The amount of love I have for this baby is overwhelming.

It really is. And the pure amount of delight we get from this child is nothing short of astounding. It's not limited to Jason and I, either! The kids adore her and her antics just as much as we do.

Tonight I was in the cry-room at Mass with Miss E, not because she was crying but because she was yelling at the top of her lungs in the middle of Palm Sunday readings, and once I got in there I let her down on the floor because that's what she was really wanting anyway. And as I was giggling at her up on her hands and knees rocking back and forth, I received a look from a grandmother type that is reserved for obvious first-time mothers enjoying their first baby: that reflective smile that lets you know they're thinking about how much they enjoyed their babies at this age too. And the look perplexed me a bit being that I haven't received it since Hayes was a young tot, but then I realized the other three were still in Mass with DeDe and so it really did look like I was a first timer!

I'm glad, though, that I'm getting to enjoy these moments with her. They're so precious to me and I hope that I remember them always.

I'll definitely remember tonight's dinner, that's for certain. I took the twins and E to Picadilly to eat after dropping Hayes off for art class at the Little Paintbrush and since I'd forgotten to bring Eleanor anything to eat, I got a side of mashed potatoes for her. In the middle of dinner, Sam had his typical "OH NO I'M GOING TO PEE MYSELF" face on so I carted him off to the bathroom yelling over my shoulder to Mary Beth to watch the baby.

I came back to Eleanor slinging mashed potatoes in all directions because she'd gotten a hold of the spoon. Oh dear. All I could do was laugh. Eleanor was having an absolute blast and I totally ruined her fun (and she let me know it) when I removed the spoon from her clutch and wiped her full body with half the pack of baby wipes.

(me, laughing) "Mary Beth, I asked you to watch her!"

(MB, proudly) "I did, Mommy! She didn't go anywhere!"

Hmmm. Perhaps I'll leave more explicit directions in the future?