Month 4 Letter

Dear Sophia,
My goodness, how quickly time is flying! Every day I look at you, you seem to be growing so much bigger. If I wasn't so excited to watch you grow up, I would ask you to please stop growing so that I can savor each and every moment even more than I already am. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I REALLY REALLY REALLY love being your mom and spending time with you. In fact, I can't imagine anything else I would rather do. Every new skill you aquire makes me so proud, and even though millions of babies all over the world are developing the exact same skills, I still want to climb a mountain every day and shout as loud as possible "my baby girl is AWESOME!".

You've had quite a month so far! You now weigh about 14 pounds and are 24 inches long, and look almost as big as your cousin Amilia who is 10 months old! This month, we have also noticed that your personality is really starting to develop- you smile all the time, and have started laughing out loud (which, I should add, is absolutely the best sound in the universe). What's really neat is that you are starting to realize cause-and-effect. This is most noticible when your daddy and I are playing the tickle monster game- when you see our fingers wiggling above you, you laugh so hard in anticipation of the tickles soon to come! You are also figuring out that you have an effect on your environment, and this is most obvious when we put you in your bouncy chair and you spend most of your time kicking and touching the little stuffed animals hanging above it just to watch them move around. You even try to talk to them, which is SO funny.

You've been reaching many of your developmental milestones this month, too. You can now hold yourself up on your arms when you're on your tummy, you are learning how to roll over from your tummy to your back, you've started to hold your bottle by yourself, and you are able to support your weight when we hold you in a standing position. Actually, you spend a lot of time "standing", because when we try to get you to sit down, you kick and kick your legs until we stand you up. Only then are you content, which makes your daddy and I feel that you will probably walk before you crawl. Either that, or you are destined to become a world-class soccer player!

In December, you went on your first plane ride (well, the first one after you were born- when you were in my tummy, you travelled all over the place)! We were worried you would get fussy on the plane because you still cry a lot when you're hungry or when you're tired, but you did great! We went to visit my family in New Mexico for Christmas. You got to meet all your aunts, uncles, and cousins! Everyone was SO excited to meet you, and I don't think your daddy or I got to hold you once, since everyone also wanted to hold you and cuddle with you. I was so happy that you got to meet your extended family and start to create memories with them, because they are really special people who will play a big role in your life as you grow up.

You also got to spend a lot of time with your Nina and Nino. In fact, your Nina threatened to hide you from us when we were about to leave because she didn't want to put you back on the plane to Seattle. She sure does love you- she had her house all prepared for you with a brand new pack and play, swing, bouncy chair, and a lifetime supply of diapers. She also spent a lot of time getting everything ready for your baptism, and made sure that everything was perfect for that day. Speaking of your baptism, you were baptised on December 28, the day of the Holy Family. Your godparents Michael and Anne were there- they are such amazing people, and they will soon have a playmate for you since they have a little girl growing in Anne's tummy right now! You had a big party afterwards at your Nina's house, with about 50 people celebrating your very first sacrament.

A few days ago, your daddy and I also celebrated the 1 year anniversary of our finding out that you were in my tummy. On January 1, 2008, we discovered that we were pregnant with you. It seems like such a long time ago, and yet the time has also gone by so quickly (how does that happen?). I know I've said it before, but we both feel so very lucky to be your parents, and we honestly don't know what we ever did without you in our lives. We absolutely adore you and love you so very much.

Happy New Year, sweetheart.
Love,
Mama