Animal Crackers and Brand New Pampers

That's what Sophie smelled like when I picked her up from the Y daycare last Thursday. It smelled so sweet to me. I wondered if she always smells like that and if I just don't notice it anymore.

I used to love the way her clothes smelled. Dreft detergent makes all baby clothes smell, well... like babies. But now that it's a constant chore in my house to wash baby clothes, I don't notice it anymore.

I try to imprint pictures in my mind to last forever. I don't want to forget what her silky, baby-fine hair feels like or how adorable her chubby little baby cheeks are. I want to remember how she sits on the floor studying a new toy with her little, nubby baby toes nestled behind her and how excited she gets when Mommy and Daddy play the "geeter" (get her) game with her.

My sweet little girl is growing out of her baby stages and soon she'll be a little toddler. She is loving sharing food from Mommy and Daddy's plates, she walks along furniture, and stands up any chance she gets. She can say "hi" and she waves at most people. The little bean is such a social butterfly. She loves to meet new people and go places. One day in the house and she acts as if we've kept her locked up for weeks, smiling from ear to ear when she sees her car seat or the stroller.

The girl had her nine month appointment on Friday. Her official weight was 15 lbs. 10.8 oz. Almost 16! I bet if she had her clothes on we could have made it to 16 lbs. She's 27 inches long. And she's full of energy. We had a hard time keeping her occupied in a small room while we waited for the doctor for an hour, but she did great. Especially when the lab person was taking blood from her heel for what seemed like an eternity... at least to Mama it did.

In nine months we've had some huge changes to our lives, but parenthood is pretty much second nature to me now. And I love it. Do I want more kids? Ask me in a couple years.