Stacy the Salmon: Life in the Fish Tank: It's All a Blur (Part Three: Summary)

Like I said, the past few weeks have been exhausting. And, like I said, Mama didn't hold up too well at the end of it. What I didn't say is that I not only passed out on the sofa, but I passed out on the sofa holding a baby doll!

But I don't mean to complain. After all, these past weeks have all been about celebrating the past year and, let's face it, this past year was exhaustion-worthy. My grandmother sent me home with a handful of newspaper clippings in which a new mom / journalist talks about life with baby. I don't have the article in front of me, but I do remember this basic sentiment: Before having a baby, people tell you how it will be. They tell you that you won't sleep, that you'll be tired. And you think you've got it. You think to yourself, 'I bet I'll be tired.' But you just don't get it until you live it.

Evelyn's grown up a lot this past year, which seems like a silly and basic thing to say. An understatement of a fact that everyone already knows. But she grew up most just in these past couple weeks that whirled by. Before her California party, Evelyn could take a few steps--could walk across a room at most. Before we even left Kansas to return home, she walked everywhere--crawling is a thing of the past. She said her first sentence in Kansas: "There's Daddy." And her second sentence: "All done" (and with half of her chocolate ice cream still left!). When we flew to Colorado in February, we tried to get her excited about looking out the plane window and seeing clouds beneath us; she didn't care. This time, we couldn't get her to stop looking out the plane window! She pressed her face and hands against the glass and laughed and babbled for most of the flight. Her face has suddenly thinned out and gotten definition. Last night when I told her, "Don't touch or I'll put you in time out," she said, "K" and walked away from the glass vase--even though I've never put her in time out before!

But I know that, even with these weak examples of my little girl's remarkable growth, most of you just won't get it. So here are a few highlight pictures from the past year--a feeble attempt to try to force the point.