My Baby's Eyes

Today, I spent most of my afternoon playing with Violet while Richard was out to the movies with a friend and Lily played (and napped) in her room. Taking into consideration that Violet is not even four weeks old, our play options are somewhat limited. We were lying on the floor, looking at each other, while I told her stories and sang to her. At times she would hold my hand, kick her little feet and roll around (yes, little Violet is already rolling from side to side!). Every once in a while she would fall asleep for a few minutes before waking up again and looking around with an amazed expression as if she'd seen her surroundings for the first time. I remembered her at the day of her birth, when she was just a few minutes old but already alert as could be and taking everything in, soaking her environment in like a little sponge. It made me also remember Lily as a baby, only a day or two old while we were still in the hospital. Those first day Lily didn't sleep well, and I spent most of the nights trying to get her to sleep while she was crying up a storm. In one of these nights at the hospital she suddenly calmed down, opened her eyes and looked around with an amazement we adults seem not capable of experiencing any more. This moment with Lily is engraved in my memory, just as those moments with Violet will be. I keep being utterly amazed by their big, blue eyes, that don't perform very well yet in their intended function (it is assumed that babies can only see about 12 - 15 inches far, their vision is blurry and they are nearly color-blind in those first weeks of life) but take in every little impression with such a natural innocence. I want to spend hours looking back into her eyes, touch her downy, soft hair, stroke her cheeks, hold her little hands and tell her how beautiful she is. At those moments, everything else around us just disappears, time stands still or rushes by, it doesn't matter. Right now I live for those moments with Violet, knowing that they will pass way too quickly; and while I am mourning that soon she will outgrow this newborn phase, I am also looking forward to all the adventures to come with our little girl discovering the world and starts being able to play with her big sister, who is eagerly awaiting this stage. But right now, I take every opportunity to hold my little girl, or just lie next to her and gaze into her eyes, watching her experiencing the world one little bit at a time.