I'm Talking Loud. Really Loud.

Being a mom of a girl is LOUD.  Really, really loud.  Naomi can make screeching sounds that ring and echo in my head for a long time.  Without a visual to see the giant smile that is usually on her face, you'd think she were being ripped apart limb by limb.  It really is a terrible sound.  You know that sensation after you've flown all day that feels like you're still flying?  Well, when Naomi's asleep, I still have the sensation that she's doing the call of the wild in my ear.  I have adopted a tense, squinty-eyed, pulled-back-ears, head-scrunched-down anticipatory posture that's sure to leave some crazy wrinkles and a viscous tight neck.  I had always heard "boys are wild and girls are sweet and then the become teenagers and it all switches around on you."  So, it's been an eye-opener to see my little girl do her best heavy metal cover on a daily basis while my little man yells, "Num Num, NO!  LOUD!"  Don't get me wrong, Lawson can be loud, too.  I posted that video of him rocking out, so you've seen him go nuts.  But, Naomi is in a league all her own.  Luckily, she's about as happy as they come, so it helps.

Today, she is teething and her screeches are not screeches of joy much of the time.  They are battle cries!  The incisors are making their entrance soon and she is telling the world how bad it sucks!  Believe me, sister, I know!  I have to listen to it and it sounds like a grade A pain.  Motrin is taking the edge off, but she may as well be menopausal as she goes all Jekyll and Hyde on me with her clear expressions of glee and hate!  I start out feeling really bad for her, but about the time I can no longer think or feel my body due to the head-in-a-blasting-speaker volume in my ears, it gets difficult.  She stops feeling like a baby that's hurting and starts feeling like a noise that's hurting ME.  I know it sounds awful to say, but I speak the truth!  As soon as I get her calmed, I'm back to feeling motherly and sad for her, but there are some rough moments on that path where it's all self-control and auto-pilot.  The girl.  is.  wicked.  loud.  There no other way to put it.  Thank goodness that she's usually loud and happy, which is a pretty fun combination!  If I were to do a video montage of Naomi, half of it would be equal parts laughing, babbling and being sweet, and the other half would be clips of her loudness.

I love her like crazy and am trying to enjoy her big gummer smile while it's still here!  It's not going to last much longer.  Well, actually, Naomi has never had much of a "gummer" smile.  Her smile is all open mouth and tongue and it's about to get a little more crowded in her cavernous grin!

The impending arrival of her teeth led me to inspect the back of Lawson's mouth for new teeth, too.  Sure enough, there are a few little cusps poking through on the top and bottom!  His two year molars have already come through and I never even noticed him acting sore!  Needless to say, all this talk about teeth has led to a lot of inspection by the two littlest people involved.  They've been spending strangely quiet stretches of time gazing into each others' mouths and Naomi has been trying to feel everyone's teeth for as long as they'll let her.  Those chompers are quite enthralling right now!

And Naomi, I know sometimes I seem less than happy about your insanely loud ways, but in truth, I wouldn't have you any other way.  You are sunshine and joy more fun than I can shake a stick at.  And I love every loud sound that you make are.