The Maia that we knew was replaced today with a warp-speed, wired version of her previous self. The little baby who usually takes about 3 hours' worth of naps during the day morphed into a non-napping, rolling, kicking, laughing, bizarro crazy woman. She was in a great mood all day, mind you (well, except for the times that we tried to have her nap), but she was just so . . . busy. She napped for--maybe--1.5 hours.
Maia is sitting up on her own now for pretty long periods of time, and she's getting a big kick of out it! A couple of times today while she was practicing sitting on the floor with Brian, she seemed to laugh for the sheer enjoyment of being able to see the world from this brand new vantage point. She's blowing raspberries with her copious amounts of drool, which is quite adorable indeed. The drool probably signifies the for-real beginning of teething, although we don't see any actual teeth yet.
As I was writing the first two paragraphs of this entry, Brian was giving Maia her evening bottle. She fell asleep as she was drinking and didn't quite finish the full 7.75 ounces. I just carried her upstairs and put her quietly in bed, and five seconds after her head hit the mattress she rolled over onto her side and crashed. In the last week we've seen two nights of 10 straight hours of sleep, so, who knows? Perhaps this will be another one. Maia is one exhausted little person.
She's six months old tomorrow, and I could certainly take up a paragraph or two writing about the incredibly quick passage of time. While that is definitely a thought that's floating around in my mind these days, the more remarkable thing is how much of an individual Maia has become. She's got a big personality, full of attitude and humor and definite likes and dislikes. She spends her days taking in her surroundings with her wide blue eyes, her grabby hands, and her drooly mouth. :) Occasionally, she's starting to become a little bit "iffy" about being held by people other than Brian and me. In her comfortable spot in her baby carrier against my chest, however, she's totally confident; she rides around Ann Arbor and smiles at strangers as we wait at the cross-lights along Main Street.
I remember, several months ago, there was a bit of a controversy in celebrity-gossip-land about the fact that Angelina Jolie referred to her newborn daughter as a "blob." I must say that I know where she's coming from. Looking back on Maia's newborn days and early weeks of life, she was distinctly blob-like compared to the big kid that lives in our house now. It's amazing to recall that tiny 8 lb. baby who used to nap anywhere, struggled with bouts of baby gas during the night, and kept her little arms and legs curled tightly to her body. My goodness! This morning, our big girl was kicking the edge of our table at Cafe Felix so hard that she almost knocked over my coffee!
She was a treasure then, in her newborn stage, but the feeling I have now when I interact with her is so different. Then, it was one of awe. I felt such awe at the fact that this little person was inside me and was now out in the world. Newborn babies are such strange, tiny versions of ourselves. Now, it's a feeling of pure joy, really, at having the opportunity to spend every day with her and watch her change and grow at this ridiculously rapid pace. I felt joy then, but it was different because of the strangeness of it all. My smiles and laughter flow more freely now because I can see how much Maia loves being a part of this big, wide open world.
Happy half birthday, Maia! :) My greatest wish for you is that you grow up always knowing how deeply and profoundly you are loved.
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