Becoming a Mother Afterall

Ten *New* Things that I Love About My Daughter:
1. Seeing those four pearly whites when she smiles. It is almost as if she knows to show them off!
2. Watching her listen intently to my commands. "Ainsley, can I have the book?" She focuses on me, then on the book in her hand, and then slowly hands it to me.
3. The way she "kisses" the duck while in the bathtub. "Ainsley! Kiss the duck!" She smiles but can't quite pucker her lips, so she just open-mouths the duck's head.
4. Her newfound independence while crusing the furniture is amazing. She doesn't even hold on anymore, just slightly grazes one hand over the couch cushions and walks from Daddy to Mommy, switches sides, and then from Mommy to Daddy.
5. Her happy scream, which has turned into the loudest thing I have ever heard! Her favorite person to scream at is Hunter, her new friend at daycare. They actually chase each other around the room, screaming and laughing hysterically.
6. The way she now lets us take her clothes off at night and also dress her in the mornings. As long as she has a book to look at, a wipe to swing in the air, or a off-key song from her Mom and Dad, all is good.
7. Spitting up has slowed down A LOT! Ya-hoo!
8. The way she signs the word "more". I haven't been signing with her and I am not 100% sure how I feel about it, but the one sign, "More?" she has picked up from watching another teacher and boy at daycare. I started doing it at home a few weeks ago at dinner and she signs it by putting her fingers to her lips. She signs "More!" for her fruit puffs, her favorite flavor being Sweet Potato or Peach.
9. The way she closes her eyes right before her butt hits the floor or right before she is about to hit her head on something. (toy, book, etc.) She knows it may hurt and she flinches - it is funny!
10. Lastly, I love the way she curls my hair around her fingers at night when I am rocking her to sleep. For the past few nights, she has signaled to us she is ready for bed by standing up while holding onto the rocking chair, reaching for her bottle, and moaning, "nnnnnnnnn". We say "night, night" to her when we turn off the lights, so I think she could be 'saying' that.

This age has held so many new discoveries. I remember in the beginning how she changed and grew so quickly and now it seems every time I turn around, she is not quite the same little girl she was 10 minutes before that. Tomorrow we are going here to try out a class for her age group. I am so excited because I reached out to another Mom in our daycare and she is going to meet us there.

Feeling blessed today . . .