little Carmie

Carmen is proving once again that even after having four children, I know absolutely nothing about parenting.

In my early days as a first-time parent, I remember wishing that there was a manual written on exactly what I needed to do and when.  If some expert would simply tell me what to do, then I would do it and be the best parent that I could.

And one evening, in the dark of night, while the world slept and mothers (and fathers) paced the floors trying to console crying babies, I realized that there WAS a manual.  The only problem was I had to write it myself.  Each parent must write their own manual by learning their child's likes and dislikes, their expressions and sign language, their habits and traits.  You write the "how to" manual for your own children each and every day you spend with them.

The rest of this post is all about Carmen...who we quite often call Carmie.  She's developing her own personality so quickly, we don't even realize it.   The baby we thought would never walk, now takes five running steps before collapsing to the floor like she's sliding into home plate on her belly.  She lives life to the fullest, like her brother, Joaquin.  

And she's got two favorite ways to communicate...the word 'eh?' which means absolutely anything, as in:

Carmen: Eh?

Me:  You want your beary?

Carmen: Eh. (nodding her head yes)

or

Carmen: Eh?

Me: You want to go outside?

Carmen: Eh. (nodding and pointing to the door)

Her other option is the ear-piercing scream that will leave you momentarily deaf in one or both ears.  And just as a warning, she has no qualms about doing this in public places.

Carmie loves to climb into chairs.  Sometimes she teeters right on the edge of it, as babies often do,  scaring everyone around but herself.

And she still loves her chupi (pacifier).  She HATED that thing as a baby and never used it...but I'm a glutton for punishment and kept on trying.  Pacifiers are always more for the parents than the children, anyway.

Carmie is a prayer.  See how she has her hands clasped in this picture?  She will do this at dinner if we've forgotten to say the blessing.  Thank you, Carmie, for the gentle reminder.

Carmen loves to play with little figures, like her brother, Diego.  She picks them up and makes little sounds...something between a roar and shooting and crunching sounds.  Kind of like the letter 'X' over and over again.

And she's a happy soul.  (Although I feel like all I hear is crying and screaming all day, the pictures tell a different story.)  And passersby always come away smiling, too.

Here's another little tidbit about Carmen: if you have it, she wants it.  I guess that one's probably in most baby manuals.

Carmen loves music.  Her dance ranges from a cool head nod and clapping to squealing and whole body wiggles.  I think she gets that from her sister.

She's got traits from all of us.

But she's still unique.

That's what is amazing about children.

I just came across this anonymous quote:  "Children are great imitators so give them something great to imitate."  

Our work is cut out for us.