MuellerMommyAdventures

“When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.” ― J.M. Barrie , Peter Pan Felicity is like the fairies of Peter Pan fame. According to Barrie, those little creatures can only hold one emotion in their tiny bodies at a time. When a fairy is happy, she is very, very happy and only happy. When a fairy is sad, then she is very, very sad. A couple weeks ago, Felicity began smiling responsively. Her little eyes lit up and she’d positively glow. However, those glowing smiles turn almost on a dime into tears—many, many tears. So like a little fairy Felicity only manages to hold one emotion at a time. More noteworthy then her ability to hold one emotion however, is baby wonder. Felicity is interested in the simplest things. For Felicity, waking up is wonderful. Most of the time it’s filled with smiles. Other times wonder is caused by the light reflecting on the books ...

Who knew about strength training for little limbs? Prior to birthing my little girl, I did not know about baby exercises. But they exist! There is the bicycle for infant legs, which, you guessed it—Momma makes baby’s legs pedal in a bicycle motion. Then there is the YMCA. Yep. Sing the YMCA and make baby’s arms dance. All of these exercises were handily learned on the app for baby development. How else would millennials learn about baby growth if there weren’t an app? But the real baby workout is Tummy Time. Yes—Tummy Time—the time when baby is placed on tummy to begin the difficult task of holding up her neck.   Followed by the even more difficult task of head turning. The ultimate goal: Crawling. The half-way point to the ultimate goal: Flipping Over. Anxious to give Felicity every advantage, I dutifully spread a blanket for tummy time. At first her head bobbled and dipped to grab a mouthful of blanket. Then came the quizzical eyes when she managed to turn towards m...

The fabric stretched around Felicity’s little feet and nestled her in a perfect fit. It was the first time I’d put Felicity in a onesie with feet. Up until then, she wore t-shirt onesies that snapped around her diaper. They were light and perfect for the hot summer days. But when nighttime came, Felicity liked to be cuddled and the footsie onsie was the perfect solution. Up until now, all Felicity’s clothes flopped and folded around Felicity’s tiny, baby body. She swam in the extra fabric. This onsie was snug and it fit like it was made for her. She’d wave her little legs and arms and the white fabric with little bicycles printed across its surface stretched with her. I loved putting her into it. Then something happened. It didn’t take long…maybe a couple of weeks. The bicycle onesie was washed following a diaper explosion and the cotton cloth shrunk. But just a little. Felicity’s cheeks and limbs became rounder and her eyes wider. She watched the ceiling fan and figured o...

Felicity and I are entertaining ourselves while dad for Felicity, husband for me is in Atlanta on business. Our primary mission is operation keep mamma distracted until dad returns. This has included many things. For example, going to visit baby Micah (my friend's little son) and eating quesadillas or going to Starbucks and trying a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino since it has been almost a hundred degrees for the past few days. I find that with my husband away I want to pack our schedule with friends, family, and former students. All the conversations I haven’t gotten to have yet I want to have now in one big rush. And it has been wonderful. Yet, all my distraction brings up the balance question. What is the proper balance between busyness and rest? After all, at the end of the day I feel my eyes lids pulling downwards and my shoulders weary from carting a baby carrier. Felicity sleeps, but my mind spins. It turns over on leftover steam from the day. Or perhaps it keeps going a...

Last fall in Metaphysics—the study of what exists—we asked questions. Are we merely material parts? Are we just complicated organisms wired to survive? Or are we more than that?   A winding road off the fifteen brought Nathan, Felicity, and I to a small ranch to witness a wedding. Nestled in a valley of sorts, we gathered underneath a large tree. In the distance, the valley wall was lined with a copse of trees glowing in the fading light. The family processed in, the bridesmaids, and then the bride. When she saw her groom, she cried. In a voice that cracked, he told her, “I love you.” The moment contrasted with a novel I recently read— A Brave New World . In it people live as cogs in a system, where the human race is propagated to survive. People live for work and pleasure and are drugged to give them illusionary happiness. Monogamy is not allowed, because real relationships are dangerous to the continuation of the human race. It reminded me of an entirely different book, Mr...