Seven Months

Dear Sweetest Nugget,

I'm writing your letter early this month because you've just had a really big day and I need to get all of this down before I forget.  Today was a triple whammy: Papi's birthday, Halloween, and...your baptism!  Talk about BUSY!

Mamie Nelly, Papi Daniel and Aunt Dorinda have been staying with us for a week and you cannot get enough of them.  I'm already worried about how you'll react when you wake up on Friday morning and realize that it's just me and daddy hanging around.  No more constant stream of kisses and hugs and bouncing knees to play on?  Oh girl, you're gonna freak out.  They've been around for some of your cutest milestones.  In the last few weeks, you've learned how to sit up for REAL, how to scoot on your belly (which is quite a sight to see), how to "wave" good bye, and how to say "bah bah bah bah bah" four thousand times in a row.  You are really piling on the cuteness these days.

Watching you and your daddy interact with the family from France gives me such a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.  My French is getting a little bit better with each visit, but I can't wait to hear you speaking French very soon.  Papi, Mamie, and Dorinda like to make lots of silly faces for you, and they're all champion peek-a-boo players, so you're pretty much in heaven these days (so much so that you've decided to stop sleeping while they're here because you just don't want to miss all the fun).  But every once in a while, when they think no one's looking, I've caught each of them staring at you, or trying to steal a quick snuggle, or talking to you in that soft, sweet voice that you love so much.  You reach out for their faces and they smile as you run your fingers over their skin and explore every inch of them.  When you lock eyes with them, I can see their hearts melt.  You have three more members of Sylvia's Fan Club, and they've signed up for LIFE!  What a lucky little girl.

One more thing before I go.  You were the most beautiful and well behaved little girl in church this morning while we all celebrated your baptism!  Aunt Dorinda and Uncle Jordan stood with Mommy and Daddy in front of the whole church and Father Bill blessed you with oil and water and welcomed you into our community.  We all pledged to keep the light of Christ in you as you grow and I took one look at your sweet face and thought, "Wow, there's the light right there.  I can see it.  I'm holding it in my arms and I can't wait to watch it shine as she grows!"  You didn't make a sound for the entire mass.  You held onto your doudou and chewed on its ears; you went back and forth between Mommy and Daddy; you smiled at all of the family sitting in the row behind us; and you rode in your stroller back to the house where we all celebrated your special day.  You have so many people around you who will love you to the ends of the earth, my dear.  You are so blessed, and we are so blessed to have you.

All My Love,
Mama

No Time for Posting...

...but plenty of time for pictures!

 We love Grammy!

Now that she can sit up a little bit, I thought I could get a super cute Fall Pumpkin photo,but Sylvia was much more interested in trying to eat them than trying to smile for the camera.  Drat!

 And she thought that hay on the ground was REALLY GREAT!  She tried to eat it, too.

Grandma Neltner came over the night before we went to get our "Four Generations" photos taken.  I don't have electronic copies of them, but they turned out to be very good portraits.  Even so, I much prefer this natural and effortless kind of picture.  How great does Grandma look?  And Sylvia is just so happy to have all that love and affection showered over her.  What a lucky girl! 

Sylvain's Dad, Stepmom and Sister are coming to visit on Monday.  Words cannot express how incredibly excited we are to see them.  I know he misses them terribly and I know they are dying to see the baby.  His sister, Dorinda, is Sylvia's Godmother and Jordan is the Godfather. We're having her baptized on the 31st, which also happens to be Halloween AND my father-in-law's birthday!  Whew!  What a fun day that will be!

Somewhere in the midst of all this excitement we have to actually work.  School has been a HUGE time sucker lately with both of us putting in really long days.  Sylvia's been moved up to "the crawler room" at daycare, even though she doesn't know how to crawl.  Add that to all the parent-teacher conferences, diagnostic assessments, crying girls, screaming boys, and Science PD's I've had to give - I've been a little overwhelmed, to say the least.  I do have a student teacher, though, and she's incredibly competent and eager, so I plan to take advantage of her positive attitude and hand her all of the responsibilities of the "real teacher" while I enjoy some time with our family over the next couple of weeks.  :)  

Six Months

Dear Sweet Sylvia,

I woke up Friday morning with a smile on my face because I knew it was your half-birthday!  Six months seems like it went by in the blink of an eye, yet I feel like you've been around all my life.  I can't imagine life without you and I am so grateful for every sweet moment we have together. 

You are such a fun baby and you're growing like crazy these days.  You still love to roll around on the floor, but now you're getting much better at scooting and rolling all over the place.  If you see something you want a few feet away from you, you can twist and turn your body in ways I never thought possible just to get it.  But you won't crawl.  Not yet.  Your current mode of transportation is just way too much fun.  You're getting better at sitting up, too, but you can't quite do that by yourself yet, either.  I think it'll only be a matter of weeks before you have sitting and crawling mastered.  And then, we'll be in for some fun times at our house!

While you're developing well physically, I've been so pleased watching you develop a little personality, too!  Whenever anyone holds you, the first thing you do is reach for their face.  You have this overwhelming urge to touch EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME NO MATTER WHAT!  You love noses and ears...anything you can grab onto for dear life.  Daddy and I have to take off our glasses before we pick you up, because that's the first thing you go for, and I haven't worn earrings in months.  I think this habit is all part of your desire to know things.  You've always been "studious," ever since the moment you were born.  You've always looked around and pondered all the things you see, but now you can start touching them and wrapping your fingers around every tiny detail you can find.  And putting them in your mouth.  Your mouth is very helpful when it comes to discovering the world around you.  If you can see it, you want to touch it.  If you can touch it, you want to grab onto it.  And if you can grab onto it, you want to lick it and slobber all over it and show it who's boss.  In fact, right after this picture was taken, you hugged that pumpkin next to you and tried to eat it.  That's totally your thing right now.

You loved visiting the pumpkin patch with Grammy and Grandpa Bird this weekend.  They couldn't believe how big you're getting!

We've become quite the happy family, Nugget.  This month we've been very busy visiting family and friends all over Kentucky, but no matter where we are or who we're visiting, the three of us are always together.  Each day it seems like I can't possibly love you any more or else my heart my burst into a thousand pieces, but each night I go to bed and realize that I love you more than the day before.  Daddy feels the same way.  You've changed him.  You've turned him into a playful, protective, wonderful father and he thinks you're the most amazing thing on earth. 

So here's to half a year, my dear!  May your next six months be as happy and wonderful as your first.  I sure am glad you're around and I can't wait to see what you'll do next.  You're my favorite.

Love you forever,

Mama