Dear Giuliana: Month 3

My sweet, beautiful baby girl,

 

 

I cannot believe that 3 months have already passed. My time flies by when I’m with you. You are still just as beautiful as ever- in fact, you’re becoming more gorgeous every day. Sometimes, you make faces that look exactly like daddy. Even when I don’t think it can be possible to love either one of you more than I already do, a little smirk will spread across your face and I see your daddy’s personality glowing in your eyes and my heart swells with more love for both of you. For you, because you are a part of him and for daddy because without him, I would have never met you. I love you both so completely and infinitely that it hurts. (In the best way imaginable!)

And are you ever a daddy’s girl! Don’t get me wrong- you and I still have a blast together! We still do our dance parties and cuddle as much as possible and go on walks with Kevin. But you love your daddy something fierce. You definitely recognize us and when daddy comes home from work, you light up! You are all smiles for him and I know that he can’t wait to come home to that smile!

And not only do you smile, you’ve been laughing! I used to think that a baby’s laughter was one of the best sounds in the world. Now I know, without a doubt in my mind, that YOUR laughter is the single best sound I have ever heard. First, you smile with your eyes. Then the corners of your mouth curl up and your lips part. Next comes your amazing little giggle- and sometimes even a shriek of delight! And when you laugh, so do the rest of us.

I hope you always have that gift- to keep smiling and light up the lives of those around you.

Your third month was kind of a crazy one, and I am still impressed with your adaptability- another gift I hope you can maintain as you get older. During one of the hottest couple of weeks this summer, our air conditioning went out at home. We ended up spending more time at Grandma and Grandpa’s house than we did at our own, and you handled that like a champ! Just more people to love you, I guess! But you were patient while I worked- you even went to work with me a couple of times!

In a sad case of adaptability, you got pink eye right at the end of your third month. We had to give you eye drops 4 times a day, and although you did not like them, you let me drop them in with minimal crying and squirming- not such an easy task for such a little girl! I still don’t understand how you contracted pink eye in the first place, the doctor suggested that you might have touched your nose, then your eye. We’ll never know for sure, but 2 good things did come out of it- you’re advanced enough to have some hand-eye coordination and we found out that you weigh 12.2 pounds!You’ve officially more than doubled your birth weight, and you’re growing into such a big, strong, healthy girl. I know I say it every month, but we really weren’t sure what to expect when you arrived so early, and I have been nothing but impressed with your tenacity and strength.

Speaking of hand-eye coordination, one of our proudest moments to date was in the last couple of weeks when you started grabbing your hanging toys and bringing them to your mouth. It seems like a little thing, and one day when you’re playing on the Varsity team, we’ll look back and laugh at how impressed we were… but for right now, we all think its pretty amazing! I am getting such a kick out of watching you learn new things and absorb the world around you!

I’ve been dying to take you to one of the high school football games- maybe next week- because I think you will like it so much! You love being outside, you love motion and colors, and so far, you love watching sports on TV. Remember when we watched the baseball all-star game together? Well since then in the last month, you’ve gotten to watch the Olympics and the opening week of the NFL and for whatever reason, you cannot tear your eyes away from the screen! And you’re very intense while you’re watching! (By the way, you seemed to like the water sports best during the Olympics…)

A couple of other highlights from this month (and I’m apologizing now if this ends up embarrassing you later):

• Pee diapers really bother you. Like, really bother you. You immediately start to cry. we can be driving or in a restaurant- it doesn’t matter. When you’ve peed, we all know about it. It’s the angriest I’ve ever seen you. (Probably until you read this!) But it’s okay- I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it means you’ll be easy to potty train. Again, fingers crossed!
• You are starting to enjoy your baths more and more. At first, you strongly disliked them. There was a lot of crying and shaking involved. Now you seem to love them! You relax and smile. You watch yourself in the mirror. It’s a nice way for both of us to unwind together at the end of the day- it usually makes you pretty sleepy and I love holding you naked! You have the cutest little butt! (Sorry, future G- but it really is adorable!)
• You love, love, LOVE your monkey binky! It’s right there in that picture of you and Kevin. And in your week 11 picture. When you’re upset, sucking on it soothes you and now that you’re using your hands, you like to cuddle it!
• That picture to the right of you and Kevin?… that is very indicative of the relationship between you guys. He’s fully gotten used to you and he’s very protective of you. He enjoys being near you and smooching you. You’re comfortable with him too. When you’re laying down and comes over to visit you, you smile up at him. It’ll be cool to see how you guys interact when you’re a little older (and you’ll probably want to yank on his tail or ride him). My two “kids”… I love how sweet you guys are together!
• You’ve been sleeping through the night. It’s a pretty sweet deal- you usually fall asleep around 10 pm, and aside from the occasional 4:30 am wake up call, you sleep through till 6:30, 7:00, sometimes even 8:00 am! Oh happy day for mama!
• Oh, did I mention that you’re the coolest baby in town?? It’s true. You’ve got the shades to prove it. They’re still a little too big for you, but I figure for as much as you enjoy being outside, they’ll get a lot of use. Plus, you look A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
• Lastly, you love your family. Not just me, daddy, and Kevin, but your extended family. You recognize all of your grandparents and always smile for them. Your grandma and grandpa on Daddy’s side have been so great- anytime I need a babysitter so I can run to work, they’re there for us, so you’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with them and they are so good with you and they love you so much! I want to talk about my family for a bit though…

Seeing you with my family is like nothing I could have ever imagined. My mom is great with you- that was no surprise. She has been an amazing mother- very knowledgeable and protective and maternal. I’ve seen her with other babies and small children, so seeing how she interacts with you doesn’t surprise me one bit. In fact, I look to her for guidance and support. Don’t get me wrong- my dad has always been a fabulous father. But- although I know he has- I can’t actually remember him holding a baby. And then there’s Uncle Jeff. I distinctly remember him being afraid to hold babies! But with you, they are all so incredible! Grandma loves cuddling you and rocking you to sleep. Uncle Jeff has babysat you a couple of times and you both seem to love each other. He’s not afraid of you at all. And he might deny it, but I think he secretly looks forward to each time he gets to see you! Aunt Jenn too. She’s always asking about you. It makes me happy to see how much of an interest they take in you! (Maybe you’ll get a cousin sometime in the near future!)

Now watching you with your grandpa- that has been the best surprise! He loves spending time with you- feeding you, talking to you, playing with you. You guys have your own games that you play. You’ve fallen asleep together cuddling on the couch. (probably watching a car auction!) I’m not surprised at how much he loves you, but I am surprised at how wonderful he is with you. I’ve never heard him use baby talk before now!  You like to watch his mustache bounce up and down while he’s talking to you and when he kisses you, I call them walrus kisses. You seem to like them a lot! And oh boy, when him and grandma are together, they just dote upon you! The love in the room is so strong that it’s tangible and as I stand there behind them, watching them shower you with tickles and kisses, I feel almost like I’ve gotten to go back in time. I feel like I am getting to see what they must have been like with me when I was your age. How lucky am I to get the chance to make that trip?? And how lucky are you to be surrounded by such an amazing family and so much love? Always remember what a fortunate little girl you are and never take for granted this wonderful family we’ve been born into!

Giuliana, I love you more and more as each day passes. I’m looking forward to falling asleep tonight because I know I’ll get to wake up to your sweet smile and fall in love with you even more!

XOXO,

Mom