The Mommy Dance: 3 month letter (almost a week late)

My Little Kaelyn,

I have so many nicknames I call you that it makes it hard to decide how to address this letter. Of my most frequently used: Little, Baby Girl, Munchkin, Pumpkin, occasionally Fuss-Fuss...we're always inventing new names for you. None of which really express what an amazing little girl you are. You come up with something new everyday to make us love you even more than we already do.

Where to start, Kiddo? I had intended to write these every month, but got side-tracked from doing the first two by snuggling with you and doing whatever possible to make you smile. I absolutely LOVE your smile. You get your entire face involved. Your eyes squint up and you open your mouth as wide as you can manage. It's a playful, whole-hearted smile and it erases any stress from my mind. Oh and when you laugh, you toss your head back and you've started making a little squeak when you do this, which cracks me up. You're "talking" more, which is also thoroughly amusing. Your noises have always captivated your Daddy and me, starting with your sweet little coos in the hospital while you slept. Oh my goodness, what a precious little thing you were--and are.

I suppose it's clear at this point that my letters will have no set format and will mainly consist of me doting on you. I can't help it. You know, I said we were wrapped around your finger before you were born, but that multiplied infinitely the second you were born and we saw you and realized that funny little baby entertaining us on the ultrasounds was actually you. I should mention that the second you were born, you were screaming bloody murder for a good 20 minutes. We should have been terrified.

I remember when they finally handed you over to me and I could finally wrap my arms around you and hold you close to me. They had just finished cleaning us both up and we were both feeling a bit--er--vulnerable. Your lip was still quivering and you had, no joke, just tried to bite the nurse. (Again, we should have been terrified.) I took you in my arms though and started talking to you. I offered my pinky finger as a substitute pacifier, as the hospital seemed to have ceased offering Soothies. You immediately quieted down and it felt like my first triumph as a parent.

There have been so many moments when I feel such a sense of joy that you're really my daughter. I'm really your mommy. I get so excited about all the places and things I want to show you and all the fun we're going to have. I have to remind myself how fast you're going to grow up and then I focus back on what we're doing. You're definitely teaching me to take things at a slower pace and also to recognize what's really important. There really isn't much that's truly important in this world--you and your daddy are my world (and the doggies too!) I just want to give you all that you deserve...which is everything. There are certainly lots of travels and adventures in our future, Kiddo, but let's just take things slow...and by that (for you), I mean don't grow up too fast, okay?

You're definitely strong, both physically and in mind/personality. You're feisty. I love that about you. I get the feeling sometimes that you're training us. Last night, for example, you started crying after Daddy put you in your pack 'n play. He had gone downstairs to get a couple things and I was in the bathroom getting ready for bed. I came running to replace your binkie and as soon as I appeared above you, you grinned at me. Then you cracked this huge smile as I offered you your binkie, as though to say, "Made you look!"

Now, about all those milestones they talk about: You've been rolling on an incline for awhile now and are getting closer to doing this on a level surface, though you get a bit annoyed when I lay you on your tummy and try to get you to roll. You love "standing" and though you're a bit wobbly, we just have to hold you very gently around your waist and you support your own weight. You almost fully support your own head (which is in the 87th percentile so this is no small feat) and your neck seems strong. The only time you're a little floppy is when you've fallen asleep on one of us.

Speaking of sleeping, you thankfully take sleeping very seriously. You can be quite squirmy and you do not like it at all when your binkie falls out of your mouth so it perplexes us why you will spit it out repeatedly and then immediately panic to find it, but you're still a very good sleeper. You finally did graduate from your car seat to the pack 'n play with a sleep positioner, but you'll fuss in your sleep in the very early morning hours resulting in you freeing your legs from your blanket and sticking them up in the air...and a missing binkie. It's at this point, I'll pull you into bed with me and you'll settle within seconds. I do love snuggling with you and you seem to sleep the best when you're snuggling or laying on either of our chests, however, this arrangement usually results in a tiny hand smacking me in the face right around 6am. I wouldn't say you're an early morning baby--you're usually pretty loopy at that time and just want your bottle (and boy do you chug it!) Usually we'll play or read a book and you're ready to snooze again. The next time you wake up, you are the happiest baby on the planet.

Your favorite toy right now is definitely your Lumpy. It's a very soft blanket with a little stuffed animal elephant (one of the Heffalumps from Winnie the Pooh) on top. You tuck it under your arm and occasionally use it to cover your eyes when you want to sleep and it's just too bright for you. Runner-up is Jorge, a giraffe rattle, though a lot of the time we'll give him to you and the next thing we know, he's three feet away from you on the floor.

You do have quite a few toys and as soon as you start sitting on your own, I'm sure you'll be playing with them a lot. Hopefully by that time, I'll have your playroom mural finished and we can relocate the toys out there. (I think having the toys on the floor of your nursery is triggering Daddy's OCD reflexes.) Playtime is getting more interactive, which is a blast. You love to play "airplane" and you're endlessly entertained by us making funny noises for you. We'll do anything for a smile from you, including doing goofy dances. (Sometimes you just stare/scowl at us and make a face to say "Seriously, who are these people?"

You're getting more interested in your under-the-sea adventure gym, as well as photographs. You also love to kick. Your legs are in motion most of the time, which explains how much my belly would jump around when I was pregnant. Your daddy still says that you're practicing your kick saves. Anyways, because of all this kicking you've been doing, we like to take one of the bouncer toy bars, which will start playing music if you touch it, and position it by your feet. You get a kick (quite appropriately) when it starts playing after hitting it with your foot.

We both like to read to you a lot. Daddy prefers the Berenstain Bears collection, while I find myself reciting the tongue-twisting rhymes of Dr. Seuss, though when you were very young (and tended to sleep through reading time), I had started reading Eclipse from the Twilight Saga (this is why your daddy teases me that you're going to be into vampires). They say it doesn't matter what you read, but the more words you hear, the better. Since then, I ordered a bunch of books for you and we're working our way through them. My favorite bedtime book to read you so far has been Time for Bed. It has the momma animals saying goodnight to their babies.

I still don't know who you look more like. I think you're a pretty even mix of your daddy and me. Sometimes I see more of him, sometimes more me. It really doesn't make a difference either way--you look like you. You're our Kaelyn, our Little, and our Fuss-Fuss and you're perfect.