Sweet Sounds and a Smile
I am the mother of the loudest child on the planet. I am sure of it.
Kidzilla makes sound of some sort constantly. Seriously. She begins speaking the second she wakes up and continues to speak, sing, laugh, shout, giggle, talk, hoot, holler, chortle, twitter, scream, whisper (which is actually a very loud breathy sound rather than an actual whisper), shriek, count, spell, jingle, stomp, clap, attempt to whistle, and so on until the second she falls asleep.
I am not kidding. Anyone who has met my daughter will tell you this is true. And it happens every day without fail.
Here’s the fun part: the mother of this ever-loud child has ADHD. A lot. My particular version of it includes a distinct hypersensitivity to overstimulation – particularly auditory stimulation. There comes a point in the day where my brain simply can not take any more input of any kind. This point in the day usually happens about four hours before Kidzilla is finished providing stimulation for the day.
My mother – a very wise woman – has often said, “Well, all that sound is better than a child who can’t make any sound at all.” True enough. If Zilla were unable to produce sound through her various noisy ways, well, life around here would be pretty quiet, but it would also be pretty empty.
The only time Zilla is quiet, really, is when she is asleep. No, she does not take naps during the day…that stopped about six months ago. But when Zilla finally does fall asleep at night, she does so instantly. “Good night. I love you…”
(Insert sleepy yawn here.)
“…ZZZzzzzzzzz……..”
But yesterday, Zilla took a late afternoon cat-nap. Just curled up on her Daddy’s pillow next to me on our bed and went very quietly to sleep for about twenty minutes. Sure, the temporary silence made me smile. (Silent cheer…yaaaaay!)
But what really made my heart glad was how small and cute and sweet Zilla looked as she slept. She had herself curled into the tiniest ball of herself possible, legs underneath her and tush in the air like a very small baby, hands tucked securely up under her cheek. For just a few moments, my Sweet Girl looked like a tiny baby again, not such a “big girl.” And that was OK by me.
And when she woke up, blinked her sleepy little eyes at me, and said “Hi, Mamma!” She was off and running and making noise once again.
And that made me smile even more.
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This is such a sweet post! I am really glad I found your blog. My little toddler is constantly making noise, too. There are some days where I try to get her to use a quiet voice, and she just screams louder. Oy. But our cuddle time and dancing time and reading time…those little moments make it all worth it. And they make it easier to tolerate the occasional scream. 🙂
Hi, Stefani and thanks – glad you found my blog, too! I’m coming over to visit yours in a minute.
Oh, ours definitely gets louder when we try to get her to use the “inside voice”. I swear it’s on purpose. But you are so right that the loud is worth all the rest! 🙂
I love that you call her Zilla.
I love that I can relate to just how noisy a child can be. I believe I may have the first runner-up over here in The Small One.
And I love that, just for a moment, she was your baby again. Sigh.
Ha – yes, she is our little girl dinosaur. 🙂 Glad to know there are others out there making a large and loud mark on our world. And sigh indeed. It is unbelievable how fast she grows…
Thanks for coming by! 🙂
So very sweet! Enjoy every moment of it – they grow up far too quickly! What I can tell you – is that even when they are all grown up, they are still precious when they nap =o) I don’t get to see my baby girl nap very often any more cuz she’s uhm….27 and a mom herself lol (although she is still precious when she sleeps too – she has the cutest little snore) , but I do get to see my baby boy (ok – he’s 17 – not a baby =( ) sleep/nap from time to time….and guess what…yup….still just as precious!!! God bless you and “Zilla” =o)
I guess that’s why my Mom still checks on everybody at night – have a sister still living at home and Mom looks in on her all the time, even though she’s in grad school. When my family has stayed over there, she sticks her head in to make sure we’re all OK, too. Thanks for coming by!
LOVE this post! Zilla falls asleep like the Wonder Hub, but not at all like the child of my womb. My last-straw bedtime strategy is the “This is the last thing you’re going to say to me tonight” game, which usually leaves me on the floor, doubled over in laughter.
I would like to know about this game, please…
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