Emma is now eight weeks old, an age we can hardly believe. I have always found that life's pace ebbs and flows; sometimes it feels as if the week/month/year will never end, and other times "yesterday" was weeks past. The kind folks at my last job wished me well when I left, so much so that I felt bad for leaving them, and a great many of them advised me to enjoy my time with Emma because she will grow up fast. I must have taken that to heart a little too much because in my mind I've already played out her first day of school, her first date, her graduation, her wedding, and her first child; you know what, I can hardly wait.

Emma is growing at a steady rate and I thank God for her on a daily basis. She is precious, in fact she is, as Gollum would say, "My precious!" She has learned to smile on demand and there is nothing more heart-melting and more heart-warming than to have your precious baby girl look up at you and for no reason what-so-ever break out into a wide, toothless, grinning smile; these aren't the smiles that precede a rude bodily function either, these are the ones that light up her eyes, and it is then that I know being a Dad is the best thing in the world. Emma is now in the process of discovering her voice; she can vary her oral output now to include noises other than screams and tear-inducing cries. I should note that a week or two ago we found, to our gut-wrenching horror, her tear ducts work. An infant's cry is one thing but when that infant can actually shed real tears the cry becomes much more difficult for the parents to handle; at least we felt this way. Suddenly these tantrums of screams and wailings took on a new urgency and meaning now that we could see tears streaming down her face. But as I said, she's learning to make other noises now, and that's fantastic to see! It won't be long now and she'll be mimicking us, and then calling us some form of "Daddy" and "Mommy" and those days will be grand, not to mention the giggles!

Emma is growing, and I couldn't be happier. I do cherish every moment I have with her, but it is with an eye to her future. She will spend the majority of her life as an adult, not as a child, and every step she makes toward that goal is exciting to me. I look forward to watching her mature in all sorts of ways, for I know that as much as I might like to have her as a tiny little baby I can hold in my arms, or a cute and precious little girl who will hop up in my lap and ask me to read her a story, I know that I cannot ever hold her back. She is one of God's children, given in my care, to raise her to adulthood. I will have fond memories of this time, and I enjoy it as much as I can, but I look forward to her future. She cannot stay a child forever and so I've decided never to wish she would. Even still, every day with her is a joy, and watching her discover the world is a treat I never could have imagined.