I think the most amazing, wonderful, joyous parts of being this kid’s parent is learning about who she is and what she likes.
In the early weeks, it’s true: they really just sleeping, pooping and eating machines. But as they get older? Wow. I’m amazed by this person living under our roof now.
I wouldn’t call her a happy baby – she’s not unhappy, but you hear about those blissed-out babies and I wouldn’t say that’s Abigail. Our girl makes you work for it, by God. You have to earn those giggles and coos. Of course, in the mornings, when she’s just waking up, talking to her friends in her crib, and we interrupt her to say good morning, I am pretty certain no one on earth has ever been happier to see us than Abigail in those moments. Her smile is massive and bright, and lately she’s been so excited to greet the new day that you learn quickly that this unabashed glee for being alive is what makes the work of having kids worth it. There is little that is better than Abigail’s full-body excitement when she’s awake and hanging out with us at her changing table at 6 a.m. on a Wednesday morning.
But she suffers no fools, and when I snapped this shot, I was fast-forwarded to 2027, and Abigail’s 16, and thinks I’m so full of it that she can barely withstand her contempt. In 2011, however, I was amused by how much personality this picture captured, and how much things have changed – how big she’s gotten, how much she’s developed – since even a month ago. Who would have known I would have gotten a shot like this in April!
Maybe you, but not me.
She’s a pistol, our Abigail. We just love her so much.
