10 months

Dear Baby,

How dare you.

How dare you grow so quickly and change every instant.

How dare you be so beautiful causing me to get lost in your eyes for hours at a time.

How dare you giggle at everything I do and say, making me believe that I am worthy of the Mother-of-the-Year award.

I knew it would go by fast.

I knew I would close my eyes and you would grow up before I opened them again.

I knew it all, but it's something you can't believe until you're the Mom and it's your baby.

And now look at us.

You are crawling all over the house.

Pulling out every plug.

Clearing off every reachable shelf.

Laughing hysterically at Mommy's dance moves

and swooning over Papi's.

Suddenly, you eat big people food.

A whole banana and green smoothie at breakfast.

A whole Greek yogurt and another jar of baby food at lunch.

A whole avocado at dinner and usually half of whatever I am eating.

And that food?

It ends up everywhere.

Stuck to your eyelashes, 

in your hair, 

inside your ears, 

down your shirt 

(and mine).

Eating has become such an adventure

You are such a tease.

At a whopping 17 pounds, everyone thinks you should only be 6ish months,

but once they see your

pageant wave,

eyelash batting,

LOUD talking,

clapping with your hands and feet,

and the way you look into people's eyes and act as if you are staring straight into their soul,

they can't believe that such a personality can come from such a teeny gal.

I love the chats we have.

You are a talker.

You'll say something (inaudible, of course)

and you will wait for me to answer back.

Just like the best girlfriends.

I find myself wondering which language you are trying to speak in

and what secrets you are telling me.

I'm always wishing there was a Google Translate app for baby talk.

Your hair has gone from wild to curly this month.

There is no doubt about it.

You have the most gorgeous, dark curls.

I couldn't be more proud.

You love watching Papi on the television.

Once you hear his voice, you scurry over to the tv, pull yourself up, and watch very intently.

Once he's done, you quickly go back to clearing shelves and making me smile.

I know that you love me, but the thing that makes my heart sing is your relationship with your Papi.

The fact that you will snuggle up into his shoulder makes me burst inside.

Watching you slow dance together, 

hold hands,

sing while he plays the guitar,

swim,

and stare into his eyes,

makes me happier than anything else.

Happy 10 month birthday baby girl.

I had no idea that life could be so sweet.

Love you forever,

Mama