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Quick Takes—Weighing in with Paper Dolls

Quick Takes—Weighing in with Paper Dolls

1. I finally replaced the batteries in our scale this week and discovered that for the first time in almost seven years I’m back down to within five pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight. My pre-Bella pregnancy weight that is. I’ve been continually nursing and/or pregnant since we’ve been married, so it isn’t too surprising that I’ve settled into a slightly plumper, more maternal self. But I guess a thirty pound nursling will burn up the calories pretty fast. And it didn’t hurt that my sister left her job at Starbucks and thereby cut me off from the free pastry supply and that I gave up sweets for Lent. I’d gotten into a very bad habit of eating chocolate every single day. Though I’ve never been one to obsess about my weight, it does feel good to be back to wearing that one pair of jeans that I bought when we were first married.

2. Also, having a scale with batteries, I have now determined that Anthony weighs 30 pounds at 14 months. He is just 3 pounds lighter than his four year-old sister, Sophie. And Ben has now passed Sophie in weight if not height. He’s a whopping 35 pounds. They are only 16 months apart and given that he’s on the big end and she’s on the smaller side, I knew this day was bound to come. Finally, my tall Bella has sprouted like a weed. She’s 48 pounds, almost half a hundred!

3. Bella has been occupied with making a Japanese paper dolls house, inspired by Rumer Godden’s two novel about Japanese dolls, Miss Happiness and Miss Flower and Little Plum. Bella loved the books, though Sophie loved the parts about the dolls, she found both of them rather emotionally intense and had to step away. I’m starting to realize that Sophie is a very sensitive soul. She is also now terrified of the Little House books, not liking at all the chapter about wolves. And now is freaked out by wolves to the point where Dom was reading me a review of a taqueria that opened in our old stomping ground and Sophie freaked because the place was called the Howling Wolf Cafe.

4. Bella has recently been prone to amazing acts of rather misplaced generosity that I”m not quite sure what to do about. For example, when I was making all the kids dolly quilts Bella decided she wanted to give hers to one of her cousins who I suspect is a bit old for dolls. Then today she announced that she wanted to give the doll house she made to her friend A from next door. A is a very nice 13 year old girl who has no idea that Bella thinks of her as a best friend. A has always been very kind to Bella and has looked out for her but I’m not sure what to do when Bella announces that she wants to invite A over for dinner or to give her these handmade tokens of affection. I know the relationship isn’t truly reciprocal but I don’t want Bella to realize that. How can I gently redirect these impulses without quashing the very generous spirit that drives them? Or should I allow Bella to lead and follow her generous impulses even if the attentions are not fully welcome to the objects of Bella’s affections?

5. I started writing this on Wednesday and this is the first time I’ve been able to update. Now the irony of take #1 is settling in. On Saturday morning I woke early and lay in bed doing some frantic mental calculations while I tried to resettle Anthony, who woke me. Do you do these mental calculations? I always do. Somehow my subconscious always puts together the pieces and then my conscious mind has to play catch-up.

Yep, I still had a pregnancy test hanging around. Yep, it confirmed what my calculations had already convinced me of anyway. Baby Bettinelli will be arriving sometime in January. Margaret and I are going to be pregnancy buddies once again.

6. I think really after that last one no more takes are necessary. Now I’ll know how many people really read all my Quick Takes Posts.

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3 comments
  • I never tire of the pictures and stories of your kids.  Anthony certainly is looking like a handful.  I guess he’s just trying to keep up with his older siblings.

    I’ll second the vote for Rose.  Unless it’s a boy and then it would be a very difficult name for him. grin

  • My little one just learned how to climb on chairs and thence onto the table to.  And how to push chairs to reach the things he wants.  People talk about babyproofing when your kid learns to crawl, but boy, this is a lot more challenging for me than that.

    I thought for a minute in that picture of Ben that y’all were hopping on the bee-keeping bandwagon…

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