My Girl

It is still hard to believe that Addie has been here for less time than it took to keep her safe in my belly. But, just one more month to go and she'll beat that. She was eight months old on Thursday, something that still blows my mind. Everyone said and says, "The time goes by so fast," and it is so true. I don't know where the time goes, and I know, of course, that she is growing because I see it happening right before my eyes, but it is still hard to believe.

It is wild to see her sit at the table and feed herself a cracker. Just the other day I saw her sitting up, but realized when I'd looked at her just seconds before, she was lying down. It was then that I realized she was able to get into the sitting position from her back all on her own. She catches a glimpse of her hand and turns it around and around, moving her fingers, analyzing them and their movement. She babbles and babbles and babbles...loudly. She turns when we call her name, whether we call Addie or Adelaide. She stands up in our laps, and she is getting oh so close to crawling. Even without the crawling she makes her way around. She emphatically shakes her head no, even if she wants whatever it is you have.

Sometimes she still gets up at night. Sometimes she lays her head on our chests. Sometimes she doesn't want to take a nap, or at least doesn't want to be put down awake. Sometimes she needs to be rocked. Sometimes she likes to bite when she is eating (ouch). Sometimes she bites down on the spoon and won't let go or sticks out her tongue and blows, spraying baby food all over. Sometimes she looks deep into my eyes, locking her gaze on mine, before she is soon distracted by a shadow, a bird, or the beep of the oven timer.

It is always fun to watch her, even though some days it is tiring. When she wakes during the night it can be frustrating, not knowing why she does it when I know she can sleep the night through. There are times when we have to talk over her in the car, when she's feeling particularly chatty. There are days when after she is in bed, my back aches and there is still laundry to be folded and dishes to be done.

I am always willing to rock her, even if some say it means I'm spoiling her, because I know this time is short. I kiss her cheeks until they are pink, because I know one day she won't let me. We throw her into the air or flip her upside down, because those are two things that generate the biggest laughs.

I will always be grateful for these times and I will always, always be thankful for my girl.