I hope all parents feel this way - we've realized how FUN Alaise has grown to be. In such a short period of time, she has learned so many things... Most of all, to smile and laugh as a form of response. Today for the first time, she laughed when Kris started talking to her. She's laughed plenty before, but only when we were playing with her. This morning, when Kris smiled at her and started talking, she laughed and buried her face in my chest. It was the most endearing thing I've ever seen!! It is absolutely amazing to see her respond to us, and I especially love watching her "flirt" with Daddy, as she plays coy and shy, with a huge smile on her face. Her joy is so apparent with her laughters and smiles, and it brightens my day.
Today she also played with rubber ducky in her bath. I haven't put it in her bath in a while, so I don't know if she would have earlier, but just a couple of weeks ago, she didn't respond to it as it serenely floated around the water. Today, she looked at it and grabbed it, and played with it during her bath. So many new things! How fast she is learning to adapt to her environment, and to show interest in more and more things. It is incredible.
I do miss the early days when she would just cuddle up on my chest and fall asleep whenever I held her. I really thought that stage would last a teeny bit longer... Nope, it lasted maybe a month or so. She's becoming so independent, so interested in everything around her, it's hard to keep her even focused on nursing.
She's also becoming so strong - she rolls over to her back so easily now, and rolls to her side from her back. Not quite all the way to her tummy yet, but she's really trying. She arches her back all the time, and we have started to buckle her in her carseat today, as in a handful of seconds I turned my back on her (as I was cooking), she had managed to flip over IN her carseat, and her legs were dangling out, with her face buried in the seat. Gone are the days when I could leave her on the changing pad to go pee.
With independence and awareness comes... tantrums as well. Kris and I have spotted a couple of times when we were pretty sure she was crying for no good reason at all. She got unhappy, and even though I picked her up, she just kept crying and crying and crying. Not the hungry or tired sort of cry - "I'm mad for no good reason" cry. I'm afraid (cuz I'm really not looking forward to it) disciplining days are fast approaching.
I think one of my absolute favorite things as a mother so far is to watch the father-daughter interactions. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE to watch Kris play with her, talk to her, laugh with her, and be the caregiver. I love bedtime stories (when she will sit through it), as Kris reads to her. She usually focuses on his voice and face rather than the book, and I love to see her smile at him as he reads "Good Night, Sleep Tight, Little Bunnies". Even when I was pregnant, she would move more when Kris was reading to me.
Sigh. Life is rough right now, it really is. Lots of things happening in the business/career/financial realm. Every day has been a constant stress, I feel like every nerve in my body is stretched to a point where they will just snap with the slightest of pressures. I have to consciously loosen them to even go through the daily motions. Hopefully things will get better, everything is in the Lord's hands, and he will provide for us, one way or another. I've been fervently praying for His blessings, as He is the only one who can give them. But everyday I realize what a HUGE blessing my family is to me... It is the only reason I can get out of bed some days. And watching Alaise laugh, and grow, is just SO MUCH FUN. :) I hope other aspects of life will catch up soon.
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