Doing it all the second time around has really been no less amazing. It is still so exciting to see Ember learn all these new things, like passing an object from hand to hand. I could see her thinking about it, moving her hands, and I held my breath with nerves. And then she did it, she gripped it with the opposite hand and let go with the other. That was a few weeks ago and she is quickly becoming a pro at it.

She just started sitting up on her own. She has the strength now, easy, but she gets so excited about things that she throws herself straight backward! I make sure to keep a pillow (or myself) behind her. Despite her core strength she still doesn’t roll over yet. She’s almost there – so close. From her back she is constantly rolling onto her side to play with toys, but her lower arm is still pinned underneath and she can’t quite get all the way over. It will any day now.

She can be a very quiet baby, I often forget she’s in the room – and so do other people. I’ve been taking her out to various get-togethers and parties and everyone remarks on what a quiet baby she is. She doesn’t cry or fuss, she’s just happy to sit on my lap and watch everyone and everything… and try to grab anything that gets close enough. She really lunges for things, too… catches me off-guard still. She’s usually quite serious-looking. She’ll smile and laugh and then go right back to serious-baby. She always looks very intense.

On the other hand she can be in moods like she was this evening, blowing raspberries, laughing hysterically at everything, and jumping all over in her jumper. She was one happy kiddo and I have no idea what triggered it but it was friggin funny. I swear I would say “Boo!” all evening long if she kept laughing like that! Even just her leaning back to stare at me while sitting on my lap would trigger her to blow a raspberry, laugh, and excited flap her arms like a bird.

For many months Ember’s body just felt unfamiliar in my hands, so different from Kate as a baby. Now it’s second nature how my hands fit, where her legs roll, how her neck is so warm when I nuzzle it with kisses. Especially at night, when she is laying next to me nursing, my hand curved across her back, her legs are already long enough to rest on top of my thighs. Babies are perfection. I wish she would let me cuddle her more, but I take what I can get.