The Latest Buzz

So where to start?  Much has happened since I last posted in April!  Izzy learned to crawl and stand, eat real food, make words, and sleep on a schedule.  I learned to move faster than she does (usually), clean real food from a variety of surfaces and crevices, decipher meaning from words such as "Dop" (sock) and "Dah" (dog), and let her sleep without paranoid breathing checks.  My prolonged foray into the world of breastpumping has come to an end and I did not give in to the impulse to smash the pump into tiny slivers with a hammer. That was a study in self-control.

Since my last blog, she was baptized, my husband ordained, and we moved into the parsonage within a snowball's throw from the church.  Winter has arrived again (hence, the snowball method of distance measurement) and Izzy's second Christmas is right around the corner.  She likes the lights and the colorful presents under the tree but has not been properly introduced to Mr. Claus yet.  That intro can wait until we can afford him. 

She enjoyed her first swim in the lake on the 4th of July in a star-spangled bathing suit and we have burnt through at least 8 gigabytes worth of memory cards with pictures of fine moments such as this.  We have weathered her first cold, her first projectile vomiting episode (ah, now that was picture-worthy), and we are nearly surviving the production of actual human poo (long gone are the cute little baby poos that lull you into a false sense of security that you can handle diaper changes).   Note to self:  put potty-training on to-do list.  Or better yet, on honey-do list. 

She has many accomplishments of which to be proud.  She brushes her teeth, brushes her hair, removes her own diaper (have to work on her replacement technique), feeds herself food, pine needles, and dust bunnies, and uses sign language for a variety of food-related requests ("bottle", "milk",  "more, more, MORE" and "all done").  She is also in charge of tupperware organization, wall-licking, book-unshelving, and provides a delightful phone answering service.  Okay, delightful to us, at least. 

But every day hasn't been bathed in sunshine and dipped in a honey glaze.  We have had sleepless nights, teething, and tantrums...and just try to mention the word 'sippy cup' in her presence. And then there's this...  we said a sad farewell to Izzy's Grandpa, my dad, for the last time in August.   And with him went many things including the knowledge of what, "Buzz, buzz" means.  He would say that to her everytime he saw her and we always wondered where the odd phrase came from.  Perhaps an old cartoon?  Lyrics from an old-timey song?  His vivid imagination?  We never asked and now we'll never know for sure.  My dad has been gone for 4 months and we can still elicit a knowing smile from Izzy whenever we say, "Buzz, buzz" in a sing-song voice.  She knows what it means:  "Hey, kid - you're gonna be alright.  And I'll be watching out for you."  It was all in the way he said it.

Enough of an update for now.  I'll try to be more faithful to my blog.  There is a year of new discoveries ahead and I'll keep you posted.  In the meantime, "Buzz, buzz" to you.