I Intend to Hold You for the Longest Time

Sweet, sweet baby Aria Kate. This girl, she has my heart.

When I was pregnant with Aria I would sing/hum (I’m a terrible singer) Billy Joel’s “For the Longest Time” to Vienna as I put her to bed. Why this song? I have no idea. It has no prior meaning to me, it is not particularly my ‘type’ of music (honestly it’s probably Mike’s influence), and quite frankly I’m surprised I even know it enough to want to sing it (but I did make up a few of my own lyrics unknowingly, ha!). In any case this song stuck through the summer I was pregnant and, the most amazing thing has happened: Aria loves and responds to this song immediately. If she is fussy, I’ll start to sing it and she instantly calms. If I hum it when Aria is on my shoulder pushing her little legs up and down she will still. Baby A– she knows this song. I know I’ve read that babies will recognize music/stories/voices heard in utero. But to experience it? That is a totally different feeling. Amazing.

I’ll write this post as a quick list/recap of things about Aria at this age:

At 6.5 months Aria is a sweet baby. She was diagnosed with Torticollis at 4 months old and she has done unbelievable with her treatments (I’ll save that for a future post). She is teeny, but strong willed. Despite being the second baby, I don’t foresee her crawling and walking early. Perhaps it’s a strength thing from her neck, or perhaps she just isn’t too interested in moving quite yet. Because of her torticollis we have had to keep her off of her back as much as possible, so of course, she loves laying on her back. She’s somewhat resistant to any extended tummy time and more often than not she will become incredibly pissed before she rolls over. Or she will just cozy in and lay on her stomach.

After her nap or first thing in the morning she will pull her feet in and out in her sleep sack and smile and coo, so excited to be picked up from her crib. When I put her to bed, she does the same thing. She only falls asleep in her bed or in her car seat and she sucks her left thumb to fall asleep. In the morning after Aria nurses she will sit and snuggle with me for as long as I have. These moments, I love. Aria has a little plush mouse toy- Meiya the Mouse that she absolutely loves. She puts it on her face while she sleeps. In the middle of the night she will wake up, pat around her crib for the mouse and put it back on her eyes. It’s hilarious to watch on the monitor.

She loves the bath and when I put her in the water, she instantly bends her elbows and puts her hands behind her head. She watches big sister V’s every move. She watches my every move. You can just see her taking everything in. She has my shape of eyes and we aren’t sure about the colour yet. Right now they are brown around the pupil and blue around that. Although born with lot’s of dark brown hair, it’s lightening all the time. So much for my brunette babe 😉 She has two tiny little teeth on the bottom. I never think that babies necessarily “look like” anyone, but when this girl was born she looked just like Grams. I still see it today. Her little cooing voice is adorable. Heart melting. When she is having a bottle in the car and done with it she tosses it out from her car seat. #trueducklow (that’s my maiden name, for those I don’ t know).

All of these things may seem insignificant or small… but they are what make up her and my world as of lately. To my Aria Kate… I intend to hold you for the longest time.