Dear Moms.

1. I no longer question why you cannot control your child when they are screaming in the aisles of the grocery store.

2. Furthermore, I do now understand why it is imperative to just GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT SO THEY WILL JUST STOP CRYING.
3. I no longer roll my eyes when your child is crying right behind me at the restaurant while I am trying to have a nice meal with my significant other.

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Lara is such a delight and it is so rewarding to see the way she can communicate her needs and wants that is not always done in the form of screaming until my eardrums burst. Unfortunately, it is still very much done sometimes in this form, and it is much more frustrating because she is no longer 2 months old, so let's move on please. Last night, I was wrapping a Christmas present with which Lara apparently wanted to play. When I closed the box, she literally screamed and screamed. Simply because I closed the box. That is all. Period.

I am trying to learn to ignore this behavior, or better yet, tell her no and remove her from the situation. It is difficult to get into this mindset though because I am so used to running to her when she starts crying and fixing the problem. However, the "problem" was just a bumped head, empty belly, ready for a nap, etc. Now the "problem" = not getting what we want all the time. It is still very early in the game, but I am starting to realize that my role as a mother is about to enter into that new stage of discipline.

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We will be taking Lara to a specialist in 2 weeks to figure out exactly what is going on with her muscles. This appointment has been set for quite some time now, but I didn't realize until yesterday that it is fast approaching. We got a call that there was a cancellation and we could take Lara in if we wanted, but I declined. First, I was working, and second, there is no rush. Dustin and I are aware of all the problematic possibilities, but we are not worried. Lara is doing great, is progressing the way she needs to, is bright and happy. Whatever the problem is, we just give God all the glory for the awesome fulfillment and blessing that comes in having children!

Today I finally have a free day, so I've decided that Lara and I are staying in today and relaxing. Except that we have had some Christmas fun this morning as you can see from the pictures. There is really no relaxing when you have a one year old.

Update: I had to delete that first picture, because I decided I simply couldn't have such a sad picture on my blog. Also, here is Annabel Lee. This is Lara's...3rd cousin?