Gonna miss this

Cheesy, I know, but there is this song I heard the other day that, in a nutshell, talks about how time goes by so fast and that we spend too much time wishing to get to the next phase of our lives. When we're teenagers, we just want to be in college, when we're in college, we just want to get married, when we get married, we want to hurry and have kids, etc, etc. And then the song goes on to talk about how we'll miss this time in our lives, how we'll want this time back, how we'll wish that time hadn't passed so quickly. It got me thinking about how quickly Kiaya's little life has flown by. In no time, she will be crawling, walking, talking and I know for a fact that I will miss these phases she is so quickly passing through. I sometimes find myself wishing that she would just take off and crawl because I'm so excited to see her experience mobility, or I'll find myself wishing I could see what she is going to be like as a 3 year old, etc. But truthfully, when I really look into my heart, I don't want her to go anywhere. I don't want her to grow up so fast. I don't want her phases to pass too quickly. I know that I am going to miss this, THIS particular time in her life and my life, and every other change she goes through. I am going to look back on this blog in a few years, when time has passed far too quickly, and I will miss this. I will miss looking down at her playing with her toys, chewing on everything she can get in her mouth, and having her look up and smile at me. I will miss how she twists her little hands from side to side and shakes frantically when she gets excited about something. I will miss how she looks at us when she is crawling backwards with such frustration as if to say "hello, help me please!" Although I am completely crazy with anticipation for each new step she takes in her young life and get so excited to see her reach milestones, it is also really sad that I won't ever get this time back. It is a reminder to me of how I don't want to get caught up in the can't-wait-untils and just savor every moment I have RIGHT NOW. Some thoughts that I need to reflect on more often!

In saying that, some little things in our days lately that I absolutely love. Walking. I could walk all day long when the weather is beautiful and warm. So, every day, weather permitting, I strap Kaiya in and off we go on our walks together. Sometimes she sits there really quiet, just taking in everything around her, eyes big with wonder at the world. Other times she talks and squeals and laughs when I tip her backwards to play peek-a-boo. Then other times she falls asleep or chews frantically on her straps. She especially likes to hold her tennis ball and will grip that thing tighter than you can believe! I think she is going to be one mean tennis player! Check out that look on her face! I just absolutely love that time we spend together. Singing. We have always sung to Kaiya at night before she goes to sleep and it is quite funny to watch her because she goes completely silent and just stares so intently at us, and doesn't move a muscle. Either she thinks if she plays dead, mom will stop killing her with her singing voice, or she just actually really loves when we sing to her. Her favorite songs are Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam and Popcorn Popping. She smiles and laughs without fail when we sing either of those. She also really loves to participate in Patty-cake. Chris sings her a special song his dad wrote when they were kids about summertime. I just love the delight on her face, even though mom can't sing at all! Reading. No, Kaiya is not the most advanced 9 month old on the planet -- she does not do the reading yet. But she LOVES books. I grew up with such a passion for books because my parents took the time to help us fall in love with reading and read with us on a regular basis. I want to do the same for Kaiya. So, we try to look at books every day, sometimes several times a day. She loves the colors and the silly voices I use to read to her. She loves to turn the pages. She also loves to chew on her books. I guess she really wants to internalize what she reads :) But I so love her sitting in my lap and I know someday she won't want to be there and I will miss that. These are just a few of the things I know I'm going to miss as Kaiya grows and changes. These are such happy times in our lives and I don't want to ever forget them or let them pass without fully enjoying them!