Thursday, August 27, 2009

Little Wonders Never Cease

Hadley and I had our weekly date with Jill (mommy) and Harper (baby) today. After lunch, we trekked through a local toy store--the kind that you always dreamed of visiting when you were a kid. Not the icky Babies 'R' Us-everything-is-made-in-China kind of store. The kind of store that feels like Santa might just stop there from time to time. The kind that has a big wooden Brio toy train set up at kid-level, just for playing. The kind where the employees seem to love, love, love children and the wonders of play. THAT kind of toy store.

So as Jill searched for tiny maracas for Harper, Hadley and I peeked into nooks and crannies. (That's the sign of a good toy store. Nooks and crannies. Not aisles.) We found art sets with glitter, bubble wands as big as Hadley, colorful wooden blocks, a tiny frog aquarium with disturbingly tiny aquatic frogs in it, Play-doh in all colors, musical instruments--I could go on and on. And as we walked through the store, I began to imagine what the next years will bring: snowy afternoons filled with crafts; Hadley's first meeting with Silly String; her wonder as she chases bubbles in our backyard. And then Jill put it perfectly, "We'll get to experience all of this great stuff all over again."

I'm the first person to cringe when people romanticize motherhood. I'm no expert, but from what I can tell, it's tough work. Wonderful, glorious, fulfilling, tough work. It's not all bubbles and Silly String. (In fact, I can report that the first four months don't include either of those things, sadly.) But I'm really excited to watch Hadley experience all of the good things that childhood brings. I feel like I'm going to open a really big gift, very slowly, little by little, as Hadley reveals to us the simple joys of childhood. One day, glitter and glue. Another day, a castle built of wooden blocks. Such fun we will have!

Speaking of fun...Hadley has started giving kisses. She grabs my face, opens her mouth super-wide and leans/wobbles toward my mouth. She generally lands somewhere near my cheek or nose and she slobbers. With great enthusiasm. And sometimes, right afterwards, she squeals, as if to say, "Wahoo! That was fun!" I never would have guessed that being covered in baby saliva could be so amazingly fabulous.

I'm feeling hopeful tonight--and happy. Happy for Hadley, who has a lot of great discoveries to make. Happy for us, that she will share them with us. 

Hadley and I played with the PhotoBooth application on my Mac tonight. Not great quality, but great fun!





And now, for the kissing sequence...

2 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, those pictures are priceless! You look beautiful and look at her sweet smile!! I'm itching to get back there! Enjoy these times :) So precious :) Love you all!

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  2. How precious! Tell Hadley that Grandma, Grandpa and Great Grandma are coming for some kisses too :-)
    Love you all!

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