so fast

My baby girl is almost four months old, and these are the things I don't want to forget:

• The completely bewildered look she wore for the first few days of her life…
• The way she stretches when I unwrap her and she wakes up…bending almost backwards, with her little legs tucked up and her arms free of her swaddling, reaching for the sky…
• The sight of her perfect profile as she snacks and snoozes…
• The sweet look of total satisfaction when she's done eating…drunk on sleep and mama's milk…
• The peace on her sweet face when I finally lay her down…
• Watching her snooze on her daddy's shoulder…either with her nose squished into his neck so I wonder how she's breathing, or facing to the side, her mouth a lopsided triangle of contentment…
• Her pure, clear voice as she "ooo"s at me…
• Her full-faced smiles…
• Her "flopsy" pose at the end of a feeding and I attempt to burp her on my lap…head drooping towards her knees, arms straight out in front like she's about to fold in half…
• The conspiratorial grin she gives me when she's almost done eating and just wants to goof off …
• Her thorough enjoyment of having her face washed at bath time…
• Her delight in her Daddy singing her special "poopsie" song…
• The pouty lip quiver right before the all-out wail…
• The weight of her on my shoulder as she gives in to slumber…
• The look of delight she gives me when she's just filled her diaper…
• How she hooks her tiny arm around my shoulder when I'm carrying her…
• Her "whole body smile" she gives when she wakes up…

Over the past several weeks, Lucy's hands have found each other, and she's grasping things and pulling them to her mouth. She loves to suck on her blanket or burp cloth or bib or whatever cloth she can get her hands on. She babbles away to her mama and daddy, and touches our faces and gives us spectacular smiles. Her daddy cheers louder for her to roll over than he does for the football game…she's not quite there yet, but does go from back to side a lot…it's intense, this waiting for the complete rollover! She attempts crunches when she's sitting in our laps and can sit up with only a bit of assistance.

I don't want to forget these things. Nor do I want to miss today because I'm longing for the way things were. She grows and changes so fast, and I feel like I can barely keep up…as soon as I think I've got some things figured out, she goes & changes on me! I'm loving getting to know the person she is…loving the time I get to spend with her…loving being her mama.