Love is the Seventh Wave

When it comes to the common cold, however, the Second Wave turns out to be identical to the first wave only more depressing and less predictable. When Carrie and I started to feel better, Amari was at her worst, but by the time she cleared  up we had both relapsed. It's been like a sick game of disease volleyball and we're all down a couple sets. I'm afraid to say I'm feeling better now because I'm pretty sure I said that last Sunday.

Fortunately for you, there's no real glamorizing this sickness. They don't call it "common:" for nothing, and even though Amari is still adorable with snot running down her face, red circles beneath her eyes, and an insatiable taste for tears, I will not bore you with more details. On the plus side, she has really developed vocally with all her discomfort this week. Throughout the week, I had been using the aspirator bulb to "snork" out her nose, and unless she was asleep or there was a bottle in her mouth, this intervention was generally greeted with some neck Tae Kwon Do and loud screeches. Eventually, when she started to recognize the bulb, she would simply open her mouth, say, "Ahhhhhh," and more casually move her head away. I would withdraw the bulb, but when I approached again she repeated the , "Ahhhhh" and the movement. I tried several more times with the same result. I put the bulb aside and approached her nose with my finger. Nothing. Silence. I picked up the bulb again, and repeated her protest once again. Somehow this contingent learning felt like small breakthrough for my little genius. Tomorrow - geometry.

Aside from that Amari's neck is getting stronger and she enjoys lying on her side more often than not. She is increasingly engaged by her little play area and likes to grab everything and pull it towards her mouth. Her hands are like a Star Ship Enterprise tractor beam pulling everything within arm's length towards her testing dock. She loves music and can sit quietly for ages while Carrie or I play guitar. Sometimes she'll jump in on the chorus of "All My Loving," but I think that's just because she likes to put on an English accent. I think she's also developing song recognition - not only with the ones we play, but with ones she's heard me play repeatedly in the car. A few days back I watched her get really excited by a Jason Mraz son I was playing on the guitar, and then I remembered I'd been replaying it repeatedly in the car the day before in an attempt to learn all the words.

Even in sickness, Amari is a delight. I am increasingly grateful to have been blessed with the opportunity to be her father. As I paced back and forth in the kitchen last night, secretly worrying that Amari's might stop breathing, I realized this was only the beginning of my fears as a parent. Although I was afraid on the inside, I whispered calmly into her ear and took deep breaths to model them for her. With time, her breathing deepened, her eyes closed, and she slept peacefully on my shoulder as a walked.

Amari is my seventh wave.