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babies don't keep

Woman, Uncensored: Babies Don't Keep


mother, o mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth.
hang out the washing, make up the bed,
sew on a button and butter the bread.

where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
she's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

oh i've grown as shiftless as little boy blue,
lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
dishes are waiting, and bills are past due
pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

shopping's not done, and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but i'm playing kanga, and this is my roo
look! aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

the cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
but children grow up as i've learned to my sorrow.
so quiet down cobwebs; dust, go to sleep!
i'm rocking my babies, and babies don't keep.

-ruth hulbert hamilton


such a good reminder...

happy birthday, emery jane!

you are one!

you are such an amazing little person. you are beautiful, with your little bald head and your toothy smile. you light up not only mommy & daddy's face, but avery's too. everywhere we go, people are compelled to talk to you or about you - your eyes, your smile, your attentiveness, your toes. one year ago today was one of the most wonderful, important, life-changing days of my life. i'm so thankful for the opportunity to have you. you filled a void in our lives that we didn't even realize we had.

you have seven teeth, you are taking steps, you are saying words like mama, dada,hello, wow, i love you, and even things that sound alot like avery and bailee. you love playing peek-a-boo, and singing songs, reading books, and particularly throwing things...anythings...

you wouldn't let us take smiley pictures of you today, but we did get a few of your serious, contemplative face. that's okay, because we see that face alot, too. you often look so serious that people think you're mad...i think it's because you're a thinker, someone who mulls things over...i guess time will tell. we took some pictures of you in front of the forsythia bush - that's because i always think of you when i see those beautiful yellow flowers. when i was pregnant for you, i would dream of what it would be like when you were here, and one thing i knew for sure was that our forsythia bush would be in bloom. we also took a picture with a magnolia flower - another springtime bloom, just like you.

you are precious - oh, so precious. you are loved - oh, so loved.

you have already changed the world.

pooping on the potty?!? (not for the squeamish)

yep, that's right. emery went poop on the potty today. crazy! she was fussing like she usually does when her diaper is dirty, so i went to change it. when i laid her on the changing table, and undid the diaper, she had only gone a little bit, so i went towards the bathroom to wipe her off. as we went, she pulled her legs up underneath her, still fussing, so i put her feet on the front of the toilet seat and squatted her little butt back towards the bowl. she immediately stopped fussing, looked down, and pooped! she looked back up at me, smiled, and i cheered her on. looked back down, pooped, looked up, laughed, looked down, pooped, and then stood up on the seat! i asked if she was "all done", and she laughed and lunged at me. so, i cleaned her up, fussiness all over, put a diaper on her, and she went about her day. CRAZY!