T is for Teeth. Terrible, taunting teeth.

I feel like teething is one of those things that is going to be constantly redefined by a new level of terror through each phase we pass.

The bottom right tooth was not so bad, but the bottom left tooth was tough. Neither even belong on the same scale as what is happening in our house right now.

We had several nights of difficult bedtimes and mild discomfort before the top right finally broke through. The left seemed to be following closely behind, but then...

They just stopped.

Right there in the midst of agony, those jerks just decided to take a breather. So the top left side is swollen, red, bleeding, and depending on the day, sometimes sports the glimpse of a tooth. The left is slowly working its way through, but the progress is slow enough to be questionable most days.

In the meantime, we have spent the first SEVERAL hours of bedtime holding her while she flails and whimpers in her sleep. You cannot set her down or the screaming begins.

I. Am. Exhausted.

I'm typing this from our pillow fort in my bed as she tosses and turns all over me.  Last night a full dose of Tylenol helped tremendously, and she finally got some rest around midnight. Tonight, it hasn't even taken the edge off.  So, I might as well pass the time writing... perhaps I'll start my memoirs.

It doesn't help that, on top of being exhausted from last night, she took her nap around 9:30 this morning and decided she was good for the day.  Once she hit her second (or third, or fourth) wind, she was delighted to pass the evening with some serious walking practice.  She bounced around from her take, to the ottoman, to me, to the couch like an invincible pinball, squealing and beaming with her progress.  She's getting braver and braver, crawling across the room before she'll pull up on the couch, turn to me, smile, and bulldoze back to my side.  At one point she just got up and walked away from me.  She circled the room while I tried to nonchalantly hover close enough to catch my tired little traveler before she finally lost her balance. 

It's so remarkable to watch that I almost forget how tiny she still is, and how hard it must be for her to process all of this at once.  Don't worry--I have been thoroughly reminded.