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Veronica, One and a Bit

When I moved over to this new template (which I loooooove, by the way), it became immediately clear to me how long it had been since I’d posted anything about the kids. The most recent picture of either of them that pops up here was at least a year old. Way overdue for an update, and let’s start with Veronica.

I’m pretty sure she’s going to be the daredevil of the family. You always assume it’s the boys that’ll be jumping off stuff, tormenting your pets, and being fearless little pains, but that’s not Teddy at all. A sweet kid is Teddy, but Evel Knievel he is not. Veronica’s still a bit too short and slow to get into real trouble, but once in a while you get hints of what’s to come. She’ll do a chin-up off the edge of the entertainment centre. Or she’ll claw at Gunther until he gives her a wallop – and still keep after him. And she’s not afraid of us at all. When Teddy was this old, you could use your SERIOUS VOICE to get him to stop touching something. Veronica just turns, smiles, and keeps on messing with whatever it is you don’t want her to mess with. She’s willful. (She gets that from her mother. And from all of womankind.)

I see so many people in her. She’s got my eyes, clearly, and she has Sarah’s feet. She also has her bisnonna’s nose, I think. But then there are these other subtle ways that she looks like members of our family. She doesn’t look too much like Teddy – except when she’s sleeping and then the resemblance is uncanny. When she’s really involved in something, she looks like Sarah as a kid. Sometimes out of the blue she’s a dead ringer for my mom. And when she’s laughing, she looks like Sarah’s mom. Genetics, man. Crazy stuff.

She’s not walking yet, which is fine. Easier to keep track of the two of them when they’re not running in separate directions 24/7. I'm pretty sure she can walk, she just doesn’t. You can trick her into standing for a minute at a time, but the second she realizes you’ve let go of her hands, she drops. She’s starting to get chatty. We can get Mama, Dada, and Teddy (Tetty!) out of her. She’ll also do croaky Uh-oh (which is more often Oh-Uh). And for the first time this morning, when Teddy was trying to steal a toy away, she went, “No no no no no no no no no no”, so there’s that. She also has some go-to sounds. “Ye ye yeeee” and “OOOOoooOOOOoooOOOOooo.” I guess what I’m saying is, she’s mostly inarticulate. (She gets that from her father.)

She gives great smiles. Teddy too. Teddy gives a thousand watt, I-couldn’t-be-happier grin when he’s really happy. Veronica has this subtle little smile, and it can be a little hard-won sometimes, but it melts my heart. Great laugh to boot. She’s only just progressed beyond that baby laugh – that “huh! huh! huh!” goofy-sound. When she really gets going, she sounds like a kid. She’s growing up quick. It was the same thing with Teddy: from zero to six months, time passed normally – but then I put him down for a nap one day and when I went to wake him he was two. We don’t have any babies in the house anymore. It strange. Time for another one, maybe. Or maybe not right now.  Let's talk about it next year.

Comments

Beth said…
I can't believe how big Veronica has gotten! She's so much bigger than when I saw you guys in the summer! And her hair isn't sticking straight up. Are you sure this is a picture of Veronica?

Also, your new blog format ate my comment. I typed it up in your new place, hit "submit" and then it ate it and sent me to a commenting zone that looks suspiciously like your old blog format. *looks to the sky* BLOGGER!!!!!!!!!
Leanne said…
What a great picture!

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