Angel?

Angel, originally uploaded by Reid Pierce.

I knew from the womb that our little girl would have a strong personality. It's strange to me that you can know such things before the baby is even born. Sawyer's movements always felt to me like exercise, a gerbil in its wheel. Some nights, lying in bed on my side, he'd bounce up and down on the mattress beneath me just to get a giggle. It was no shock when my first born turned out to be a bit of a clown, and very very active.

Arden, on the other hand, was slow to start moving, and then each motion was determined and purposeful- a jab to the ribs, a kick to the kidney, an adjustment to get more comfortable. A true believer in energy conservation. Thus far, Arden has been a mellow child. She sleeps most of the time - four to five hour stretches at night - and can hardly finish a meal without passing out. That and pooping every thirty minutes pretty much sums up life with newborn.

But do anything to upset her comfort like, God forbid, SHIFT her unexpectedly when she's sleeping in your arms, and she lets out what can only be described as an ear-splitting shriek (Scott calls it the pterodactyl yell, I liken it to a screech of a very angry eagle). One singular blood curdling cry will make you wonder whether she's human at all. I should record it and sell it to sci-fi film producers. Fortunately, it ends as abruptly as it begins, primarily because its so effective at making you stop whatever was upsetting her in the first place. It does not bode well for her good hygiene however, bringing, as it does, a certain angst to sponge baths and diaper changes.

She has redeemed herself, however, by flashing me several brilliant smiles. I don't care what you say - neurologically impossible, whatever. I know the edgy downturn of a smile that says, 'Hey, I'm just trying to pass a little gas here.' These Arden smiles are like, "Hey, mom, that clicking sound you're making with your tongue is absolutely hilarious," or "That's so funny, how you are trying to eat my hand."

I think, perhaps, Sawyer's comedy routine has found its perfect future audience.