Wednesday, February 9, 2011

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

14 comments:

Heyman Friends said...

i loved that post. i also love babies, and i love that you live here :)

Waltman said...

sorry Marci, that was me. i'm so confused...

Joni and Rico Adams said...

Marce you're making me want to meet my baby so bad! It gets me excited because I feel the exact same way. Especially about their smell right out of the bath. I can't wait to lotion my little one up out of the bath and snuggle :)

Torrie and the girls said...

Thanks Marci, that was adorable as are your children! makes me feel a little braver, almost like I can do it again. thanks.

Courtney said...

I love babies too, and I want lots and lots of them.

Amber said...

You probably don't have many screaming pictures, because those are the times you were holding your head together, trying not to go crazy. Photo ops are generally when they're content.

Your love for Alice makes me love my Jovie even more. Baby girls are super sweet.

Adrienne said...

i'm loving love week. i also love my new baby and really should take more pics of her :)

mks said...

although i'm not officially doing love week, i should because its such a great idea and there are so many things to love. i've posted some of my favorite things over at sofestive.blogspot.com and my personal blog sundayfam.blogspot.com. love your blog bytheway!

Leah said...

I'm glad you like babies this time around. My second baby was so much easier too. Let's just hope the third is the easiest...

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for doing love week--it always brightens my day reading your posts :)

Megs said...

I love your babies, too ;) And I love my babies. And I love your love week of posts :)

Mat and Brooke said...

Alice looks like such a sweeeeet little thing!! There's no hiding it. :) I'm loving her and adoring her...from thousands of miles away.

{amy k.} said...

you and mike make some dang cute babies! :) love that "innocent" picture- it's perfect! makes me miss my little packer family.

Laura said...

Such adorable babies you have!

I'm with you too - I was able to enjoy my second so much more because I wasn't so stressed about getting everything "right."