So This is What It's Like

Now that Leah is growing into a big girl, life is getting so much more fun! She doesn't just eat, sleep, and cry anymore. Now, she eats, sleeps, cries, BUT she also smiles, rolls, talks, bounces, swims, and squeals. I feel like I could rewrite the same blog over and over again: Leah is so fun, she's getting so big, she can do so many new things, she's the greatest little thing in the world! I'll try to get creative though - I'll have to figure out how to say all of those things week after week without you realizing it. Cue cleverness.

I do actually have some different things to write about this week. This past week was a week of firsts. Not firsts for Leah, either. Okay, they were kind of for Leah - but more for me. The whole time I was pregnant I imagined how life would go once she got here. And it seems that just last week I realized that I am starting to live every one of the things I imagined for so long.

For instance:

I remember the night we (Kyle) put her crib together. I was just sitting on the floor like a bum, but absolutely lighting up inside trying to imagine the day I would go into her room, look in her crib, and find her with a big fat smile on her face. And... you guessed it... it happened this past week. I walked up to get her after she bleated for me. Not expecting anything I walked over to her crib, looked down and gave her a smile like always... but this time, she gave one back! And not just some puny little smile, a big.fat.grin. Oh, my heart just melted. So this is what it's like. Way cooler than anything I could have conjured up. Man, I love those smiles full of gums. Obviously, I smiled a huge smile back and started talking to her and she was just hamming it up. We smiled at each other for a couple of minutes, and then she reminded me that she actually wanted me to pick her up and get her out, ha. Sorry, bug. I could have kept that up all day.

I remember all those nights of going to church and feeling her go absolutely crazy - wondering what it would be like when I actually got to take her to church. Would she like it? Would she be as crazy? Would she sleep? Well, I got to find this one out last Saturday. With her being such a big girl not screaming at night as much we got brave. And can I just say, she loved it just as much! She got a little restless at the very beginning during the announcements. And all I could think was, please just start singing that's what she really likes. Those five minutes might have been the longest ever. She was wiggling and grunting and very close to crying. I thought for sure we were doomed. You know that feeling when you think you might pee your pants? You squirm and wiggle, you're uncomfortable, and you just want to get to the bathroom as fast as you can. Well that was Leah and I waiting for the darn songs! Just get on with it already, I'm losing her! But they did - and the second the music started she got wide.eyed. And for the entire rest of the service, preaching and all, she was quiet, calm, and awake! She didn't sleep a wink, but I didn't expect her to knowing how much she likes church. I am shocked that she sat still for an hour and a half without crying, there must have been some divine intervention happening. I actually heard another baby crying and thought to myself, "my baby is sooo much better than that kid." Ha - probably not the best thought to have in church.

I remember all the nights of getting up to go to the bathroom four and five times, and thinking to myself, what's it going to be like when I can get up and rock her back to sleep. Well, obviously I've gotten lots of experience with this one. But only lately has it been the kind of experience I imagined. The first six weeks I stumbled in there and pleaded with her to sleep. Don't get me wrong, most of the time it's still the pits. Lately, however, I have been catching my shadow on the wall as I sway her back to sleep, and it just gives me the best feeling. She's not the bear she once was to get to sleep. These days, she's quite calm. And when I rock her at 3am (or any time), I find myself instantly calm instead of frustrated. I love being the one to calm her down, and lots of times, especially when I watch my shadow go back and forth across the wall, I can think of no place I'd rather be. There is something very peaceful about rocking a baby to sleep, and waking up with her is much less of a nuisance than waking up to pee a gazillion times. 

I remember getting her bathtub for Christmas, and praying that she liked baths. Of any babysitting job I've ever had, I've always thought baths were the most fun part. Maybe that's the swimmer in me, but I love playing with kids in water. Man, I wanted her to like baths. And she does! This last week, however, she has taken her bath time to a new level. She has always squirmed around like a goofball, but now she has a new, life threatening trick. She has figured out that if she pushes her heal against the bottom of the tub she can get herself off of the seat and into the "deep end." The first time she did it, I thought it was an accident. I quickly grabbed her by her wet little arm which was like trying to catch a wet worm. I put her back on her seat, but two seconds later she did it again - with a funny little smirk on her face! She absolutely knew what she was doing - little stinker. Now, she does it over and over and over. Bath time isn't just a calming experience anymore, but nothing with this child is. I can't just sit and watch her, both of my hands have to be around her at all times. And since I can't stop her from trying to drown herself, I have decided to start swimming lessons. Now when she does it, I just put my hands under her back and let her do the back float, and that silly little smirk never leaves her face.

I always wondered what life would be like - and slowly but surely, I'm finding out. I always wondered what Leah would be like, and every day she tells me a little more about herself. Fun times are ahead for the Proebstings.

Conversation of the week, in regards to church:

Kyle: So where are we going to sit?
Me: In the back. On the end.
Kyle: Near an exit.

Sigh. Such is life with a child that likes to be heard.