So much to look forward to

The first few weeks after Hailey was born I found myself very emotional and often crying about the fact that she would never be so little again and that she was growing so much right before my very eyes. I wanted my tiny little baby to stay tiny forever and never grow up! Of course the first few weeks were also very rough with the lack of sleep and lots of crying and trying to figure each other out, so then I started to think maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she didn't stay in the newborn phase forever.

Within the last few weeks Hailey has been changing so much and doing new things and its made me realize how much I have to look forward to. Every day I get excited to see her smile at new things, recognize me and make faces at me, and "talk" more and more every day.

Hailey has completely outgrown her newborn clothes and diapers, and at just over 6 weeks old I think I have to officially say that she is no longer a "newborn." But I enjoyed every moment (even the sleepless ones!) of her being a newborn, and now I'm so excited about all that's to come: more cooing and jabbering, seeing her try new foods and watching the funny faces she'll make as she discovers all the flavors, watching her learn to crawl and then walk, hearing her say "mommy" and "daddy" and "I love you" for the first time, and the little girl giggles and smiles.

She is growing and changing so much every day that I can already sort of picture how she will look as a little girl. I can't wait for her to interact with me, to hold my hand and kiss me back. It brings tears to my eyes to imagine her as a little girl holding her newborn brother or sister one day.

Today I laid Hailey down to try and get her to take a nap in her crib. Thus far she's been sleeping in a bassinet in our room, but I realize before I know it she will no longer fit in there and will have to start sleeping in her own room. As I tried to soothe her to sleep I told her how she's getting to be a big girl and will have to start sleeping in her big girl bed in the next few months. I told her mommy would be sad about it, but she would learn to like her crib and promised that Mr. Glow Seahorse would help her fall asleep every night. Just one of the many big changes we have ahead of us in the next few months.

While it's hard to realize that she will never be a tiny little newborn again, I'm trying to enjoy every day with her and what it brings, because it's true that it all does pass by in the blink of an eye and I don't want to forget any of it.