four months later...

From our first night cuddling together, I knew that I wanted to leave my daughter a written piece of my heart specifically of our first year together. At some point I will hand write these letters for her, and she will have a small glimpse into what I was thinking and feeling.

It feels like she has changed so much this month, she will be five months old in just less than a week but here's my musings from month four...


Well Pumpkin you are four months old...and I'm afraid what they say is true: time is moving much  too
fast and you are a mirror of your daddy and me.  So many times I look at your little face or see your mannerisms and think to myself  "I must be looking in the mirror!"  You are an amazing little girl, so strong, already very determined and you light up every room you are carried into. We are so grateful that you just go with the flow, you can be passed around the room or the rink and you just smile and settle into the arms that are holding you. You are happy, incredibly healthy (we love the rolls on your wrists, knees, ankles...) and we couldn't be more grateful that you are ours...Here's a peek into what your little world looks like:

• You love your bath...you kick and splash and gleefully play for as long as we let you stay in the water...and you like the water nice and warm just like your momma! Bath time is your special time with your daddy, he does a much better job of playing than I do, and my favorite sound of the day is hearing yours and your daddy's laughter coming from the bathroom each evening. 
• You are not interested whatsoever in taking a bottle...getting lunch from anywhere but me is not an option in your mind!
• Getting enough sleep is crucial to us seeing your joyful smile :)  You had a few days in a row where you were not interested in napping during the day and our happy girl seemed to have taken a vacation...a few days of concentrated routine and intentional napping opportunities for you made all the difference in the world!  We were grateful to see your smile return :)
• You have started to giggle, not just a "breathy" laugh but actual eye squinty belly giggles and when you start we laugh right along with you and don't want you to stop!
• You've become quite the drooler...the front of your shirt is often wet no matter how much we wipe your chin :) You are an expert bubble blower and practice often lol!
• If anything is close to your mouth and you can get your hands on it, it goes straight into your mouth! You love to wrap your pudgy little fingers around ours and chomp down on our finger with your gums...we won't be surprised if a tooth pops through at some point in the near future...
• You love to be held... This might be one of my favorite aspects of this stage.  Sure you have moments where you like to just be on your own and be able to kick and stretch out, but you have many moments where you are so incredibly content to just be held...a fussy moment can dissipate almost in an instant when I pick you up and hold you close. Even though those preceding moments can sometimes leave me a tad frazzled, my heart settles and finds its calm when I feel you relax in my arms.

Every day you open our hearts a little more to love in a new way we didn't know possible...we are forever changed because of you, and we wouldn't have it any other way...