These precious little life changing–life enriching–little gifts have been with us for 8 months now.

8 months of
…sweet little snuggles
…kissing little heads
…unfathomable tenderness coming from my husbands hands
…learning about my own selfishness
…dragon noises
…becoming thankful for 8 uninterrupted hours of sleep
…tiny desses
…seeing double
…struggling to be made new
…pure joy

These little girls just get sweeter and sweeter as the months go by! I wish I could freeze time for just a moment to savor the sweetness as it is right now, but I know that this next month will be even sweeter… and perhaps even more chaotic as I’m practically certain that mobility will arrive this month!

Aeralind Grace

You are a little koala these days.  Earlier this month you learned to hold onto my body with your legs while being carried.  You cling to my clothing when your are tired and nestle your head on my chest and suck your thumb quietly.  I savor that time, breathing in your scent and laying my cheek on your fine hair.

Your koala-ness contrast sharply with independent spirit.  Oh, Aeralind, you are a girl who knows her mind and isn’t afraid to let someone know!  You do not like mango nor do you like the texture of butternut squash; and you make it known in no uncertain way! You clamp your lips closed, or stick your thumb in your mouth, or make the most incredible faces of disbelief.  Lately you’ve been fascinated by the task of feeding yourself. You’ll grab a piece of toast firmly in your hand and manipulate it carefully until you can pull put it in your mouth. 

You spend your days (and even your daytime naps) working on all things physical!  Most of the time you are backing yourself into a corner and getting up onto all fours.  You love to rock back and forth and can do so for 2-3 minutes at a time.  You smile proudly as I cheer you on.  You have mastered putting your right leg out to the side and pushing with your foot.  You can go in circles this way and often you’ll make your circles wider so you can reach something you want.  You also have a pretty decent pincher grasp.  Last night you grabbed a red straw off your tray using only thumb and forefinger. You practice this pincher grasp by finding the tiniest little things to pick up off the carpet and stick in your mouth.  You’re making more frequent vacuuming a necessity :-p

When we’re out in public, people call you “the serious one.”  At home you’re all smiles, but out and about you like to study things and process each situation before sharing smiles.  When you’re in the stroller, you’ll rarely play with even your favorite toy, so that you can focus on the interesting world around you. I still can’t believe how visual you are!  You’ll pick out my face across the room just to smile or the other day you fixated on little Caroline and smiled and squealed in delight at her.

Bronwyn Hope

You have been dubbed “the pterodactyl.”  Words can’t describe how much you love to shriek in joy and how your little face lights up when me and daddy say “Really, Bronwyn?” or shriek back in acknowledgment.  Your whole body wriggles in delight when we smile at your antics and that makes you shriek even louder.  Oh, I love those shrieks of joy.  Even your tiny lungs can shout praise.

Your personality is reflected so much by that shrieking.  You love to be the center of attention. You soak up praise like a tiny sponge.  You are always reaching for our cheeks, our lips, our glasses, or our hair just so you can catch our eyes and make us smile. You can feed yourself, but you’d much rather have us feed you pieces of food so that you can soak up that connection.

You spend your days trying to decide what you want.  One minute you’re all excited to be sitting up like a big girl and manipulating the empty margarine tub, the next you’ll fall over so you can grab and chew on the keys, then you’ll roll over to your tummy because your sister is having so much fun with a ball that you want it too.  Maybe it’s not so much deciding what you want as it is thirsting for variety.  You sure are excited about sitting up though!  When you fall over, you never cry out; instead, I hear you fall and watch as you try with all your might to sit back up.

When we’re out in public, people call you “the smiley one.”  You have never met a stranger! You will grin at them and try to grab their hair if they get too close. You’ll shriek to get attention.  But you’re also just as content to sit in the stroller, play with your toys, and kick the grab bar. In those moments, it’s almost like you’ve created your own world to play in and are undisturbed by the world passing you by.