Almost 8 Months

It's hard to believe, it always is, how quickly time passes. I've really enjoyed these past 8 months though - despite sleepless nights (almost every night), lots of crying, mounds of dirty diapers, and hundreds of loads of laundry. I spent four of those months home with the baby and the next four working three days a week at the office and two days a week from home. I've watched my beautiful baby girl make huge developmental steps from rolling over, to rolling back and forth, to dragging herself, to crawling, to pulling herself up and now pulling herself up on furniture and able to stand with one arm free and sometimes both for a brief moment.  It's amazing to think we all start out this small. We come into the world open to learn and accept new things and discover our world. I find it amazing to watch each time I see her realize how things work. She tries to open the flaps on each page of the book we read each night before bed. She repeats opening and closing things, turns books and blocks over back and forth analyzing each, trying to understand how they work. She has impressive motor skills for her age. I can't wait to hear her talk. I know she has so much to say - if only I could hear her now. I look forward to taking her to the beach for the first time this summer, sharing future vacations with her, reading to her before bedtime, teaching her how to read, how to play sports, how to ride a bike. There's so much to look forward to. I want to be there for every moment, every new discovery, every step she takes.