Letters To My Children | May 2018

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Letters To My Children | May 2018

Letters To My Children | May 2018 | Bethadilly Photography | www.bethadilly.com

felt flower headband and clip by fancy free finery

thursday, may 10, 2018

dear babies,

while most days i have you both napping at the same time, which has earned me a whole new level in rockstar mama hood, yesterday was a little different.  yesterday you both decided that you didn’t want to nap so i grabbed my camera and we took our monthly sister photos.  it is when i look at this series of photos that i finally realize that i have a toddler.  you’ve been looking older and older lately, but i guess these photos really reflect that for me.  everyone has also been telling me how much we look alike and, it is now that i am really seeing it!  you definitely have a little bit of mama in you, especially in that last photo.

both of you have grown so much in the past month, in different ways.  i was catching up on editing your photos this past week and it amazes me how much can change in the span of just one month.  you will never be as young again as you are in this moment, which has me kissing and cuddling you both like crazy!

to my oldest:

you are a lover of the simple things and i can’t be more humbled by you.  lately, our favorite thing to do is sit on the front step in the afternoon and wait for daddy to come home from work.  while waiting for him, you like to alternate between sitting on the step and grabbing my hand and saying “walk!”  then we go for a little walk up and down the sidewalk, hand in hand, before sitting back down on the step.  while waiting for daddy, you wave at everyone who drives, walks or runs by and it is darling.  we have some of the sweetest neighbors and if they walk by around that time they will call out “hi girls!” to the three of us.  daddy sure loves seeing us all waving at him when he drives up.  he always says, “well you girls are just the cutest thing ever!” or “how cute are you!?”  we love our daddy.

you now call out “mama!” all the time.  even as i type this you are saying it on repeat as you sit on your window bench and it is music to my ears!  i remember there was a day when you only said “dada” and i was begging you to say my name.  now, it is one of your favorite things to say and i love hearing you say it.

another thing you a really good at doing now is climbing up onto your chair at dinnertime and buckling yourself into your booster seat!  you did it for the first time last week and i didn’t realize it!  i asked daddy, “did you put her in her chair and buckle her in!?”  after he said no, we were both so astonished that you did it all by yourself while we were plating dinner and now we watch you do it every night and cheer for you!  you love buckles, whether it is buckling yourself into your booster seat or helping buckle your little sister into her favorite bouncing seat or her bumbo.  we love having you at the dinner table with us now.  it is so important for us to join together at the end of the day and talk and laugh.  our table has many years of wonderful family conversation ahead of it and i can’t wait to hear everything you and your little sister have to say to daddy and i in the years ahead.  i am sure there will be a lot of whispering between the two of you at that table too.

we are stilling working on our two word phrases and we have mastered “please” and “thank you.”  you say please with everything because you know it will get you what you want, as we cannot resist rewarding your “pleases.”  you say please so much that the other day you were handing me your empty milk cup and said “thank you please!”  i just about fell over laughing so much!  you were thanking me for the milk, please!  your most used two word phrase right now is “help please.”  daddy and i agree that you are going to just start talking in sentences one of these days…you are just on the verge of saying so much!

to my littlest:

you will be 4 months in a few short days and you are officially the smiliest baby there ever was.  we only have to look in your direction and you start grinning from ear to ear!  your sister was more stingy with her smiles and made us work for them when she was your age, but you are happy to share them freely all the time!  and while you shared a laugh with us weeks ago, we are still working really hard on getting you to do it more.  mama has found a tickle spot that earns some really soft giggles and you really like it when i speak in a really low voice…it makes you want to laugh!  kissing your neck also makes you squirm and want to giggle, you really like that!

you are getting better and better at feeding.  you still only like to eat when it is your idea, so i am taking your queues.  and you make fast work at it, you are on and off!  which i can’t complain about, you are very efficient.  and although your weight has naturally slowed, just like it is supposed to at this age, you are officially 14 lbs!  you will be doubling your birth weight here within the next week or so, which is right on track!  there is nothing i love more than your little leg and arm rolls!  i just want to nibble you!

one thing though, biting.  why are you biting mama?  someone said yesterday that biting while breastfeeding is the way babies tell you that they love you, but i am not quite falling for that one.  i will settle for baby smiles and giggles as a sign of love, if you want to stop that biting during feeds.  ouchie!  i guess i can’t quite call it biting since you don’t have teeth, but you have some mighty strong gums that make mama yelp!

as for tummy time, you are a rockstar still!  and you actually like it now.  you used to fuss a little throughout, but now you are mostly happy and…a little show off!  🙂  all of that neck control means that you will be able to use what we love to call the baby command center next week!  you are going to love it so much, just as your sister did!  i can’t believe it is time to use it again!

as for sleep, you are taking two really good naps during the day…and a few cat naps between those.  you are able to stay away for about 90 minutes to 2 hours at a time before you are really ready for a rest.  in the evenings, you are sleeping about a 3-4 hour stretch.  i think you are nearing the 4 month sleep regression because we haven’t gotten a 5 hour stretch in awhile.  but the good thing about your waking at night is that you are easy to put back to sleep after a feed.

you have discovered your thumb!  your sister and you both discovered thumb sucking at 3 1/2 months, on the dot!  while neither of you took a pacifier, you both preferred the thumb.

both of you are at such an enjoyable age right now and watching you together is one of the best parts of parenthood.   one of my favorite things about photographing you together is that i am photographing the beginning of such a beautiful relationship.  these photos are a gift for you.  for you to look back on and see where your beautiful friendship began.  and it is truly the most beautiful relationship i have ever seen.  it still amazes me that you both took to one another so effortlessly.  it is as if you knew one another in heaven before being sent to us, one at a time, to start your sweet little lives.

i say it so much, but will say it again.  daddy and i say every day how lucky we are to not only have such beautiful children, but such happy and healthy little girls.  we really are so blessed and are so in love with this life of ours.  because of you!

now it’s time for me to hit the pause button on this day and simply live in this beautiful moment with you both.

i love you.

mama

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