I swear, they're competing to see who can grow up the fastest.

I had the privilege of spending several minutes this morning snuggling with the baby. I don't get to do that very often; she's such a wiggly little thing that while she loves to give and receive hugs, she's off again in just a few seconds. Unless I'm walking around holding her, of course. Then she's content to be held until my arms fall off.

She sat on Mommy's lap for a good 10 minutes, though, chewing thoughtfully on an apple. Then she made a lunge for the computer keyboard and that was that.

I tried to make the most of it. I'm so aware of how fast she's growing. Her face shape has changed in this last month. It used to be round, with big soft cheeks that you couldn't help but kiss. She's still got irresistably kissable cheeks, but they're definitely not as round as before. She's looking like a little girl, not a baby, and when I look at her I can see the woman she'll be someday.

She's gotten very good at running, at a point now where I have to hustle a little to catch her. Soon she'll be as fast as her big sister and I'll have to start using persuasion to get her to come to me instead of just grabbing her for a diaper change.

But. Her skin is still unbelievably soft and she's just the right size to cuddle up against Mommy. Her hair is silky smooth and every so often in the midst of her jabbering I'll hear a cooing sound that takes me back to this time last year. Her long bones are still all shorter than the length of my hand and when she walks she moves her entire body from side to side in the most endearing waddle. I love to watch her walking. I'm going to miss the waddle when she finally figures out how to move her legs without her torso helping out.

She watches me blow my nose (I have a cold right now) and will grab a tissue herself in imitation. Then she firmly bites a piece off. She still has a ways to go on figuring that out.

Her hair is still way too short to even think about cutting it, though. And that's a good thing.