Rocking my little girl

There are nights when Holly will fall asleep immediately once her head hits the pillow. However, more often than not she stays awake and sings until she falls asleep. Sometimes she sings quietly, sometimes she sings so loud it's probably better classified as shouting rather than singing. It is one of her most endearing little traits. Nate and I look at eachother and shake our heads, smile, or laugh when we hear her belting it out.

Tonight it had been about an hour since we'd put her to bed, and then all of the sudden we heard her start singing quite loudly. I went up to check on her, which sometimes we do and sometimes we don't. But tonight I wanted to. She sometimes lays in bed and lets us rub her tummy for a minute, then she'll go to sleep. Other times she stands right up with her blankie in hand and likes to be snuggled. Tonight was one of those nights.

And as I sat there in the rocking chair, rocking her back and forth, back and forth, with her relaxed little body all snuggled up to me, I felt so much love in my heart for her that I was sure my heart was overflowing and the love I was feeling must have been getting absorbed into her little body. I know other parents out there must know this feeling, and I have to say it is one of the best feelings I have ever experienced - a real blessing and one of the many gifts that come from being a parent.