What She Doesn't Do

I realized the other day when talking about Emry that I spend a lot of time focused on what she does. She does roll over. She does sleep through the night. She does look like the Camus side of the family, with a little bit of me splashed in. And she does have a easy-going, happy personality most of the time.

However, there are things she does not do. I don’t mean she doesn’t have any teeth, or crawl, or walk…those are all things we have yet to come. And I also don’t mean that are adorable little girl is a little sinner. For she is. She gets frustrated, and angry, and doesn’t always obey (like taking a nap when I put her in her crib and tell her to). I just mean she has quirks in her personality like anyone else.

Firstly, she’s not a cuddler. Which makes this picture very unusual:

Emry and Papa.

She doesn’t like to snuggle, or lay her head on your shoulder, or even sit in your lap for very long. I’m afraid she gets this from the Sturm side of the family. She has too much to do, too many wiggles to get out and too much to see. At church it takes me quite a while to bounce her to sleep – if I can manage to do it at all. She simply doesn’t want to lie in my arms and relax. There is far too much to look at. Meanwhile, a very adorable little one a couple of months older than her fell asleep on his father’s shoulder, looking so peaceful and sweet. Sometimes I wish she would do that…but then I remember I’ve only myself to blame for that character trait.

Sadly, I believe she also has tendencies towards being a perfectionist – yet another Sturm trait. If her toy or book isn’t doing exactly as she thinks it should be doing, she starts grunting, and crying, and waving it about. If she doesn’t throw it over her head, I take it away and we try a toy that might not be so frustrating…at least for the next five or ten minutes. Equally frustrating is the inability to roll over as quickly as she would like. If she can’t quite get her body to move in the right direction, the cries begin.

Of course, we’re only five months old. There are going to be a myriad of things we do and do not do – like and do not like. And they will doubtless change over and over again as the years go by. But, regardless, we love her very much. And at the end of the day, she is quite cute, isn’t she?

Emry and Mama celebrating Papa’s birthday.