Let Me Never Forget...

I'm a mix of emotions as I end my maternity leave, and get ready to head back to work. The last 11 weeks have been some of the best and hardest of my life. I find myself amazed at how quickly the time has gone, and how much Linnea is already changing. There are times I catch myself saying "let me never forget..." I want to document these thoughts, in hopes of preserving them a bit...

Let Me Never Forget...

• Your smell. You smell like baby lotion and sweet milk. It's wonderful. I love to squish my nose up to your cheek/chin and just breathe you in.
• The sleepy faces you make when you nurse. My favorite is when your eyes are barely shut, and you raise your eyebrows high. So. Stinkin'. Cute.
• The way you shoot your little arms up when we unswaddle you each morning. You love to stretch, and can hardly wait to get your little arms up above you.
• The way your hand moves along my chest when you are snuggled close. It's as if you just like knowing that I'm there.
• Your soft skin. Seriously. There's a reason there's the phrase "baby soft skin" and man, do you have it. I feels like silk. I love running my hand up and down your back.
• Your busy busy eyes. You are so alert and attentive to the world around you. Sometimes you sit and stare and something for a really long time, and sometimes your eyes and head dart around like there's so much to take in, and so little time to do it.
• Your smiles. We've had a little more than a month of your sweet smiles. They are getting more frequent and bigger, and daddy and I just eat them up! And now, they are often followed by little coos or chuckles.
  
• The feeling of you falling asleep on my shoulder...in my arms...at my side. The weight of you. The movement of you. The sound of your breathing. I take it every chance I can get.

These things and so many more...let me never forget. We look forward to watching Linnea grow and change, but want to enjoy every second of her, and remember all of these things forever.

I love my little girl. More than I can ever explain.