10 months old!

Another month has literally sped by and little Lily Pie is 10 months old today.  With hand on my heart, I can honestly say that I cannot believe that in just 2 months time, my precious little baby will be celebrating her first birthday.  Party planning has already started, the "save the dates" have even been sent out and I'm narrowing down the party theme. 

I have to say that as her first birthday draws near, I'm filled with all kinds of different emotions.  I'm proud of what I've accomplished as a mother so far, I'm extremely proud of my precious little creation and I'm excited to watch her develop her cute, happy, friendly personality and to watch her achieve all her milestones to becoming her own little person.  I'm also sad... sad that my newborn, tiny little baby has grown up far too quickly.  I've said this so many times, but I will say it again - I wish at times I could push pause and let time stand still.  I want to fully, wholeheartedly take in and enjoy every little new thing that she does.  But obviously I realise that this isn't possible so instead I am extremely thankful to my husband for allowing me the blessing of being a stay-at-home-mom so that I can be with Lily at her every waking moment.  I am able to watch her grow and be present at every milestone she achieves and for this I am truly, truly grateful.

A little 10 month update:

• You are the light of my life, the apple of my eye, my absolute reason for being!  Your smile just brightens my day, no matter how early it has started or how many times you've woken me up at night.
• You are still sporting a perfect gummy smile void of any teeth!  I've been told by doctors that the longer your teeth take to come, the better it is.  I'm not quite sure why, but obviously I believe them.  I only wish they would start making their appearance soon as I know you're in quite a bit of discomfort as they push their way through your gums and every now and then you cough and splutter when trying to eat something that clearly needs a few more gummy chews!  Teeth would be so much more helpful in the eating department.
• You love playing peek-a-boo with mom while you eat your meals.  You pull your bib in front of your face and then pull it down again when I say "peek-a-boo"!  Even though it makes meal times a little slower and more difficult, it is oh so very cute.
• You know exactly how to crawl on all fours and do so every now and then, however, on our hard tiled floors, you still prefer the leopard crawl.  Mom has bought you 4 mats to date in order to make the floors a little more comfortable for your precious knees.  Granny even bought you knee pads!
• You are still such a friendly, outgoing little baby who loves attention.  When we are out shopping, you smile, giggle and wave at all the people.  It breaks mommy's heart when you smile or wave at someone who is clearly in a bad mood and they don't respond!  Oh how is mommy going to cope when you go through things such as nasty kids at school or someone picks on you?  I don't want to think about it.
• You are getting stronger by the day and are constantly pulling yourself up to stand.  Your favourite spot to do so is the coffee table in the lounge, but then you get frustrated because you haven't quite worked out how to sit down again.  A little whine or moan gets mom's attention and I know it's your signal that you've had enough of standing.  I'm looking forward to when you eventually figure out how to bend your legs and sit, but I still do love that you need me to help you along your road of discovery.
• You are still a brilliant eater and eat almost everything we give you, including sushi rice and pieces of lemon!  The expression on your face is priceless but you continue gumming away at it!
• You love giving kisses, especially when daddy and mommy kiss each other and then you copy us by giving us kisses too.  I think daddy uses mommy by kissing her, just so you can copy mommy and let daddy kiss you as well.
• You absolutely adore swimming - both at swimming lessons and with mom and dad at home.  You aren't scared of being submerged and know when to hold your breath and close your eyes.
• You can be a little bit of a drama queen.  When other children get into your personal space and you don't like it, you turn around, look at me and moan.  You sometimes make out like you've been hurt when clearly you just want those kids to remove themselves from your space.  I can't deny that you definitely know what you want!

There are so many little things that you are doing on a daily basis that I could carry on listing them for pages.  It is crazy how just 10 months ago you were helpless and totally reliant on me for everything.  I love that you still need me for the majority of things, but it's amazing how much you can now do on your own.  I'm absolutely loving life's journey at the moment and the fact that we are in it together.  I love you more than you will ever know my little angel pie xxx

Drugs 1 - sleep training 0

The other morning my angel woke up and looked like she has been attacked by either a monster mosquito or a swarm of them!  I wasn't quite sure what to make of the horrendous red, swollen marks on her arm and face - was it in fact a mozzie bite or perhaps something worse like a spider?  So this first time worry-pot mom decided to play it safe and take Lily to the doctor.  R285 later and it was confirmed to be an allergic reaction to mosquito bites!

Lily's poor little arm!

One good thing that definitely came out of the doctor's visit was the fact that she prescribed my new found love, Allergex!  This is a syrup which makes babies sleepy... oh yes, and alleviates the symptoms of the allergy.  Oh how I wish I'd known about this miracle drug a few months back.  The last 3 nights that Lily has been taking it, she has been sleeping through!  Touch wood things stay like this.  I've decided that even though her red, hot rash is now looking much better, Lily still needs the Allergex (well, to be honest, mommy needs Lily to need the Allergex!).  Apparently it can help to get them to sleep through if you use it for a few nights in a row.  I much prefer this method than the crying it out method thank you very much!

When attempting the crying method a few days back during Lily's lunch time nap, Lily decided that she was going to win and sleep would not prevail.  My child has a strong character and knows what she wants - and that was to stay awake!  She cried and cried until she was hysterical.  As I walked into the room to console her, she looked up at me and projectile vomited all over herself, her hair, her clothes, her pillow, her blankets, sheet, mattress protector and dummy.  Typically she chose a day when the maid doesn't work so mommy had to deal with it all on her own.

I immediately flipped her over so she wouldn't choke and then lifted her out her cot, stripped her naked and then put her into the bath.  I think I usually have a strong stomach, but I was close to getting sick myself while trying to clean her.  I had to wash her hair and what felt like her entire body.  I also had to clean the bath once I had taken her out.  It was then a matter of stripping the bed and making it again with fresh, clean linen. I then shoved everything into the washing machine, made Lily a bottle (the first formula bottle in ages) and she eventually fell asleep.  I was absolutely exhausted by the end of it all!

So, as I said, I prefer "drugs" (magic medicine) to sleep training by far!  Long may the sleeping through last!

A bit on the tired side

It has just gone 7pm and I am dreaming of my bed.  It has been an exhausting week as Lily has suddenly developed separation anxiety on top of teething.  My child must be in quite a considerable amount of discomfort as she is 9 days short of 10 months old and is still sporting a gummy, toothless smile.  So with the separation anxiety as well as teething, you can just imagine the wonderful nights I've been having!

Lily has always, since day one, been a great night time sleeper.  She never fought being put down at night nor being put down after a night time feed.  I often sympathised with friends whose babies would wake up at night and wouldn't go back to sleep - keeping them awake for hours.  I have been spared that torture, well, until last week when, unfortunately, my turn arrived.

The first night Lily started to protest and scream just as I was about to go to bed.  I couldn't stand it as my mom was staying over and my husband was out of town, so I  just put Lily in bed with me and after a few kicks in my ribs, we both eventually fell asleep.  Although I slept, it wasn't a peaceful night as I was very much aware of her tiny little body next to mine and the fact that she could roll out the other side.  I was rather stiff the next day from sleeping on my left side all night.  So when the crying started the next night again, I decided that I had to be tough and let her cry it out.  It was heartbreaking, but luckily I had my mom's support and we both sat together in our pj's in my bed.  I would go back into Lily's room every 5-10 minutes to check on her, reassure her and turn her back on her side.  She would calm down, but then as soon as I walked out of the room, the screaming would begin again.  She eventually fell asleep after 38 minutes.

If I thought 38 minutes was bad, I was in for a treat 2 nights later when she cried for 50 minutes!  It felt like a lifetime, but she eventually passed out and slept right through until 4:30am when I fed her and she started her day at 6am.  The only "good" thing (if you can call it that) about the crying is that she exhausts herself so much that she sleeps relatively nicely through to the morning.  Last night she didn't protest too much, but our night was was much, much worse... She woke up every 2 hours!  I went to bed around 9:30pm only to be woken at 11:30pm, 1:30am, 3:30am, 5:15am!  All I can be grateful for was the fact that it was hubby's turn to do morning duty so I got to sleep in until 8:20am.  Even thought I had a little lie-in, it didn't stop me feeling like an absolute zombie today.

I'm really hoping that Lily's little teeth will make an appearance soon so that at least the teething discomfort will be alleviated.  I also hope that this separation anxiety doesn't last too much longer.  This sleep deprivation and interruption is really torture.  But on a positive note, Lily is getting cuter and cuter with each passing day.  She can crawl properly now which is great to see, but she still prefers to leopard crawl.  She has been doing so since the 10th February (9.5 months old).  She is also pulling herself up and holding onto the couch and coffee table.  She has also discovered she can climb the stairs which means the time has come to move our bums and finally buy the gate for our stairs!  Lily has also learned to repeat "ta" when we take or give her something - so exceptionally cute!

It is now 7:30pm so I better head off to bed... Here's hoping to a much better night tonight - please!

Mini update

The past few days have been really busy, hence my silence.  Lily is keeping me a little busier with each passing day.  Although I absolutely love updating my blog, I enjoy the time I spend with my precious baby so much more so I suppose my updates will fall to the way side for the time being.

Updates in the land of Lily:

• The leopard crawl is still the "ride" of choice with mommy and granny on our hands and knees trying to prompt her to crawl the traditional way.  We aren't too sure, but we're trying to convince ourselves that she has taken a few steps with her stomach lifted as a result of our walking around on all 4s!  Hopefully we will get there!  At least the leopard crawl is the slower version of crawling which gives mom a few extra seconds to go running after her.
• Lily has finally realised how to get off her stomach, onto all 4s and then onto her bum.  She used to get extremely frustrated being "stuck" on her stomach and then not being able to get back to the sitting position.  So now we have a much happier little mover on the loose.
• Over the last few days, Lily has learned how to point.  She is constantly pointing at things, often followed by a laugh.  Aunty Lou keeps on saying it's rude to point at people and laugh... but I must say, seeing my daughter doing this is just the cutest thing in the world.
• We have finally moved from the horrendous rear facing car seat to the more "grown up" forward facing version.  This makes for a much more pleasant drive for both mommy and Lily.  No more stretching to the back to rock the seat in order to comfort a frustrated baby, no more trying to find the dummy in a backwards motion and aiming blindly for baby's mouth (usually ending up at the eye!) and no more loud music playing trying to drown out baby's pleas to be released from her "prison".

 

• Lily's favourite game at the moment is "Splish splash" which she plays with granny in the bath.  She looks up at granny in anticipation, bangs down her hand to make a big splash while granny shouts "Splish splash!" - resulting in absolute hysterics!  It's so extremely cute and watching them play together like this really pulls at mommy's heart strings.

Lily is really becoming a little person with such an adorable little personality.  She knows what she wants, is always giggling and loves being the center of attention.  She loves people and smiles at everyone when we're out and about.  Lily also loves giving mommy kisses and mom just grabs them when they come her way - it's the absolute best thing in the whole wide world and I hope those kisses fill all our days in the future!

9 months old

Even though we are told that a pregnancy lasts 9 months, I do realise that it is usually slightly longer than that, like in my case!  Lily was quite happy inside her mommy's tummy and was in no rush to enter this world.  Even though my pregnancy didn't feel too long, I have to say that the 9 months of pregnancy versus the 9 months that Lily has been in my life, definitely went slower.  Like I keep saying, the last 9 months of being a mommy have gone by so extremely quickly!

We had our 9 month check this morning and Lily is still considered a petite little baby, weighing in at 8.5kg.  She is now 70cm long and her head is also growing nicely (of course - she has her mother's brains).  Unfortunately, along with the nice developmental measurements we had done at this clinic visit, Lily also had to have her measles inoculation.  Shame, it breaks my heart - she was all smiles beforehand and when the needle hit, she went bright red and gave a loud cry.  Luckily it lasted all of 5 seconds and she forgot about it much to my relief.  Now we have 3 months to go until the next ouchy injections :(

Otherwise, Lily still has no teeth, is still leopard crawling all over the place, pushing with her right leg and dragging her left one behind (resulting in a rough piece of skin under her right big toe!).  She is also starting to open draws and cupboards, resulting in the child proofing moving up a notch to cupboard locks, especially for the detergent cupboard in the kitchen.  I have to watch her like a hawk as she keeps on making a bee-line for the dogs bowls and the opened sliding door...  I can only begin to imagine how busy I'm going to be when she starts crawling properly!

I am still amazed at how much I totally and unconditionally love my little Lily Monster and of course, how much this love just keeps on growing.  How is it physically possible?  She is our life and lights up our world.

I dream of sleep...

I should be thankful for the good baby I have been blessed with and the very few difficult nights we have experienced.  Many moms have the exact opposite with only a few good nights in between very disturbed, exhausting nights.  However, 3 days ago, Lily woke up with a teary right eye and running left nostril.  Poor baby looked so sick, but it seemed to be the same thing she's had in the past where it just seems to disappear, with no "sickness" to report.  I've been told that these sorts of symptoms that mimic a cold or the flu, can be a result of teething...

I'm not so sure!  Teething seems to be the "go-to" blamed condition for everything that's not quite right with your child.  Lily has had these teething symptoms before, quite some time ago, and still, we have NO teeth!  Her gums are a little more swollen and I do believe they are on their way, but I just wish we had something to show for her little niggles, red eyes, runny nose and bad nights!

Three nights ago, I had the worst night we have yet to experience with Lily and I hope it's the last!  From the moment she was put to sleep at 6:30pm, she woke up every single hour until I eventually got up with her at 5:15am.  It was tiring, very tiring!  Then the next night wasn't much better!  I wasn't up every hour, but I was definitely up about 5 times during the night.  Lily wasn't even awake, she was merely crying out in what appeared to be discomfort.  Poor little baby, I just wanted to make it right for her.  It wasn't helping that her nose seemed blocked and she was having difficulty breathing while breastfeeding or sucking on her dummy.  It was the first time I popped open the baby Nurofen and used Karvol capsules.

So last night, I was fully prepared.  Before putting Lily down for her sleep, I sprayed some of her lavendar "magic sleep" spray on her pillow and mattress, I rubbed Karvol Rub on her little chest, I put some "Breath Easy" on her upper lip and prayed for a better night.  And I am happy to say that she only woke up at 4am for a feed and then 7am to start the day.  I feel so refreshed!

I now have a new found sympathy for my fellow moms who have battled with babies who aren't fond of sleeping and wake up numerous times during the night.  It is exhausting to say the least and I don't believe you can ever quite "catch up" on lost sleep.  But the joys of being a mommy, to see your precious baby's smile when you walk into their room and to have those little snuggles, giggles and precious moments, make it all worth while!

On the move and other news

I've been meaning to update about Lily's mobility for quite some time now, but due to the actual mobility itself, I have less time to update!  For about a week now, Lily has mastered the "leopard crawl" and is moving about all over the floor.  She is no longer only sliding backwards, but in all directions which means those mythical "mother's eyes at the back of my head" are starting to develop!

In the last week I made an emergency trip to Baby City to buy much-needed plug covers as Lily discovered them with much enthusiasm.  I suppose the baby proofing is starting.  We now have the pool net ticked off our list, the plugs all covered up and our bottom medicine draw in the kitchen emptied.  Still on our list of "to dos" is to get gates for our stairs and the highly fashionable (not) chicken mesh for the banisters at the top of the stairs.  Who knew that the once OCD person I was with regards to how my house looked, is now no longer concerned with whether her house is spic and span, but rather that it's safe for Lily.

Unfortunately, due to having dogs in the house and the sliding doors open all day, our floors, even though just cleaned, are never quite spotless.  There are hairs, bits of grass, little black specks and dust that seem to accumulate undetected on the tiles so when Lily goes sliding around the house, she gets absolutely filthy!  I've resorted to only getting her dressed when we are heading out so she can dirty her vests all she wants until then.  My husband and I have joked about putting a wash cloth onto her stomach and letting her clean the floors while she's on the move!

Lily is reluctant to crawl properly just yet, but rather opts for the leopard crawl which she accomplishes by pushing with her right leg and dragging her left leg along behind her.  If she knows she is heading towards an area where she isn't supposed to crawl and I come up behind her, she picks up her pace trying to out run me.  It's too cute I have to say.  Even though she hasn't figured out how to crawl on all 4's just yet, she is definitely getting onto her hands and knees and rocks back and forth, but when she's ready to get from point A to B, she drops down onto her stomach and starts with the slide.

I've been reluctant to report on Lily's day time sleeping as I'm nervous about jinxing it, but I have to say that day time sleep appears to no longer be the enemy!  Lily now has 2 day naps and is quite happy to be put into her cot awake and I'm allowed to walk out the room without any protest.  Sometimes she falls asleep quite quickly without any sound and other times she will moan herself to sleep (no crying, just a sleepy moan).  She has a morning sleep of about 2.5 hours after she's woken up and then another one after her lunch.  This does vary according to what time she starts her day, but this is generally how her naps go these last 2 weeks.  Her sleep times range anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours, with the longest being 2 hours which was great!  But the long sleeps are few and far between, but at least there's no longer a fight to get her to have one!

On another note, Lily started her first swimming lesson yesterday and looked too adorable in her little swimsuit and her swimming cap.  Too precious!  The lesson was very professional and Lily loved every single moment of it.  The swimming teacher warned us that she was going to submerge our babies which left me rather apprehensive, but Lily didn't even protest!  She was very happy in the pool and didn't complain once.  I was such a proud mommy.  We are now doing swimming twice a week and even though mommy isn't loving the fact that she has to don a costume in front of everyone, it's definitely worth it to have some quality time together and to see Lily having such a fantastic time.

Lily on the move

Practicing wearing our swimming cap!

Interesting facts

When I fell pregnant I obviously had numerous amounts of questions.  This is a completely new, exciting, nerving, worrying and incredible experience and of course the go-to person for my initial few hundred questions was my own mom.  Unfortunately, my mom's pregnancies happened over 30 years before mine, so a few of the questions I had were answered with "Sorry my love, but I honestly can't remember".  I therefore decided that I would document some of the details and facts about my pregnancy for the day I am, please G_d, blessed with these questions from Lily.  Lily can look back on this post and hopefully get some answers should I not remember (something which is highly likely due to my memory bank being like a sieve!).

• You were conceived 5 months, but 4 cycles (1 of my cycles was 2 months long) after we first started trying for you.
• You were conceived around the 22nd July 2009.
• I did my first pregnancy test on 23rd August 2009 and blood tests were done on the 24th August confirming that I was between 4-5 weeks pregnant.  I was beyond ecstatic, shaking with absolute disbelief when 2 lines appeared on the pregnancy test!
• The first few weeks of pregnancy is often accompanied by cramping similar to period type cramping.  This is completely normal!
• The first time we saw you was at 9 weeks pregnant.  We weren't allowed to listen to your heartbeat just yet, but we could see it.  Truly, truly amazing.

Our miracle little bean at 9 weeks

• At 13 weeks we had the Fetal Assessment scan done to confirm that everything was normal with our pregnancy.  We were so relieved when all the scanning and testing showed us that you were absolutely perfect.  We were so blessed.

Precious Lily at 13 weeks

• It was so amazing to feel your first little movements at 18 weeks.  It felt like little gas bubbles - so much so, that I wasn't 100% sure it was you in the beginning.
• Another amazing Fetal Assessment scan was done at 21 weeks.  This was the first time that Dr Victor actually saw that you were in fact a girl.  We decided not to find out what gender you were, but it was really difficult not finding out when we knew that the doctor could see!
• My clothes started getting a little tighter around the 22 week mark, but it was only at about 25 weeks that I started wearing maternity clothes.

Mommy's tummy at 24 weeks

•  You weren't very eager to turn upside down, but eventually at our 33 week scan, you were head down.  Week 36 you were engaging and by week 38 you were face down as opposed to face up like you were previously lying.
• Dr Victor was worried about your size so we were told that you needed to be in this world by no later than your due date.  Unfortunately 2 days before your due date, after an examination, the doctor found that your head was "stuck" and if we went for a natural birth, there was a high chance of ending up in an emergency c-section.  After carrying my precious baby for almost 10 months, I was not going to risk that and we decided to opt for the safer c-section.
• You were born weighing 3.040kg at 4:50pm on Wednesday, 28th April 2010.  The happiest day of my life!
• During my pregnancy I gained around 14kg.  My stomach stayed relatively tiny, however, my bum and thighs definitely grew.  I was carrying "all round" - almost like you were lying in my bum instead of my tummy : )

39 weeks pregnant - 1 week before you arrived.

• I didn't suffer from serious morning sickness - only a constant nausea during the day.  I went off meat and chicken completely and preferred carbohydrates in the form of bread or crackers.
• I had no cravings while pregnant with you except for a few weeks of really loving smarties!
• I didn't have too much pain whilst pregnant, except for some ligament pain in the pubic bone area towards the last few weeks.  I put this "easy" pregnancy down to reflexology and exercise which I did weekly.

I absolutely loved being pregnant.  I loved feeling your little kicks and hiccups (which you had quite often). I loved watching the alien-like movements that resulted when you would give a hard kick or stretch about.  I loved watching my belly grow, knowing that we were getting closer and closer to finally meeting you. As strange as it sounds, I sometimes actually miss being pregnant.

Pregnancy is truly an amazing miracle.  There is no doubt that there is a Higher Power who blessed us with you - our little miracle - and I give thanks every day for being so incredibly lucky.

First post of the year

Reflecting back on 2010, it was the most exhilarating, life-changing, truly amazing, trying, tiring, sleep deprived and best year of my life.  Although I fell pregnant in 2009, it was only at the beginning of 2010 that my pregnancy became visible and ultimately more real. 

I started wearing maternity clothes and receiving smiles from appreciative fellow moms; I started to shop with excitement for Lily's arrival; my sister moved back to South Africa after 12 years abroad; I experienced a scary scan where I was told that my baby wasn't growing and my amniotic fluid was low; quick change in diet to get baby growing again; yay, baby picked up weight and amniotic fluid level was normal; my incredibly special mom and sister threw me an unforgettable baby shower; my spare room changed into a nursery and out went the queen sized bed; natural birth was the plan, but was told c-section would be the safest route as Lily's head was stuck; one last quiet night away at Paternoster before baby's arrival; and finally... 28th April and I was a mom!  To date, the most amazing day in my 32 years of life.

I am proud to say that I found the first few weeks of motherhood easier than I had predicted, or had been warned.  Perhaps it was due to the fact that I was blessed with an incredibly easy baby or maybe it was just the fact that clearly a release of far too much serotonin had made me blissfully happy and able to cope with whatever was thrown my way.  Yes, I did suffer from sleep deprivation on occasion, but it was all worth while when I held my baby girl in my arms.  Having said that, I do at times wish that I had listened more closely to other moms and had slept a little more prior to Lily's arrival.  What I would do for a full, uninterrupted night's sleep or a nice late lie-in in the morning!  One day...

2010 was also trying due to the fact that it was the year that my hubby and I fought the most.  Sleep deprivation was obviously a contributing factor, but literally the birth of a child changes your life so dramatically that some bickering is to be expected. Along with the petty spats were thankfully some unforgettably special moments - the amazement shared at welcoming our creation into the world together; the unconditional love we share for little Lily; the proud moments shared when Lily reaches a new milestone; laughs shared when Lily entertains us...  The list is endless.  Here's hoping that 2011 sees fewer frustrations and more shared tender moments!

I'm looking forward to this year ahead watching my little baby become a little person.  She already has such a strong, funny and outgoing little character that I'm sure my hands are going to be kept very full, but filled with absolute joy!

8 months!

Another month down and Lily is now 8 months old.  I know I say this in almost all my posts, but honestly, the time just seems to be going so quickly.  My parents were recently visiting and we were reminiscing over Lily's photo album - we coo'd and aah'd over her first few days and weeks - she was so tiny with such dark hair.  Like I've said before, I don't remember her being so tiny and have been trying very hard to recollect those incredibly small hands and tiny fingers.  Size 1 nappies look far too tiny, newborn baby grows look way too small...

Today Lily is 8 months old and it's also her first day in size 4 nappies.  They're still a little too big, but they do the trick, so back to Baby City I go with the two packs of size 3 nappies that she no longer needs.  It's an emotional thing moving her into a bigger size nappy.  Who knew!

Lily is now lifting herself onto her knees and hands and instead of crawling just yet, she is rocking backwards and forwards.  I'm sure crawling isn't far off.  The "reverse slide" is still her ride of choice along with a few frustrated moments when a foot gets entangled or she can't reach the toys in front of her due to her going backwards instead of in the desired direction.

These past 8 months have been indescribable.  Nothing compares to being a mother and no-one will ever understand until they have become a mother themselves.  Joy, abundant love, bliss, constant concern, extreme happiness... some of those words are definitely suitable, but still don't do justice to the world of being a mother.

Lily - you are my life.  I cannot begin to imagine my life without you in it.  I miss you when I put you to sleep at night and I can't wait to see your smiling face when I wake up in the morning (granted, sometimes I'm happy for bed time when you've been busy all day and I can wait a few extra minutes in the morning when you haven't had a good night!).  You constantly amaze me and fill my heart with so much love and pride.  You are the most beautiful little girl I have ever laid my eyes on with your huge blue eyes, long eyelashes, perfectly shaped little eyebrows and crazy curly hair.  Not a day goes by without us sharing a giggle, kisses and tender moments - you are one truly happy little baby.  My life is forever changed now that you are in it and I look forward to every single new day we share together. xxx