Explosions

So there you have it, Sadie's birth story and the way her first month went. After the rough edges were finally smoothed over and we all started sleeping a bit better (emphasis on bit), Sadie started really taking off. She started out so tiny! But she grew fast. The end of the first month brought with it a weight of around 7 pounds; by July 22 at her 2 month appointment, she weighed close to 10! AND she grew 4 inches in length.

Today, Sadie weighs in at a healthy 12 pounds and is now 23.5 inches long. She is an average 3 month old! So happy, growing like crazy, pooping like there's no tomorrow, and smiling her glowing face at her ever expanding world. She spends half of her awake time investigating new things, like the plant or the mirror or Bosley. She is so inquisitive.

The joy of my heart, though, is her waking disposition. I have never met a happier morning baby. She starts stirring around 830am, and when I peek in her room, she is dancing around with her legs all over the place, staring up at the origami crane mobile that Jason and I made.

She talks to it quietly, cooing and wooing it with her little sounds. (No longer gurgles!) And when Jason and I creep up to her crib quietly, at first it takes her a moment to notice us and draw her gaze toward our faces. And then, lightning strikes, angels sing, bright lights dance around her beautiful face as she explodes with the biggest smiles you can imagine. They are heart melting. And she does it over and over, every time she wakes up.

She has done this since she was about a month old. She earned the nickname of "conartist" because when she is supposed to be taking a nap but instead she is whining, you will go over to her crib to stick the pacifier in her mouth and you will get this smile. It's like she knows that you will be helpless against it and you will just need to pick her up. I have read that "people" think smiling at such a young age is due to gas. Admittedly, she does do a lot of gas-induced rumbling. And her poops can be heard from across the room. But she also does them every time she's been playing for a while and then sees us, or when Jason comes home from work, or when she gets her diaper changed, or when you sing her the alphabet song. They are not due to gas, I think most mommies would agree. To me, they are a physical manifestation of God's grace.