The little mimic

So, I have already failed to keep up with one of my most urgent New Year's resolutions, to take more pictures. I hang my head in shame to admit that I didn't take even one picture on our trip. I didn't even turn the camera on. A book I checked out of the library about 2 months ago, The Joy of Digital Photography, sat unopened on the coffee table until it was nearly a week overdue and I finally confronted the sad reality that I wasn't going to read it. So much for changing my essential nature in 2008.

Fortunately, my mom saved the day by taking lots of pictures in Colorado. I think most of them are of June feeding cheerios to Lauren's pug, Phoebe. I can't blame her, there were a lot of tender and photogenic moments between child and canine. There are also some good ones of June in the snow, my sister and me, and the general stunning scenery. These pictures will come soon; all I have to do it wait for my mom to email them to me. Mom, if you're reading this, please disregard the parenthetical comment coming right now: (this could take forever and, in fact, may never happen. She claims she's gotten as far as downloading them on to her computer. We'll see. Mom, if you're still reading, please forgive me for revealing this, but I think she has spent 2 years now trying to figure out how to download music onto her I-pod and it's still a total crap shoot. She once found a whole album on there and had no idea how it happened. But I remain optimistic).

So, in lieu of pictures, I'll give a little update on Junie (trip stories will accompany trip photos in an upcoming post). She has become quite a mimic, which is really cute and sweet. Today Lloyd was holding her and she started rubbing and patting his back just like we do to her when she's tired or distressed. Also, if she comes across a little tube or bottle she brings it to me and taps it on my hand just like I do when trying to make the diaper cream or lotion or what-have-you go to the bottom of the tube or bottle for dispensing. She'll try to copy just about any word or sound we make--yesterday all 3 of us were howling like wolves in the living room. It's cute that she copies the action without understanding the purpose or intended outcome. For her, the pleasure in completing the action is to do what we do. It's touching, and at times a little eerie. I don't think I've ever been watched so carefully. Makes me feel the need to mind my p's and q's.

This brings me to another thing I wanted to say, which is that I have a morose and terrible habit of looking far into the future and then projecting all the difficulties and trials that I imagine lay ahead, then torturing myself by fixating on my perceived inadequacies in the face of these imagined trials. For what? I spent much of my first trimester obsessed by the idea that I would have to someday be the parent of a teenager. I felt dread and fear. I envied my parents for having already lived through it and not having to stare down the barrel of that gun. Then, around the same time my morning sickness (misnomer--actually, it was truly around-the-clock sickness) broke, I started seeing more clearly and it finally occurred to me that first I would have a sweet baby, then a curious toddler, and then a funny pre-schooler, and on from there. What a relief.

So, June has learned how to give kisses, and not just lip-presses, but actual smackers (again, the intense desire to do what we do--she watches our actions so carefully and works so hard to do it right). She doesn't do them every time (sometimes it's just the simple lip presses, and other times--surprise!--mouth wide open. Other times she just totally disses us.) And they are so, so sweet. I spent a few days brooding on how there will come a day when I pine for what a sweet, loving little thing she was when she used to like to kiss us, before she thought we were totally lame and embarrassing and tried to hide her personal life from us.....until I realized I was just indulging in my bad habit again. No more. I decided to try to just enjoy these kisses and other treats of toddlerhood (interspersed by tantrums and fits of wordless distress) as much in the present as I can.

In my next post I'll give a complete list of her words (her favorite so far: no). Someday it will be strange to think of a time before she could talk! I joked with my mom about how she's never impressed anymore by how many words I can say. But every time June says a new one I whoop with excitement and get such a thrill. So it goes at our house...will post again soon.