All Smiles in the Morning

*this is the crib I slept in as a child. My mom set it up at her house (mostly for decor) in what will now be "the grandchild room", or for now "David's room". He doesn't sleep in it as she has yet to get a converter kit for the drop down sides.

My husband is naturally a morning person.


I, naturally, am not.


He wakes up and is his normal self, where it takes me at least 20 minutes and a cup of coffee to really come alive.


In fact, early on in our marriage, my quietness and lack of joy came off as rage so my husband thought I was always mad in the morning. So, I worked on it and tried to channel more happiness when I wake up. It's better for both of us.


David is the happiest baby you've ever met in the morning. I am so thankful to have a happy baby in the morning. I really believe that is a gift from God. Usually my husband is getting ready for work about the time he wakes up, so I go to the nursery and get him.


We swaddle him at night, so the first thing I do is unzip his swaddle. He stretches his arms up, making little fists, and lets out a sigh of relief.


"I'm free. Free at last", he thinks.


And then the smiles start.


I lean over the crib, putting my face as close to his and say, "good morning David"! He looks up at me and smiles so big his eyes turn to tiny slits on his face.


He'll tuck his chin in a bit, lift his shoulders, and gurgle. I think it's the precursor to laughing. He'll make a little noise as he smiles and I make one back at him.


After diaper change I sit down on the glider to feed him. If Justin comes in after I've already started the bottle, David will see him, stop eating, and just stare. It's a highlight of my day. He stares at Justin for such a long time, and then starts to smile at him. I can't even get him to eat while Justin's in the room!


After he eats, we'll make our way downstairs and continue on with our day. I have just recently started to feel like I've got the hang of how our day to day will go. It took longer than I anticipated to feel settled in this new role.


And while somedays the challenges can weigh me down, those morning smiles are what I look forward to each day.