Four Months Old

Our baby girl is four months old today. Parenting plays a strange trick on your perspective of time. In some ways, it can really drag things out (i.e. "When WILL she start to take a bottle? We've been working on this forever!"). But in other ways, it speeds things up at a breakneck pace. I already find myself battling between wanting to slow the clock down and treasure each day versus waiting excitedly for her next milestone.



In these four short months that we've been blessed with Brooke's presence, we've already learned so much about her. We know that she's a GREAT sleeper and that a surefire sign that she's fading is when she starts to suck on her right forearm. We also know that she almost never succumbs to sleep without some kind of fight. Sometimes it's a wail, other times a couple of whimpers. We know that she already likes to "talk" - and loudly. We know that she's good with her hands, and that anything she can get her hands on inevitably ends up in her mouth. We know that we're in for at least one explosive diaper and subsequent outfit change per day. We know that kissing noises and sticking our tongues out delight her and that "Five Little Monkeys" has an uncanny ability to calm her down and even make her smile mid-fit. We know that she still likes to cuddle on our chests for her naps and that we want to treasure this as long as it will last.



But there's also still so much we don't know about her. What color will her eyes (and hair, for that matter, now that it's falling out) be? What will her voice sound like? Will she like sports, or music, or art (Matt's already bracing himself for the latter two)? Will she have her mom's coordination and her dad's rhythm (or lack therof)? Will she be outgoing or shy? Impulsive or analytical? There's so much we don't know, and so much that we can't wait to find out.



Despite all those uncertainties (and all the times that we're going to screw up), the most important thing that we want her to know as she grows up is how much she is loved and delighted in - not just by her parents, but by the rest of her family and our friends. And that even though the delight that we take in her and the love that we have for her is so unconditional and overwhelming that thinking about it brings me to tears without fail , it pales in comparison to the unconditional and overwhelming love and delight that God has for her. If she knows nothing else in life, we pray that it's that single truth.



We are so thankful for this little girl and the privilege that we have of being able to take part in her life as she grows.