Lucy

"Hold her...me."
"I do it!"
"Sammy, hug.  Jack, hug.  Kayla, hug." All before she can go to sleep.
"Read it, me."
"Berries!"

These are some of the things we hear from our baby girl these days.  She always has something to say.  We'll notice murmerings of things we've just said, almost as if it's an afterthought to her.  Like a quiet "pass it please" after we've asked someone to pass the butter.  The rest of us grin at each other, sometimes laugh out loud depending on what she's repeated.  I think that's one of my favorite things- the quiet (or not so quiet) glances and smiles between all of us at what these littlest ones have to say.
She reads books to herself and I will catch things like, "Rabbit in bed.  Bear night-night.  Rabbit blankie."  She makes us all laugh time and time again.  It's a strange pull between loving who we see her becoming and aching that she is growing up.  Even the bigger kids want to get one of her hugs or have a chance to hold her.  Kayla gets that job most often but Sammy tries for it, too.  He says she's our baby.  I know she's getting further away from being "our baby" every day.
I held her the other night and kissed her cheek.  She gave the slightest grin and leaned in for another.  It became a game and the more we played, the bigger her smile got until we could do nothing else but giggle, the both of us.
For today, she's still my baby girl.