Dear Ransom,
You survived your first Christmas...outside the womb. Last Christmas you were technically on this earth, but you were giving me ALL KINDS of grief ( I quite literally survived on bread alone) and so I feel like you did a MUCH BETTER job this Christmas of bringing your Mommy joy.
For one thing, you did an AWESOME JOB driving the many many hours to Texas. It took us 14 hrs to get there, and 12 hrs to get back ( we still can't figure out why this is!) . And you were really a wonderful baby who only cried at the end ( and, well, I can't blame you-I kinda wanted to cry too!)
*side note* The only thing that would make you stop crying wants you started was this incredibly lame mobile app that I have on my phone. Its basically just revolving animals on a mobile that just go around and around and around. But you watched that thing for a good thirty minutes. Crazy.
You took awesome naps the whole time we were in Texas. Most of the time you were taking TWO HOUR NAPS. And you didn't give me any trouble going down for your naps even though you were sleeping in all sorts of different places.
You also did pretty well sleeping at night too. Not as awesome as your naps, but I really can't complain. You ARE a baby, afterall, and babies need their pacifiers and when those come out-well, all bets are...apparently. off.
*side note* At Spicy and Papa's house there are a LOT of mirrors. This was OK by you since the "baby in the mirror" is most definitely your best friend. No matter how sleepy or cranky you are, you can still muster a smile for the baby in the mirror.
You met all sorts of people and you were nice to all of them. This was important since there were a LOT of people that wanted to meet you, Ransom. And I was worried they would be disappointed by a crying baby. But even the time that you had been fast asleep and you woke up to find about six people with their faces thisfar from yours...you were still pretty chill about it. Nice.
This Christmas you met SO MANY family members for the first time, and you got to spend a lot of quality time with Nana and Spicy and Papa...and even your Aunt Anna and Uncle Ryan and Uncle Josh. It was truly a joy to see them enjoying time with you and it makes me happy to know that we only have FUN to look forward to future Christmases.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Four months...
Dear Ransom,
Four months ago at this moment I was laboring away for you to come into this world. Let no one try to convince you otherwise ( but since you're a boy it doesn't really matter) but labor is AWFUL. But, the great thing is-once you were in the world, the awfulness of that hard labor faded into the background-and you have been in your Daddy and my foreground ever since.
This month brought a lot of changes-I feel like of all your previous months, this month you adapted to life a lot. Up until now you'd struggled with going out into the "big wide world" and therefore I'd struggled too...what SHOULD we do together?! When SHOULD we leave you at home?! All these things were difficult, but then, as though all the practice ( aka all the times you'd gone out in public and cried yourself silly) paid off-and finally we went to bible study one Sunday night ( Nov. 14th) and you not only didn't cry...but you LAUGHED for the first time ever.
There we were in Bible Study, I was trying hard to pay attention and you were sitting in my lap facing up at me...and then, I glance down at you, and it was as if you'd been waiting to catch my eye and you let out the longest, cutest giggle.
Needless to say, your Daddy and I probably missed a good portion of the proceeding parts of Bible Study because you had so distracted us. But, hey! We were getting somewhere!! GOOD distraction is MUCH better than the crying distraction of the past!!
This month you also got your first cold. Luckily it was just a "baby" cold in the scheme of colds-but you did NOT enjoy using the "snot sucker" ( and neither did I ) and you DID enjoy sneezing. In fact, every time you sneezed you'd let out a little giggle and smile really big. It made me think about sneezing myself and I must admit they ARE terribly satisfying.
The other MAJOR event of this past month was that you rolled over on December 1st.
I was on the phone with your Aunt Anna and your Daddy was playing on the floor with you, and you DID IT! It was SO exciting that I screamed. And Aunt Anna thought something horrible had happened.
But, really, you were very nonchalant about the whole thing and to be honest I'm still not sure what you think about the whole rolling over business. You've done it pretty much once a day ever since, but its hard to know if you're <em>really</em> doing it on purpose!
But, even if its not on purpose yet, soon it will be. Soon you will do many things purposefully and so I pray that you will choose to be purposeful in the good things of life. That you will be intent upon what is right and true.
This past month brought about other firsts, your first time celebrating your Mama's birthday and therefore your first time away from your Mommy and Daddy for more than a few hours! Luckily for all of us, your Aunt Anna came all the way from Texas to look after you while your Daddy and I got a much needed weekend away in Atlanta. You had a great time with Aunt Anna. In fact, its possible that you didn't miss your Mommy at all-especially since drinking out of a bottle is waaay faster than the normal way of doing things! ;-)
You also had your first Thanksgiving-we had Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of Navigator friends and you were passed around the group. You were very sweet and looked around intently at everyone. Everyone still talks a lot about how much hair you have, even though they are polite enough not to mention the ever growing bald spot on the back of your head! SEE?!? This is a good reason to hurry up and learn the rolling skill so you don't have to spend your time rubbing the back of your head on the ground ;-)
This month your name has been on my mind a lot. Mostly because your name is in one of my favorite Christmas Hymns. O Come, O Come Emmanuel.
In the hymn it says,
This month brought a lot of changes-I feel like of all your previous months, this month you adapted to life a lot. Up until now you'd struggled with going out into the "big wide world" and therefore I'd struggled too...what SHOULD we do together?! When SHOULD we leave you at home?! All these things were difficult, but then, as though all the practice ( aka all the times you'd gone out in public and cried yourself silly) paid off-and finally we went to bible study one Sunday night ( Nov. 14th) and you not only didn't cry...but you LAUGHED for the first time ever.
There we were in Bible Study, I was trying hard to pay attention and you were sitting in my lap facing up at me...and then, I glance down at you, and it was as if you'd been waiting to catch my eye and you let out the longest, cutest giggle.
Needless to say, your Daddy and I probably missed a good portion of the proceeding parts of Bible Study because you had so distracted us. But, hey! We were getting somewhere!! GOOD distraction is MUCH better than the crying distraction of the past!!
This month you also got your first cold. Luckily it was just a "baby" cold in the scheme of colds-but you did NOT enjoy using the "snot sucker" ( and neither did I ) and you DID enjoy sneezing. In fact, every time you sneezed you'd let out a little giggle and smile really big. It made me think about sneezing myself and I must admit they ARE terribly satisfying.
The other MAJOR event of this past month was that you rolled over on December 1st.
I was on the phone with your Aunt Anna and your Daddy was playing on the floor with you, and you DID IT! It was SO exciting that I screamed. And Aunt Anna thought something horrible had happened.
But, really, you were very nonchalant about the whole thing and to be honest I'm still not sure what you think about the whole rolling over business. You've done it pretty much once a day ever since, but its hard to know if you're <em>really</em> doing it on purpose!
But, even if its not on purpose yet, soon it will be. Soon you will do many things purposefully and so I pray that you will choose to be purposeful in the good things of life. That you will be intent upon what is right and true.
This past month brought about other firsts, your first time celebrating your Mama's birthday and therefore your first time away from your Mommy and Daddy for more than a few hours! Luckily for all of us, your Aunt Anna came all the way from Texas to look after you while your Daddy and I got a much needed weekend away in Atlanta. You had a great time with Aunt Anna. In fact, its possible that you didn't miss your Mommy at all-especially since drinking out of a bottle is waaay faster than the normal way of doing things! ;-)
You also had your first Thanksgiving-we had Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of Navigator friends and you were passed around the group. You were very sweet and looked around intently at everyone. Everyone still talks a lot about how much hair you have, even though they are polite enough not to mention the ever growing bald spot on the back of your head! SEE?!? This is a good reason to hurry up and learn the rolling skill so you don't have to spend your time rubbing the back of your head on the ground ;-)
This month your name has been on my mind a lot. Mostly because your name is in one of my favorite Christmas Hymns. O Come, O Come Emmanuel.
In the hymn it says,
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel
Sometimes I think about us, and how we are all-from the tinest baby (believe me, you are already very self involved! ) to the oldest man-held captive by our sins. But how WONDERFUL to think what the Lord has done for us, by paying the ransom and setting us free from sin and death!
I am so glad you are here to celebrate Christmas with us this year, and may it always be a special time of remembering just what your name means and what it means for the world. Just like you-baby Jesus came into this world-and just like you he had to learn all the things you're learning, how to roll, how be out in the world, how to walk and talk...he had to go through all the hard learning experiences we go through just so that he could save this world! How amazing!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Three Months
Dear Ransom,
You're cute. That should just be stated up front because I just went through your three month pictures to remind me just what we did this month, and I was struck yet again by how expressive and fun you are!
This month we saw the end of our Revolving Door Time with visits from "Aunty Lindsay" and "Aunty M" ( plus a little bonus time with Aunty Bethany too!)-it was fun having them here with us and getting to have someone here to share your cute moments with. Its really frustrating when you do something SUPER cute and ONLY your Mommy is there to see it. ;-)
But, probably the best thing that happened to you this month was DADDY CAME HOME!! The Lord was very good to us and he went STRAIGHT through Ranger School, and more importantly straight back to us! The extra added bonus of Daddy graduating was that we got to see Papa for a day plus we got to have a weekend with Nana, Grandpa Bill and Uncle Josh because they all came to celebrate Daddy's success! Of course, I'm pretty sure they were all especially excited to see you too!
Your Daddy has had a lot of fun getting to know you better, you've changed a LOT since you were two weeks old! And he's had fun discovering all your fun quirks. Daddy is better at putting you down for Naps than Mommy ( he's a champion swaddler)...and I also like it that he can sometimes get up during the night and put your paci back in so that I don't have to get up as often! Yay!
And speaking of sleep, I don't want to jinx it or anything but for about a week and a half now you've been sleeping until 4 or 5 and even SIX in the morning before you need to be fed! You have become quite the champion sleeper and Mommy has LOOOOVED you for this! Why don't we make this a trend of ALL your Monthly Letter, ok?!
The other great thing about having your Daddy home is that he and I can sit and discuss how cute and smart you are for hours and neither of us get tired of doing it! In fact, the other night I was holding you and sticking my tongue out at you making a sort of yodeling sound ( this pretty much always makes you smile) and you became very very still and then you did it back! We did it several more times and your Daddy and I were beyond impressed. We were then sure that you were the most genius child we'd ever met.
This past week you also started sitting in your Bumpo Seat. It helps you develop those neck and stomach muscles so that soon you will be sitting up without the help of a seat, but for now you look SO grown up sitting in it! Its hard to believe how far you've come in just three months!
We are also experimenting with taking you out "past your bed time" so that Mommy can go to Bible Study and other evening activities with you in tow. You're not quite sure about the whole idea just yet but we're going to get there! Last night you went with us to a Dinner Party and got to try out your friend Elizabeth's swing. Its different from your swing in that her's goes side to side rather than back and forth. You totally dug it and went straight to sleep when you were in it! Maybe we need one of those at our house! haha!
Above all, when I look back at this month I realize that our love for you has grown even more as your unique personality comes out. I am reminded daily that you are already becoming the person that God thought up before we even had an idea of you...what fun to see you blossom into that person!
I will now go and kiss your very kissable chubby checks!
Mommy
You're cute. That should just be stated up front because I just went through your three month pictures to remind me just what we did this month, and I was struck yet again by how expressive and fun you are!
This month we saw the end of our Revolving Door Time with visits from "Aunty Lindsay" and "Aunty M" ( plus a little bonus time with Aunty Bethany too!)-it was fun having them here with us and getting to have someone here to share your cute moments with. Its really frustrating when you do something SUPER cute and ONLY your Mommy is there to see it. ;-)
But, probably the best thing that happened to you this month was DADDY CAME HOME!! The Lord was very good to us and he went STRAIGHT through Ranger School, and more importantly straight back to us! The extra added bonus of Daddy graduating was that we got to see Papa for a day plus we got to have a weekend with Nana, Grandpa Bill and Uncle Josh because they all came to celebrate Daddy's success! Of course, I'm pretty sure they were all especially excited to see you too!
Your Daddy has had a lot of fun getting to know you better, you've changed a LOT since you were two weeks old! And he's had fun discovering all your fun quirks. Daddy is better at putting you down for Naps than Mommy ( he's a champion swaddler)...and I also like it that he can sometimes get up during the night and put your paci back in so that I don't have to get up as often! Yay!
And speaking of sleep, I don't want to jinx it or anything but for about a week and a half now you've been sleeping until 4 or 5 and even SIX in the morning before you need to be fed! You have become quite the champion sleeper and Mommy has LOOOOVED you for this! Why don't we make this a trend of ALL your Monthly Letter, ok?!
The other great thing about having your Daddy home is that he and I can sit and discuss how cute and smart you are for hours and neither of us get tired of doing it! In fact, the other night I was holding you and sticking my tongue out at you making a sort of yodeling sound ( this pretty much always makes you smile) and you became very very still and then you did it back! We did it several more times and your Daddy and I were beyond impressed. We were then sure that you were the most genius child we'd ever met.
This past week you also started sitting in your Bumpo Seat. It helps you develop those neck and stomach muscles so that soon you will be sitting up without the help of a seat, but for now you look SO grown up sitting in it! Its hard to believe how far you've come in just three months!
We are also experimenting with taking you out "past your bed time" so that Mommy can go to Bible Study and other evening activities with you in tow. You're not quite sure about the whole idea just yet but we're going to get there! Last night you went with us to a Dinner Party and got to try out your friend Elizabeth's swing. Its different from your swing in that her's goes side to side rather than back and forth. You totally dug it and went straight to sleep when you were in it! Maybe we need one of those at our house! haha!
Above all, when I look back at this month I realize that our love for you has grown even more as your unique personality comes out. I am reminded daily that you are already becoming the person that God thought up before we even had an idea of you...what fun to see you blossom into that person!
I will now go and kiss your very kissable chubby checks!
Mommy
Monday, October 11, 2010
Week 8
Dear Ransom,
This weekend you and I crossed an important milestone. We traveled. From Fort Benning Ga to Toccoa Ga ( its about a 3 and a half hour drive...if you don't have a baby...for us it was 4 and half).
But, this trip caused me to fall in love with you even more. ( If that's possible). The love was brought on by how incredibly wonderfully you behaved.
I mean sure, we had to pack practically everything including the kitchen sink to insure that you had all that you would need on this trip-and I found myself wishing that we own a pack mule or donkey or something once we got to Toccoa so that we might get all your stuff up to our room, but all in all traveling with you was a joy. For one thing...you slept. I timed our travel so that you ate before we left and then had about twenty minutes to enjoy life and then I piled you into the car, stuck your bear by your head ( yup! I did!), tucked your blanket around you and you were OUT...for a good two hours. Bless you, child.
This was perfect, because we stopped for an early lunch, you ate and then spent the time that *I* ate getting all your energy out so that once we got back in the car you were ready for another nap.
Bless you, child.
And so it was that we arrived to and fro the Navigator conference with much delight....
As for the conference, I learned that you have changed my life-for now anyway- and while that means I don't get to do normal conferenc-y things...I do get to have the joy of raising you! And so while the Navigators have the habit of asking "Who's your man/woman?" ( meaning, who is it that you're pouring your life into and helping in their walk with Christ...) I would have to answer that question now with..."You mean who's my Baby?!"
And believe me son, there is no one else I'd rather put my time and energy into!
All my love,
Your Mommy
In this picture, we had just driven almost two hours and you had woken up from your nap...I stopped and was getting you out of your car seat and instead of fussing because I wasn't doing it fast enough, you SMILED. So to reward you're good attitude I made the process EVEN LONGER by stopping to take this picture. You'll thank me later, promise.
This weekend you and I crossed an important milestone. We traveled. From Fort Benning Ga to Toccoa Ga ( its about a 3 and a half hour drive...if you don't have a baby...for us it was 4 and half).
But, this trip caused me to fall in love with you even more. ( If that's possible). The love was brought on by how incredibly wonderfully you behaved.
I mean sure, we had to pack practically everything including the kitchen sink to insure that you had all that you would need on this trip-and I found myself wishing that we own a pack mule or donkey or something once we got to Toccoa so that we might get all your stuff up to our room, but all in all traveling with you was a joy. For one thing...you slept. I timed our travel so that you ate before we left and then had about twenty minutes to enjoy life and then I piled you into the car, stuck your bear by your head ( yup! I did!), tucked your blanket around you and you were OUT...for a good two hours. Bless you, child.
This was perfect, because we stopped for an early lunch, you ate and then spent the time that *I* ate getting all your energy out so that once we got back in the car you were ready for another nap.
Bless you, child.
And so it was that we arrived to and fro the Navigator conference with much delight....
As for the conference, I learned that you have changed my life-for now anyway- and while that means I don't get to do normal conferenc-y things...I do get to have the joy of raising you! And so while the Navigators have the habit of asking "Who's your man/woman?" ( meaning, who is it that you're pouring your life into and helping in their walk with Christ...) I would have to answer that question now with..."You mean who's my Baby?!"
And believe me son, there is no one else I'd rather put my time and energy into!
All my love,
Your Mommy
In this picture, we had just driven almost two hours and you had woken up from your nap...I stopped and was getting you out of your car seat and instead of fussing because I wasn't doing it fast enough, you SMILED. So to reward you're good attitude I made the process EVEN LONGER by stopping to take this picture. You'll thank me later, promise.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Two Months
Dear Ransom,
You are two months old today! How can that be possible!? Time has flown by and its hard to believe you've been on this earth for eight whole weeks!
This last month has been full of all kinds of firsts for both of us! You moved into your very own room and you learned how to sleep through the night ( maybe not consistently but you've done it enough that you CAN'T FOOL ME!!! I know you can do it more!) and you've learned how to put yourself to sleep at nap time...this was a BIG LESSON that required a lot of crying on your part and a lot of crying on your Mommy's party. Boy howdy! But, we both knew it was worth it because when you WEREN'T complaining about going to sleep, you were the smileiest, happiest baby on the block! You have really found your smile and you use it all the time to make my heart swoon. You've also found your hands which you like to stick in your mouth while still in a fist. Nice.
You also found your voice which you use to babble and have very engaging conversations with those around you. This came in VERY useful when your Daddy got to call us for 5 whole minutes when he finished the Mountain Phase of Ranger School....Luckily you were in one of your babble moods at the time and he got to hear you talking! I know that meant a lot to him. He misses you terribly.
We had more guests this month, starting with Mommy's dear friend Carmi. She loved you even though she wasn't a "baby person"-so we'll take that as a very high compliment! It was also a special visit because Mommy got to have several long prayer times with Carmi and you got to listen in....one of your Mommy's earliest memories from her childhood is listening to her Parents ( Spicy and Papa) and Grand Billie and Great Steve talk about Jesus...so now that is my wish for you too. May your earliest memories be about Christ's love for you!
We also had fun visits from Aunt Donnave and then Chuck and Bethany! It was fun getting to share you with all of them and continue to watch you grow. Its amazing how much you are looking like your Daddy and I can't wait for him to see you in about two weeks!! We continue to pray that he will make it straight through Ranger School!
We've had quite a lot of Autumn weather the last few weeks and I've enjoyed taking you for walks in the afternoon. Its fun to see how wide your eyes get as you take in the big world around you! I hope that you'll learn to love this world and to live your life to serve those around you!
Today we are going on your VERY FIRST trip! So, I'll have some stories to share from that very soon...
until then, know that you are much loved!
Your Mommy
You are two months old today! How can that be possible!? Time has flown by and its hard to believe you've been on this earth for eight whole weeks!
This last month has been full of all kinds of firsts for both of us! You moved into your very own room and you learned how to sleep through the night ( maybe not consistently but you've done it enough that you CAN'T FOOL ME!!! I know you can do it more!) and you've learned how to put yourself to sleep at nap time...this was a BIG LESSON that required a lot of crying on your part and a lot of crying on your Mommy's party. Boy howdy! But, we both knew it was worth it because when you WEREN'T complaining about going to sleep, you were the smileiest, happiest baby on the block! You have really found your smile and you use it all the time to make my heart swoon. You've also found your hands which you like to stick in your mouth while still in a fist. Nice.
You also found your voice which you use to babble and have very engaging conversations with those around you. This came in VERY useful when your Daddy got to call us for 5 whole minutes when he finished the Mountain Phase of Ranger School....Luckily you were in one of your babble moods at the time and he got to hear you talking! I know that meant a lot to him. He misses you terribly.
We had more guests this month, starting with Mommy's dear friend Carmi. She loved you even though she wasn't a "baby person"-so we'll take that as a very high compliment! It was also a special visit because Mommy got to have several long prayer times with Carmi and you got to listen in....one of your Mommy's earliest memories from her childhood is listening to her Parents ( Spicy and Papa) and Grand Billie and Great Steve talk about Jesus...so now that is my wish for you too. May your earliest memories be about Christ's love for you!
We also had fun visits from Aunt Donnave and then Chuck and Bethany! It was fun getting to share you with all of them and continue to watch you grow. Its amazing how much you are looking like your Daddy and I can't wait for him to see you in about two weeks!! We continue to pray that he will make it straight through Ranger School!
We've had quite a lot of Autumn weather the last few weeks and I've enjoyed taking you for walks in the afternoon. Its fun to see how wide your eyes get as you take in the big world around you! I hope that you'll learn to love this world and to live your life to serve those around you!
Today we are going on your VERY FIRST trip! So, I'll have some stories to share from that very soon...
until then, know that you are much loved!
Your Mommy
Saturday, October 2, 2010
7 Weeks
Dear Ransom,
One of our feeding rituals is not what you would expect! You see, as much as you are becoming more mobile and enjoying flailing your arms and legs about when your on your play mat or in your bouncy chair, your little hands always stay in very tight little fists ( usually with your thumbs tucked inside)....So, you are SUCH a fan of the fist, I must pry them open one finger at a time. And why do I pry them open? Because youve developed hand lint!!
Much like belly button lint just tucked into the little folds of your hands!
I pray one day you hold on to the Gospel with that same tight grip!
Love,
Your Mommy
Much like belly button lint just tucked into the little folds of your hands!
I pray one day you hold on to the Gospel with that same tight grip!
Love,
Your Mommy
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Month One
Dear Ransom:
You're a month old! Well, actually you're close to two months old now-but hopefully you'll forgive me for being a bit behind with these letters! A LOT has happened since you've been born!
First of all, once your Daddy and I got you home from the hospital we could hardly believe you were ours! We spend days just staring at you. This is how our days went: Feed you, stare at you, try to sleep for a minute, repeat.
This worked well, especially since you were super cute to stare at and seemed to be changing before our very eyes!
Your Daddy had to leave for Ranger School when you were only two weeks old-but Spicy came to stay with us so we wouldn't get lonely. And before Daddy left you decided to give all three of us a good laugh by dirtying up THREE diapers while still on the changing table, we couldn't get a new one on you fast enough before you were pooping away! And then, before we could even congratulate ourselves on saving your clothes from ruin you proceeded to pee all over yourself and all that was around you! Pretty impressive with those bodily functions!
Daddy was SO sad to leave you and he knew he was going to miss so much these first few weeks! And what exactly did he miss? Crying....After Spicy left you and I were alone for a whole week and boy did you take advantage of that time to work on your lung capacity! Luckily your Mom has some fabulous friends who came to our aid and took you for some much needed 'away from Mommy' time so she could take a few naps! However, it was during these visits from friends that I started to see one of your wonderful gifts. People feel special around you.
It seemed that there were two things in common that just about everyone feels about you: One, you've got great hair ( you can think your Daddy for that thick bunch of black hair!) and that you "love them!" that's right! It seems everyone that spends time with you seems to think that they have a "special connection" with you! This is great for Mommy because it means people want to spend time with you-but its also something that we hope you continue to keep as part of your character....to make others feel loved and special. That's a wonderful gift and I hope that one day its something that you work at doing for the benefit of Christ.
So, after our week "bounding just the two of us" we had Aunt Amy come visit us from Mississippi and Nana come visit us from Texas. Amy was with us just for the weekend but she got to come see Daddy jump out of an Airplane with us-which was fun! It was great to see your Daddy, even for a brief few minutes and he got to see just how much you'd changed!
Then at the end of your Nana's visit, your Daddy passed the first phase of Ranger School and got an eight hour pass to come home and see us! He was SO happy to see you and was so amazed at how you'd grown! He missed you so very much and cried to have to leave you again.
It is amazing how much you change and grow with each passing day, and with each passing day our love for you grows!
Until next month,
Love your Mommy
You're a month old! Well, actually you're close to two months old now-but hopefully you'll forgive me for being a bit behind with these letters! A LOT has happened since you've been born!
First of all, once your Daddy and I got you home from the hospital we could hardly believe you were ours! We spend days just staring at you. This is how our days went: Feed you, stare at you, try to sleep for a minute, repeat.
This worked well, especially since you were super cute to stare at and seemed to be changing before our very eyes!
Your Daddy had to leave for Ranger School when you were only two weeks old-but Spicy came to stay with us so we wouldn't get lonely. And before Daddy left you decided to give all three of us a good laugh by dirtying up THREE diapers while still on the changing table, we couldn't get a new one on you fast enough before you were pooping away! And then, before we could even congratulate ourselves on saving your clothes from ruin you proceeded to pee all over yourself and all that was around you! Pretty impressive with those bodily functions!
Daddy was SO sad to leave you and he knew he was going to miss so much these first few weeks! And what exactly did he miss? Crying....After Spicy left you and I were alone for a whole week and boy did you take advantage of that time to work on your lung capacity! Luckily your Mom has some fabulous friends who came to our aid and took you for some much needed 'away from Mommy' time so she could take a few naps! However, it was during these visits from friends that I started to see one of your wonderful gifts. People feel special around you.
It seemed that there were two things in common that just about everyone feels about you: One, you've got great hair ( you can think your Daddy for that thick bunch of black hair!) and that you "love them!" that's right! It seems everyone that spends time with you seems to think that they have a "special connection" with you! This is great for Mommy because it means people want to spend time with you-but its also something that we hope you continue to keep as part of your character....to make others feel loved and special. That's a wonderful gift and I hope that one day its something that you work at doing for the benefit of Christ.
So, after our week "bounding just the two of us" we had Aunt Amy come visit us from Mississippi and Nana come visit us from Texas. Amy was with us just for the weekend but she got to come see Daddy jump out of an Airplane with us-which was fun! It was great to see your Daddy, even for a brief few minutes and he got to see just how much you'd changed!
Then at the end of your Nana's visit, your Daddy passed the first phase of Ranger School and got an eight hour pass to come home and see us! He was SO happy to see you and was so amazed at how you'd grown! He missed you so very much and cried to have to leave you again.
It is amazing how much you change and grow with each passing day, and with each passing day our love for you grows!
Until next month,
Love your Mommy
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