today you are two months old!
it is crazy to me to think how much our lives have changed in just two short months, and how much you have changed. you are so much bigger now than you were even just last month! i'll probably be saying that for the rest of my life. i realized this month how wonderful and heartbreaking it is, all at the same time, to watch your children grow. i am so excited to see you grow and to see the person you'll become, and at the same time i want to keep you teeny forever. daddy just can't wait until you can talk and tell us what you want. this whole crying-as-communication business you have going on is really getting to him.
you weigh twelve pounds now and you have grown almost three inches since you were born. grandma pam says you're quite the little porker! you eat like nobody's business, and you are starting to fit into 3-month sized clothes. i guess that is kind of a good thing, because we didn't have a ton of clothes to fit you in the smaller size, and we have mountains of 3-month clothes. i counted - you have over 40 onesies alone. not to mention the other things, cute little dresses and pants and tee shirts. if you could please stop growing for a little while so we can get some use out of all these clothes your father and i would be very much appreciative.
this month we celebrated your first fourth of july, independence day. you wore the dress i made you before you were born, even though it was a little bit big for you. i think it might fit you better on labor day or maybe even veteran's day this year. well, oh well. that's what you get with a mom who sews. you and i had a quiet day and just relaxed; daddy had to work but he brought home tri-tip from the barbecue at work and boy was it ever yummy. daddy wanted fireworks so you and i went out and got some for him, and that night we sat on the blanket on the tiny slope of our front lawn and watched daddy light them for us in the street. you watched the bright lights (i hope we didn't blind you) and then fell asleep. how could you sleep through all that noise?
i wanted to start the same kind of tradition as when i was a little girl. we lived in tacoma where fireworks are also legal (they aren't legal where i grew up in san diego county). every fourth, we would go over to my aunt pam and uncle harry's house in federal way for a barbecue. we would light sparklers and write our names in the air. they had a generous front lawn with a steeper slope - a hill, really - and my uncle harry, your grandpa mark, and your great-grandpa hap (who is doing fine now, by the way, and you'll get to meet him in august when we go down for aunt alice's wedding) would light the fireworks for us in the street. sometimes they wouldn't go off, and we would yell, "dud!" but mostly they would explode in a shower of bright colors and noise and we would ooh and ahh and applaud.
speaking of sleep, you having started cooing and giggling in your sleep. it's the cutest thing ever and it's nice to know you are having sweet dreams. (of what? boobs? tickles? dry diapers? you don't know much else yet.) the first time you cooed, i put you in your crib to sleep and immediately called your father to tell him. he said, i guess you had to be there? i guess, but it's still awesome to me and i don't want to ever forget it. i'm now trying to figure out how to predict when you'll do it, so he can see also because i don't think he really believes me.
this month you have become even more alert than ever. i think it's because you're sleeping so well through the night. usually you sleep 6+ hours at a stretch and some nights you bless me with 8 continuous hours of sleep. of course, when you wake up you scream to high heaven because during that time we have been depriving you of food and you are SO HUNGRY OH MY LORD FEED ME NOW, but to me that is a small price to pay for some much-needed rest. you continue to fight against the swaddle i put you in at night and i continue to do it, because you really do sleep so much better when you are swaddled. besides, i outweigh you by about twelve times and i like to abuse my power, and you are so cute when i unswaddle you in the mornings and your arms pop up.
the best part about you being alert is that you have learned to smile and laugh, and you are responding to us. you are so unhappy to have a wet diaper, but the moment i take it off it's like i have a brand-new baby. all you can do is grin and giggle and coo. you love to be tickled and when i kiss you, you squinch your body up and wiggle and coo. daddy talks to you when he holds you and you smile at him and coo back to him. in the past day or two you have started flirting a little also, coyly turning your head and peeking out of the corner of your eye as you give us a bashful little smile, and i am terrified to think of what you will be like in 14 years when you discover boys.
your smile is the best thing about my day, and i can tell it is the best thing about daddy's day as well. he started a new position this month and it has been super stressful, but when he comes home at night and sees you grinning at him, i can see all the stress of the day just evaporate from his shoulders. he just melts when you smile at him. i know you will be mad at us sometimes, and you'll slam doors and cry, as we try to balance your desires against what we feel is best for you, and i just pray that you never forget to smile at us and melt our hearts once more.
i love you, sweetheart.
love,
mama
