Rocking chair moments

There's a time that Addison and I share. It happens right before sleep. She lays across my body with her head in the crook of my right arm. She is so still, and yet awake as we rock. Her little eyes are the only things that move. They study the room, they study me. There is no smile, no expression, but there is an extreme sense of comfort. These moments seem to last longer than they do and for that time, we are the only people in the universe and she is transformed into the essence of innocence. Slowly her eyelids get heavy and they bounce up and down for several minutes before giving in to their sheer weight. I love this moment. I love the feeling of my child's body next to mine...her chest gently rising with each deepening breathe. She drifts off to sleep - a beautiful sleep....the most beautiful sleep I've ever seen. My "baby" has grown so quickly that I fear these nights will soon be over. At 7 months old, my little girl is 21 lbs and often mistaken for a 10 or 11 month old. I understand even better what the author of a children's book meant when he wrote, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living...my baby you'll be."