To My Darling Fiona,
You are four months old today! As I sit down and write this
letter, all I can think about is how one year ago yesterday, we found out that
you would be joining our family. It’s crazy to think back now about how nervous and
excited we were on that day, and how much has happened since then. From not
knowing whether we would be having a son or a daughter, to wondering about what
color your hair and eyes would be, to guessing what personality traits you
would pick up…we just had no idea what to expect! But, here you are now, so
alert and loveable, and the best thing that every happened to us. I can say one
thing for certain baby girl, you are a million times more perfect than we could
ever have imagined. We feel so blessed every day that you chose us to be your
parents.
We feel blessed even when the days are hard and long and
tough, which happened more often than not this month. You hit a major growth
spurt this month, which in your mind equaled needing to be held all of the time. Not held
so that you can cuddle, mind you, but held so that you can look down on
everything around you. Your Papa and I joke that you want to be held just so
you can look down upon your minions. Needless to say, your loud, vocal disdain of anything
that resembled a seat, a bouncer or play-mat, equaled one tired Momma. You must
have been exhausted too, because boy oh boy, did you grow. One night I was
putting you in your footed pajamas and they were nice and roomy, and comfy, and
the next night I went to put them on you and they barely fit. You really are
getting to be such a big girl!
Thankfully, all that growing didn’t interrupt your sleep too
much. You now sleep from around 7:00 PM – 6:30 or 7:00 AM, and take two pretty
good naps. You absolutely love your sleep. You’ve also become a self-soothing
champ, and will talk or play in your crib if you wake up, before drifting off
to sleep again. When you wake up in the morning you are so happy and excited
and will just laugh and smile and squirm when we come to pick you up. I cannot
even begin to explain how happy this makes us. We feel like we hit the baby
sleep lottery with you, and we definitely don’t take it for granted.
You have also had a lot of changes and milestones this
month! You stopped being swaddled around 15 weeks, and now love to stretch out
and move in your sleep. We tried not swaddling a couple of times before week
15, but you definitely were not up for it. Then one day, we put you down and you fell
right asleep without that sweet swaddle blanket, and have been without it ever
since. We certainly miss the days of snuggling you up as a Fiona-burrito, but
as usual, you let us know when you were ready to move up and on to the next big
thing. In addition to giving up the swaddle, you also gave up any interest in
your pacifiers. You are in love with your hands, and since they are constantly
available, you’ve decided they are 100% better to stick in your mouth. I’m not
really going to complain about this one, since it means we won’t have to break
the habit, but I do miss the days when I could calm you down easily with the
soothie pacifier.
Currently you love picking things up and pulling things
down. Whether it’s your lovies, toys or my hair, you are so excited to grab,
grab, grab. It’s kind of humorous to see you be able to pick up things that are
sometimes half your size, and I love watching you light up with excitement when
you discover something new. You also adore talking and singing. You still
aren’t that excited by most toys (although you do tolerate the jumparoo we
introduced fairly well). You would prefer to just have conversations all day
long. Your face lights up when your Papa or I talk to you, and you babble along
with the great tales that you want to tell us. You also love to try and sing.
I’ll have the radio on, or will sing a song to you, and you’ll start cooing
right along with the music. You most definitely get your conversation and
singing skills from your Papa.
This month you were also baptized into the Catholic Church.
The baptism was held at the same church where your Papa and I were married in
2008. It was a beautiful ceremony, and the deacon who baptized you loved your
name so much that he broke out singing the Irish Blessing song. We loved that
our families came out to share this special day with you, and we are so
thankful to God for bringing you to into our lives.
As for interesting facts:
- - It’s your first fall! We’re filling it with as
much pretty leaves, pumpkins and football a four month old can handle. You love to lay outside on a blanket and look
up at the yellow, orange and red leaves.
- - You were baptized on October 7th,
2012
- - You can almost roll over from your belly to
back. You get a bit stuck on your side, and have been trying to grab onto
things to help try and pull yourself over. Of course, this leads us to believe
you are a genius child.
- - You still protest tummy time with as much
passion as a toddler throwing an epic temper tantrum. I’m fairly certain you
could probably crawl right now if you decided you wanted to do so, but you
prefer to let the neighborhood know that you really, really dislike tummy-time.
Then you pretend to sleep. It’s actually quite endearing some days, but the
dramatics of it all has me a bit nervous for toddler Fiona.
- - You adore the Itsy Bitsy Spider Song. You squeal
with delight every time I start singing it, which of course, means I sing it
1000x a day. Anything to make you happy, little one.
- = You took your first trip to the apple orchard.
You of course fell asleep the second we arrived, but there are pictures to
prove that you were actually there.
I love you more than I ever could have
imagined I would 365 days ago. You are our smiley faced, giggle-fest, red-headed little love bug. You are our sunshine.
xoxo,
Your Mama & Papa
