Our little Molly has been 4 months old for over a week now! It's hard to believe that at this time last year, she was barely the size of a grape and we didn't even know yet whether we were having a boy or a girl. Christmas is a lot more meaningful to me this year as I think about this amazing gift that God has given us, the opportunity to love, nurture and raise this beautiful girl. Being a parent gives me a different perspective on the sacrifice God made in giving up his Son to the people of His creation and also the sacrifice Mary had to make to bear this child and then have to watch him suffer. As we celebrate God's amazing gift to the world this season, I have a much deeper appreciation for the sacrifice that has been made on my behalf as I hold my own child in my arms.
We got a special Christmas surprise this week as North Carolina experienced its first snow storm of the season...along with most of the rest of the East coast. Molly didn't seem too excited about this momentous occasion, but she was probably just confused as to why she had to be bundled up to the point of not being able to move just to go for her regular morning walk. Getting her all decked out in her snowsuit reminded me of the scene in "A Christmas Story" when the mother is shoving the little brother's arms into his big puffy snowsuit.
As you can see from this last picture, by the time we finished our walk, Molly was ready to be done with the snow. "The Lip" let us know she was ready to be back in her warm cozy house. I can just imagine the thoughts running through her little brain, "Why in the world do I have to wear this stupid-looking itchy thing on my head and why the heck can't I move my arms?" :-)At 4 months old, Molly has acquired many new skills. She has learned to play with lots of different toys. One of her favorites is the chain of rings hanging from the toy bar over her bouncer. She's content to sit for quite a while doing mini pull-ups on her rings like a little gymnast. She's also really beginning to enjoy her exer-saucer, which we call "Molly's Escalade" because it's so big and fancy :-) A few weeks ago, she had no idea what to do with most of the toys, but now she's the "Escalade" expert, pushing, spinning, flipping and smacking all the right buttons and tabs. She has even learned how to push up with her feet to bounce up and down.
Molly is an absolute JOY to be with now that she has developed a consistent sleep schedule. She sleeps about 17 hours out of the day and during the other 7 hours, she is a happy, playful delightful baby. She loves to laugh, squeal, coo and jabber. She only fusses if she's hungry or getting tired, but she'll sometimes go for the entire day without really crying at all. If you told us 3 months ago that Molly would develop such an easy temperment, I don't think either of us would've believed you. It's amazing what a good sleep schedule will do for a baby. I'd recommend that every new parent read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". It is a fabulous book that I credit with giving us the delightful baby we're enjoying every single day.
After 4 months, parenting no longer feels like foreign territory. It feels natural. We've reached a "new normal" as a family of three. The days of it being "just the two of us" feel like they were in a different lifetime. This new life is more fabulous than we ever could have imagined and we're both madly in love with our little girl. Life as "the three of us" is grand and we couldn't imagine it any other way!
...One year later!
