Elise is 10 Months Old Today!

In the last 10 months I have not slept more than 4 hours at a time (well, maybe that one time before her 4 month check up she slept 6 hours, but still). I have never been as worried as I was when she had jaundiced/didn’t pee/started gagging on avocado/started standing and falling down. Thank God she has never been sick – no colds, no infections, no serious diaper rashes, nothing. Even when I had strep, she was fine. Her teething has been the worst we’ve had to deal with, which is still hard on us but considering what other people go through, incredibly easy. It has been amazing watching her develop from a snuggly newborn who just looked around to a little curious toddler (almost!), getting into every.single.thing possible and discovering how awesome the world is.

I love watching and hearing her sing at Mass. I love watching her touch the statues in the Cathedral, or wave to Monsignor. I love how easy-going she is and tries to touch other people’s noses and eyes. I love how she lets the Liturgical Coordinator hold her when he’s waiting for the hymn to be over during the Offertory. I love how curious she is, how content, and how small she is. Her littleness has really been hard for Greg and I to deal with. But I think I’m accepting it, in the sense that this is how she is and even though she still isn’t more than 14# and most people think she’s 3 months old (what), I don’t feel like I have to make excuses for her, other than this is how God made her and not everyone is going to be on the upper end of the growth chart. Her body, head, and brain are growing and developing.

Did I mention how much I love my little Elise? How absolutely perfect she is? And how blessed I am, and grateful, and humbled that I am her Mama, the person who feeds her with her body, the one who, with Greg; will instruct her in the ways of God and teach her right from wrong, and God willing – see her in Heaven.

::sniff sniff:: Motherhood is awesome. Hands down. Even when it gets hard (which it does), I don’t ever want to go back to how things were. Because even at their happiest (our wedding, my graduation, etc); they are like the worst days of my life in comparison to a bad day with Elise.