19 Weeks Old

This, by far, has been my most favorite week of motherhood.

 

{ older by 13 minutes :) }

Ryan continues to be a total goofball. He is super ticklish, especially around his neck and upper chest. He laughs when you talk to him, when you roughhouse with him and when toys make noise. He wakes up like a total bear, but as soon as he sees your face he's all smiles. He talks up a storm these days. And if he's not talking it's because his whole fist is in his mouth. He has really grown by leaps and bounds and has caught up to his sister with rolling, putting weight on his feet, and interacting with toys. He is very focused and can keep himself busy in his exersaucer or on his activity mat for upwards of 25 minutes.

Reese is sweet as pie. She's starting to cuddle with us; when we pick her up from her swing or her crib she hugs us around our necks. She rubs my ribcage while she's eating and looks directly into my eyes. Her eyes are so, so blue. I am hoping they stay that way (we noticed a brown spot in her right eye when she was 6 weeks old, but it seems to be fading now). She talks up a storm at the most random times, and she loves to explore the range of her voice. The kid has many, many octaves. She has a happy squeal that makes my whole day. And she giggles at us, her brother and her puppy. Gracie has taken to licking Reese's toes, just to make her laugh. Reese is still very tactile and will touch anything in her reach. She pets things, people and her puppy. At night she snuggles up to a fuzzy purple blanket thing a friend of mine gave us and during naps she curls into and pets a blanket that Joe's Nana knitted for the babies.

This week, while I was trying to take the babies' pictures I had the hardest time because they were so focused on each other. Touching, reaching, grabbing. I sat them in a chair and Ryan reached out toward Reese, grabbed her shirt and she looked at him and laughed. Be still my heart. I love watching them interact with one another.

Then today Joe was holding Reese and I took her from him so I could go nurse her. We were chatting about lord knows what and while I was standing there holding her she turned toward Joe and reached her arms out for him. SHE REACHED OUT FOR HIM. So he took her back into his arms and she snuggled into his neck and rubbed the stubble on his chin. Could you die?

Both babies will burrow themselves into your neck and body while you are holding them, especially if they are tired. I love being their momma. I love that they curl into us, that they know that they are safe with us. I love that they know how much they are loved.

Don't get me wrong, this week also included me scrubbing poop out of my beautiful living room rug after an extremely gag inducing diaper blowout and drinking jack and cider after a particularly napless day. But the good moments outweigh the bad.

My friends all told me that every week as a parent gets better and better and, so far, it's so true. I keep thinking "it can't get better than this". It does.