Genevieve Morgan | TEN MONTHS OLD

It’s just about a miracle that I have been to keep up with these updates, even if they are a week or so late every time. (You win some, you lose some right?) I think Genevieve just keeps getting more sweet and beautiful every single month! I’m so thankful for the gift of her presence in our family. Her big milestones this past month are a new front tooth, taking her first steps, freestanding, learning to wave hi and bye and starting to form words. It’s been a big month for sure! I love it when she crawls away and then she stops to turn around and wave “bye” to us. It’s the cutest thing. I’m dying inside when I look back at when she was born. I know I’m overly poetic and go way deeper than most into the meaning of things, but truly, truly, a new me was born with her. Through her life God has remade me and I’m forever grateful. I can’t believe I only have ONE MORE UPDATE until I share her ONE YEAR! It’s been quite the year, so slow yet faster than ever.

Weight: She’s still somewhere around 18 lbs on our home scale. I feel like she’s an inch longer now, but I’m not sure.

Clothes: All the same things – I did get her 2 new things for her birthday, one of which is this precious outfit! When I saw the soft purple floral with cream and green, I knew it fit her personality perfectly! I don’t think she could be more darling!

Sleep: This month has been wonderful. She sleeps so well now and takes great naps most days! Her teething has come back in the last few days, but it hasn’t been nearly as bad this time and only makes her more sleepy – thankfully! Most of the time I will put her down in her crib after a little snack and she drifts off on her own…after quite a bit of tossing and turning, she ends up in a little ball…just like her mama sleeps! At night she’s still ready to go down around 7, which is a welcome change from the fight-for-your-life-and-stay-awake-at-all-costs routine Elle used to do! lol!

Eating: This girl loves food! She’s definitely over the squeeze packs and wants only what is on my plate. haha! She loves sweet potatoes, corn, peas, apples, avocado, green beans, tomatoes, oatmeal and anything else she can hold. I let her try some grilled cheese dipped in tomato soup the other day and she LOVED it. Puffs are a thing of the past, although apparently Elle likes them now. haha!

Mood: This girl is just the sweetest! I know I say it every time, but it’s true. She has this gentle softness about her that is so dear to me. She’s really such a happy girl as long as she’s with us. We’ve finally rounded a corner with leaving her. She doesn’t cry the whole time I’m gone anymore (or at least most of the time) thankfully! She still loves her mama. I have never known that another little human loves me quite so much. Of course Elle loves me too, but she really loves everyone. When Genevieve looks at me, her sweet smiles are all mine. She doesn’t look at anyone else quite the same. It’s so special and I wish I could bottle up those moments forever. I truly wish she could stay my baby. Elle was always blazing off to the next stage that I barely could catch my breath in-between her exuberance for all-the-things. I’m really savoring every single stage with Evie, and I’m thankful not to be progressing quite so fast with her. She definitely senses other’s moods as well. She can pick up on my stress or Elle if she’s hurt. She cries when others cry and smiles when they smile. She is very aware of others and when people enter or leave a room. I am curious to see this part of her develop. She knows when I hide a toy she was wanting and remembers where I put something I didn’t want her to get. Ha!

Loves/Doesn’t love: Genevieve still seems very drawn to music. She will listen to Jonathan play the guitar forever. She loves all kinds really. She doesn’t outwardly react or dance like Eleanora did, but she will sit and listen. She gets very intent on one toy and will be very upset if it is taken away. She loves walks, swinging, waking up in the morning and going to bed (just like me – haha!). She loves to push her walker around the house like she’s so big. She loves watching Elle play and looks for her as soon as she’s done nursing in the morning. Seh definitely has more fun when she’s around, but everything is always more fun with Elle. I think she could sit on my hip and watch Elle play all day long and be perfectly content.

Things I want to remember: What don’t I want to remember about this month should be the question! I love everything about this stage. I truly have never felt more contented. This is not the future I imaged for myself last year, but man, it is so good. I love love love spending my days with these two precious souls. My perspective has made a complete 180 and now I can’t imagine anything more beautiful or fulfilling right now than caring for these girls. My heart has fallen into a steady rhythm in the middle of the minutia of our daily life. The sweeping, constant feeding, cleaning and keeping up with schedules has steadied me. I needed the simple, quiet and mundane more than I ever realized. I think that’s a bigger part of what I want to remember than the other things. I already know I’m going to miss this quiet place, so I’m trying to soak up every moment and not wish it away. I’ll miss the way Genevieve plays with my hand when she’s cuddling before bed. I’ll miss how these two are starting to play together, even if I have to get onto Elle about being rough or that Evie follows me around from room to room or that I never get to go to the bathroom alone. I’ll miss that I never go anywhere by myself, because I really do love taking them with me and exploring the world – even if that world is Publix or Target. I’ll miss Elle and Evie playing in my office while I attempt to get to some emails or editing, and I’ll miss how I really only get 30 seconds of work per two minutes of trying to keep them entertained with “hair salon” or “cooking” on the floor. I am definitley exhausted beyond belief and can barely fit in any work or keep up with the mountain of laundry/ cleaning. It’s a very busy kind of quiet. And it is very good. There is no one at the end of a long day that pays me for my hard work or says, “I can’t imagine anything better than today – thank you!” in so many words, but I have the eye of my Father, and He its pleased; That is more than enough for me.