Dear Hadley,
Today you turn four months old. So many things have happened this month, it seems like you are growing up in leaps and bounds. You have such a defined personality and an array of facial expressions that rival most adults. I’m always trying to guess what you are thinking based on your face and often catch myself imagining the conversations we will have just as soon as you have the ability to vocalize your thoughts with more than just squeaks, squawks, and grunts.

If last month was all about you trying to get your hands to your mouth, this month is all about you chewing on those hands. You have a really unique way of chewing on your hands too: you stick out your thumb and forefinger in opposite directions and bite down. Almost like a tiny little bite guard. And with all that chewing comes lots of drool. Your hands are constantly wet, as is much of your shirt. People keep asking me if you are teething and while I don’t see anything, I’m not taking it off the table just yet. I mean, there is a LOT of chewing and drool.

You have also started playing with toys this month. This delights Ana to no end. She is so excited that she can give you things that provide you with endless entertainment. I find it convenient that we can now keep you distracted in your car seat for a longer period of time. I can also set you down on the play mat you got for Christmas and you will reach for the toys, batting them around and chatter away while I finish chores around the house. I use to have to wait for you to fall asleep to get anything done, but now that you are better at keeping yourself entertained, our house is going to be a much cleaner place to hang out!

A couple weeks ago we had our first outdoor Stroller Strides class of the year. It just happened to be unseasonably cold that day, but since the sun was shining I decided to bundle you girls up and take you for a fun adventure at the park. You did fabulously and managed to sleep through the majority of the class, enjoying your plush, cozy, little bundle of warmth.

You are getting so much stronger and you love to practice sitting up in the Bumbo. You are already trying to sit up on your own and when I lay you on my lap or on the Boppy half the time you try to pull yourself up, so much so that you are almost constantly doing a V-sit! You also love for me to hold your hands and let you stand up on my lap. You like to lean, dip, and sway to get the feel for what your body is capable of doing. It’s only a matter of time until you are able to master those physical abilities and use them to move yourself around!

When it comes to sleep, you have always been pretty great. Sure, you get up in the night, but we get some long stretches in there. For the most part you are asleep by 8:30 or 9pm and sleep for about seven hours or so. Then you wake up for a very brief time and go back to sleep for another three or four hours, waking up for the day around 7:30 or 8am. But we have had numerous days where you slept from 9pm-6:45am or 8:45pm-7:15am and it was AMAZING. (Sure, my boobs weren’t particularly happy, but the rest of me figured it was a fair trade.)

On mornings where Ana is up before you, she waits til she hears you talking in your bed and then I hear her feet pitter patter across the floor and then up to your room. She just loves to be the first person to talk to you each morning. She keeps a stool in your room which she drags over to your crib, climbs up, and peers in at you. She unwraps your swaddle blanket and lets you stretch and smile as you gently wake up. Then she generally sings you a song, tickles your tummy, or just enjoys you until your Daddy or I come in to pick you up out of the crib. It’s so amazing to watch you and Ana together. I can already tell you are going to have an amazing relationship.

We decided we needed to have a little family getaway so we spent this last weekend in Bend. This was your very first trip away from home. In our family we have this little tradition when we go on vacation: the first thing we do when we get to our room (before anyone has a chance to mess it up) is take a picture on the bed. So on Friday night, you got to be a part of your first hotel bed shot.

You adjusted well to sleeping in a strange bed. Most hotels provide a crib (or at the very least, a pack ‘n play) and you adapted quite nicely. You woke up a couple more times than normal, but I think it was because the heater in the room kept kicking on in the night and waking you up. But otherwise everything went smoothly.

Another exciting thing about staying in a hotel is playing in the pool. On our Bend vacation you went swimming for your very first time! It’s pretty special because this was the very same pool where Ana swam for the first time. It’s one of our favorite places to visit, so it’s only appropriate that we have so many wonderful memories and first milestones take place there.

Like most other moms, I spend a lot of time just staring at you. Marveling at the things you do, cherishing the person you are, and pondering who you will become. One day last week while I was looking into your beautiful blue eyes you looked back at me, reached up and rested your tiny hand on my cheek. At that moment you and I made a connection that melted my heart. It was like you were telling me “I know, Mama.” And I don’t want you to ever forget it.

All my love,
Mama

Dear Hadley,
Today you turn three months old. That’s a quarter of a year. How is that even possible? A year always seems like such a long stretch of time, but we’ve blown through a fourth of it already! It’s been so much fun spending time with you. You are full of smiles and love to coo and squeal. We have some very entertaining “conversations” where I alternate talking to you and listening to you babble on in your own little baby language. I always love to hear what you have to say.

You are such a happy girl and are more than willing to just go with the flow. Our schedule is quiet full, and let’s be honest, a little hectic, but you are always mellow and happy to check out the myriad of entertaining places we go, whether it’s play dates with our friends, out to dinner, or just driving around running errands. I love looking back in the “baby mirror” in my car to see you gazing out the window, just enjoying the world around you.

Earlier in the month you developed a new “skill” of bringing your fist directly to your eye and then dragging it down your face to get it to your mouth. But now, in a matter of days after practicing that skill, you are now able to bring your hands straight to your mouth. Just like that. BAM. Hands to mouth? Mastered. It’s amazing how quickly you are able to figure things out. Now you are working on using your hands to bring other things to your mouth, such as your clothes, Ana’s hair, and just about anything else within your reach. Needless to say, I have to really be on top of trimming your nails because those little things are sharp and grow like you wouldn’t believe! So we have a standing manicure date every Monday to trim your nails. Anything I can do to make hitting those developmental milestones as painless as possible!

While I stay home with you during the day, there are often times when I need to leave you with your Dad at night so we have had to experiment with giving you a bottled of my (pumped) milk. The first time you were NOT a fan (and threw it up all over your poor Daddy). We understand there is often a learning curve to things like this, so we tried a few more times and the past couple times you have started to get the hang of it. But you still clearly prefer your milk directly from Mama… and that is just fine with me!

(Once you were better at taking a bottle we let Ana help feed you. She was SO excited to get to be involved in the feeding process.)

Bath time is easily your favorite time of day. We recently let you take a bath in the big bathtub with Ana. Sure, Daddy had to hold on to you the whole time (rather than letting you rest in your little baby hammock in the little tub) but you loved splashing in the water along with your big sister. In fact it was hard to tell who was enjoying sharing their bath more, you or Ana!

Well, my little sweet pea, it’s been another amazing month. I love watching you grow and can’t help but imagine the person you are going to become. You have your whole life ahead of you and I want to help you to have every opportunity you could ever want. I can’t wait to hold your hand along the way, stand behind you when you need someone to have your back, and be the first to hug you whenever you need me. Until then, I’m going to practice by holding your tiny hands in mine, soothe you by rubbing your back, and hugging you as much as possible.

All my love,
Mama