Baby Love

I was thumbing my way through old photographs when I caught sight of this old snapshot of my nephew Hendrich when he was roughly six months old. A feeling of longing came over me.  I truly miss the days when he was a baby. Call me the 'Stage Aunt'  for all I care but wasn't he (well he still is) the cutest thing?  Look at those fat cheeks, the button nose and that toothless smile. Ugh! To die for! One look at the photo, you just want to bite those cheeks or shower them with pinches. They say that all babies are cute. Well, maybe.  But you have to admit that some babies exude a higher level of cuteness. My nephew was one of them.

Sometimes I wish babies stay babies a little longer.  Hendrich is turning nine next year. As he grows older, I find myself longing for those baby days when he had barely teeth, hair and hardly said a word.  Now he's a smart aleck, has already a curiosity for wordly things and grimaces when you ask for a kiss.  He still has that baby smell, but only in the mornings and after baths. And the look of innocence is slowly fading from those glorious eyes as he learns more about this world. The cliché is so heartbreakingly true: they do grow up so fast.

At least I have my memories. At least my mind can still recall that first word, first walk and all those cherished memories of my quasi-motherhood. In my eyes, he will always be adorably cute to the point of distraction.

Wonder if I'll be saying the same thing when he's almost six feet tall, with muscles and facial hair?

Oh well.