chubby cherub

At 7 months old, Sommer is about halfway through the baby-stage.  I am feeling kind of sad about this.  As much as I will not miss midnight feedings, or blowouts in the grocery store, or making dinner with only one hand, I will miss having this sweet little baby in the house.

She is at that perfect age when she sits in one place with a pile of toys and entertains herself. I can leave the room and when I come back, she is still in the same spot on the rug.  This will last another few weeks, and then my content little baby will be everywhere and into everything.

I will miss her chubby fingers in my mouth... her two little teeth poking out of her smile... her open mouth grin when I peer over the crib in the morning... her greedy eyes when she sees, and desperately wants, food... her giant bobblehead on top of that petite neck... her shriek of delight when Annike bounces into the room... all 6 of her knees...

...her determination to shove something new into her mouth... her expressive eyebrows and blinkless baby stare... her little noises that communicate loudly in a wordless world... her peaceful face when she falls asleep in my arms...

Have you ever seen such delicious thighs?  Should I eat them now or save them for dessert?  I don't want these to ever go away.  Unfortunately, they will not be nearly so appealing in 20 years.

The baby stage is limiting in so many ways, but just like everyone says, it is short.  This time around, as exhausted and tapped out as I have been, I better understood the shortness of this stage.  I hope that I have celebrated it, basked in it, and paused to absorb it enough.  Soon it will be over and I will miss this chubby cheeked child and all her cherubic ways.  We love you, Sommer-Sunshine!