+12 Weeks

Damn, that went fast. She's already looking at 3 months old. Of course, she grew out of her 3 month old outfits ages ago. People keep warning me to enjoy this while I can. The next thing you know you'll turn around and she'll be One. Yipes. Don't make me think that far ahead, please.

When I come home from work, Alina usually has a new trick or ability to show me. She's like my 24-hour documentary on child development. She does little things that we take for granted. Yesterday she pulled up her shirt. This is new. She never had that whole hand-eye coordination before. Imagine wanting to grab something, but instead of reaching for it, you just flail your arms around. The other day she matched the pitch and vowel sound I was cooing to her. And she recently discovered her thumb. These are the things I find fascinating, other parents consider old hat, and non-parents couldn't care less about. So I guess these are all for Katrina and me.

When she was first born, a friend asked if I yearned to see her when I was away and if it was love at first sight. At first, the answer was honestly no (although I think I told them yes). That part of my brain hadn't turned on yet and I thought I was a bad parent for not loving and yearning yet. The thing is, when she was first in my arms, I didn't think Love. I thought, If anyone hurts you I will fucking kill them, rip their arms off, and set them on fire. So clearly the protective instinct was well in place. But now, 12 weeks later, the best parts of my day are when she smiles at me while I'm getting ready for work, and when she smiles at me when I come home.