Hap Birth

Today is Hazel's half-birthday! I can't stand how big my heart is for her! I've loved the past six months so much, she has been such an incredible baby, and I'm going to miss that little baby so much. I am so excited to watch her grow, though and I'm swelling with pride watching her learn and change every day. It's almost scary how much she changes in such a short period of time; every day is something new. I feel so lucky that I have been able to stay home with her and see every little thing because I just drink her up. She has been so much more than I ever could have asked for, more than I ever hoped for. I'm the luckiest mama in the world, and I just can't wait for tomorrow to shower her little self with more love and kisses.

Sometimes I can't get my lips off of her, and I fear that one of these days I will swallow her whole! I feel like my mom-friends and I could sit around all afternoon talking about how delicious and yummy our babies are, and how we want to eat them up! I just look at her thighs and I swoon! I catch a whiff of her and I cant resist it. I actually gave her a hickey the other day. She was standing up in my lap and I looked at that little spot just behind and below her earlobe and I had to have it! I went for it and was giving her loud, sloppy kisses and she was laughing and cracking up, egging me on and I loved it, the sound of her laugh is intoxicating, and I'm besotted! Unfortunately for Hazel, when I came up for air, she had a big old hickey right on her neck. Oops. I cannot be expected to restrain myself though. She is too perfect. Oh, how I'm going to miss these days! I know that I'm going to look back on this time in our life as the most euphoric, and I'm trying to drink it all in but it happens so fast. Hazel, I know you won't remember this time, but let me assure you that I love you with every cell, every thought, every breath and I could just lay in the grass and look at the leaves with you forever.

So, the rain has finally stopped. Everything in the woods has grown to ten times its normal size. The lawns are greener than they have ever been. It has rained for two months. Finally we got some good beach weather, so my little family headed down to the water for dinner and the sunset the toher night. We decided to try Hazel in the water again, since the first time we tried it, things did not go over so well. She hated it before. She touched her toes in the smallest bit of ocean, her eyes bugged out of her head, and her little feet and legs sucked up into her pants so fast before the screams started. We went a bit slower this time, and since Hazel is so much older and wiser now, she handled herself much better.

Considering...

She loves to run her fingers through fringe.

Starting out with feet in wet sand.

Considering...

Closer...

Here it comes!

Not as bad as we expected.

Considering...

If I'm not getting the stink-eye from my daughter, I'm getting it from my husband.

I love the way she is looking at him...

Love.