We shall call this one Boobius Babius

I've written volumes about my oldest daughter, but I don't write a lot in my blog about my youngest.  Granted, she's only been out of my womb and in the world for 7 months, but by this time in Trinity's life I had written tons of poetry and journal entries about her.  That's the perk of being an only child.  On the flip-side, I share a lot more photos of Presley than I did of Trinity b/c A) I only had crappy disposable 35MM cameras & film developing was out of my price range more often than not and B) I only had internet for a brief period of time and my exposure to social media back then was limited to 2 mommy message boards & 1 Alzheimer's support message board.  So I guess things even out, but I still want to write about this crazy little baby we call Presley, Boo-Boo, Boobius Babius, Diva.

A beautiful little hurricane, Presley Maye.  Bringing chaos and sweetness in equal measure.  When I was pregnant with her, I would make jokes about my little "Blueberry".  I would talk about how she waited so long to finally join our family, saying she's stubborn and does things in her own way and on her own time.  Back then it was all in jest, but now that she's here I see how spot-on my perception really was.  Even at 7 months old, that is just one facet of her many strong personality traits that shine through.  This is one of her characteristics that I simultaneously love and get frustrated with the most.  My intuition tells me that this will only get more intense as she gets older, but on the up-side, I know that a girl as strong-willed as Presley won't be easily influenced or pressured into doing things she doesn't want to do.  It also reminds me that part of life is adapting & not controlling or planning every single moment.  This is a hard lesson for me to learn, but if anyone can teach me, it's Presley!

Another of her more prominent traits is her range of emotion.  There is no in-between with Presley.  She's either very happy or very sad or very mad.  The pendulum swings swift and hard with that girl; no transitional phases or middle-ground.  People who don't know my husband's Mom very well probably think I'm just projecting when I say this is 100% passed down from her Grandma.  Judy would go from perfectly content to crying in the blink of an eye.  She could flip right back to happy just as quickly, depending on the situation.  That type of person leaves you standing there, deer-in-the-headlights, wondering what the hell just happened.  This is the hurricane I referred to earlier.  Feeling emotions with the ferocity of a natural disaster.  I know that sounds like a completely negative thing, but there are most definitely positives.  For starters, it passes quickly.  Also, the emotions aren't always bad ones.  When she's happy, she's extremely happy.  And there is nothing in the world more beautiful than a happy child.  That kind of joy is infectious.  It can make you act like a complete fool in front of strangers just so you can bask in the sunlight a little longer.


There is so much personality in her little 18 lb body that I wonder sometimes how it can all be contained.  Maybe it can't be.  Maybe that's why she's such a whirling dervish.  She is charming and gorgeous and great fodder for motherhood anecdotes.  Like I mentioned earlier, she made us wait a long time before she graced us with her presence.  Over 5 years, in fact.  We hoped and prayed and wished for another child.  There is that saying "be careful what you wish for".  When she's on the top of her game, fussing and being crazy, I repeat that phrase to myself and then I can't help but chuckle.  I've met my match.  This insane little monkey is mine and though she wears me out, she's special.  She's beautiful and completely nuts.

Although my siblings and I are very different, and my husband & his sister are opposites, I never truly grasped just how dissimilar two siblings can be.  Trinity was a mellow, easy baby.  She cried so seldom that I worried something was wrong with her.  Presley is on the completely other end of the spectrum.  That's not to say she's a terrible child.  She's absolutely not.  She's a joy...just a challenging one.  I love both my daughters for who they are.  Their varied personalities keep things interesting around Sams Manor and I feel like it gives us some parenting experience from different vantage points.  Most importantly, both of them make me proud to be the person who sacrificed bladder control and pain-free bowel movements to bring them into the world.  It's an honor being their Mom.  I know one day I'll look back and the sleepless nights, dark eye circles, and perma-fried brain cells will be overshadowed by the good memories.  And if that's not enough to get me through the tough years, there's always the time-honored tradition of putting a curse on your children so that they will one day have children just like them.