Today, baby Ethan is 7 weeks and 2 days old. He weighs a little over ten pounds and has bright blue eyes. He is alert, very attached to his mommy and daddy, and likes to give his Grandma Len kisses on the cheek. Well, he isn’t really kissing. He is actually bobbing open-mouthed on my cheek signaling to his mom that he is ready to nurse. Still, I like to think of those sweet little bobs as kisses. Ethan would no doubt roll his eyes if he understood what I was thinking. “Forget it, Grandma,” he might say. “I just want FOOD.”

The thing that happens when you aren’t around babies for a while (and for me it has not been that long since Lyla is only 3 1/2), is that you forget about all these tiny little things that make babies so adorable. For example, the little grunts, squeals, and snorts they make, which are, for lack of a better term, endearing. And that baby smell. Pure sweetness. And their soft skin. Good grief. I had forgotten just how soft babies are.

As you might surmise, I am fallen head over heels in love with my fourth little grandchild. Not that I am not totally in love with the other three. I am, beyond a doubt. I think this newest love affair just goes to show that love begets more love and is limitless. It probably has a good deal to do biologically with grandparents needing to develop a strong bond with their little grandchildren so they can protect them when mom and dad aren’t around. Whatever the case, let’s just say that I’m smitten beyond words.

I will end this rant so as not to further embarrass myself. Enough said. Still, for anyone who has made it this far, here are a couple of recent photos of the little boy in question.