Dear Eden

Hi baby monkey. I really enjoyed our evening together today, after I picked you up after work. While I was on my way to Grandma & Grandpa's to pick you up I was thinking about how much you have grown since I went back to work and you started going there regularly.

You were just 3 1/2 months old when I went back to work. You were so much tinier...and it was easy to hold you in one arm. You weren't quite sitting up yet, were you? I don't remember...I would have to look that up. But your days would be filled with sleeping in your little baby swing, cooing, sleeping, learning to drink out of a bottle. Sometimes Grandma would hold you all day long because you would wake up when she laid you down. And you fit sideways on your little changing table.

Now, your legs are much longer and you barely fit in the changing table. You've outgrown the baby swing, the bouncy seat, and you take much longer naps now. (Although life is so exciting to you that it is often hard to get you to go to sleep!) You sit up in the stroller, eagerly bouncing up and down, ready to go to the park or up the block. You love your big girl swing in the backyard, and now you eat all kinds of food in your high chair instead of just drinking bottles.

It's hard for me to imagine that in a few short months we'll be celebrating your one-year-old birthday. You'll be walking by then, and will have figured out a few more words. (I think you may have stumbled upon "Mama" today, but I don't think you realized it!)

I am sad every morning when I have to go to work and be away from you, but I am thankful that I have a good job that helps your Dad and me take good care of you. My most favorite part of the whole day is when I get to turn off my computer, pack up, and head home to see you. I can't wait to gather you up in my arms, kiss your soft little cheeks, look into your big blue eyes and listen to you babble and coo the story of your day to me. I love our nursing times together, love eating dinner together and laughing at silly faces. I love giving you a bath and watching you learn how things float and how to splash in the water. I love sitting back and watching you play, learning and growing and figuring things out every minute. I love rocking you to sleep in the dark and quiet bedroom, watching your eyelids grow heavier and heavier as you sink into my arms and listen to me sing. I love coming in to bed when it's my bed time, moving you over a bit, and hearing you sigh your deep, sleepy sigh as we all get comfy in bed for another night's sleep.

The older you get, the more you will become your own person and I am so looking forward to watching you grow. In the meantime, I jealously guard these precious moments we have together every day while you are small. I love you so much, and I am so glad that I get to be your mommy.

I love you!
- Mommy