Four Months: Addendum

Look who's eating solid foods! Day one with the baby cereal resulted mostly in stuff running out of Lorelei's mouth, but she seems to like it so far.

Four Months

Dear Lorelei,

Another month has gone by too quickly. And I know what you're going to say: of course it went by too fast, it was February and there are only twenty-eight days (twenty-nine if it's a Leap Year) in February. Well, Miss Smartypants, you are correct but that doesn't change the fact that it feels like time is speeding by at a record pace.

You've started this month out with a bang. Or should I say a scream. As in, you spent all of this afternoon and evening screaming because you got your shots today. Can we talk about how upsetting that is for poor mommy?

You've gotten so big, although you are still so small. Eleven whole pounds and one ounce, not quite double what you weighed when you were born. You can sit up now, albeit with someone or something propping you up, but you don't lean over to the side as much anymore. You can push yourself up when you're on your tummy and scoot yourself just a fraction of an inch in the direction you want to go. You've gotten so strong that you can pull your elephant toy to make it play without any help. Sometimes, I'll be sitting here typing away and I'll be surprised by the sudden music. This morning you detached your zebra (still your favorite toy) from not only the gym but also its ring.

Littlest girl, time may be going by so quickly, but there are days when it feels like you've always been here. The perfect completion of our little family. Just do me a favor and don't grow up too fast, I still like snuggling in bed with you.

Love always,

Your Mother

3 Months

Dear Lorelei,

Another month has gone by too quickly. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting down to write one of these for your two month birthday. What has happened this month?

You have started to sleep through the night. Whenever I say that, its as if there is a choir of angels in my head singing the "Hallelujah" chorus. Perhaps I am tempting fate by letting the world know of your excellent sleeping habits, but I want to shout it from the rooftops! MY DAUGHTER SLEEPS FOR EIGHT HOURS! Usually. Unless your father keeps you up late to watch the end of the Superbowl. Ahem.

Speaking of which, last night you sat propped up on the couch - you can sort of sit up now but you still need a bit of help staying upright - and watched most of the game with us. At first we thought that perhaps you were a Colts fan because you smiled and made happy noises when the kicked that first field goal. And then you made distressed noises when the Saints scored in the second quarter. By the end of the game, however, I was sure you were going to start saying, "Who Dat!" Oh yeah, the Saints won!

One of my favorite things to do with you is to lay curled up in bed with you next to me. We'll be face to face and you'll reach out your little hand and grab my nose. Or my cheek fat. Or my eye. You have even managed to pull the glasses off my face. You'll just lay there smiling and cooing and generally being adorable. On the days when I'm not doing so well, that will always make me feel better.

Littlest peanut, last week we started dressing you in your three month clothes. I wanted to cry. You are growing up far too fast. It seems like just a few days ago you were so small that I could hold you in one arm and it wouldn't even be difficult. I will try to savor these moments because I know you won't be a baby forever.

Love,

Your Mother

Picture courtesy of Auntie Cecily

Nine Weeks

Dear Lorelei,

Just a few hours ago, you officially became nine weeks old. Congratulations! I cannot believe it has already been two months since you were born, it feels like just yesterday I was lying in labor and delivery with my feet up in the air...wait, too gross. Moving on.

Little girl. Little peanut. Little bit. You awe me. Every single day. You are so curious about the world around you, always looking about. Right now you are attempting to knock over the toy bar on your Merry Monkey Gym. So cute. It feels weird to take you out places and it feels like people are always giving me weird looks, but you like it. Remember in the Climatron you made that weird cross-eyed face when we first got there. It was as if you were saying, "What is this shit?" Although, perhaps with slightly less vulgar language.

So. What has happened in the last two months. You met the majority of your relatives. Grandma and Grandpa Lewis were here just after you were born. They cooked and cleaned and helped mommy and daddy through those first few rough days when you were hungry all the time and refused to be put down. Then Mam-Ma and Pap-Pa were here for two and a half weeks. They cooked and cleaned too. And Pap-Pa held you a lot. He loved snuggling with his grandbaby. Then before Christmas we went to Toledo and you met your great aunts and great-grandma. You were such a good baby on the drive there, but the hotel really freaked you out. That first night you didn't want to sleep because you were too busy crying.

You went to two - count 'em: two - Christmas parties. You were so well behaved and even let others hold you and play with you. Then you had your first Christmas. Although you slept through all of the gift opening, including the traditional one gift on Christmas Eve, at least you got snow on your first Christmas. And although mommy and daddy were both kind of sick we still had a good time. We even went to the Botanical Gardens the next day and daddy got to share his love of model trains with you.

What else? You've started to smile. All the time. It makes me so happy when you smile at me. This cute little grin. And you make the cutest little happy noises.

Time seems to be flying by. Fast forwarding. I can't wait for you to start crawling and walking and talking and all that, but I'm really going to miss these first few months when you were so tiny and everything was new.

I love you so much,

Your Mother