Letters

Dear Sophia,

I found a friend's blog today where he formatted his entries as letters to his kids.  I think that's a great idea.  I don't write in my journal nearly as much as your mother does, and we're both afraid that will mean when we're gone you and your kids will only know her, and not me.  So I'm going to write to you as regularly as I can and try to express my feelings, so that you will have tangible evidence of my love for you. 

It's almost the end of the year.  If you were to ask me, I think the biggest impact on our year was moving to a new home.  Jonah may keep some memories of our other home, but you never knew it as home.  I'm not sad we moved.  I'm not sad you won't remember the other home.  It let us try some things out, find out how much we could do, and now we get a chance to do more things right than we did there.  We've worked like crazy this year, getting the house ready for your grand entrance into the world.  It wasn't quite done when you arrived, but it was close.  Now we're winding down and starting to turn our thoughts outside to the yard.  But the impact of a new home is still affecting us every day.  Jonah loves to look out the window and watch Grandma and Papa come and go.  We love knowing when they're home too.  Jonah has learned to hold our hand when he crosses the street, which I hope he'll teach you too.

The other large impact our new house has on our lives is in my wallet.  You won't understand this for a long time, but we're out of money.  Completely.  We're really having to think about our situation now.  Your mother has long been better suited for that than I have, but I'm learning.  I'm learning how to be serious and committed to things.  Your mother has been trying to get that through my head for a long time.  I think as I improve in my handling of financial matters, many other things will improve as side-effects. 

So that's the setting of life that you've come into.  And you've had a big impact too!  We all love you tons.  I'm especially thrilled that you've learned to smile, and you almost laugh outright.  I was warned before you were born that pretty soon you'd have me wrapped around your little finger.  So true!  I love your smile.  I love your chubby snuggly-ness.  I love how you light up when you see people.  And I LOVE holding you and watching you fall asleep.  I feel like you're here to put lasting light into people's lives, and you're certainly getting off to a good start.  I love Jonah too, and before you were born I wondered if I would have room to love someone else so deeply.  But there was room for your mother first, then there was more room for Jonah, and now there's lots and lots of room for you too.  Some of my favorite moments are when Jonah comes over to you and you smile at each other.  He loves you too. 

I'm excited to watch you learn things.  Soon you'll be reaching out and grabbing things, growing teeth, and really laughing.  What fun!

Well, here's my first letter.  I'll write again, I promise

Love,

Your Daddy

Dear Sophia,

I'm not so sure how long the "Sophie Bean" nickname will last, but I like it.  When you go to sleep, we wrap you up in your blanket so tightly, so you won't run your hands up into your face and wake up.  Your mom calls it a Sophie Burrito.  So I started calling you my Sophie Bean.  It's not flattering, which is why it may not last long.

I wrote you a letter last night for Christmas/New Years.  I was a little late, but not too bad.  When I got to work today, I reread the last letter I wrote you, and realized I said many of the same things in both letters.  I guess that's ok.  I am trying to say new things every time I write.

When you smile at me, ball up your fists, squish your arms up next to your face in delight, and giggle, I can't help but laugh.  You are the cutest little girl ever.  You have started to drool a lot.  We put bibs on you regularly now.  Usually lots of drooling means little teeth are coming.  It's hard to believe you could get any cuter, but I think those first two bottom teeth will do it. 

You reached out and grabbed my thumb recently.  I think it was more of an accident than a serious development, but it's coming.  I can see that you wave your hands around more.  When I pick you up, sometimes you get startled, and you inadvertently slap my cheek with your open hand and outstretched arm.  And I think you're almost there with learning how to put your hand in your mouth when nobody's around to replace your binky. 

Your deep blue eyes are so bright and intelligent, sometimes I think you're just going to burst out in full sentences any day now.  You certainly have more to say than Jonah did at your age.  I love that you start talking to me as soon as you see me.  You have a sweet little voice. 

The new experience with you, that we didn't have with Jonah, is the anticipation of knowing what's coming next and watching you to see when it happens.  When Jonah got teeth, it was Grandma Betts that saw it first.  When Jonah learned to suck his thumb, it was a heaven-sent blessing.  It was a surprise to us when Jonah grew out of his first car seat (which I think you're about to do as well).  But we get to watch you with a better idea of what's coming next.  I think we can enjoy the little milestones better that way. 

I love you, Sophie.  You've created a very special place for yourself in our lives.  You're an amazing little girl.

Love,

Daddy

You're learning so much!  You've learned to reach out and grab things!  Your favorite thing to grab is your binky.  You pull it up to your mouth and gnaw on it quite a bit.  Every now and then you get it in your mouth the right way.  And when you're in your saucer you play with all the toys.  Some of the things you do are the same kinds of things that Jonah used to do.  He used to chew on the dragon puppet just like you, and he was also thrilled with the "slot machine" toy.

I will never get over the way you grin like crazy, and flirt exceptionally well.  You know your Daddy can be charmed so easily.  I love your smile, still.  I love the way your whole being lights up when you smile and get excited.  I love that you're ticklish, and we share some good laughs when I change your diaper.  Here's a picture of you "lit up" too much to hold still:

I'm still waiting for your teeth to pop out, little girl.  It's the only thing that will make your precious grin any cuter. 

I love you, sweetie. 

Love,

Your Daddy

TEETH!  TEETH!  TWO OF THEM!!  I'm so excited for you!  And, just as I thought, you are super cute with a two-tooth grin.  You've had teeth for a couple weeks now, but I'm still caught off guard when I hear them clack against your spoon, or you bite off a piece of cracker like it was nothing.  You seem so proud of your teeth, and your grin has only gotten wider, as if to show them off to everyone you see.  And one of your new favorite things to do is bite stuff, and then pull it out of your mouth while you're still biting down on it just to feel the click as it catches on your teeth and then pops out of your mouth.  Shoes, socks, bibs, various toys.  You're very quickly figuring out your new features.   

Mama bought you some elastic headbands, in yet another effort to tame your mass of hair.  We still are not sure how to handle your hair, but we're learning.  It's SO cute!  But where you spend so much time with the back of your head resting on (and turning back and forth against) a bed, the floor, a seat back, etc., it's a knotted jungle back there.  You look so much less like a little baby and so much more like a kid with all that hair, and your super-alert eyes and expressions only heighten the effect.  Good thing you still have your pudgy arms and legs to remind us.  Don't grow up too fast, ok?  I know it's tempting when you have this rambunctious brother to keep up with.  You spend a lot of your time watching him and I can just see the wheels turning in your head.  You're sucking in learning like crazy through those beautiful eyes.

You have the cutest little mannerisms I've ever seen.  You wrinkle up your nose and huff and puff and snort while you're grinning at me, which is totally adorable except when you're mouth is occupied with food.  Then you just spray.  But I'm so taken with your cuteness that I almost don't notice, silly Daddy.  When you're grinning like crazy, you often accompany it with little hand movements, flexing your fingers and rotating your wrists around.  You're getting that all figured out too.  It's so inspiring to watch you move and learn how to control your arms and legs.  Speaking of hands, when I lay you down in your crib and put your blanket over you, you stick your right thumb in your mouth, with all your fingers extended upwards, covering your eyes, and you usually bring up your left hand and try to cover the rest of your face as well.  "Oh! Wo is me!"

You've become a little Mama's girl, which makes your Mama feel alternately loved and annoyed.  When we attend family or social events where other people want to hold you, she wants a break from holding you too.  But you just want Mama, Mama, all the time Mama.  You get so anxious when you see her in the room and she's not coming to get you.  And you light up when she does start coming towards you.  It's funny to watch.  And when Mama's not around, well, I guess Daddy will do.  Thanks.

You're eating three meals a day now.  Solid stuff, and lots of it.  We're trying all sorts of new flavors on you, and some of them are not hits at first, but you still eat them the second time we try.  And you eat a lot.  When we've finished all your baby food for the meal, we'll feed you pieces of bran muffin or bread or maybe bits of what we're eating, and you gobble it all up.  I'm surprised at how much you eat.  You really do eat a lot.  Have I said that yet?   And on the other end, (possibly TMI) you have some mighty stinky diapers.  To me that says there's digestion going on in there, not just passing things through.  Wow.  If you haven't noticed the theme, I am continually amazed at your little body, growing and developing and learning to function in this odd world.

And continuing the physical development milestones, you've learned to roll over!  You're not consistent at it yet, and I don't think we've seen you go from tummy to back yet, but you roll from your back to your tummy quite often now.  Just this morning I went in to check on you while you were still sleeping, you were on your tummy.  With your head wedged up into the corner of your crib, too, if you cared, but that's a side issue.  The other implication of this, which we're aware of but you haven't caught on to yet, is that you are now somewhat mobile.  Mama put you in your bumbo seat on the floor the other day and went outside for a few seconds, returning to find you on your tummy 4 feet away from your seat.  We've known for a while you were going to wrench yourself out of that seat sometime, but it was still something to actually see it.  (Mama took a picture for me to see). 

You are still such a magical little child.  Your blue, blue eyes are fascinating, and so alert and interested in the world around you.  Your enchanting smile just melts my heart.  Your chubby arms and legs and diapered bum just beg for me to snuggle you.  Your cute hair is the perfect accent for your bright eyes and beaming smile.  And your cheerful personality is a blessing to everyone.  Your Mama and I adore you, and Jonah is thrilled to play with you too.  You play together so well.  He's kind and gentle to you, and you grin at him and make him laugh. 

I love you, little girl. 

Love,

Daddy

I've been thinking about the similarities between Jonah's developing imagination, and your developing personality.  Both are amazing indicators of mental growth.  You get so excited when you see me or your Mama or Jonah walk into the room.  You've learned to play games with me, mostly consisting of peek-a-boo and copycat.  And even when your Mama's holding you, you look around for me to play your snort/sigh copycat game with you.  There is so much intelligence behind those bright eyes.  You want to play with my glasses now, almost every time I hold you.  You know what it means when I start mixing up your breakfast in a bowl.  You've learned to wave your arms around and turn your head when you've had enough of whatever it is I'm offering.  And you've learned to get those pesky Cheerios to stay between your fingers long enough to get them up to your mouth.  And when they get there, you've learned to let go, so you can eat them instead of just licking them into a soggy, sticky finger mess.  You've learned what you want, and what you don't want.  It's inspirational how you are always reaching, touching, learning, laughing. 

Unless you're crying.  And that's usually because you're not where you want to be.  You almost have the crawling concept down.  You're up on your hands and knees all the time.  And you're inadvertently learning to do push-ups too, when you push off the ground but don't bend your knees.  But in the absence of crawling, you're perfecting your roll.  I'm not sure if I've seen you roll to the left AND the right, but you go front to back and back to front all the time.  You spend quite a bit of time on the floor, and hopefully the crawling will come soon.  I think a lot of your frustrations will lessen when you can go places. 

Mama took you to the doctor today for your 9-month visit.  You're a little underweight, which is surprising.  You look as chubby and healthy as can be.  But the doctor said in all other ways you're a perfect little baby.  So, we're going to start dishing up the fatty foods for you, and get you to put a bit more weight on.  Hah.  When you're 16 and rereading this you will SO not be interested in bulking up.  I can just picture it. 

9 months, little girl!  It's time for a new family picture.  I'm very excited about that.  You and Jonah are such cute kids.  I'm looking forward to having a nice-looking updated family picture on the wall.  Especially if we can catch your beaming smile in the picture. 

It's difficult for me to put into words what and how much you add to our family.  Jonah brought a miracle into our home, and he's continued to be a very cute and precious child.  But you are no less a miracle.  You bring a unique beauty and character with you that fills your own space in our home to overflowing.  I am facing that wonderful realization every parent comes to with the addition of more than one child into the home.  There is ample room in my heart for you, even if it was full with just your mother and Jonah in my life. 

I love you, Sophie.

Love,

Daddy

Sophie, you're crawling now!  You started crawling just a few days after my last letter, and now you're easily going from crawling to sitting and sitting to crawling, and pulling yourself up on things.  Just today you pulled yourself up to standing on the hearth (and sat down, overbalanced backwards and smacked your head on the floor too).  And just yesterday you crawled up the steps from the front walk to the porch by yourself.  When you crawled up the first step you started laughing like, "Look what I just did!"  You have this excited little shriek when you start crawling towards something you really want, it's SO cute.  You're really getting around!  And poor Jonah has learned how to hoard "his stuff" and keep it away from you.  It's quite funny to watch him coax you out of his room ("Come here, Sophie!" in the sweetest voice he can manage), and then close the door behind you.  Then he reports, "I don't want Sophie to get in there."  Poor kid has a lot to learn about getting along well with others.  I'm sure you'll be a good teacher. 

You have the cutest little two-toothed smile in the world.  We keep waiting for more teeth to appear, but apparently we still have some waiting to do.  And your hair is just phenomenal.  We've adopted your mother's easy-do style of hair management, which usually means just a headband, but when we do spend some effort on your hair, it's amazingly cute.  You look so much older than 10 months.  That effect is only heightened by the intelligence in your eyes.  I've said a lot about your eyes, and I'm sure I could say a lot more.  Nothing can take the place of the feeling I get when you're sitting in my lap, snuggled into the gap between my arm and my body, and you tilt your head back to look up at me with your blue, blue eyes, like you're saying, "Are you there, Daddy?"  I'm amazed at the bond we're forming.  It's beautiful.  It thrills me. 

Often, when I'm watching you play with Jonah, I wonder what kind of girl you'll grow up to be.  All parents want their kids to have it better than they did, and I'm no different.  I was a skinny, geeky, socially backwards oddball.  I fervently hope you're more socially stable than I was.  But at the same time, I realize it's incredibly hard to be that way when the world is continually increasing its obsession with looks and petty, trivial things.  It's a tough time to be growing up.  While I don't want to shield you from all of life's hardships, I do want to see you find your own happiness and balance.  I hope as parents your mother and I will be good enough at guiding you toward that balance. 

I love you, little girl.  This has been one of those landmark months, with crawling.  It makes a world of difference in how we interact with you.  You're growing up, and I'm very excited for it. 

Love,

Daddy

Who would have thought that after learning to crawl such a short time ago, you'd already be pulling yourself up and walking with your hippo push toy?  You're quite good at it, too.  Jonah would lean forward, let the hippo start rolling, and then sort of scramble to keep up with it and not fall on his face.  You stand upright, push it forward a little, and then walk up to it, totally in control.  You don't balance on your own yet, but you also don't require much support to stay upright.  I have a feeling real walking is not far away.  And I also have a feeling you being totally in control of your hippo is a sign of things to come.  You will have orchestrated the Moon Family Takeover by the time you're 3, I'm sure.  We'll all be marching to your orders.

But, who knows if you'll have any more teeth by that time.  We keep waiting, and thinking teeth will soon appear, but they keep not showing up.  We're not heartbroken, because you have an absolutely stunning two-tooth grin, but it's interesting to watch how long it takes for you to get more teeth. 

We have developed a little ritual in our house, that begins sometime in the night when you lose whatever hair control methods you had when you went to bed, and your hair starts its daily quest for wild freedom.  When you wake up, you let out a couple small cries, which is usually plenty to catch the attention of your adoring Daddy (no matter how groggy he may be).  When I come in to get you, you stand up in your crib, hair all over your face, and start bouncing up and down and shrieking in excitement.  I love that moment.  Your hair in your face and beaming grin and bubbling excitement are so darn cute!  I pick you up, in all your chubby, soft, snuggly cuteness, grab a diaper and head back in to see Mama.  When you see her, you start a whimper, twist yourself around, and generally do about everything you can to get out of my arms and over to your Mama.  Mama's got the food, so Daddy doesn't even rate on your list anymore.  Except I know that's not true.  I lay down on the bed behind you, and you have to turn around every so often while you're eating to see that I'm still there.  When you're done eating, I get to change your diaper, which involves lots of tickling on my part, and laughing on your part.  You're silly.  Then you head off exploring the house.

You've started standing up at the window sill and watching whatever Jonah is watching.  Sometimes that includes me going to and coming from work.  It's immensely satisfying to see the two of you standing at the window together, grinning at me. 

Jonah's starting into potty training, which he really does NOT like, and it makes me really appreciate how easy you are to care for.  You have your own issues with not wanting to drink from sippies, and sometimes not calming down enough to fall asleep (screams galore), but generally you're a very happy and easy-going child.  We were waiting for the little hellion that would make up for how good Jonah was.  Little did we know we already had a budding hellion, with no encouragement from you.  But I'm sure he'll get over it, and hopefully we'll have learned enough to help you avoid the worst of it when your time comes.

Last night I spent a little time in your room watching you as you slept.  You have so many family resemblances.  I see your Mama in you, and your Jensen genes from Grandma Betts, and I also see my mother in you.  Some of the expressions you make remind me of her and your aunt Melinda.  You bring them all together so beautifully.  You are so very charming. 

I love you, little Sophie.  You are growing up so fast, as all kids do, but you are still my precious little girl, and always will be.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Precious Little Girl,

I can't believe you're already a year old.  It is so amazing to me how much you've grown up in so short a time.  Mama took you to the neighbor's house for a haircut this month, and you are SO DARN CUTE.  You look all grown up.  You're very close to walking.  You'll stand up with your hippo toy and walk with just one hand pushing it.  And, drum roll please, your top teeth are coming in! 

We're not sure if you're just getting your two front teeth, or if the pair just outside that are coming in at the same time.  There seem to be white bumps there, as well as your front teeth that have broken through.  But you give us ample opportunity to look and guess.  Your favorite expression is a super-cheesy wide grin that would show off SO many teeth, if you had them.  

You're figuring out this whole communication thing lately.  I can ask you, "Sophie, can you clap?" and you'll start clapping, with that same cheesy grin.  You've figured out how to chase me, and what it means when I'm chasing you.  You're just like Jonah was, with your shrieks and giggles as you crawl down the hall away from me.  And when you want something you can't reach, you'll crawl over to it, reach out your arm, and look back over your shoulder at me, so plainly asking for help it's almost comical.

And we've finally reached that stage where you think your brother is pretty neat.  You watch him a lot, and copy him often.  We put you both in the red double jogger stroller and go for walks, which usually means Jonah sticks his thumb in his mouth.  You'll look over at him, and I can just see your brain going, "Oh, is that what we're doing?  OK,"  and you'll put your thumb in too.  And a couple seconds later you'll look over at him again, just to make sure he's not yanking your chain.

We tried to go camping this weekend on Antelope Island.  The Balloon Festival is held there every year about this time.  We thought it'd be a grand adventure to go out and watch hot air balloons float up into the sky.  Well, when we got there, it was very windy, and they couldn't light up any balloons for fear of crashing into the vendor booths, or if it did get far enough off the ground, it probably would have blown into the Salt Lake airport flight path.  Not a good choice.  We found this out from an information booth near the entrance of the Balloon Festival grounds.  The grounds were not far from our campsite, and when we returned we saw our tent sitting there like the top third had collapsed downward.  Turns out the wind was so strong it almost flattened our tent.  But we pushed it back into shape and managed to finally get you and Jonah asleep.  I didn't get much sleep, because every time I really got comfortable the wind would pick up and I would get whacked in the head with a tent pole as the tent tried to collapse again.  After some hours like this, the wind started to really pick up and it rained just a bit.  You woke up and were very nervous about the wind noises.  You would crawl over to me, snuggle with me for a few seconds (such precious seconds!), and then you'd want to get down so you could crawl over to Mama and snuggle with her.  Then you'd want to crawl back to me again.  You went back and forth several times, poor little frightened girl.  I wanted so badly to just hold you and protect you from all the wind and noise and frightening stuff going on.  Ochre was needing comfort too.  She was pretty good to stay in her end of the tent for the most part, but when things started getting worse she poked her nose around the partition and eventually came in for some comfort.  Your Mama and I were standing up both holding the tent up, and thinking that since Jonah was still asleep we'd sit it out and see if things calmed down.  But then Jonah woke up too, so we decided to pack up and go home.  A very kind couple was walking through the campground and offered to help us pack up.  So we were quickly on our way home, where you, Jonah and Ochre were all very relieved to be in familiar beds.  Your Mama and I were also glad to be home.  It was an eventful night. 

A lot of people say little girls have totally different temperaments than little boys, and I agree.  You are much more cuddly, and have the cutest little girl expressions and mannerisms.  Just like Jonah taking to trucks, trains and balls without anyone needing to teach him "Boy" activities, you seem to not need any direction in finding your own girlish ways.  You will be an interesting influence to watch in our family. 

I love you more than ever, sweetie.  You look a lot like your mother, and that definitely helps, as I'm crazy in love with her.  Being able to interact with you more and more has such an incredible pull on my heart.  I cherish my relationship with you, and I love coming home to your sweet little grin and shrieks.  I'm looking forward to this coming year, where you will learn to walk, talk some (we hope) and generally learn a ton.  It's so fun to watch you grow up.  I love you.

Love,

Daddy

Oh my sweet little girl, you've finally built up enough confidence to start walking!  Granted, you don't go very far yet, but it's so thrilling to watch you stand up in the middle of the room, sway a bit, maybe boogie a little (so immensely cute I can't even begin to do it justice), and then take several wobbly steps.  You incite a pitter-patter in my heart like only your mother can.  

You are looking so much more grown up now.  You walk some, your top two teeth are in, and you have the cutest haircut.  It's crazy that you've been in our home for over a year now.  And you've come so far.  You like to play games with your Mama and Jonah and I, and you've developed opinions on what you want and what you don't want.  It's so much fun to interact with you, and to watch you interact with Jonah.  I mentioned this in Jonah's last letter, but it's awesome to see the two of you play together.  Mama bought you a fire truck push toy that you can steer if you're riding it, but not when you're pushing it.  You're still a bit too young to grasp the concept of steering, but Jonah's the perfect age.  So he rides on the fire truck and steers while you push him around the house.  It's the perfect win-win situation, and makes your Mama and I laugh.

You seem to have a special affinity for percussion and rhythms and music.  Maybe I'm just biased and reading too much into things, but you start boogieing when I'm just idly tapping some rhythm on the table or my leg or something.  You love to slap the kitchen bench with me, and tune in to any sort of music that might be going on.  I can't help but wonder if it's related to how I used to walk around the house with you when you were very little and thump on your leg or your back to calm you.  I would always be doing some sort of mild rhythm with you.  I won't complain if you turn out to really like music, I promise.

It's still a total blast watching you grow up.  I love how excited you get when I come home from work.  I love how you wrinkle up your nose and grin at me.  I just generally love any time you look at me with a smile on your face and a sparkle in your beautiful blue eyes.  You have so much of your mother's looks in you, and yet you have your own beauty.  

I love you, little girl.  You are our little angel. 

Love,

Daddy

It seems that just in this last month you have really opened up to discovery of your world.  Now that you're walking, you can carry things from one place to another, get there faster, and see more because you're standing up.  You LOVE walking.  Mama says you do laps between the kitchen and living room when I'm at work.  And of course you're getting into all sorts of things you didn't get into before.  You've learned what it means to chase and be chased.  And you giggle both ways. Some of your favorite things to do around the house now are climbing into the tub when we've left the bathroom door open, dropping whatever you're doing and heading for the bathroom when you hear bath water running, closing the dishwasher every chance you get, and bringing various books and toys down the hall to present to the dog.  It's almost like you're trying to feed them to her.  The other surprising part about that is that she's well behaved enough to not eat them.  In any case, it's exciting to see you interact with your world.

Your giggle, your voice, your smile, your ticklishness, and your snuggles have completely melted my heart.  Shortly after my last letter you practically sang your way through church, so enamored with the sounds you could make, and amusing everyone around you. I love your little voice.  You have these very soft and very high sounds you make that Mama calls your bedroom voice.  It's very cute.  And every time I change your diaper I can't resist tickling you, because you have such a sweet giggle.  

The other side of your voice is the wide-mouthed firetruck-siren cry you give out when you get hurt, you're tired, or just when things aren't going your way.  You have the wind-up and everything.  Mama brought you up to my work for lunch this past week and while we were eating something happened to you and your cry wound up from nothing to a full-on shaking rage.  We just had to laugh at your red, red face and your little fists shaking in outrage.  That's the first time we've seen you do that.  And just last night you woke me up at 2:00 A.M. with a screaming fit.  When I went in your room you were standing up holding on to the top rail of your crib, so disoriented with your screaming that you were facing the wall instead of the door.  As the light from the hallway came in you turned to me with this look on your face like, "Well this is a bit embarrassing."  It took you some time to calm down, and even longer for the shaky breathing to stop.  But we had a good snuggle and you eventually went back to sleep. 

Mama surprised me one evening this month when I came home and she asked you, "Can you snuggle?"  You laid your head down on her shoulder and snuggled for a bit.  Then she handed you to me and you snuggled with me too. Oh heavens, how do I describe that?  It's the same feeling I get when you fall asleep on my shoulder.  It's rare, and it doesn't come without a good screaming fest, but it's all the more precious because of that.  

My favorite moments with you this month have been when I'm tipping your sippy cup up for you.  Your head is tipped way back and you just look at me.  Again, it's your beautiful wide blue eyes with those striking long eyelashes, just looking quietly up at your Daddy.  I love the silent, peaceful moments I get to share with you.  I imagine there will be less and less of that as you grow older, so I'm enjoying it while I can.  I love you, and I hope you will always be able to feel that.

Love,

Daddy

Your Mama picks out the cutest outfits for you.  She found a red dress and green sweater for Christmas this month.  We had your picture taken in it, with Jonah, and you were so adorable for the camera.  Jonah was a frump.  Maybe someday we'll get you both in a happy mood for the camera.

I'm a little late posting this letter.  It's been a busy month.  I had a lot of Orchestra activities that took up many evenings.  Hopefully I won't be late again.  I don't want to make that a habit.

Now that you're mobile, you go everywhere.  You've started to climb up on things, which makes your Mama and I a little nervous.  You will climb up on something, stand up, and then not be able to get back down.  And we'll hear about it, as you scream your discontent.  I love that you're curious and adventurous enough to get into things like that, but I do get nervous too.  It's almost New Year's Day, and Jonah's one-year anniversary for his ER trip.  We're going to be watching you like a hawk.  No repeats, thank you.  

It's Christmastime, little girl.  I love this time of year, as do a lot of people.  I love so many things about Christmas, but what I love most is the time everyone spends on each other, and on Christ.  The world gets a little nicer, a little more spiritual.  It's difficult to carry that feeling through the rest of the year, but that's part of the challenge of being Christian.  Your Mama and I want you to know we believe in Christ.  We know that life is at its best when we are living the principles Christ taught.  We may not be very good at it right now, but we're trying to build a better, more Christ-centered home for you to grow up in.  I want you to learn and know the principles of happiness before you have to leave home and make it on your own.  I don't know if I learned enough of that when I was young.  I certainly had the right environment, but I didn't choose to exercise the things I was taught, and felt I was not prepared for life on my own, or with my own family.  I really hope your experience is different. 

I'm so glad to have you in my life.  You bring me a lot of joy, with your beautiful smiles and happy personality.  I love you very much. 

Love,

Daddy

Sophie, you are growing up so fast.  There are so many little routines you've gotten into, to deal with the world around you.  You understand so much of what we're saying, and react to it in such a cute way.  I can tell you, "Let's go change your pants," and you'll walk down the hall to your room, go over to the changing table, and turn around, waiting for me to pick you up.  When you want a drink, you go get your sippy, if you can, and lay down on the floor to drink.  You know what it means when we say, "Let's go to Grandma's," and you head for the front door.  And then I say, "Oh, but you need your coat," and you walk over to the coat rack and start pawing at your coat.  When I get it down for you, you turn around and back up to me so you can put your arms in.  You've gotten pretty good at putting your arms in whatever sleeves we give you.  I love getting you dressed in your jammies for the night.  I change your pants, always with a few tickles here and there, and then put your legs in your sleeper.  Then I stand you up and hold up the sleeves, for you to put your arms in.  Then you watch me zip up the zipper, and as soon as I get that done you lean into me and give me a great big hug, because you know it's time for me to pick you up and take you to brush your teeth. You've also learned to sign a little bit.  I've been working with you a little, trying to get you to say Mama and Daddy.  I tap my chest and say, "Daddy," then tap your chest and say, "Sophie", and you giggle because I'm tickling you.  Now when I try to get you to say, "Daddy," you tap your chest.  You can sign 'more' and every now and then I can get you to sign 'milk' too.  You will clap when asked, dance, and sometimes wave.  It's very cute. 

You are such a snuggly little girl. I'll be sitting on the couch, and you'll be running around the house, and for no apparent reason you'll run over to me and lay your head down on my leg for a few seconds.  And then you're off and running again.  Tonight while Mama and Jonah were across the street at Grandma's you actually brought me a book, and snuggled with me while we read it.  You never cease to amaze me.  I don't remember Jonah being interested in books this early. 

Speaking of Jonah, he and you have developed quite a relationship.  Today when he woke up from his nap, the first thing he did was start calling out, "Sophie!  Sophie!"  You were still asleep.  But when you got up and I was changing your pants he came in your room to see you, and you just grinned and grinned.  You love to play together.  You'll follow him all over the house as he runs around.  He has a bit of a possessive streak, and when he yanks toys away from you, you let out a siren wail for a couple seconds, and then you're on to something else.  The two of you are learning to get along decently well.  I love watching you play together.

Sweetie, you are really growing up fast.  Every now and then you get this look on your face that makes you look so much older.  And I think about what life's going to be like as you grow up.  From my experience, having a girl in the family makes a world of difference in the level of kindness in the home.  I'm excited to see your influence on our family as you grow older. 

I love you.  Remember that.  You will always be so precious to me. 

Love,

Daddy

Well little girl, you know quite a number of signs now.  Although I think in your case they're taking the place of actual speaking, instead of working as an early communication method.  Mama says your doctor is a little concerned that you're not speaking yet.  I think we as your parents are less concerned, but it's still interesting that you won't say anything.  You understand a lot, and I think you're getting the hang of signing.  You can sign more, no, yes, bird, banana, bath, car, go, eat (or food), milk, drink, and probably some more that I can't think of right now.  Oh, and Daddy!  I like that one a lot.  I've been working with you on some more abstract signs, like help and hungry.  I feel like those are a bit more difficult because they're not objects.  I can't point at "help" to show you what it is.  It's darn cute watching you sign things.  And you grin like crazy, because you know you're doing something we understand.  Just imagine how you'll feel when you talk!

Again, I'm smitten with all of the cute things you do.  You scrunch up your shoulders and walk around all stiff, or you hold something up in front of your face and lurch frighteningly close to walls and chairs and things, or you play chase with me, giggling and laughing in what Mama calls your canned laugh.  I love turning around and seeing my cute little girl watching me with those beautiful eyes and a smile on her face.  I love to play all the little games we've created together. 

Lately it has been an interesting experience parenting you and Jonah.  I'm realizing how hard it is to be consistent and patient, as Jonah is continually testing that.  I hope I improve, and you get a better Daddy that can handle all of your growing pains.  You're still in the cute stage, and you're certainly making the most of it.  But someday that will end and there will be a lot of learning to do on both sides.  It's hard to be a parent, and I remember it was hard to be a kid too.  I definitely think about that as I interact with you and Jonah.  I think we have a good framework in Love and Logic and in the Gospel for avoiding lots of the traditional headaches and conflicts, but that relies on being consistent.  It's still hard. 

I'm impressed at how well you remember to fold your arms when we pray as a family.  There have even been times when I sit down at the table with a meal, by myself, and you wander over to me and fold your arms.  You're a good reminder to me.  And it makes me happy that our increased effort to do spiritual things as a family is at least having some effect.  We're slowly getting better. 

I love you, little girl.  I'm so glad I get to be your Daddy.  Hang on to that cuteness, and always remember the bond we've built together. 

Love,

Daddy

I'm cheating and back-dating this post so it will show up in the March archives instead of April. We are pretty solidly into April now, and I'm very late in writing this letter.

I think while you are still so new in this world the common theme in my letters to you is my amazement at watching you grow up. You are an absolute miracle. And I suppose every new child is a miracle on about the same level to those who love them. But you are MY miracle, a flower that may be beautiful to all, but unfolds its richest textures and deepest colors only to those who love it best. Lately you look so grown up to me. You can do so much more now than even a short while ago. I love to watch the concentration in your blue eyes while your little fingers are manipulating something you're not quite familiar with. You can make those fingers do so much more that they used to. My favorite part of that this month has been when you wiggle your fingers, for signs or for imitating me when I tickle you. You also point at a lot of things that you want me to notice. When I get you dressed after your bath you always point out your bedroom window, like you want to go outside. When we're outside you will point at airplanes (and sign airplane!) or the moon.

I may have mentioned this before, but I love when you come and look up at me with those beautiful eyes, knowing that your Daddy can help you with whatever it is you want. And if I'm not paying attention, you'll grab my pant legs and start dragging me in the direction you want me to go. So darn cute! You have such confidence in me, and I am inspired to be my best for you, and prove your confidence well-placed.

We have an appointment with a speech therapist for you later in April. You are still not talking, and the doctor wants to have you evaluated. I am not worried about you at all. You babble a lot, and will imitate sounds we make sometimes too. Your one word so far is "Uh-oh." There is so much intelligence in your actions and shining through your eyes, I am confident you can pick up talking any time you want. You have your signs, and I would guess you feel those are sufficient for now.

Your other medical issue for the month has been your rashy skin. Eczema is the technical term, I think. You would get lots of red splotches on your legs, behind your knees, inside your elbows, and on your torso, front and back. When we took you in to the doctor she gave you prescriptions for an oral steroid and some ointment, which have helped immensely. But I don't think the problem is gone yet, and I really hope it's not something that bothers you much longer in life.

You and Jonah are playing better and better together. This is quite the growing experience for him too. He still loves to rip things out of your hands and pester you to tears, but he also plays games with you and both your giggles echo through the house. I love your laugh, and the way you scrunch up your nose and eyes while you giggle.

It's hard to comprehend that just over a year and a half ago you were still waiting to join our family. It feels like you've been in our home and in my heart forever. And maybe you have. I am hard pressed to find words to describe how you just fit. It's a beautiful, peaceful feeling that gives me great comfort. I will always love you.

Love,

Daddy

Mama took you to speech therapy this week for evaluation. They told us you are totally normal, and don't qualify for speech therapy. We could have told you that ourselves. You still only say "uh-oh" and "meow", but you sign lots of things and have all the other normal developmental progress for your age. I think I got you to say "Mama" a couple times yesterday, but I'm not sure you know what you're doing yet. I'm impatient to hear your voice, speaking English. I would love for you and Jonah to be able to talk to each other. On one hand, it will add so much to how you play together, and on the other hand it will take your fighting to a different level too. That will be interesting to watch.

We had a Moon family gathering at our house this past Sunday, and I noticed that I see the grandkids differently when they're at my house instead of Grandma and Grandpa Moon's house. At my parents' house there is so much chaos that I can't really pay attention to the kids the same way I do when they're running around MY home. They all seemed more grown up than I remember, and especially you. And that hasn't faded after the rest of your cousins went home. While they were at our house, you followed Jonah and Ezra around and generally joined in the playing, which you are now big enough to want to do. You want to walk down stairs instead of turning around and crawling down them, which scares us quite a bit. And you want to sit up to the table on the bench instead of sit in your booster seat. While we're on the topic of new things you do, you also walk up and down the hills in the back yard, mostly without falling down. I think that's a great demonstration of balance and walking skills. You're fast becoming one of the kids, instead of my baby girl. I think that's awesome, but at the same time I have a wistful feeling about passing stages that we won't get to see again in you.

You've been wearing your new Easter dress the past two Sundays. It is so darn cute on you. I watch you in that dress and realize how much I was affected by growing up in a family of virtually all boys. I wouldn't have the slightest clue how to make you look girly and cute. Your Mama does a very good job. And you're just cute anyway, so it's not hard. The other thing I think about when I see you in cute girly clothes is that I have a lot of learning to do as you grow up. People always say a parent has to handle girls so much differently than boys, and I know I'll be learning as I go. I've been learning a lot about treating your mother well lately, and I hope that will also help me treat you well.

We went out to see Grandma and Grandpa Moon last week, so Mama could borrow their serger for making cloth diapers. We were there a long time, and soon you really needed a nap. You've never slept well in places other than home, so I was worried it would cut our day short. So when I took you downstairs to try a nap, I did something that I found worked for you in a situation a few months ago. You had woken up during the night and would freak out every time I put you back in your crib. I fed you, gave you a drink, sang to you, and did all kinds of things, but still every time I put you down you started crying again. So, on a whim, the last time I put you down I laid down on your floor next to your crib and stuck my arm through the railing to rub your back. I guess you were ok with being in your crib if I wasn't walking out of the room. So I lay there for a while, and pretty soon you fell asleep. That's what I did at Grandma Moon's. You were very worried when I put you in their portable playpen, but when I laid down on the floor next to you, you were ok with that. And you were so tired, poor girl, you were asleep in less than five minutes. I'm so glad I learned that trick, and I'm doubly glad you feel comforted by your Daddy's presence enough to fall asleep.

I love you, little girl. I can't wait to hear your voice saying, "Daddy!" I love playing with you, tickling you, running around the house with you, and going for walks with you.

Love,

Daddy

Parenting is full of those moments when things feel like they've been the way they are forever, but at the same time it was barely yesterday when things were different. It seems like you've been walking forever, but really it's only been a few months. And now you're running faster than my fast-paced walk, which is a new thing. You're just like Jonah, with a cute and funny run of your own. Honestly, I could watch little kids run forever. You have a blue three-wheel bike you like to ride around on the deck, except you don't pedal, you just Fred Flintstone your way down and back, pretty quickly too. Now if you could handle doorknobs, you could go just about anywhere you wanted.

You have developed quite the little attitude lately. My favorite illustration of that is here. It's so cute to see you playing games with the rest of us, or making faces to get our attention. My other favorite thing you've started doing is after I finish tickling you, you come after me and tickle me too. And you laugh like crazy when I wiggle around and squeal.

We went to Yellowstone as a family this last month. It was kind of cold, and the roads were barely open, but it was still fun. One of our stops was Mammoth Hot Springs, which has a long uphill climb on stairs and boardwalk, and you climbed a lot of that yourself. I was really surprised at that. We haven't made you do a whole lot of walking before, and I liked seeing how far you went. You liked seeing all the animals in the park, and although you got uptight about the long car rides sometimes, you were generally good-natured about the whole thing. We swam in the pool at the condo several times, and you loved that. They often have one-foot or foot-and-a-half kid pools at the condos, and they're perfect for you. You walk back and forth and splash and generally enjoy being in the water. Sometimes when you have your life jacket on, you crouch down and just lay backwards and float on your back. Then I pull you around by the loop above your head and you giggle. It was nice to spend that time as a family away from home.

Just before we went to Yellowstone, Mama's friend Paige came to visit. You and Jonah both had a lot of fun with her. She would call you Soph, as a nickname, and now Jonah does that all the time. He's always pestering you to come play with him. As a parent, I love that. It means I don't have to spend every moment possible with him. You and he play very well together. Sometimes he's a little rough with you, bonking your head and pushing you around, but I figure as soon as you're big enough to bonk him back, he won't do that anymore. And I don't think that will be long in coming. You can be a pretty feisty girl.

One difference between you and Jonah so far is that you like to draw, where Jonah really wouldn't at your age. Lately you like to draw on yourself more than the paper. But you still figured out how to draw much earlier than I remember Jonah learning it. He couldn't quite grasp that it was the very tip of the pen or pencil that made lines. He would always hold it at too much of an angle to draw, and then when nothing was happening, he'd give up. I think this is just another manifestation of how much you learn from Jonah. He didn't have anyone to watch. But it's funny to see you draw on the paper for a few minutes, and then move to drawing on yourself. I got a picture once of your tattooed hands. It was a tough picture to get, because those little hands NEVER hold still.

As always, I'm continually amazed at how much you learn in so little time. And you are so charming, in your unique way. I love you, more and more every day.

Love,

Daddy

The big news for this month, as Mama already said, is that you've started speaking. You always say "Mama", and you absolutely know what that means now. It's so cute to see you point and say this high-pitched "Mama!" And occasionally you'll throw in other words, like "Dada" for me, or "Yah-yah" for Grandma Joan, but those are pretty rare. Every now and then when I catch you in a good mood you'll try to repeat some word that I'm saying. But you lose interest pretty quickly. Sometimes I'll ask you if you can say "Daddy," and you'll point to Mama and say "Mama!" Yeah, I know where your loyalties are.

You got some road rash on your face the other day from our front porch steps. Right before a grandkid photo shoot, of course. I remember Jonah falling and doing damage to his lips and face quite a bit when he was your age. This is your first real incident, and you really pulled out all the stops. I'm curious to see if it's a trend that continues, or if you'll generally be less accident prone than your brother.

You still have quite the precocious personality. You spend a lot of your time taking your shoes off and sometimes putting them back on.  Your Aunt Greta gave you some cute purple Crocs, and you love to take them off. I think they're your favorite shoes, because you run straight for them when we mentioned getting your shoes on. I think your favorite part is that you can put them on yourself. Another quirk of yours is that you want to feed yourself with a fork, but you don't want to be bothered with stabbing your own food. I'll generally cut up some food for you and stab a piece for you before I set your plate down in front of you. You pick up the fork, eat the bite, and then hold out the fork to me, waiting for me to stab your next bite for you. I think you just need a little confidence in your own strength.

Now that you're wanting to walk everywhere, like your brother, we've been letting you walk around more when we go places. But you are so absorbed by the scenery you don't pay attention to where we're walking. Often you'll wander off down some side path, not noticing that the rest of your family has gone somewhere else. And then when I come after you, you run away. Silly girl. I'm glad you enjoy walking places by yourself, and I'm glad you're paying attention to what's going on around you. I love interacting with my kids when they're on their own. I don't mind carrying you a lot, but it does get tiring, and I like to watch where you go when you have your own choice.

You are still so darn cute! I've said this already, but I absolutely LOVE when you point and say "Mama!" I love to watch you walk and run around. I love to watch you try to brush your own hair, or talk on the phone, or imitate any of the other things we do. Keep going on the language. I love you.

Love,

Daddy

I'm late with this letter, again. But I haven't missed a month yet, and hopefully I can continue that. As an update on your speech progress, you're picking up a few more words here and there. When I put you in a hot car seat, you always look at me and say "hot". And the other day when I was changing your diaper you looked straight at me, and signed and said "ball" at the same time. It was very deliberate, and made me laugh. I've seen you look into a garbage can and say "yuck yuck" once, but I haven't been able to get you to do that again. You like "stop" and "go" quite a bit when we're in the car. And you've finally grasped "Daddy", a development that occurred on our trip to New Mexico this last month.

We went to a family reunion earlier this month in New Mexico, and we made a week of it. We went to Santa Fe first for a couple days, and then down to Albuquerque where the reunion was held. We did a lot of fun things, but unfortunately that meant spending a lot of time in the car. You don't like sitting in your car seat very long, and the first day of the trip was the worst. Then I think you got used to it. For a couple days when we got in the car in the morning you pretty much just fell asleep and had a nice morning nap. And then when we hit the road again after a lunch break, you'd fall asleep again for your afternoon nap. I was nervous knowing you'd be strapped into your seat so much, but you surprised me and did really well. At the family reunion you found a friend in an eight-year-old girl that loved to play with you. At meals you'd sit with us for a bit, and then when we weren't looking you'd sneak off to sit by your friend. You really charmed everyone there, but it was especially cute to see you run around with a friend you made all by yourself.

Two weeks before the reunion, we went camping with Mama's family up Big Cottonwood Canyon. That was a lot of fun, but it got really cold at night. Just as the sun was going down we had a downpour. We all crawled into our tents for the night, and it stopped raining a while later. That was a good thing, because our poor little tents do well in some rain, but were leaking a bit in such a heavy rain. After the rain it was hard to keep warm. I had you with me in one tent while Mama and Jonah were in the other. I tried to keep you in your pea pod with your blanket on, but you didn't want to stay put, and your pajamas weren't quite warm enough without a blanket or two. I ended up pulling you into my sleeping bag with me (a tight fit in a mummy bag), and we slept through the night that way. It was hard to sleep with a squirmy little girl, but I was glad I could keep you warm, and I like snuggling with you anyway.

You are still such a super cute little girl. Yeah, you have your feisty moments, and your pouty moments, and there's some screaming in there too, but every time I lay down on the floor you still come over and sit on me, play with me, and snuggle me. I love how you light up when I come home from work, or when Grandma Joan comes over, or when we're looking for Mama and finally find her. I love your little point-and-squeal routine. I'd love for you to really start talking, but you put so much expression into that squeal, it's hilarious.

I love you, little girl. I hope you can always feel that.

Love,

Daddy

We've been to a couple more family reunions this month, and you continue to charm everyone you see. You are so friendly and cheerful. And you love to snuggle with people. You snuggle a lot with Mama and me too. I'm surprised you like to sit still for so long. Mama told me you sat with her through 4 books the other day. Jonah wasn't snuggly until later. He couldn't sit still, he just wanted to be moving around and doing things on his own. He's more snuggly now, but mostly when he's hurt or tired. You will come over and snuggle with me for anything. I love it.

Last weekend Mama took you and Jonah down to spend a few days in southern Utah with all the Betts, while I stayed home by myself to work and get lots of things done. I missed you a lot. But it was really nice to have a bunch of time to myself to just do things. So this weekend I took you and Jonah to your Grandma Moon's house so Mama could have some of the same free time. We love our kids, but it really is nice to be able to get a lot done in a short amount of time without distractions. And I've loved having a weekend to just spend time with you and do the things you want to do. We went to the Aquarium to see the fish, and we've played with all of Grandma Moon's toys, including the go-kart, which both you and Jonah loved.

We also went down to the Willis Moon reunion in Provo yesterday, and you got to play with a bunch of your second cousins. Someone brought one of those PVC ladder games where you have two balls tied together with a rope, and you toss it and try to get it wrapped around one rung of the ladder. This one had golf balls, where before I've always seen it be tennis balls. Jonah knew what the game was, so he picked up some of the balls and started throwing them at the ladder. You picked up one set of balls and swung it but didn't let go, so you got a golf ball to the forehead. I know it didn't feel good, but to me it just looked really funny. You held onto the ball for a second, in shock, and then dropped it and let out a wail. Poor girl.

This morning you decided to wake me up in a pretty unusual manner. While we were at Grandma Moon's, you, Jonah and I all slept in the same room. You slept in a portable crib at the foot of the bed, and Jonah and I slept in the bed. Grandma Moon doesn't have air conditioning, so it was pretty hot at night. I slept with no blankets or sheets on top of me at all. Well, this morning you and Jonah woke up around 7:00, and I tried to get you both to lay back down and just rest a little while longer. I rolled over onto my tummy and tried to get just a little more sleep in. But after about a minute I felt these two little hands tickling my bare feet. I jumped, and you started giggling. Silly girl. You're not supposed to know your Daddy's ticklish! I laughed at that for a long time.

You are so very cute. The clothes you're wearing lately make you look like such the little girl, instead of our little baby. You've lost a lot of your baby fat, and you've developed so many grown-up mannerisms. I love how much you've grown. I harp on you not speaking yet a lot, but I'm really happy with how well you're doing. I love that you snuggle with me. As I say to Jonah, I hope that lasts a really long time.

Love,

Daddy

Ever since Jonah's birthday, I've been looking forward to yours. It seems I'm always caught off guard by the big milestone dates, but at least I have forewarning for your birthdays. I'm also always saying how amazed I am at how much you've grown. And this is no exception. Even just since Jonah's birthday, you've changed quite a bit. I can't believe the grown-up, social girl you've become.

We moved you from your crib to the toddler bed this month. It took you all of one day to figure out that was where you were supposed to sleep. Staying on the bed all through the night is a different matter, but you definitely know where your bed is and what it's for. Since the change, it seems like we have to get out the camera almost every night and take a picture of the odd position you've gotten yourself into to go to sleep. Just last night I went into your room to check on you, and you were lying on the floor with your head almost entirely under the bed. I don't know how you got there, or how you thought that was comfortable, but it sure made me laugh. And I was nervous picking you up to put you back in bed. I was afraid that when I touched you you'd jerk and bonk your head. But all went well. I love that I can say to you, "It's time for bed," and you'll toddle down the hall and climb in bed by yourself. And even if you do wake up a bit too early for your parents' tastes, I still love waking up to your little squeal.

Another heart-stealing moment came yesterday when I got up a bit later than usual because of a morning dentist appointment. I had just finished using the bathroom, brushing my hair and shaving, and turned off the light to come out. It was about 6:30, and still quite dark. I always turn off the light before opening the door, because your bedroom door is right there and I don't want to wake you up. So I opened the bathroom door after turning off the light, and heard the cutest little "Daddy!" come out of the darkness. I love you beyond what I'm capable of writing, and when I hear you say, "Daddy!" with such a light in your eyes and your voice, I just want to pick you up and hug you and snuggle you like crazy.

You really have grown, even when compared to just a month ago. You are such a big girl now. You have very little baby fat left, and the clothes you wear give you a more mature look too. And my favorite, you're starting to talk more. It's still coming slowly, but you'll try to imitate us sometimes, and you've learned several words that you use regularly.

Mama said a little while ago that she thinks two is the perfect age. I have to agree with her so far. You like to play games with me, snuggle me, climb on me, run everywhere you go, and you're just so cheerful. I love this stage. I know it won't last, especially if you've inherited any of your parents' stubborn and opinionated natures, but I really do love seeing your personality emerge.

You will always be my precious little girl. Remember that I love you.

Love,

Daddy

There are some interesting things happening in the world these days. You got a swine flu vaccine this past weekend. A couple years ago, there was a scare about avian flu spreading to humans and lots of people dying from it, but that hasn't happened yet. Last year people started getting swine flu, or novel H1N1, as they call it. The normal flu kills a number of people each year, but this one was a bit more severe. And it seems to affect little kids more than anyone else. So they've been working on a vaccine all year, and finally got one finished. It's a separate shot this year, because it was only just finished, so although you've already had your normal flu shot for the year, you needed a different one for this. And Mama says you're supposed to go back and get a second dose in a month. Davis County organized a clinic that was this past Saturday, and Mama took you down and stood in line for two hours with you and Jonah. Jonah got a nasal spray vaccine, and you got a shot. I'm glad you have it. Your Peterson cousins all had swine flu last week, so I was a little worried about you and Jonah. I think we're pretty good about keeping things clean in our house, and we're not super social people, but Jonah goes to preschool, where he might bring it home with him. I don't want you or him to get sick.

After your flu shot we all went up to J & J Gardens in Layton and rode a wagon with hay bales out to their pumpkin patch. They had three wagons pulled by tractors taking people out and bringing them back. You were tired by that point, but I think you liked the ride. We had to stand in line a little, and you definitely didn't like that. We picked a small pumpkin for you, and one for Jonah too. We tried to do that last year, but it was rainy and they weren't giving rides that day. Afterwards, we went to the duck park and ate lunch. You always like to see the ducks and geese.

You've been learning some new words lately, which makes me very excited. Today you brought me one of Mama's books and said "book" as you held it out to me. I've been teaching you colors a little, and you're learning signs for some and words for others. At J & J Gardens they have a couple small fish ponds, and I was pointing out to you the red, orange, yellow, and white fish. You learned how to sign red, and last night as you went to bed snuggled up to your yellow-clothed Cabbage-Patch doll, you pointed to it and signed red. I told you it was yellow, and you said "yellow." You've also been saying "apple" and pointing at our jack-o-lantern lights over the fireplace. Sometimes you'll copy what I'm saying, or what Jonah's saying. You're especially good at copying tone of voice. You make it into a game.

For the cuteness moment in this letter, I love how you look up at me when you don't know a word or sign. I'll ask you what something is, and say, "Can you say it?" You'll wait a minute, and I'll say, "Can you sign it?" You'll look up at me with an expression that says, "I don't know this one, Daddy. Teach me." And you do learn. I think that's one thing that has started to connect in your head. You can learn words for things, and you can look to us to teach you the ones you don't know. Just today you wanted me to follow you upstairs, and I asked you what you wanted. You stopped to think for a bit, and then I could just see you saying, "I don't know this one," as you reached out and just waved for me to follow you. It turned out you wanted a bran muffin. I don't blame you for not knowing that one. But I love that you try.

I love you, and I'm still excited to hear you talk to me. You're making me wait for it, but I'm patient.

Love,

Daddy

Oh you're such a silly little girl. The same day I finished your last letter, I came downstairs to find that you had turned the TV on and were watching ice skating. Did you know your Mama used to be in an ice skating performance group? We'll probably teach you to ice skate when you're a little older. Anyway, you were glued to the TV, and when I turned it off and said we needed to go upstairs, you stood up all hunched over. It looked just like when your Papa Weldon stands up and has a hard time straightening up. You started walking all hunched over, and then you spun around in a circle. I had to laugh out loud. You were imitating the ice skaters! It was so funny to see you "glide" around the room like them.

You're also showing a strong leaning towards gymnastics lately. You jump off any small step you can find. When we're going outside and walking down the porch steps, you stop and jump off the last one. Then you walk a couple feet and jump off the sidewalk into the grass. You like to jump, and you jump a lot higher than Jonah did at your age. The other funny thing I've noticed is that you'll scoot our green chairs together in the living room and do gymnastics on the arm rests, like parallel bars. It's very cute.

Speaking of cute, your Mama asked you the other day, "How did you get so stinkin' cute?" Your answer? You pointed at your diapered bum.

You are still learning lots of new words. Your pronunciation needs some work, of course, but I'm amazed at how much you know. We looked through your ABC quiet book at church, and you knew "temple" ("bup bo") and "Jesus" ("dzz szz"). When we ask you to say "vegetable" it sounds the same as when you say "buffalo." You say "bup ba bo." You have that B sound down pat. It's time to branch out though, you know. I get more and more excited to hear you talk now that you say, "Hi!" when you see me, and "Yeah!" when I ask you questions.

We were driving in the car one evening and Jonah was trying to explain something to you that you didn't like (or maybe you were just generally grumpy), and you were doing your "Hnnnn." sound that pretty much means "No". But Jonah kept trying again and again to explain it and get you to agree. He was quite verbose about it, and I thought it so funny that by your one non-word sound, you were totally defeating his well-thought-out, well-spoken explanation.

Your other latest quirk is wearing your snow boots everywhere you can. You're wearing Jonah's old snow boots, that are black, with some blue trim and grey camouflage. Mama calls them your combat boots. The best part about them is you can put them on by yourself. Last night you unzipped your pajamas and fell asleep, and this morning (after we zipped you up and tucked you in again last night) you came into our room with just your onesie and combat boots on. So sexy. You were pretty cold though, so it makes me wonder just when you got your jammies off.

I love you, little girl. I love to snuggle with you, I love to tickle you and hear your laugh, and I love walking around with you holding my hand. We've been playing music in the house more lately, and you like to dance to it. I like to dance with you. Sometimes I pick you up and we spin around, and sometimes you stand on my feet while I walk around. You definitely have me wrapped around your little finger. And I don't feel bad about that one bit.

Love,

Daddy

This has been an interesting month for you. You've learned to open doors, and we've pretty much done away with sippy cups. You're repeating things we say more and more. And you've become Daddy's best friend. You've been really snuggly for everyone the past while, which is very cute. You snuggle with Papa quite a bit, and Grandma Joan. This month I've had Christmas concerts, which meant I hardly saw you at all for a week. Then the next weekend Mama and I went away for a vacation. This past week you've LOVED your Daddy time. You snuggle with me a lot, and always come find me and pull me to whatever it is you want me to do. And I'm falling in love again with your clear blue eyes, and your cute wrinkled-nose grin. I'm especially excited that you're talking more. Not a lot of it makes sense yet, but you've picked up quite a few more words. Just yesterday I got you to count to ten with me, and today you repeated the alphabet with me. I'm still looking forward to hearing your voice, and what's going on inside your head.

A few weeks ago you learned how to say, "All done!" I put you in the tub one night for a bath, and left you to play in the water while I cleaned up a little. Pretty soon you were yelling, "All done! All done!" I went back in to check on you, and you had let all the water out and were ready to get out. I love that you know what you're saying. I just hope it catches on soon that you can say things that mean something to everyone else in the house. Communication is a good thing.

I've said this before, but I love when you play games with me. One of your recent games is repeating "Daddy" with different inflections. Sometimes you'll copy me, and sometimes you want me to copy you. My favorite is when you say "DaddeeEEeeEEeeEEeeEEeeEEee". I'm especially excited that you can change the tone of your voice, because I have this desire for my kids to learn Chinese, and that's an important part of the language. I need to do more about teaching that to you and Jonah.

It has been quite a year for you. You've gone from simple walking straight to climbing on everything, running, jumping, and generally being much more adventurous than when Jonah was your age. You've learned a lot of signs, and lots of words too. I'm excited for you to really start talking this next year.

I think we're going to have a fun year. We have lots of ideas for places to go on vacation, and lots of fun things to do at home and near home. Jonah's still in school, so you get some alone time with Mama, and when he starts Kindergarten you'll get even more.

You've turned into a super cute little girl. I'm excited for all the new things you'll learn, but I'm also sad you're not our little baby anymore. We'd like another little baby, of course, but if that doesn't happen I'm very happy to have my two cute kids. You make me smile all the time.

I hope you know I love you. Your Mama and I are going to do everything we can to make this next year a good one for you and Jonah. Keep learning and growing. And don't forget to keep charming your silly Daddy.

Love,

Daddy

Well, you've had quite the vocabulary explosion this past month. You say a lot of words now, although you tend to leave off the consonants, so it's very hard to understand. But you know what we're saying, and you make an effort to say things and get us to understand. Jonah talks to you all the time, and it's starting to be a two-way conversation. I'm excited for that too. Life gets so much easier for you and for us when you can talk. You and Jonah have been really healthy kids, but I always worry about you feeling sick and not being able to tell us what's wrong. And you will be able to exert a lot more control over your relationship with Jonah when you can tell him what you like and don't like. And it's so cute when I come home from work and you come running around the corner saying, "Daddy home!"

We went to Bear Lake last weekend. We swam once, and then just stayed in the condo the whole time. We watched movies, read a lot of books, and you and Jonah colored a lot. That was almost the only thing you were interested in. It was fun to do things with you, and just spend the whole day with you. It was the first trip where we weren't worried about Jonah's pants so much, and we didn't take the Pea Pod for you. You and Jonah slept in a bed. It was a little difficult getting you to sleep the first night, but you both did really well after that. I'm getting more and more excited to go places with the two of you. It's so much easier without all the extra equipment. Hopefully you'll potty train this summer, and then we'll be in good shape. We have some fun trips planned.

The past two days you've gotten up very early, before I left for work. You are so cute in your jammies with your bed head hairdo, trying to block out the light. You're also very snuggly when you're tired. I think it's amusing how independent you are. I bet if I wasn't there, you'd come down the hall, open the fridge, get out a bran muffin, and have your own breakfast all by yourself. I love when I sit down next to you at the table and you lean over to snuggle against me while you're eating.

You are a super-cute little girl. I love to tickle you and hear you laugh. I love to snuggle you, and hold hands while we're walking somewhere. I love to watch you learn all the things Jonah does by himself, because you want to be independent too. It's hard for me as a parent, because I love to see you grow up, but I want you to stay my little girl forever. I love you.

Love,

Daddy