7 Months

Emma Love can't be 7 months old already, she just can't!  I am not ready for her to be growing up so fast! She is becoming so mobile and independant, she is crawling and pulling herself up to a standing position using mama and dada and the furniture. Before we know it she will be walking and talking and getting into everything.  While I am excited about her newfound molbility and independance and love watching her learn and grow, I also am a litle bit sad as this means that my baby girl is no longer a "baby", she is slowly (although too fast for mama) becoming a toddler.  An amazing and wonderful time in its own right, but it does make me miss the itty bitty baby that we met in November, the one that wanted snuggles 24/7 and giggled when mama sang "head and shoulders, knees and toes." 

Yes, Emma still loves snuggles, but she is slowly easing out of mamas arms more often to explore the world on her own.  Playtime happens often and her ability to sit still, while never a strong point for her, has drastically decreased.  Getting a good picture has become a challange, sometimes impossible unless she is held by someone else or strapped down in her carseat or highchair. 

Emma has already spoken her first words, "hi" came first, then "grandpa" and  finally, "mama".  She is also working on saying "dada."  I am still amazed everytime I hear her cute little voice say those words, and I melt everytime she says "mama."  It is strange that her second word was "grandpa" and I think that it might have been something else had she not lost her grandpa Ken when she did.  The first time she said it, we were at her grandma and grandpas house and I was changing her diaper in the back room.  She started smiling and waving to someone over my shoulder, I turned to look but did not see anyone so I asked her who she was waving at.  She smiled and said; "grandpapa." 

I was shocked and thought I must have heard wrong, that she could not have just said that.  But, she has said it many times since, with other people around so I know I heard her right.  Our baby girl is slowing growing up and showing us, little by little, the amazing potential she carries within. 

I am striving to enjoy every day to the fullest, focusing on writing each little moment, every detail on the tablet of my heart and mind.  I don't want to forget the delicate, yet super sharp nails, the tiny gracefulness of her little hands, the adorable pudgyness of her cute feet.  I cherish the moment she wakes, sees my face, then smiles as she closes her eyes and rests her head on my chest.  It makes my day begin with a joy and freshness that only comes with the love of a child. The love and trust she has for her mama and dada is incredible ,and I hope we live up to it and don't do anything to lose or damage it.

There are many, seemingly ordinary moments, that happen daily, yet each one holds a profound beauty and intimacy all its own.  I hope I never lose the ability to recognise the simple joy and incredible beauty that those moments contain.  Knowing that, this time with Emma is a gift  and goes by all too fast, makes me want to extend the minutes and hours I am with her each day, as well as shorten the hours I am gone. 

As we fast approach her 8th month, I am reminded over and over how precious this gift of parenthood is as well as the great responsibility that comes with it.  I am in awe of this little girl that has stolen our hearts so completely, of the wonder and joy she finds in the seemingly mundane.  Her desire to see, and do, and touch, and taste, everything she can, her enthusiasm for life and experiencing the world around her, her desire to soak it all up with every part of her, is wonderful.  I wish to experience life the way she does, to look at the world in a whole new way, to see through the eyes of a child.  Emma is helping me do that, and I will be forever grateful for that.

Now, on to the next adventure, the next milestone, the next new experience.  I can't wait to see what Emma will shows us next!