Be still my heart

Every day with my baby is a new adventure.  I can't believe my good luck!  I am the recipient of the most perfect and rewarding job: mom.  This means clapping and laughing when my Ro makes a new discovery.  Today she discovered she could see me through her pink plastic tupperware box that holds her toys- it was perched over her head like a helmet, she was listening to her voice echoing inside, then she looked up at me.  We were both pink to one another, and it was so silly!
This also means testing the bounds of my patience when three teeth are trying to break through her tender gums at the same time and all day she requires me to hold her- and even then the fussing persists.  It's these days when I think about the future, and how I am sure that I will give my right arm for her to let me hold her like this.  These kinds of thoughts bring me back to cherishing the moment.

Our little chub has long since outgrown the infant tub that hovers over the sink.  Anymore she showers with me, and her fascination with the water showering down hasn't lifted.  Each time she holds out her hand, lets the water beat down onto it and just watches, sometimes she wiggles her fingers too.  I love watching her discover and learn about her world.  I wish I could have my first experiences all over again!  Bath time has been a blast too.  Why are splashing babies so cute?

It turns out there are endless things to do with babies that result in giggles, smiles, belly laughs, happy tears and grown-ups doing things that they would have never considered doing in the past.  For example, I now sing out almost anything that we do.  Diaper changing time?  I've got a song for that.  Going to the store?  You know it.  Sleepy time?  Which of my four nigh-night songs would you prefer?  Ethan has taken to naming her little plastic animals.  Her favorite it Zeeb.  Zeeb has an indian accent and is, you guessed it, a Zebra.  The first one to get a name was Pedro, he's a Giraffe.  Now, if you had told me 3 years ago that my husband would be naming plastic toys and talking for them in foreign accents, I would have told you that you don't know my husband very well.  Babies are magical creatures indeed.

Lastly (for now) I cherish bed time.  Hardly because it means time when I can fly solo around the house without her tipping over the dog's water bowl (this happened TWICE today and I don't wanna talk about it), but because it has become a routine that brings wonderful closeness.  When we lay down for her to fall asleep she knows it's time for just that.  She hardly fights it and mostly gets snugly.  Ah!  The BEST!  I used to judge myself for creating it this way: falling asleep every night with the help of myself.  I would have thoughts fly through my head like, "You are creating a monster" or "she will never be able to fall asleep on her own if you keep doing this" and "you are babying her too much".  And as those thoughts flew through my head I let them fly right back out.  I get that how I parent is perfect, just like how you parent is perfect.  Isn't it wonderful being perfect?!