love week: i love babies.

i love babies?
oh my gosh.
did i really just say that?
i can't believe i really just said that.
because if you remember, my little Ellie, bless her adorable heart, was a monster baby. proof:

she gave me that look wayyy too often the first year of her life.
wait, she still gives me that look wayyy too often.
{noted: i just looked through several pictures of Ellie trying to find one of her screaming like that one i posted. and surprisingly, there weren't very many. which would seem to suggest that i made up her infant rantings in my mind. but, i have witnesses. inlaws, parents, siblings- they'll all attest that Ellie was a bit of a scary baby. don't get me wrong, i was enamored with her- she was my first baby! geeesh. and she was super duper cute- proof:

 

all these pictures of Ellie are when she was the exact same age as Alice (within few days or so). it amazes me that though they each have their own look, they definitely look a ton alike. and look how much hair Ellie had! wow. i loved that little mo-hawk so much. 

but i just didn't looove the baby stage so much.

i was stressed all the time.

and wondering non-stop how to get her to stop crying so much.

i didn't take the chance to enjoy the small things because i was so worried about doing everything right.

it was exhausting.}

and yet now, with baby Alice, the sugary-sweetest baby thing that ever lived, i find myself loving babies.

i love chunky baby thighs-they are absolutely squishy and delicious.

i love the way babies smile at this age with their whole mouths open.
though i do worry that a fly will just buzz right on in one of these days...

 

i love how expressive babies are.

in any given moment, you could capture hundreds of different emotions smeared across their cute faces. one of my personal faves is the look of disgust/surprise: 

i love how you can strap a baby right on you in a sling or a baby bjorn.
and i love how they love that.
it's like they like to see the world as you see it.
or sleep while you see it.

i love baby clothes.
especially a onesie. nothing is cuter to me than a baby in a onesie and nothing else (well, besides the bow, of course).

 

i love the way babies smell.
especially when they get right out of a bath.

i think that's the way heaven smells.

i love the way babies have little flailing arms and grabby hands.

i love the way those hands grab onto things soooooo tight.

i love baby staring contests.
Alice always wins.

i love watching babies sleep.
they look so peaceful. and perfect.
i also love holding them when they sleep.

because they're so dang cuddly. and nuzzly.

i also love when babies wake up.
they are the happiest when they wake up, giving you tons of smiles and coos (or in Alice's case, squeals).

i love how babies are constantly checking things out and constantly amazed by their surroundings.

  

discovering the world with a baby is like rediscovering it yourself.

i love baby skin.
that weirdo phrase "soft as a baby's bottom" is pretty dang true.

{i love Alice's skin in this picture- even with the weird shadows on her face. baby skin is just so lovely.}

i love the innocence of babies.

they don't know how to defy you yet.
they don't decide between good and bad yet.
they're just heaven-fresh.
you are their entire world.
and there's something so unique and precious about that.

i just love babies.

i hope you are feeling the love this week.
and do me a favor- if you're doing love week, will you let me know?
or maybe just let me know something that you're loving lately.
because reading about your loves helps me feel the love, too.
and i love feeling the love!

xoxo