Payton has officially lived outside of the womb longer than he lived inside. He no longer longs to be curled up tightly, nestled close to my heart and close to my warm skin. I am no longer his only familiarity. He recognizes several others now. He knows Daddy and reaches out for him. I still like to claim that I am his favorite person, at least for a little while longer. He doesn't long for the closeness of mommy, though, as he once did. It is hard to believe that his body once fit inside my own. He is so big now compared to the tiny bundle I brought home 9 months ago. I suppose I am glad that he is no longer taking up residence, he's much more active now than he ever was in-utero. Now he pushes me away to seek comfort on his own, or to find something more interesting to play with on the floor. He often wants to fall asleep by himself, something I perpetuated. Every now and then, he just wants to be held, cuddled and sung to. I treasure the moments with him. He is into everything! He can crawl from one end of the house to the other in 10 seconds (granted...the house is small, but he's a speed little thing)! He loves to play in the water and splash! He pulls up on furniture and legs, looking for another new adventure. I am afraid that if I blink, he will be walking out the door for Kindergarten. There is a certain sadness to his growing up, but I LOVE ever change, every new discovery and every new adventure as much as the last. He is definitely growing up much to fast for mommy. I hope in a couple of years, he will still want my hugs and cuddles, because I certainly can't get enough of him. Right after nap-time is the best- when I pick him up and he takes his tiny (for the moment) little arms and wraps them around my neck, and rests his soft cheek on my shoulder, pressing his face into mine. He just lays there, hugging me, settling on the world again. Just a snippet of Mommy's familiarity before bouncing off to new discovery and exploration again. :)
My First SWIM! Sky Lodge
Swimming in my pool in the back yard.
