My baby

is growing up. Way too fast.

It seems like just yesterday she was so tiny she barely stretched from my shoulder to my waist. I was counting everything in ounces and she spent most of her time either sleeping or in tummy time.

Now...now she seems to have lost all those "baby" qualities. She's well and truly into "toddlerhood."



She's approaching that ever so great stage of the "terrible two's" and has been giving me glimpses into that. She's always been opinionated and now realizes the best way to really frustrate mommy is to be opinionated about her food. She refuses her high chair at times, tosses her food on the floor if it's not what she wants or given to her in her "preferred" manner. She screams when she doesn't get the toy (which really ISN'T a toy, more like my phone or some other dangerous object like the knives from the dishwasher) she wants, she climbs into the dishwasher.

She is attempting to climb onto the couch to be with me. She moves objects, like her chair or a pillow, and tries to use it as a step stool. She's intensely curious and points at everything and says "nah?" She's working on her "y" sound and makes the most hilarious sound as she moves her tongue around her mouth. She loves to be read to right before her bath and points at objects in the book and names them. She has the cutest little voice and some day I will get it on video as she points precisely to her nose and says "noe" in her adorable voice.



She's sitting at the table with Andrew and I. We recently went and got her a booster/high chair from Wal-Mart that allows her to really be a "big girl." We've packed up the high chair and stored it for any possible future use. It's like saying good bye to an old and faithful friend. But at the same time it brought such a unique joy to look over and see her literally AT the table with us.

But I guess all this "big girl-ness" has it's benefits. For one, she now walks up to me and says clearly "ma-ma." When she wants something, she will call out "ma-ma!" It's not just a random sound anymore, she is clearly looking for me. She walks up to us for just hugs at times. I still can just look at her and she grins shyly before breaking out into her beautiful smile and giggling.

I can't believe we are 16 months old. I can't believe we are walking, no running. I can't believe we are here, now. It doesn't seem real. And I wish I could just capture it and live in this moment, here, now. Because I know when I blink, 10 years will have passed. And then 10 more.

Every thing we went through to get here has been worth it. Every last thing.