Not Ready

Looking at the first photo, the close-up that I just posted of Mette I am starting to see how she really may be turning one in less than two weeks. Today my friend Megan who has a little one just 7 weeks younger than Mette was saying how she was really looking like a toddler and seemed to much older suddenly. She sees Mette all the time. It's true, I am just having a hard time believing it. With Otto I was so excited for each new milestone, and I still am. And while I don't want to say that I am not as excited with Mette, there is something holding me back. I love each step forward, but I know that with the passing of each phase, well, it is just that, a passing. We won't have that anymore. I still carry her everywhere, she still wants to be by my side all the time, she still nurses and snuggles with me before going to bed (and more times than I really want during the night), she still coos and giggles at me but I can't hold her with one arm (unless she is on my hip) anymore, I can't put her down somewhere and expect her to still be there when I turn around. She is changing faster than I have been wanting to admit. She is walking, trying to talk, signing up a storm and definitely has a mind of her own which she is getting very good at expressing. Just try to let someone else touch the Cozy Coupe which she has claimed as her own! She is such a sweet girl. She adores her brother, think the cats are fantastic, loves being in the middle of all the older kids running around, loves smiling at her daddy from the comfort of my arms which drives him crazy and generally makes people fall for her instantly with her amazing laugh and smiles. She could work on eating. Big time. For the past few days there has been much less screaming at the table which is a major step in the right direction and more than once a few bites of food have actually made it into her mouth but I still would not go so far as to say she is eating. I however and eating everything in sight because while she does not really eat food, she is maintaining the baby chunk on a breast milk diet. I am in for a rude awakening when she weans. Not eating anything and everything I want all day while losing weight may take some getting used to! Then there is the whole sleep thing. She is getting better at that too, but we still have a way to go. She has just (three days ago) started doing 5ish hour stints at the beginning of the night. It is quite lovely. Then she does 4 or 3 and sometimes 2 hour stretches after that. It means getting up two or three times a night for me. A lot better than before, but there is still room for improvement. But just as I don't want her to grow up too fast I have to remember that along with not being ready for a toddler comes the joys of babyhood. Like not sleeping through the night and not eating food.

We won't mention that at this age Otto was eating everything in sight and had just started sleeping through the night....