What I miss

Our baby is only 7 months old and there are things I already miss about when he was a new baby. He isn't even grown up yet and I find myself yearning for the days when he was smaller. Here are the things I miss:

1. Snuggle time in the morning. Some days we would spend close to an hour laying in bed and staring at each other and giggling. Or one of us would shut their eyes for a few moments while the other happily chewed on his hand. Or urped on his daddy's pillow. We still spend a few minutes snuggling in bed, but it sure is different. Now: If one hand isn't down the back of his diaper to anchor him to the bed, he is falling off the bed. He crawls up and over, down and around. He pulls himself up on the headboard and chews on it. He attempts to pull down the Egyptian blanket hanging over the bed. He drools on the sheets and whacks me in the face when I try to snuggle him closer (and giggles while doing it). He pulls himself up on my hips and then bites me. And he urps on his daddy's pillow (shh...don't tell John)

2. Feeding time. Now he has teeth. Then, he didn't. Enough said.

3. Kisses. William started giving kisses when he was about 4 months old. They were few and far between, but very sweet. They are more frequent now, but again those teeth make us brace ourselves for the worst every time he leans in close for a smooch.

4. Entertainment. Before, William was content to look at our faces or kick and wave his arms at toys suspended above him. I could go to the bathroom and come back and find him in the same place. Or take him in the bathroom with me and know exactly where he would be when I got out of the shower. Now, it is anyones guess. I sprint through getting dressed everyday (what? get up earlier? No way!) and pray he doesn't pull up on the toilet or tip over the trash can and try to eat the contents before I can find my way back to him. Makes normal things like going to the bathroom and eating a little lunch seem like the 50 yard dash.


Things I am loving about right now:
1. William is always happy to see me. But, now he has the mobility to get to me. It is so sweet to watch him chugging across the floor giggling (good heavens, when is he NOT giggling?) towards me to be picked up. And how can you not love the pudgy arms waving over his head indicating he wants to be picked up?

2. I can see how proud he is of himself. Early on, things happened by accident to William. One day he was minding his own business, looking at toys when all of a sudden he had rolled over to his back. Now, when he pulls up, crawls, or does something for the first time on purpose, I can see the pride on his face. There is nothing like it.

3. We are finally reading books to someone besides ourselves! We wanted to include reading into our bedtime routine with William. We have been reading a few books every night for several months. Just in the last few weeks, he has started actually watching and listening during story time. So sweet as he intently looks at the pictures and sighs when the story is over.


4. Eating. I am finally not the sole source of William's nutrition. This is sad occasion as well as a relief off my shoulders. Sad because he isn't a baby anymore and a relief that my body is almost entirely mine again after more than a year of pregnancy and food production. Nothing is cuter than his baby bird like open mouth waiting for another bite. Or how he bangs on his tray and shouts when I'm not scooping it in fast enough.