You turned 6 months old last week, little Dolly, and your Daddy and I did not know if we should celebrate or be sad. At times it is hard to believe that you have only been with us for ½ a year because there are moments when it feels like you have been a part of our lives forever. On most days I honestly cannot remember what life was like without you.
You are growing and changing so fast that I swear there are some mornings when I walk in your room and there is a noticeable difference in your appearance or your personality that was not there just 12 hours earlier. In the last month here are a few notable changes that have taken place:
• You are sleeping all the way through the night now. You go down for bed at 7:00 every night and you do not wake up until 6:30 the next morning. I cannot tell you how much better everyone in the house feels now that we are all getting uninterrupted sleep every night.
• You are also napping 2-3 times a day on a consistent schedule and as a result you are always so happy! You enjoy routines and schedules so everything we do is built around your schedule.
• You are VERY close to crawling. You get up on all fours and rock back and forth but you can’t quite figure out how to move forward yet. Your Daddy and I call it the “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot” move and we have countless videos of you doing this because we are hoping to catch your first crawl on video. You can go backwards and you have managed to move your knees forward by scooting, but you haven’t figured out what to do with your arms yet. I am sure it is only a matter of time, my dear!
• You absolutely LOVE tummy time now, which is so funny to us, because a few short months ago you would scream bloody murder every time we put you on your stomach. You will play on the floor as long as we will let you. You still enjoy your Rainforest Play Mat and the tiger tail on it never seems to get old.
• You have a new obsession with tags. You have this ultra cool frog play center with a gazillion different toys that light up and make sounds and you are more interested in the tag than any of the toys on the activity center. Today you were lying on our bed and studied the tags on the pillows for at least 15 minutes before you got bored. I keep telling your Daddy that you are fascinated with all of the words because any time you see printed text anywhere you squirm to look at it. For the past few weeks every time I put you on your changing table or in your stroller you twist around to try and see the warning label. Of course, I think this is an indication that you are going to be an early reader and that one day you will love books as much as your mommy. ☺
• You are also talking and babbling up a storm. You love to make new noises with your mouth and test out the different levels of volume and pitch you can make with your voice. Your Daddy and I always sit in bed and laugh because you “talk” so loud in the mornings when you wake up. You are actually putting two syllables together and I swear I heard you say “ma-ma” the other day. ☺
• You LOVE the baby swings at the park. Miss Lauren took you to the park the other day while I was working and sent me this hysterical video. Your reaction is pure joy and happiness! I wanted to run to the park as soon as I saw this video and just squeeze you!
Even on the busiest, most chaotic, days I try to stop and be present in your innocence, wonder, and joy. You truly are the gift that keeps on giving and the lessons that you are teaching me about myself are priceless. I already know you are going to be my greatest teacher in this life. In the few short months that you have been with us on this earth you have changed everything about the way I approach life. Every day I want to be the best I can possibly be for you because I know that you are watching every move I make and I want you to see the very best of me in my interactions with you and with other people.
In my workout class today they asked all the mommies to summarize in one word what we wanted our kids to learn from us. It was incredibly challenging to pick just one trait or idea but I finally went with perseverance because I know that with hard work and dedication anything is possible, even when it is challenging and seems impossible. One of the best lessons I have learned in this life is that anything worth having is not easy. I also wanted to say tolerance, respect, kindness, love, patience, a sense of humor, and justice because they are all equally important to me as well. I want you to show love, respect, patience, and kindness to ALL people and never judge someone for superficial reasons. Take the time to get to know people before you make a decision about their character or potential simply because they look a certain way or because someone else told you they were not good enough. MiMi always used to tell me, “Pretty is as pretty does!”. A person’s actions will tell you a great deal about their character. Don’t forget to laugh at yourself every now and then either. We all make mistakes in life and it is important to cut yourself some slack sometimes. Laughter really is the best medicine! Finally, I hope you will always be sensitive to people who are in need (financial, emotional, physical, etc) and do whatever you can to help the situation. I am sure there will be countless teachable moments throughout your life when your Daddy and I will get to model these traits for you but I also wanted to take the time to write down all of the core values I hold so close to my heart. I know we have a long road ahead of us in this life and I am sure there will be ups, downs, and sideways turns along the way. You might not always understand or appreciate every lesson when it is happening, but you can always count on us to have your best interests in mind whenever we make a decision.
I never knew it was possible to love someone as much as I love you, Everly. Thank you for just being you! You came along and changed it all, little lady. You shook up our lives and made them better than I ever thought they could be! This journey just keeps getting better. ☺
