FEELIN' ALBRIGHT: 7 months with Adlee

AJ,

As one month ends and the next approaches I find myself saying how great that month was & how it just keeps getting better and better each month, and it's true. My days with you are filled with more joy than I could have ever imagined. Your smile lights up my soul, and you do a lot of smiling, so I'm regularly filled up & in awe of you. You're sitting up now and starting to learn and experiment with different sounds. You love music, which is no surprise, since I'm always singing and dancing with you & have it on. The songs I played over and over in utero seem be old favorites to you so I think the notion behind doing that is spot on. The latest song on repeat around here is "Tennessee Whiskey" by Chris Stapleton, which is a title that might sound a bit abrasive for a 7 month old, ha! The sound though, oh the sound. I call the emotion I feel with a good song "the ache" which only an amazing sound can give. You clap and squeal & try to mimic my singing when it's on, so you must have the same love for blues & music as Mama does. I suppose you did join me in utero in Ireland for my dream trip to hear Van Morrison after all. You come from a long lineage of Baptist ministers who write and sing the old time hymn songs, which is what I attribute to my love for blues and music. It truly is in your blood, so maybe someday you'll pick up an instrument or find your own voice & love for the sound. I sure hope so.

Things I want to remember about you from this age include: your new smile! Your two bottom teeth just started popping through, so you've developed this new crooked grin which tries to expose them. You're moon shaped eyes when you smile are my absolute favorite. You are an Albright through and through! Your Grandma Vicki has this same smile and I've always thought that it was so beautiful & joyous. Sometimes when Daddy laughs real big he also gets the "moon eyes". I hope you always show your happiness outwardly like you do now. You still hold & clasp your little hands and are content at just playing with them and watching them float around through the air. Your independence and need for your own space is also apparent. I guess I didn't realize how young personality traits develop but you and I are two peas in a personality pod my dear.

We are approaching your first Christmas and while you notice the Christmas tree and lights, obviously you won't really know what Christmas is all about or remember much. It's pretty magical having a child around for the holidays. To begin to think about what traditions we want to raise you with and imagine you bounding down the stairs on Christmas morning someday to see your stocking hung and filled from Santa is really exciting. To imagine what your voice will sound like, what jammies you'll have on, what stories you'll want read, who you'll develop to be. It's really just a magical feeling around here this holiday season and much different than holidays past that were spent praying for a child and yearning for my arms to be filled with much more than presents. Every day is surreal that those prayers have been granted and I thank God over and over that He brought me you. I hope you'll always know how much joy you bring to me, each and every single day, but especially this first Christmas season.