In addition to the live tree we have downstairs we’ve acquired a few other artificial ones over the years. We have a tall slimline tree that I used to put up in my apartments and a short white feather tree with colorful glass baubles that glow when the lights are turned on. This year E decided to keep the slimline in her room and give the white one to her sister, and it’s the perfect height for her to enjoy. Each night we turn it on and sit on the floor in front of it and look at all the colors. We read books by it, we rock a moment and enjoy the glow, and I leave it on as she falls asleep.
Famous for her sweet, crooked smile and amazing sleep habits, this baby of ours has completely stolen our hearts. I remember sitting in E’s nursery when she was a baby, long after she fell asleep, and working on projects or reading or just rocking and thinking, listening to the sound of her deep sleep breathing as I went. I do the same with F. The night I sat up this tree she was long gone to slumberland, and I strung the lights and arranged the ornaments to the sound of her breathing, her movements nearby. It is the kind of calm that I love, that I crave at this time of the year. The same kind of calm that I find when I curl up with E in her bed after books, or sit on the couch with M under the lights of the Christmas tree. It seems strange to think of a baby bringing calm into a family, but she’s done just that. She helps us remember to cozy up and enjoy these moments, the lights, the cuddles, the sound of sweet breathing.
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Happy birthday little one, five months today.
How precious!