Sunrise, sunset

I am not a person who is entirely unaware of the fact that babies grow and get bigger.  Yet, I was completely unprepared for this!  Observe:

Adele's first bath (about 1.5 weeks old)

Adele's most recent bath (8.5 weeks)

 

I mean--look at her!!  When I first started giving her baths, I had to make sure not to fill up the tub too far or the water would get in her mouth.  Now I can fill it all the way to the top, and it doesn't even come to her chin!  And look at her head sticking out of the top of the head rest!

And look--she hardly even fits in her swing anymore

And forget about the bassinet-- her head and feet both touch!! It's not clear from this picture, but seriously, her head and feet both touch the edges of her bassinet when she's not scrunched up.  Fortunately that doesn't happen often.

I don't think it's accurate to even call her my little baby anymore!  At very least she is my medium-sized baby.  And I've already been trying it and "Mama's medium-sized baby" just does NOT have the same ring to it!

She's also having lots of firsts.

First time playing with a toy

First theatre experience

First time swimming

And while we're talking about swimming, I have to show you this very, very cute picture

I know!  Darling!! 

And yet not as cute as this unbelievably adorable frown:

But, it's probably not right for me to be showing you her frown, when I have not yet posted a picture of her smile.  Which is a shame because she has turned out to be such a talented smiler!

She's making some good strides!  For example, even though we were a month late starting tummy time (someone never bothered to look up when we were supposed to start doing that), look what she managed to accomplish only her second day out:

That's right--head UP!  Boo-yah!

And a sad change: whenever we were out and about and she started fussing, almost always someone would seek us out to look at my beautiful baby and they would say, "Oh, I could tell by her cry that she was just a little one, so I had to come see her!"  That didn't mean much to me because hers was the only cry I've ever been very familiar with.  But I will tell you, yesterday something clicked in her brain and/or lungs and that cute little baby cry is gone!  I should have appreciated it when I had it.  Now she is more of a wailer.  Good thing she doesn't cry much!

So, as you can see, things are progressing along quite rapidly here.  We are having a great time getting to know little Adele.  I go back and forth between thinking "Don't grow anymore, stay just how you are so that you will always smile up at me so sweetly when I wipe spit-up off your chin" and "hurry and grow up so I can see who you're going to be!!"  I guess that I won't necessarily be getting either wish, but I am just so so grateful for the ride!