My Favorite Part About THIS Age. 5 months and 2.5 YEARS.

5 months

The way they grab your face. Squeeze it with all their fingers. And stare. The way he just looks into my eyes and without saying anything at all, he seems to find a way to have a complete conversation with me.

The way they babble. Their tiny voices eager to sound like the rest of us. It makes me wonder what goes on in his head. What he may be thinking that very instant. What he wished he could be saying to us. But the way they screech and are so high pitched just makes me giggle every time.

The smell. The baby smell that disappears right around the time that they turn 1. Or is it 2? I can't quite remember. But he has that smell. I breathe it in like it's some sort of cure. The perfect medicine to happiness. Just from that simple baby smell.

The helpless cries. Those cries, as pitiful as they may be, are by one of the cutest things about babies. The wimper. The scrunched up nose. The stream of tears running down their face. Even though I hate to ever hear my babies cry... something about the way they cry when they are this young just captivates me.

The feet. Don't even get me started on how many times a day I nibble on toes and kiss tiny size miniature Andrew feet. They are Andrew's by the way... without a doubt.

The way they open up their mouth when you kiss them. It's their way of kissing back. And just the thought of my child kissing me back just reminds me of all the exciting things we have to look forward to.

The baby rolls, the squishy cheeks, the full kissable lips. Why are babies made to just be kissed on all day? I get it. I get why they have the rolls. Why counting each one while kissing them becomes a game that you play every day. Because you never want to stop kissing them.

The way they need you. Always. Everytime they see you. They don't want you to leave their sight. And they make it known. And even if you just want to get something done for 2 seconds... just knowing, knowing that they want you in the same room with them always, is nice. Very nice.

2.5 Months {years}.{ I just wrote months, when I meant years, and I won't erase it because it's like.. wow...my baby is growing up.}

The talking. The never ending talking. The constant questions. The repitition. The talking, alone. It never gets old. Their sweet voice and inflection in their tone is just so captivating and intriguing to listen to. Even when you cannot understand 25% of what they say. Most of the time, you can figure it out. But just the way that E puts her sentences together now. From start to finish. The noun, the verb, the adjective, pronoun, preposition. It's amazing what they pick on. And how quickly they pick up on it.

The play. The imaginary. The with other kids. The mocking. The I want to be big play. All sorts of play. Their minds are full of imagination and it is amazing to see it all come out while they play. E doesn't have any imaginary friends yet, but she does play "house" with her stuffed animals and dolls a lot.

The singing. Oh my. I remember when Elliana was a baby and I had read about a girl her age singing a song on the radio, and the thought of E doing that in the future had blown me away. When they are a baby it's hard to even fathom them doing such big girl things, and yet, her she is, doing that exact same thing I only dreamed about. Their tiny voice when they sing is so.... pure. It can pick you up when you are down, bring an instant smile on your face, and truly brighten your day. The first song that E ever sang from the radio? Call me maybe. Ha. Now we listen to a kiddy CD every time we get into the car. She knows all those songs too....

The way they help. Elliana loves to help. She wants to cook dinner with me. Help me clean the floors {that I don't know...}, and help bring me stuff when I need it. I imagine that one day my child will love to do chores as well, right? I only hope so.

The way they sleep. This never gets old. I have loved to watch Elliana sleep ever since she was born. Just like I love to watch Graham sleep. And to this day.... seeing her nuzzled up to a pillow, in a blanket, or against her baby brother, papa, or mama is just so beautiful. I love to just stare at every feature of hers. Every strand of hair. Count her fingers and toes. And study everything about her. It's like my way of wishing to freeze these moments for the future. When I know I'll need them..... like when my baby is off to her first prom.

The way they want you. Not just need you like they did when they were helpless little babies. But the way that they ask for you. The way that they ask for kisses and hugs. The way that they get excited to see you and want to spend every waking moment with you. Everything about your child wanting you is so special.
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I need to remind myself to do this more often. To keep a consistent trail of my thoughts during different ages. I feel like I do that with their monthly updates, but something about doing it this way just reminds me of... the little things in life.

The only thing I love more than their current ages...
Is watching them grow and learn new things.

Although I love having them be little...
I love even more watching them be big.