Wiggle Worm

Now that Maddie has truly mastered crawling, she's become very brave and will crawl out of my sight. This had made her nervous before and she would whimper for me. She loves to be able to go where she wants and when she wants, which has made shopping, cooking dinner, and other activities rather difficult (if I'm holding her). But I love how independent she is! It's scary too. And I do miss how she fell asleep on my chest those first few months and would nuzzle into my collar.

I'm so astonished by how quickly these 8+ months have gone by. I'm also kinda sad about it too! I don't know if motherhood is supposed to be this two-headed beast or not, but the duality of it kills me sometimes. For example: when Maddie started crawling I was so excited to see her reach this milestone but at the same time I was so sad that she wasn't really a newborn any more. Right now I'm experiencing the same thing as she's cutting her first tooth. Truthfully I love watching her grow and learn and explore but I also love how much she needs me. And nothing beats when she crawls over to me, looks up and gives me a (fully open mouth, full of drool) baby kiss!