Kodak Moments

Our friend Julia just had a baby boy, and naturally, we've been seeing a lot of cute pictures of the snugglebug. As I went through Julia's and her sisters' albums on Facebook, I realized that I couldn't remember clearly what Kai was like when he was that young. So I went and looked for the pictures taken during our stay in the hospital. I was shocked when I realized that we didn't take that many pictures during Kai's first few days of life (not nearly as many pictures as Julia's family did)! How could we NOT have taken more pictures? What were we doing? Then I remembered. I was recovering from the C-Section and struggling with breastfeeding. Bill was exhausted from being a new father and having to take care of me.

I wish I had siblings.

So I decided not to make the same mistake and really try to capture on film the little things I may have taken for granted. Through my mommy radar, I've discovered many new things that make my heart sing. He can hold his head up steadily and reaches for an object with greater precision. He's producing a wider range of sounds and intonation patterns. He's a lot more social and often tries to charm the ladies when we're out. I love that he smiles when he wakes up and sees me in the morning. It melted my heart when he grabbed and held on to my index finger the first time he was facing out in the baby carrier. Now he always "holds my hand" when we walk. Aside from yelling at his toys, he now sings with "The Doggie" (although his "singing" is just a flat "ng" sound with a rhythm).

As I watch the person inside those big brown eyes emerging (and toss away more of his out-grown onesies), I hear the same thing in my head every single day:

He's growing up so fast. I'm so proud of him. Wait! I'm not sure if I like that. Don't grow up too fast. No, grow and experience new things. There's nothing I can do. I think I'm going insane.

I'm not going to let these precious moments slip through my fingers. Watch out, family and friends! From now on, every moment is a Kodak moment. Mama Kate is about to go crazy with the camera (and Papa Bill has been talking about getting Kai an agent so Kai could be a baby model).