Dear Katie

 Dear Katie,

Now it's your turn for a blog post!  I just settled you down for a little nap, and Benjamin is at school, so I (hopefully) have a few minutes to document a few thoughts on your life so far.

On Tuesday, you turned 3 months old!  You have now been in existence for one year (since conception, that is), and you have completed the "fourth trimester."  You certainly look and act more and more like a baby every day, and I'm admittedly a little sad that your newborn-ness is passing so quickly!

Katie, I am immensely enjoying my time at home with you!  Benjamin broke us in nicely, so I fret about much less with you (I still worry, of course, because that's what I do --- but it's not a panic-worry this time around) and just enjoy snuggling and playing with you, and I also very much enjoy the few quiet moments to myself when you are sleeping and Ben is at school.

So what kind of baby are you?  That's hard to say, because you change so quickly!  I held out hope that you would be an "easy" baby since you are a girl --- and most of the girl babies we know are pretty docile.  But you certainly wasted no time in making it known that you are not the average girl!  Your first breath after being born was a piercing scream, and even the labor and delivery nurses were impressed by your volume and intensity! 

You are certainly an intense little girl.  You are so obviously taking in the world around you when you are awake, and sometimes you have difficulty shutting everything out when it's time to go to sleep.  So sometimes you get over-tired and spend the evening screaming to block out all the stimulation.  We have ear plugs placed strategically throughout the house for such occasions.  Even Benjamin has sweetly asked you on occasion to stop crying.  I have no worries that you will be over-shadowed by your big brother or that you will become a shirking wall flower.  I once read somewhere that "fussy" babies are the intelligent ones --- that their fussiness is due to the intensity with which they are studying the world, and they don't stop to take a break or a nap when they need one.  At this rate, you are going to be brilliant. :)

But, Katie, even though you sometimes spend the evening yelling at us, you are still a very sweet child.  You smile readily at your mommy and daddy.  And when you smile, it's this great wide open mouth smile and your eyes scrunch up in delight.  You love being pulled up to a sitting position now and are even beginning to enjoy standing for little bits of time.  You love being carried in your sling by both Mommy and Daddy - whether it's to explore the great wonders of Target with Mommy or learning how to pan fry with Daddy.

I imagine soon you will smile for your big brother.  He's a bit intense for you right now, and likes to get right in your face when he speaks or plays with you.  We're working on that.  But it's good for you --- you will be a tough little girl!

Well, sweet girl, that's all I've got for now.  We love you very much, and when you get bigger and bigger and bigger, you and Ben are going to have great fun together!

Lots of love,
Mommy