Submissions and baby development (not related)

The last week has been a real zoo…stomach virus, Triduum, no sleep for three nights out of four…so I haven’t done much writing in the last week. Today, however, I managed to put together two short story submissions.

It never ceases to amaze me how long it takes to get a submission ready—music, fiction or nonfiction. Even a query letter, for Heavens sake. First, get it written. (Weeks. Months.) Second: market research. (At least two full mornings. If you count the internet research, call it two full days.) Third: rewrite based on what you decide on market. (One day, usually.) Fourth: format submission (two days in and of itself, so far. Maybe that will shorten up as I get more experienced.)

Tomorrow’s task: the Post Office.

But tonight, I intended to write about Julianna’s development. In my kids’ scrapbooks, I do a series of 6 pages on their development through the first twelve months. There are 2-4 pictures per page and a lot of cramped writing, in which I detail ad nauseum every new skill.

However, Julianna’s first year ended before she did an awful lot of things that I am desperate to chronicle. So I think I’ll torture you all (however many or few of you there are) with them instead.

For instance, in the last couple of weeks, Julianna has become much harder to keep entertained. For a child with Down’s, she has always been interested in the world, but lately she demands to be entertained, her perspective changed; she demands interaction much more often and for longer periods of time. This afternoon, I had her on my hip as I was trying to do household tasks. I had forgotten doing that with Alex. He found it all incredibly interesting, when he was 8 months to…well, he still does; it’s just that now he can go pull a chair over and see what I’m doing for himself.

Today, Julianna lunged forward, wrapping both hands around the lip of the washing machine and resting her chin on them, as I added detergent to the washer and started the diapers. (Imagine having your head in *that* smell. Whew!) Tonight I sat down to read her one or two books—she sits with me all the time while I read to Alex, but those books are way over her head. So tonight I wanted to do it just for her. She shrieked when I set her down—she thought I was getting ready to leave her again. But when she saw the book, she settled down immediately. She lunged right and reached with her left hand to turn the pages of “I Am A Bunny” by Ole Risom/Richard Scarry. And then she was so mesmerized by “Brown Bear” that I had to keep reading. We went through 7 books before we quit.

I keep getting complacent, and forgetting that Julianna is moving beyond what Christian calls the “blob” stage. She’s so slow to move that I just forget, even though I know better.

And now it’s 9:08 p.m., and Christian and I have a date to practice flute and piano together, so I must quit without revising, or waxing eloquent anymore. Your loss. ;)