Dear Claire: Happy Birthday to My Two-Year Old!

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.)

Dear Claire,

It has been awhile since I’ve sat down and wrote you a letter. These past few months have flown by and I can barely remember what life was like when you hit the 18-month mark, which just encourages me all the more to continue penning these letters and records every once in awhile.

Right now, you are sitting next to me on the couch watching one of the two television shows that you will actually sit still for: Baby Genius kids sing-along-songs and Sesame Street (but typically only the ones where they are singing). You sure do love your music. It is a language that runs deep through your blood, I can tell. You love to dance and will often incite (demand?) anyone else in the room to get “Up! Up!” and join you. You have started even singing along with certain refrains from some of your favorite songs, of which “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift is still one. There are innumerable Sesame Street ones, as well, and I have also started introducing you to more wholesome girl pop groups, since you seem to love that genre so much. (Daddy is busy exposing you to a variety of bands, of which Quiet Hounds is easily your favorite so far.)

For Christmas, you got a children’s piano that you love playing and when we go to friends’ houses with full-size pianos, you love pulling up on the stools and playing a tune. For your birthday, we are giving you a children’s guitar. It’s still a bit big for you, but you love laying it on the ground and strumming along with Daddy when he serenades you.



You still are my little helper. This afternoon, I was shoveling the driveway and you fished out your sand shovel for the beach and joined me in scooping piles of snow. Oftentimes when I am in the kitchen, working away, you will come to me and ask, “Help! Help!” so that you can assist in some way. Consequently, you enjoy helping me load and empty the dishwasher, put away groceries, take your clothes up to your room and clean/wipe off surfaces (so much so, that we often have to cut you off from the tub of cleaning wipes).

Spiritually, I love seeing you so readily embrace the love of Jesus. So often, his love is seen as weird and awkward and something to be shunned. But to you, it is just natural. You love to pray and at meal times oftentimes won’t start to eat until we “Amen.” At nighttime when I ask what you want to pray for, you consistently want to pray for “Shake shake” (what you call YouTube), Daddy, your grandparents, and “Peh,” whose meaning I still haven’t deciphered. Right now, we walking through the season of Lent and, to try to teach you why Easter is so monumental, have started a tradition of creating an Easter Tree with short Scripture readings for each day that we hang on the branches. You caught on to this so easily when we did something similar during Advent that I imagine these efforts will continue as traditions for years to come.

You are readily finding your voice, talking more and more with each passing week. You are also starting to string together sentences, oftentimes of the “I want ____” and “I need ____” variety, but this morning you busted out, “My shirt is all wet!” Right now, many of your words sound alike (bath/ball/back; Bible/bubble; hand/hair) but that doesn’t stop you from trying and adding more each day. You also love telling us about what just happened, so if you were playing with Daddy, you will find me and enthusiastically wave your hands around to show me how you guys were playing and chatter awhile while doing so.



You are also doing pretty well with potty-training, an endeavor we started working on a couple of months ago when you decided you want to run around the house naked all the time. We aren’t too strict about it and you still wear a diaper most of the time (you don’t like the undies we got you, even though they are Hello Kitty), but I imagine that if we (I) buckle down, by summer we could be well into potty-trained territory.

You love coloring, going barefoot, Elmo, slides (what you call “Wee!”s), kitty cats, caring for your babies, going to the community center’s indoor pool (“poo”), washing your hands, going shopping, walking in the grocery store (no shopping carts for you anymore, unless they’re the kid-sized ones and you’re pushing them!), having your back and feet rubbed (don’t claim we never spoiled you!), and hanging out with your grandparents and uncles/aunts. You are doing very well at saying please, thank you, excuse me and covering your mouth when you cough/sneeze (so much so that you remind us to say/do in case we forget).

Other stats include:
Height: 33 inches
Weight: 21.25 lbs.
Clothing size: 2T
Shoe size: 6
Teeth: Waiting on 2-year molars

Even as you physically and developmentally grow and change, your personality remains the same: Happy and joyful. Always ready to smile and laugh or attempt to make everyone else do the same. Even after being disciplined, you can hardly hold back a smile. The only time you seem sad is when you are apart from one of us in your close circle of family (and then it’s devastating for you). And of course, since you’re a toddler, there are plenty of meltdowns over frustrations of not getting your way, but they don’t last long and you are easily distracted or (lately), we tell you go to your “fuss corner” and tell the “fuss plant” (a peace lily that has looked like it’s dying for the past three years but still holds on) and you lay down and cry for a moment and then reemerge settled.

But overall, you are so happy and enthusiastic about everything. In short, you are a joy and keep this house on its toes and are never, even for a second, boring. My life was good before you came along. Certainly, it was easier. But still, it was very good. Now, though, I look back and the part in Ezekiel where he’s prophesying about the Valley of Dry Bones comes to mind: “…'This is what the Lord GOD says to the bones: I will cause breath to enter you so you will come to life. I will put muscles on you and flesh on you and cover you with skin. Then I will put breath in you so you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’” (Ezekial 37:5-6) That feels like what the Lord has done to me with you. My life was mere bones before you. But with you came new muscles and new skin, new breath, a new life. You have changed me and reinvigorated me in a way I never knew I needed or wanted or could have become. And in doing so, you have shown me the Lord: his goodness, his provision and care, his mercy, his love.

Love,
Mom

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Dear Claire: 18 and 19 Month Updates

 

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.)


Dear Claire,
A year and a half, you have been my daughter and a year ago we uprooted you and moved from Georgia to my home state of Ohio. You have officially spent more time as a Buckeye than a Peach, and that fact is a testament to how quickly time flies.

Over these past two months, you took your first trip to the beach and dipped toes in the sand, hands in the ocean for the first time. You were not scared or stunned by it, but embraced it quickly, learning to love the splash and the salty breezes with gusto. You also started going into the nursery at church without a problem. I don't know when or how it happened, but all of a sudden, when we left the room you were completely at ease and played plenty until we returned at the end of the service. While I enjoyed getting to spend time with you in there and get to know the other nursery volunteers better with each passing week, I'm glad to get to sit through an entire service and know that you trust that we're not forsaking you, but that we'll be back soon. It's a good feeling knowing you feel safe, without having to shed a single tear in the process..

One of the things I've been noticing of late is how your personality comes out in different situations. For the longest time I was convinced you were an extrovert, always loving going shopping and waving hi to all the cashiers. But then when we went to a splash park where other kids were running through the sprinklers without a care, you stuck close to me, making sure to never let go of my hand while we watched and you inched close enough to dip your toes in a puddle. Then, we had a few families over for dinner and I thought you'd love the ample playmates, but the. I caught you playing on your own in the corner or wanting me to hold you most of the time. It's scenes like these where I feel I am getting a better grasp for who you are and what you need. (So far, I think you prefer adults and older kids (girls, especially) in small groups, though you're always up for people-watching, so long as you feel safe with mom or dad.)

Otherwise your personality at home continues to bubble over, as you're picking up new words fairly quickly. You were the flower girl (flower fairy girl, actually) in your aunts wedding, and we coached you to say "cheese," and you were practicing it in your sleep! Your vocabulary so far: mama, dada, no, uh-oh, ball, Elmo, shoe, hat, kitty, cheese, woof-woof, ah-ah (imitating a monkey noise), hot, hi, bye, home, duck, sheep, baby, eyes, please, two (as in "one, two, three"), amen, book, and you're adding to it almost daily it seems!

Your disposition continues to shine as such a cheery one. Your name, "Claire," means "bright," and I think that is so fitting. You are constantly smiling or laughing and always vying to make us do the same. Even when I try to discipline you, your lip might quiver for a moment, but then you bust into a smile and I can't help but smile back and laugh. There is an unending joy that bubbles up from within you and I love it. It makes my life so much brighter, too, to watch you enjoy and drink in this world around you.

You're also becoming more and more of a help to mommy. This morning, I was installing a new light in the bathroom we recently overhauled, and I dropped a tiny screw. You were playing at my feet, so I asked you to retrieve it, unsure if you even knew where it fell. But you found it and handed it to me immediately. I hope that servants heart of yours continues to flourish and bring joy to a world that is in so much need of help and that darling little smile of yours.

Also, seemingly overnight you began taking a huge interest in books, much to the delight of your mama and dada whose book collection spans an entire wall in our new house! You love to pick through your book collection (pretty vast, in its own right), and bring us book after book to read through. I am not sure where this came from, because for so long you would not sit still to read and had no interest except in turning the pages. But I did not rush or fight that, and still you developed a love all your own. Which is something that awes me, because, even in this limited, small instance, I can see the Lord at work, shaping you and making you something fascinating and beautiful—all on his own. I am here to walk alongside you and read the books out loud, but he is the one doing the work, creating you and breathing life into your interests and passions and development. As a mother, this is a great comfort to me, because I know that I do not do this work alone. I have the Lord to help me, a God who loves you far more than either of us can fathom and to fill in all the gaps of my failures and shortcomings when it comes to parenting.

All in all, both you and I are learning much together as the months continue to tick by, and for that I am thankful. We both are ever growing, ever coming into our own as mother and daughter, and as the people God so lovingly fashioned us to be. For that, Glory be to God.

Love,
Mom

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Dear Claire: 16 and 17 Month Updates

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.)

Dear Claire--
Well, I'm consolidating two months into this update: your 16 and 17 month updates. Time got away from me, but, as you'll see, it was spent having a lot of fun!



Over the past two months (June and July), you:

- Have added to your speaking arsenal: "Oh boy!" "Hat" and (much to your GP's delight) "GI Joe." When it comes time to eat something, you also like to say, "Mmmm!" and after drinking, sometimes you'll go, "Aaah!"
- Love to dance. Sometimes if we ask you to dance, you'll start slowly spinning in a circle, like a little ballerina! And one morning, you were sleeping and heard your daddy's alarm go off. It's a song, and you usually will dance to it. But this morning, you were still sleeping but still managed to put your fist in the air and do a couple fist-pumps along to the music before drifting back to sleep! You have also started nodding your head along to the beat. Thanks to your love of music, we finally found a video that will keep you occupied (usually when it comes time to make dinner in the evenings), and that's sing-along videos from Baby Genius. When you see us load up Netflix, you get really excited and start pumping your hand in anticipation because you know what's coming next!
- Went on your first family vacation. We went to Breckenridge, Colorado and made a little day trip to Vail. You stayed on East-Coast time, which meant we were up every day around 5 or 6am, but that gave us time to tip-toe out of the suite we were sharing with family and go explore the town at sunrise. We found some cute coffeeshops and a couple of playgrounds that you enjoyed running free in.

- Enjoyed your first encounters splashing and playing in the pool in our neighborhood as well as the resort pool on vacation. Sometimes you are timid about it and other times you love getting to splash. (Especially when Daddy took you down the water slide on vacation!)
- Love push toys as well as toys that other people will push you around in!
- Blowing bubbles!
- Have started taking to carrying purses or bags around with you wherever you go. You have a couple that are your favorites, including a brightly colored garden-tool-holder bag, an adorable little floral-print chain purse I held onto for years in hopes of someday having a girl, and a little vinyl pink pouch that has a carabiner on the end.
- Are still fascinated by people watching and love engaging with people anywhere we go. You love saying hi and I love watching how a small little girl can light up a stranger's day with a simple smile and acknowledgement. To an introvert, it's so impressive and admirable.
- Are getting adept at helping mommy when she asks you to "Clean up your mess!" (Because you are forever making little messes!) You don't seem to mind though, and sometimes enjoy the clean-up just as much as making the mess! You still love to throw things away (I fished out a handful of felt toys from the trash this morning).
- Recently took up coloring with crayons and splashing in the kitchen sink in the morning.

- Graduated into size 4 diapers, which gave us the chance to try out Walgreens' exclusive baby-care brand Well Beginnings brand for the times when we need disposables. They've proven tto be pretty soft and quite absorbent. We haven't had a single leak with them and no diaper rash, thanks to the fact that the inner liner features natural botanicals, vitamin E, and aloe to soothe your baby’s bottom. We've also enjoyed their sensitive wipes (moisturizing and clean up messes well with few wipes needed) and baby bodywash that is tear-free, soap-free, dye-free, paraben-free and hypoallergenic (making it milder than baby soap) and smells nice and fresh! We haven't had any need for the electrolyte drink, but it's great to already have on hand when the need arises. (Thanks to Walgreens and Mom's Meet for the opportunity to add these essentials to our baby-care arsenal!*)

All in all, it's been quite the summer for you, and with the leaves starting to change already, I'm looking forward to all the changes this next season will bring for us, too!

Love,
Mom

* I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetsSM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinon on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

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Dear Claire: 15 Month Update (and a Look Back at a Year Ago)

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.)

Dear Claire,

You keep on growing, growing, growing! We had your 15 month appointment, and you weighed in at 19.5 lbs and 30 inches. And, I recently just had to get you new shoes in size 5!

I got you dressed the other day and realized it was nearly the same outfit you'd worn a year ago when I did one of your first real photoshoots, back when you were only three months old, that we had done on our old house's back deck. So I went on and captured the moment, taking you out on our new deck to document the differences a year can make. See for yourself:

CLAIRE AT THREE MONTHS OLD

CLAIRE A YEAR LATER, AT FIFTEEN MONTHS

and for fun, because it was too adorable:

Speaking of the new house, we've been here full-time for a couple of weeks, and I don't think the transition has phased you much (except that it still isn't quite as dark in your bedroom as the basement was during naptime). So far, you seem to love it. Especially the outside. We have told you that you can only play outside if you have shoes on, so you say, "Shoe, shoe" when you want O-U-T. (We've had to start spelling it!)

Your Mimi bought you a new swing for the swingset, which you love to play on, as well as have people take you down the swingset's slide. You also discovered the surprise strawberry patch that popped up on the side of the yard and (on your own accord) picked off the only two red strawberries to eat. Between you and the birds/bunnies, the vines are now clean!

Otherwise we've just been settling in here, which you've been keen to play a part in, yourself. You are big into "helping" right now. You love to make a mess and when I tell you it's time to pick things up, you eagerly help. Sometimes, though, you take it a bit too far and pick things up when they shouldn't. For instance, you really like throwing things away--shoes, cell phones, Tupperware. I am on the lookout for a new trashcan whose lid you can't so easily lift. You also love flipping the light switches when we go into or out of a room.

Also, you've started to make some friends in the neighborhood. All around us are little kids (boys, mostly) within a year of your age. Across the street is a boy who's only a day younger than you! We've only hung out with them once or twice for a homemade music class, but I imagine that over the next few years, you all will get to know one another quite well!

Here are some more notes I made over the past month of changes you've shown:

• You know where your belly button is (a trick Daddy taught you!) and if you see a picture of him, you can say "Da." (If I point to a picture of myself, you just stare at me blankly, though!)
• You love to say uh-oh and then drop things.
• Your Mimi loves to sing a nursery rhyme to you about a blackbird snipping off your nose and as soon as she starts to sing it, you pinch your nose because you know that's coming at the end!
• You can make monkey and seal pup sounds (which you learned from one of your animal-sounds books).
• You love to try to make people laugh and you discover something that makes us laugh, you will keep doing it over and over again.
• You love to empty drawers!
• You can climb up and down stairs pretty smoothly, so we haven't even bothered to try to babyproof the stairs here. (We have however, babyproofed a couple of drawers, if you see the point above!)
• You love anything that is your-sized for sitting. I finally found you a little wooden chair at a thrift store that you sit in quite a bit!
• You also are getting into baby dolls and if I ask you, "Where's baby?" you run off to find the one your Grandma got you for Easter!
• Your hair is long enough for a ponytail although your bangs are still growing out and get in your eyes.
• Foods you've liked over the past month include hummus, sloppy joe meat, raspberries and raisins. You go through phases with nearly everything, but your morning oatmeal is a staple.
• You also went swimming for the first time! The neighborhood pool is just down the street, so we took you on opening day and you loved the baby pool. I can foresee quite a few afternoons spent there this summer!

So, as you can see, it's been a big month! I love watching your personality blossom and your insight and intellect grow. Here's to another month and a summer full of fun!

Love,
Mom

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Dear Claire: 13-Month Update

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.) 

Dear Claire,

Here are the latest updates in this budding little life of yours over the past month:

• You have started blowing kisses, especially when you see daddy.
• You can wave “hi” and “bye.”
• One of your favorite games is to go up to a photograph and say, “Who is that?” You especially love Grandma’s gallery wall where you point at pictures of yourself and your uncle and ask that over and over.
• You also love to ask, “What is that?” when you see something you’re interested in.
• When you see something you like, you often will say, “It’s a ball!” (Everything is a ball.)
• Your appetite has slowed and you’ve rejected a lot of the foods you formerly loved, so I’ve been trying to experiment with new ones to keep you eating enough solid foods. Lately, you’ve been enjoying oatmeal, peanut butter, hummus, almond milk. And you still love rice cereal, chips/crackers/pretzels, and bananas, so long as we let you feed them to yourself.
• You still nurse a handful of times a day, and I love those moments with you.
• A favorite little game you like to play is walk up to someone and start running in place, in hopes that we’ll do it back to you. Then, you start back up and we do it simultaneously. You love this!
• You went to your first baseball game of the season and loved all the action!
• Also, the weather has turned nice and so you’ve been playing outside when it’s warm enough (it has been unseasonably cold this spring!) and have loved getting to walk around in the grass, discover rocks, pull up leaves, and otherwise get to adventure!
• If we ask you for a kiss, you’ll lean your head in toward us so we can kiss you. It’s so adorable!
• You are now up to 8 teeth: 4 on top, 4 on bottom. The last two came in at the same time this past month, but you bore it like a champ. I think you’re teething right now, because you have been drooling a lot lately, but you never let me look in your mouth so I usually don’t realize you’ve broken anything until it’s well through.
• For the past month or so, you’ve been taking one long nap around lunchtime, usually for 2 to 3 hours. Nighttime you usually go to bed around 9 or 10. If you accidentally fall asleep in the car, that throws everything off, but we have learned to roll with the punches around here, so I don’t mind. We can always get back to the swing of things tomorrow!
• Much to my joy, you are starting to get a little more interested in books, finding them and opening them up and looking at their pictures. You’ll sit still long enough for us to read a couple of pages before you take it away and insist on playing with it on your own. We still don’t really read on a daily basis but I’ve been trying to incorporate it more.
• You still love to dance and clap and anything music-related. We may not read daily, but we sure do make time to dance and sing multiple times a day!
• You also are our little opportunist who gets into all sorts of things that you know you’re not supposed to. It’s like you have radar, when a certain door opens that we otherwise keep locked or closed. You make a beeline to try to get in before it closes and see what damage you can do. If we aren’t careful there will be grocery items or Q-Tips or office papers strewn all over the floor in just a matter of minutes!
• Your hair just keeps getting longer and longer—and, consequently, crazier and crazier. If I stretch it out in the back, it can reach down your back a couple of inches (but typically curls up to look like a bob), and your bangs are past your nose. I try to keep your bangs pulled back, but you pull your barrettes out so more often than not, you’re peering out at the world through a fringe of bangs!
• You love your family and squeal with joy when you see one of us return after being gone for awhile. It is utter joy that makes us feel so loved. On the flip side, you still hate when we leave you. Consequently, I’m still hanging out with you in the nursery at church during the service!
• You’ll walk along beside us, holding a finger. If I hold it out, you’ll come running up and grab it to walk with me. If I ask you to come, oftentimes (but not always!) you’ll come.

Love,
Mom

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Dear Claire: You're One Year Old!

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.) 

Dear Claire,

First, let's start out with some of the main updates from this past month:

• At your one-year appointment you: weighed 18.2 lbs (10th percentile) and were 29.25 inches long (50th percentile).
• You can now run, so we took you to get big-girl shoes for your birthday (size 4W!). Now we can hear that pitter-patter coming from across the room!
• Somehow, your sixth tooth came in this month and I had no clue. It was on the bottom so it wasn't until I looked down yesterday and counted three pearly whites sticking through that I realized it! Whoops!
• You like to shake your head "no," although I don't think you know what it means and aren't trying to be defiant. You just think it's funny!
• You like to stick out your tongue and let it hang to the side of your mouth. It's pretty goofy, but then that's one of the things I love best about you! 
• You have a little sneaky streak! You know we don't like for you to have the remote so sometimes you'll watch us when we're looking away and stealthily go for it, ever so slowly so as to avoid detection.
• You can wave "hi" and "bye" back if we wave to you.
• You are big into imitating in general. We discovered that if we stick our tongue in and out quickly, you'll mimic and do the same! It's a silly little party trick we like.
• You love to drink water and your daddy has worked with you to say "ahh" after taking a drink. It's pretty adorable! You are learning how to use a zippy cup. You really love one of your grandma's water bottles and have aptly learned how to drink out of it by sucking up the straw.
• Your daddy taught you another new trick: You love it when we whisper secrets ("Psst, psst, psst,") in your ear and often squeal with delight! 

What a big girl you are becoming, learning all kinds of new tricks in leaps and bounds, right?!

For your birthday, we took you to a cupcake shop where you were ecstatic about smooshing cake and icing through your fingers! You didn't really eat much of it, but enjoyed the chance to be as messy as you liked! You had fun ripping open your presents and playing with your new clothes and toys, especially your LOUD corn popper and birthday cards that sing when you open them! I know you won't remember it, but it was fun—which life with you always is!

This past year has turned out to be a joy for me to be your mommy. I'm so proud of the wonderfully joyful, spunky and social, curious and creative little girl you're becoming. I love watching your mind at work and am always surprised by what captures your attention. You're always off exploring and getting into anything and everything! I can't wait to see where you are going to channel that energy and curiosity as you get older.

Here's to another year, as my little love bug and Claire Bear!

Love,
Mom

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Dear Claire: 11 Month Update

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.)

Dear Claire,
You are now just one month shy of a year. Can you believe it's been that long already? Can you believe we've made it this far? By the time you're reading this, 11 months will seem like barely a drop in the bucket. But it feels like so much right now. So much, in a good way.

You got sick for the first time this month. (Well, you’d gotten pink eye around six months, but it was mild and we caught it quickly so it never bothered you.) This time, though, you were miserable. Your nose was runny and it turned into an ear ache that had you wailing “Ow!” and “Oh!” and what I swear sounded like, “Help!” We took you to the doctor as soon as we saw you tug on your right ear, but it was too late. Even with antibiotics (azithromycin), you were still in great pain for the next two days anytime the ibuprofen would wear off. 

And to top it off, you were so congested you couldn’t breathe through your nose so you snored when you slept (causing your dad to dub you Darth Baby) and you gasped when you tried to nurse. (Consequently, you gave up sucking your thumb and haven't gone back since, something I am relieved about because I dreaded having to break you of it.) It was pitiful and I felt so sorry for you. But fortunately, on day three the pain subsided and on day four you could breathe through your nose again. I'm just thankful we were able to make it ten months until you really got sick!

Otherwise, another big achievement this month was that I realized your hair can be pulled back into pigtails! I love pulling it back. Of course, you love pulling the hair bands out, so they don't ever last very long, but I have captured a few photographs of the moment.

Right now you are in love with music. You now bounce when you hear a tune. Sometimes you'll tap a foot or clap your hands. You have an electronic drumstick that plays a rhythm that you can tap to, and you love the melody. You also have maracas and shakers and jingle bells and empty tin- and cardboard-canisters that double as drums. You love picking these up and playing with them; they bring a huge smile to your face when you discover them in the midst of your playtime.

You've got your daddy's love of playing music. (You've also discovered his guitar, hidden behind his desk that you make it a point to crawl around the chair and trashcan to play with the strings. Ain't nothing going to stand in your way of playing music, huh?) And you've got your mommy's love for dancing to music. We've recently started doing dance parties where we find some good music to play in the background while we sing and twirl along.

And this past week at church, we took you into service with us during the worship time, and you sat enrapt while the band played and everyone sang along. (Of course, as soon as they started praying, you decided the quiet was too much and started shouting and "talking" to make up for it. We then took you to the nursery, where I've been having to hang out with you, because you still don't like being left without one of us with you. I don't mind though; it's given me a chance to get to know some of the other women who are serving in the nursery better than I would have otherwise. That's one thing I hope you'll learn: There's always a silver lining. Always. Make it a point to look for it.)

So this newfound love of yours has been fun and I've been looking for ways to enrich and encourage it. I'm looking into music classes for you, because heaven knows you don't really need any more toys or clothes, and with your birthday coming up, I thought that might be more useful than more "stuff" for you. But we'll see. By the way, I'm sure your wishlist would include things like: a new cellphone/remote control that actually works and lights up (rather than the ones with batteries removed that you like to give me); a toilet paper roll I can tear apart as much as I please (and eat to my delight); a trashcan (full of trash, of course) I can explore, etc.

At any rate, we're getting closer and closer to that milestone, and it's been so much fun. I hope you're having fun, too.

Love,
Mom

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Dear Claire: 10 Month Update

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.)

Dear Claire,

At 10 months, I know you’re still a baby. But when I look at you and watch you and describe you, you feel like a toddler. Part of that is probably because now you are, in fact, toddling around. You are officially a walker, having taken your first real set of steps about a week before Christmas. Now, two weeks later, you walk about as often as you crawl, but you’re getting more and more adept with the walking and bolder with every step. You also proved (while we watched on) that you can readily climb an entire set of stairs unaided. Oy. You keep us on our toes!

{ some of your first steps, captured on film }

You also are saying “mama” and “dada” and sometimes “hi,” with a little wave that looks more like opening and closing your fist. And you will sometimes clap along with us (see photo below for an example). Leaps and bounds all around, little one! What a difference a single month can make, huh?

You are still long and lean, weighing in at just 17 lbs. when I took you in for your 9 month appointment; that’s keeping you at 25th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for length, which is where you’ve been for most of your life. Your hair is growing long and shaggy, no longer a cute, purposeful pixie cut that it had been for months and months. Now it can get pretty wild and messy, which your Mimi likes to refer to as your “Harriet Potter” look. We now have to pin your bangs back with bows and barrettes to keep them from getting in your eyes. Along with tracking your physical growth, you have four teeth: two on top (which broke through this month, in time to have your two front teeth for Christmas!) and two on bottom (which I think broke around six or seven months?).

 

You are not really too into specific toys right now; preferring the new over anything familiar. For instance, right now you are “playing” with a travel size bottle of lotion and your toothbrush. Boxes of toys you have and everyday household objects you prefer. Already rushing to grow up, it looks like to me.

That’s the case even when it comes to feeding time. For awhile I thought you were protesting being fed, spitting out and pursing your lips at many of the foods you’d previously lapped up. But recently, I realized I think it’s that you want to feed yourself. I can put a bit of your food on a spoon, hand it to you and you’ll instinctively put it into your mouth and eat a bite or two. I put a handful of cereal on your tray and you squeal with delight at being able to feed yourself.

So, that’s why when I look at you, I no longer see a baby but a person who just happens to be small. And while you might be small on the outside, I can already see that on in the inside, you’re larger than life.

Love,
Mom

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Dear Claire: 9 Month Update

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.)

Dear Claire,

Oh, Claire. That little girl that we once referred to as “spirited” has given way to one who is full of spunk—and I love it. You are so much fun right now! You have the biggest, goofiest grin that lights up your whole face. You babble and blow bubbles and raspberries. You click your tongue and pop your lips. You are just pure joy to watch as you marvel at the world. Pure, pure joy.

Still no walking, yet, but you are perfecting your standing up. You regularly let go and stand up all on your own, usually because you want to multitask—holding a toy in one hand and suck the thumb on your other hand. It’s hilarious and adorable all at once. Your Mimi timed you once and you stood all on your own for more than thirty seconds! I can only imagine walking will be here before we know it.

This month you went through a phase where you started to show off a more introverted side: When a stranger would make eyes with you, you often would bury your head against me and bashfully divert your gaze. Though you’ve been in the nursery since you were six months old, you started to protest about 45 minutes into service when you realized we weren’t around. So for a couple of weeks, I’d come in and join you and once you knew I really was nearby, you’d go back to independent play and the other kids would come running to take advantage of the new storytime reader. Fortunately, last week you made it through the whole service without a peep.

If you asked your Mimi about yourself, one of the things she would say is that she’s never met a child with such a good appetite as you have. You were never a picky eater, gobbling up carrots or pureed corn, avocados or acorn squash. Here recently, though, you have started protesting fruit purees though. I feed you a spoonful and you squash up your little face, purse those lips and cough like it’s sour grapes I’m feeding you. Time and again, I’ll taste them myself to make sure, and they are always yummy. I think maybe you’re at the stage where you want real food, not just purees, so I’ve started sitting you in your high chair with finger foods for the picking: Cheerios, steamed carrots, pieces of toast, banana chunks. You seem to enjoy that, although you’re still not eating as much as it seemed you once were. (You still love, love, love rice cereal though. I think you’d eat that all the time if I let you.)

You still will not keep socks or shoes on your feet. We are constantly pulling your pants up because your waist is so tiny and your legs so long that you’re always stepping and crawling out of them. I am wholly anti-onesies now, thanks to the fact that you are such a squirmy-wormy. Trying to fasten even a trio of snaps after a full diaper change is like wrestling a fish. Not worth it. Consequently, you often wear the same outfit for a couple of days sometimes just so I don’t have to take on the task of wrangling you into a new one.

You love to tear up phone books. (I kept a miniature one just for this purpose. You still find the big one and prefer it.) You love clearing your GP’s shelf of DVDs and VHS tapes, throwing them all to the floor. You get a sparkle in your eyes when you survey the next thing you want to take on—the cat walks into the room, a remote sits on a low table, I leave my iPod unattended. You are stealthy and undaunted by height or distance, constantly amazing us at when you end up uncovering. Which is why we have to be more and more careful what falls to the floor because you inevitably find it. The other day it was a rubberband. Then it was an insect in the car. (And the only reason I know that is because there was a wing stuck to the side of your mouth afterward when I realized it. Gross.)

In essence, you keep us on our toes with your vivaciousness and zest for life. And I love it. I adore this spunky side of yours. I adore the joy and exuberance with which you approach the world. Even when you wake up from a nap, there’s no downtime. You’re ready to go, bouncing up and down, squealing with delight. I love it. And I love you.

Love,
Mom

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Dear Claire: 8 Month Update

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.)

Dear Claire,

Another month has passed, making you eight months old now!

Right now you:
- LOVE sucking your thumb; anything that crinkles (especially bags and wrappers); shoes (to chew on, of course); crawling into anything that's cave-like; opening and closing things (like the shower door) or turning things on and off (like the kitchen faucet); pulling up and standing on anything that can remotely support your weight (a trashcan will do in a pinch); brushing your teeth (we even have a song I made up to go along with it)
- HATE being restrained, whether it's getting dressed or buckled into your carseat; feeling like you've been left alone or don't have someone within your eyesight

As far as milestones go, this past one wasn't near as exciting as turning six and seven months, when you were learning new skills left and right. This month was more of honing and perfecting those skills. You're still working on the balance thing and bonking your head a few times a day, but we're making progress. I'm also waiting for you to learn more about gravity and edges; you have no fear of falling and so we're constantly on alert, whether it's while you're on the changing table or sitting on the couch.

Regardless of that, you do seem to have a little bit of daredevil in you, which is fun for me. You love to be thrown in the air, twirled around, pulled super fast along the floor, whizzing around. It gives you such a thrill. I can see you now, begging to go on the upside-down rollercoasters someday. And I can't wait to have a rollercoaster buddy!

I am pretty sure that you now are learning that your name is Claire. If I call it out, (about half the time) you will stop and look to me (almost always with a smile!). This has also made it a little easier for me to keep you from getting into things that you aren't supposed to. And I think you've also started to learn my name now, too! I swear you crawl up to me and say, "mama mama ma," when you really need something (food or sleep, usually).

Along with that, you're experimenting more and more with learning how to talk yourself. You've always been vocal (and loud!) but lately you've been playing with how to make lots of other sounds. You can roll your "R"s and "B"s and have been playing with how to make your lips making popping sounds. You love to be bounced and vibrated so that you can hear your voice trill; the other week we had a lunch at church and the pastor was holding you when he discovered this and subsequently was showing your impressive "party trick" off to everyone. If you end up beatboxing someday, I'll know where you got your start!

But you're a real delight and fun to play with. Your daddy can get you to laugh like nothing else. You're my little extrovert, loving to be out and about, making friends, earning smiles left and right. I try to take you out somewhere once a day, because I think you love the change of scenery and all the new sights and sounds fascinate you. Like your name stands for, you really do brighten up our lives. You love being with people and your enthusiasm brings such happiness. As an introvert, that is truly a beautiful trait to me. It's such a simple thing, really, but this world needs more of it. Which is why God made you. And I'm glad he did, and that he gave you to me to get to raise. Here's to another month of that!

Love,
Mom

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Dear Claire: 7 Month Update

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.)

Dear Claire,

Well, this has been quite the month for you. Probably your biggest yet. In the past 30 days:

• You have officially perfected your ability to crawl (which you'd only just learned days before turning six months old). When you see something you want, you're off!
  


• Within a day or two of first learning to crawl, you figured out how to pull up. You even have started a little cruising. Especially when you spot someone eating something. (See point below for more on that; the first time I saw you take a step while standing/holding on was when your grandpa opened a chocolate bar.)
  


• And within a few days of that, you were able to sit up on your own. You can sit on your toosh but you prefer kneeling on your knees. I think maybe because it makes it easier for you to get up and move should the need arise?
  


• You figured out how to suck your thumb all on your own, and have never looked back, even pretty much giving up your pacifier already. Invariably you can be spotted with your thumb in your mouth almost all the time. It makes me a little nervous for a year or so from now when we need to break it, but today has worries of its own. I'll deal with that when we get to that point!
  


• You want to try to eat and drink everything. You see someone eat or hear a wrapper crinkle and your eyes suddenly shoot that way and you start bouncing up and down in hopes of getting your own taste. Consequently, you have eaten and drank a huge variety of foods, from homemade baby food to table scraps of all sorts. You also love drinking water out of a cup. You are growing up so fast!
  


• Your balance and ability to catch yourself has improved so much that you rarely bonk your head anymore (which at one time was more like an hourly occurrence!). This makes life for mama much easier!
  


• Your two bottom teeth finally started cutting through. They haven't really made you fussy, but you have struggled more with sleep than usual. Otherwise, you're pretty much an all-around happy baby.
  


• You also had your first playdate, which was with (and your father loves this part) with an older (10 months old) boy! You were pretty forward, crawling up to him straight away and trying to grab his curly hair. Then you tried to lick his forehead. He tried laying his forehead against you, which you found frustrating so we soon called it a day. But it was hilarious and I'm looking forward to more and more playdates in the future.
  
  
• You also have figured out how to make it up a stair or two. Oh boy. Here we go!

Can you believe all of that? In one single month? Yes, you're a trailblazer around here, always keeping us on our toes. It's been a joy to try and keep up and guess what you're going to be up to next. Here's to another month!

Love,
Mom

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Dear Claire: 6-Month Update

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.)

Dear Claire,

Well, dear, you are six months. Six months! I can barely believe we've made it this far. I remember only a couple of months ago, it felt impossible that time would ever take us to this mark. But here we are. And I think we are both loving life more now than ever!

Right now, the word I use to describe you the most is "wild." But in a good, larger-than-life, ball-of-energy, full-of-smiles way. You are wild and vivacious and happy and excited about every. single. thing. I named you "Claire," because I liked the meaning behind it—"bright." And you truly are bright and radiate so much joy and happiness. You're a ball of sunshine who loves everyone and pretty much everything. It could not have been a more fitting name.

I think you're showing yourself to be quite the extrovert—which is so different from myself and your dad. We both are introverts who love to stay at home and hang out, reading books or putzing around on our own. But you love going out and meeting new people. You try to make eye contact with everyone you meet and smile wildly at them when you finally do—I won't be surprised one bit if you run for class president someday or end up on a stage filled with applause.

Speaking of being on a stage, you also have really become vocal lately. Like loud. All the time. You love being bounced so that you can play with sounds and hear them vibrate. You learned how to shriek and squeal so that people come running because we think you're in pain—but really you're just bored or wanting extra attention. You keep us all on our toes!

Right now, your new loves include paper (magazines have become your favorite toy!) and bouncing (we have consequently bought you a doorway jumper and a stationary jumparoo, both of which you get a kick out of!). You still love putting anything and everything in your mouth, but haven't had any teeth break through yet. You also are starting to get into animals and get a crazy, wild-eyed look of delight when you see any come nearby. So much so that I think your grandparents' pets are what finally motivated you to learn to crawl; the first time I saw you actually crawl (rather than do a modified version of "the worm" to move around) was when you saw my parents' dog and wanted to try to catch him! This just began this week so right now you're still feeling it out, but I know you'll be whizzing around in no time!

We've also started letting you try new foods. You've tried a lot here and there in bits and pieces, but mostly we've introduced you to bananas, apples, pears, plums, green beans, sweet potatoes, watermelon, avocado, barley and rice cereals. So far you haven't really liked the veggies (not even the sweet potatoes!), but we'll keep trying. (Because I can't believe a child of mine doesn't like sweet potatoes, deep down!)

Not surprisingly, thanks to all those new nutrients and nourishment, you continue to grow like a weed, busting out of clothes and growing that head-of-hair of yours like nobody's business. And growing a larger-than-life personality to boot. That's been the most fun for me, watching you come to life and sparkle and shine in such beautiful, wonderful, inspiring (and, let's be honest, sometimes exhausting!) ways. Here's to another month ahead of us!

Love,
Mom

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Dear Claire: 5 Month Update

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.)

Dear Claire,

We are in the midst of packing everything up to move and make Ohio your new home. It is a crazy time in all our lives, but, like the innocent, wide-eyed baby you are, you seem to take no notice of all the changes or towers of boxes, except that your mama is busier than usual tending to all those towers.

Still, you have been a champ these last couple of weeks, entertaining yourself (which typically consists of gnawing on anything and everything in sight). You’ve got the outlines of your two bottom teeth showing through your gums, so I imagine those will be bursting onto the scene any day now, though you haven’t been fussy, so who knows. Maybe you’ll surprise us and not be phased at all with their emergence? You are such an enigma that would not surprise me one bit!

One of the things that I think has kept you fascinated (and distracted) during your playtime is that you’re on the verge (it appears) of learning to crawl. You can get up on your hands and knees (even your tippy-toes!) and are rocking back and forth. You don’t understand how to pick up your hands and knees to make movement, but instead throw your head forward and push off with your feet so that you scoot, little by little, lurch by lurch. I am not sure you do it quite purposefully yet because you’ll end up in an area with no toys and then cry out for help. But I think you have a hunch that that hands-and-knees thing really might come in useful some day…

You’re still occasionally laughing but you’re still a tough nut to crack when it comes to the giggles! We really have to work at it and even then sometimes all we get is a big smile—but no sound. It’s okay though, you’re free and fancy with the grins so we all stay happy!

One other thing that makes you happy: When I sing to you. And I am not someone who can sing. But you (sweet thing that you are) don’t discriminate. Sometimes if I’m tending to dinner and you’re getting bored, you’ll start to protest; all I have to do is start singing to you and you suddenly go quiet. I feel like one of the sirens from Greek mythology how easily you can be entranced by my singing. I did a Bible study once on the Psalms, and the author made an aside about how she thought that maybe singing is the language of heaven because it’s so powerful. Maybe she’s truly on to something…

Otherwise, this month has been a blur. You’re sleeping much, much better during the day but waking up every three hours at night. Growth spurt? Habit? Who knows. I’ve given up trying to dissect it all and, instead, just go with the flow. I’ve found it’s so true that everything changes so quickly with babies; you’ve always resolved your own issues in your own time, so I trust that some time or other, you’ll finally get into that whole “sleeping through the night” business that I hear so much about. But for now, we’ve got lots of other good things going for us, so I won’t complain.

You really have become such a happy, beautiful, fun-loving baby. We had a rough start there at the beginning, but I’m starting to shake off the scars. Because getting to see you blossom as you have has been so wonderful, so healing to all those tearful days and nights. And you know what? I can’t even remember the last time I cried. How far we’ve come my darling. How very far.

Love,
Your Mom

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Dear Claire: 3-Month Update

Dear Claire,

Oh, three months. This was a good month for us. Lots of people told me, “It gets better at three months.” I am so, so pleased to say that they were right. This was the month you started being able to put yourself to sleep (with the help of your paci) and taking naps in your crib (not being held). I think we were both much happier with this arrangement, as you got much better sleep and I was able to spend your naps getting things done (rather than watch marathons of Gilmore Girls, as I had been doing).

You also learned to roll over both ways, this month. You still much prefer to go from your back to your stomach (and usually turning to your left), which means that sometimes you forget that you do actually know how to flip back if you like. Then, you usually get frustrated and sometimes are able to squirm forward a few inches, by pushing your feet against the floor and moving. It’s not crawling yet, but I imagine it isn’t far away. Although your leg strength far surpasses your arm strength, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you skipped the whole crawling thing and went straight to walking!

You also have become a drool factory. You love to put things in your mouth, if only to cover them with saliva. You especially love covering folks’ shoulders in your drool. Your absolute favorite shoulder is your GP’s (my dad). Something about the shoulder turns the drool faucets on full-force!

You also are talking and grunting up a storm. You talk when you’re happy, you grunt when you’re frustrated. And you love when people talk to you—which is probably why you’re so into talking, yourself! You’re free and easy with your smiles, which has helped me and your dad make so many friends out and about. We’ve met more of our neighbors in your four months of life than we did the whole year before you were born. I really think you’re a people-person, which I love because I can see how a simple smile from you can light up someone’s day. You don’t realize it, but you’re already impacting people and leaving the world a better place than you found it. Not many people can say that, Claire!

This month also marked the first time you laughed, although you’re still stingy with them. It came when you were watching me brush my teeth one evening and I spit into the sink. You thought it was the goofiest thing in the world. So of course I did it over and over again to hear that silly, hearty laugh of yours. Even thinking about it makes me smile!

We’re also getting the hang of taking you out and about more often, and I think you’re becoming more flexible in your routine to allow for that. Last week, we took you out to get pizza and you sat happily in your carseat the whole time, just looking around at the sights. Today, we took you to get Mexican and you did great, as well. Sometimes I wonder if some of your fussiness is simply because you’d rather be out and about than cooped up at home with us. (The only drawback to your desire to get outside? We’ve discovered the mosquitoes adore you. Seriously, you have so many big red dots up and down your legs that it makes me feel like a bad parent.)

So things are feeling good. We’re finally to the point where I feel like we have many more good times than bad, although those still do rear up every couple of days or so. (Yesterday was one of those kinds of days.) I really think that once you’re able to move around on your own and get up close and personal with life, you’ll really fall in love with it. Everyone tells me that it gets so much harder because you’ll start getting into everything, but if you’re happy? Well, that makes me happy, too. And as your father would say, “That’s why we don’t have nice things.”

Three months was the best yet. Here’s to more to come!

Love,
Mom

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P.S. One More Thing, Claire…

P.S. I was just thinking about those first two letters (here and here) that I wrote to you, Claire, and I wanted to add something.

Yes, those early days were rough and tough and trying. But lest you (or anyone else) gets the idea that I blame you for them, I want to assure you that I do not.

When I was pregnant with you (even before I ever got pregnant with you, in fact), I prayed that having you would sanctify me. I prayed that raising a child would chisel out the hard parts of my heart that would otherwise remain hidden, that it would draw out the rotten parts and bring healing and holiness to the deepest recesses of my soul. I so wanted that that when I drew up my Goals for Motherhood (which you can read about here), I included:

"Let motherhood sanctify me and submit myself to its purification process."

In fact, that was the goal that was at the very tip-top of that list.

And so it must be recognized that God took me up wholly and more than I’d ever anticipated on that prayer. I truly believe that those (these?) hard days are actually from Him. Not as punishment (because I was a difficult baby, too, Claire!), but really, truly as a gift.

I can say that now that I’ve walked through them and finally found some reprieve. I can say that now that life is feeling easier, now that we’ve made it out of that stretch of days-on-end crying bouts.

But I think that’s how life is sometimes. You can’t appreciate the beauty in the hardship until you’ve walked (or trudged or limped) through it and can see the edge of the shore gleaming in the distance. The shore of Hope. Then you look back on all the adversity still fresh in your wake and, only then, can see the silver linings that glimmered and glinted all along.

And so as I look back over those times in the not-so-distant past, I can see God working in them. Teaching me to deny myself and really start to learn what self-sacrifice looks like. To deny man’s supposed knowledge and look to him for wisdom. To let loose my grip on control and better learn to roll with the punches and make the best of them. And how to accomplish an absurd amount of things while nursing.

So I have seen my heart melted—toward you, toward life, toward God. I have seen myself learn to trust God more when life gets hard, to trust that he allowed me these hard times because he knows I can handle them, that I can press and hold on and make it to that distant shore with my faith intact, refined. And he has allowed them because he knows they’re worth it.

And that is what I’m most excited about, Claire. To see where you end up. Where this journey takes you. To see you grow and flourish and become that woman that God created you to be. And that he called me to help usher into this world. I promise you I will do my best. And when that fails, God will—as he already has—fill in the gaps and carry us both through.

Love,
Mom

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A Look Back at Claire's Second Month

Claire is now three months old and feels like I’m just now getting a chance to breathe and start to process these past three months. While they’ve been really hard, I also wanted to make sure not to forget them completely, so—with the benefit of hindsight and some (much needed!) time—I wanted to preserve them in some after-the-fact monthly updates, written to my daughter, Claire.

(In case you’ve forgotten, I also wrote letters to Claire while I was pregnant, so I thought it made sense to continue that theme and have these updates written to her, as well. Also, here's a look back at Claire's first month, if you missed it.)

So, here’s the second one, looking back at Claire’s second month:



Dear Claire,

Your second month of life turned out to be just as hard as the first. Except maybe it was harder because we no longer had out-of-town guests coming in and helping with you and your dad had finally gone back to work following his three-week paternity leave. Then it was just me and you, and we both struggled through that.

I think what got us was that around the end of your first month, you woke up. Those big blue eyes of yours popped open and they decided to stay open. You became alert and once you were, you didn’t want to do anything else. You wanted to be awake and seemed to have forgotten how to fall asleep. No matter what I tried, you fought that sleep and you fought it with tears of agony and misery and yet you still would be awake. Hours and hours and hours later. Until you were exhausted and finally gave in to slumber. There were days when you were awake and fighting sleep from 8am until 4pm.

What got you to sleep one day wouldn’t work the next. Sympathetic family members bought us all kinds of products that promised to knock you into sleep. Sometimes they worked, but usually only a time or two and then we had to try something new. My favorite memory of this time (only in hindsight, of course) was when you wouldn’t stop crying and go to sleep so your dad started to jog around the kitchen holding you until you fell asleep. Around and around the kitchen you two ran.

Oh boy.

So you can see why I only lasted about two weeks after your dad went back to work that I knew I needed to call in reinforcements. Thus, when you were only 5.5 weeks old, we hopped a plane and flew up to Ohio where there was more of that village to pitch in to take care of you. (And of course, you did splendidly on the plane. Always out to prove me wrong, right?!)

Fortunately, we started learning how to get you to sleep. (More of a jiggle than a bounce paired with a Wubbanub pacifier, in case you've forgotten.) And you started taking multiple naps a day. Sometimes you still liked to fight your sleep, but those bouts began to subside.

And then you started smiling and grinning with more and more frequency. One day, after you’d had a nice, big meal, you started talking to me, “Oooohh.” It was only a few times at first but you began giving your vocal chords a break from crying and exercising them more for talking and cooing. We were all happy for that!

So it was that your second month marked a transition from the hardest of days to the clouds starting to part and blue skies looming in the distance. The days were still a struggle and I still felt like I was in survival-mode to make it through the day, but I could feel that parts were starting to get a bit easier (the very refrain I hated to hear when I told people how hard it was!) and some days, we were able to gather more good moments than bad, moments that I so very dearly needed, that gave me hope—in you, in God to get me through this, in us.

With two months down, we were finally starting to find our footing in this mom-and-daughter thing, finally find our rhythm in this beautiful (but still sometimes awkward) dance of love. Good thing it’s a slow dance!

Love always,
Mom

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