A Letter to Fiona: Two Months

My Dearest Fiona,

Two months. 8 weeks. It doesn’t sound like very long, but I can’t remember what our lives were like without you in it. It sounds a bit cliché to say that, but it is so very true. You make every day better (even the difficult ones!), and every night we go to bed excited to see what the next day with you will be like. 

This second month has been all about awareness. You began to open your eyes up much more around weeks four and five, and now you are bright eyed and alert whenever you are awake. You can see that you are just beginning to understand cause and effect. You’ll touch a toy on your activity mat, and get so excited when the toy makes a noise. You don’t quite have enough control to create the noise intentionally, nor do you understand that you are the one causing the noise, but you seem to grasp the concept that something is causing the noise to happen. You’ve also found your hands (and endlessly try to get them into your mouth), and love to watch your feet move. I adore that such simple things cause so much delight and bewilderment.

You’re personality is beginning to shine through more and more. You are a fairly content and happy baby the majority of the time, and are becoming quite particular about what you like (eating, country music, bouncing) and what you do not like (burping, swinging, the cold air hitting your bum after a bath). I find it humorous that at this young age, you already have preferences. While you are fairly happy-go-lucky, you are also quite passionate and determined. Also amusing is the fact that you are already learning to be a bit dramatic with your reactions. When you are really mad and not getting what you want, you cry loudly and then look around for our reaction. When the reaction isn’t what you are expecting, you lock your left leg and stomp your right foot. We are surely in for it when you are a toddler and a teenager.

You have a very blasé attitude towards all of your toys…opting for human interaction as your activity of choice. You love to play a game where I tell you that we’re going for a walk in the jungle (or forest). I move your legs slowly while we’re “walking,” and then I’ll exclaim that we just saw a bear (or any of the other litany of random animals I come up with). At this point I’ll move your legs quickly so we can “run” away from said animal. The second I say that we’re going for a walk, your whole face lights up and you get so excited. You also love it when I have conversations with you. I’ll ask you about your night, your dreams, what you want to do today, if you want tea and biscuits…anything really, and you’ll just coo right along as though you are speaking back to me. I’m fairly certain I love this just as much as you do.

Perhaps the best thing that has happened this month is that you began to smile. It started out as a random grin here and there, but now you give us tons of smiles every day. There aren’t any words that could possibly describe the delight I feel when I see you happy. On the flip side, of course, you also started crying real tears, and have perfected a heart-wrenching lower lip quiver. I find it slightly ironic that even at two months old you have come to learn that joy and sadness are intrinsically intertwined. That one cannot exist without the other. It is a lesson that you will continue to learn throughout your life, but I hope that you are always able to find joy and happiness even in the darkest of times.

As for interesting facts:

-       You took your first trip to the beach (Sea Isle City, NJ)

-       You took your first trip to the zoo (Cape May Zoo)

-       You experienced your first Olympics (London)

-       You met your Aunt Colleen and Uncle Kyle for the first time on your Mama & Papa’s 4^th Wedding Anniversary (July 26^th). You’ll get to meet your cousins at Thanksgiving.

-       You’ve rolled over from front to back about 8 times, but not with any consistency. I’m sure that will be coming soon though!

-       You smiled for the first time on July 16^th

-       You slept from 9:00 PM – 6:00 AM the first half of the month, and are now sleeping from 8:00 PM - 6:30 AM (we are so thankful for this!)

Keep on smiling baby girl!

We love you times infinity and beyond,

Your Mama & Papa