BABY• INTERIORS

Mon petite Mademoiselle I

The first months and years having a child sometimes seem like an endless collection of ‚firsts‘. The first cry, the first week, month and year. The first crawl and step, laugh and tantrum. Each of them more special than the last and always a still more beautiful one to look forward to. And while it sometimes feels like time races about as fast as a toddler towards almost anything they are not supposed to get a hold of, it’s so important to sometimes just hold on for a moment. Breath. Smile. Be thankful. To look past the daily chaos and routines, even if it’s just as brief as a minute or the time spent sipping your morning coffee. And while it’s common to talk, hear and get asked about the ‚big‘ milestones only, I am so in awe of the hardly talked about ones, that happen in the blink of an eye sometimes, sometimes barely recognizable, sometimes in the loudest, busiest, messiest moments, sometimes quietly, even unseen or taken for granted. We often get caught in the fast pace of our life and our surroundings, get stressed and even overwhelmed by it all. When really the beauty simply lies in the detail, the moment, the little things and the ability and importance to make them the big ones.

So instead of writing about my little girl just having turned 14 months old and how many steps she can take (I long ago stopped counting) and words she can say (dada is her universal description for, well, almost everything), I look at the photos I took of her this morning, in between packing for our next trip, tidying up the apartment and getting us both ready to leave the house for the day. And I see a little girl, growing up in front of my eyes, I see so much joy, an endless drive to explore, learn and grow. The concentration put into certain movements, little goals to reach, things to grab and the happiness when they finally find their way into her little hands. I see your dad’s blond curls and I look into my blue eyes. I see us and I see my baby, being no baby anymore, a little mademoiselle wearing her first pair of shoes, happily playing, coming over for a big, wet kiss, which she loves placing on my cheek these days from time to time, while I quietly sit in her room, taking some photos while quietly watching her. These are the moments I want to remember, from the days spent at home, her and I, these normal days, where nothing really happened – except for the hundred little beautiful moments of M growing up.