. No problem.

And Elise occasionally graces all of us with squeals and coos. She's just a happy little girl, not to mention adorable.

In fact (and without mentioning any prior baby, who was sweet and precious and wonderful despite her sometimes overwhelming baby neediness), I'm a bit surprised to see how much I'm enjoying having a baby around the house. Especially one who loves nothing more than big, loud mommy kisses on her soft, squishy cheeks--a guaranteed smile.

Yes, Elise does have a few distinct preferences, though. She seems to be taking issue with her carseat. Is it uncomfortable? We're not sure, but I became almost panicked the other day when she was crying in it with her new "loud cry then quiet then loud cry again" routine. You'd think I'd be a veteren with baby crying, but I actually freaked a little, thinking something must actually be wrong. After a thorough search, we both decided that a pacifier would solve the problem.

And there's the fact that Elise doesn't like going down stairs quickly. No, she's not walking--but if we go down them too quickly while holding her she tenses up and strains. Weird.

But in general, Elise isn't really all that much work, most days, anyway. Yes, we have the occasional day when all I do is run up and down the stairs trying to wield a pacifier in such a way that the baby will take a decent nap. But other than that, Elise is actually more of what Matt and I had wistfully called a "houseplant baby" during a prior child's most challenging/loud months. With Elise, as long as she's fed, changed, not tired, burped and comfortable, with an occasional change of view, she's good. We could almost forget about her for five minutes at a time (not that anyone possibly could forget anyone so cute!). Just like a houseplant.

Unlike a houseplant, however, the girl is already remarkable smart. A few weeks ago, I noticed that Elise stopped grunting (yes, grunting--she doesn't cry much) whenever I approached the door to her room on my way to settle her during naptime.

"She hears your footsteps and knows you're coming," Matt postulized.

"You're crazy, she's just a baby," I replied, mostly because I hated to think that our horridly squeaky stairs and hallways will come into play for yet another child.

But now I'm pretty sure he's right. She's uncanny in knowing when I'm on my way. Squeak. Squeak. Squeak. Just like our older child. We now have a loud sound machine in the hallway, and Kalina hasn't skipped a nap since (nor has Elise).

Clearly, we'll have a challenge on our hands again as Elise grows: brains plus adorableness will get this girl far in our household (already has for Kalina).

That's okay. It's still really nice to have a baby around the house.