Evie's B-Day

Happy birthday to you,

Some shots for you too.

Almost drowned in the bath tuuuuub...

And you fell down the stairs.

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Okay, so my rhyming needs some work. LAY OFF ME!!

In case you didn't hear, Evie's first birthday was quite memorable...in all the wrong ways. She had her 1 year doctor's visit today and had to get FOUR shots. Two in her skinny little arms and two in her legs (the latter I had to negotiate for).

It wouldn't have been so bad if the "nurse" hadn't drawn the whole process out as long as humanly possible. I was too busy comforting Evie to notice, but I suspect she was slipping out for coffee breaks between the shots. Poor Evie had plenty of time to cry and calm down after one shot before the next needle was ruthlessly jabbed in. And the woman couldn't have been more oblivious about it! I felt like I was in the Emerald City Exam Room, "Swipe swipe here, poke poke there, and band-aids all around." Only the slower, geriatric version of the song.

"Swiiiiiiipe swiiiiiiipe heeeeeeeeeeeeere..."

I wanted to slap her.

DON'T YOU REALIZE YOU'RE HURTING MY BABY GIRL??!!

By the end, Evie was clinging to me and wailing and looking back and forth at me and the nurse...trying to figure out who to be mad at, I suppose. Either that, or she was trying to understand why I was letting her get hurt. Talk about guilt. I've NEVER had such a difficult time with the kid's vaccinations...not even that time when the nurse (same one, I think) "accidentally" dropped the needle and it jabbed me in the leg.

As if that wasn't bad enough, almost immediately after we got home, the kids somehow got onto the staircase. I made the mistake of thinking they could actually keep out of trouble for more than thirty seconds at a time and wasn't paying attention. A loud thump sounded and I paused for a second, waiting for the identifying cry (hey, it could have been a toy!)...of course, it was Evie. I discovered them on the landing of the stairs, Evie flat on her back and Luke smiling innocently. I suspect foul play, but I can't prove anything. Anyhow, she was fine but it could have been so much worse.

Then, just before bed, I got the brilliant idea to bathe the kids. As if Evie hadn't had a difficult enough day, I was going to put her in a slippery tub with an overly active (and long-limbed) big brother. Of course she insisted on standing in the tub. Of course she slipped and banged her head on the edge before falling face first into the water. Of course mommy nearly had to use CPR. Well, not quite but there was a lot of sputtering.

Add to that the Hitleresque scab she has on her upper lip from a tumble last night, and you have one seriously miserable Fräulein...er, baby. Only she wasn't miserable! She was tired and wounded, but (apparently) it takes more than that to get my little girl down. She's all peaches and cream, that baby. As happy and content as any baby ever had the right to be. Even when her eyes are red-rimmed and droopy with fatigue, she's not fussing. And even when she has every reason in the world to be in a rotten mood, my girl's all rosy cheeks and toothy grins.

Happy birthday, Sweet Baby. I love you so.