To Etta, at 3 months

Dear Etta,


Happy three months, Etta!  You've had quite a month, with your first plane ride- and four of them, at that.  You saw the ocean, felt warm weather, and met PaPa in Palm Beach, and you met aunts, uncles, and friends in Chicago.  At home, you started staying awake during our walks long enough to actually see parts of our neighborhood- and you couldn't have had better timing, because our neighborhood was filled with flowering trees and beautiful gardens exploding in color.


You are getting to be such a big girl!  Your eyes continue to lighten and your hair is thinning, but you still have a thick patch of soft, dark hair above your neck. You have some seriously chubby cheeks, and I secretly look forward to every diaper change just for the opportunity to see the rolls on your thighs.  I am so grateful that clipping your tongue made our breastfeeding relationship (and those rolls) not only possible, but so effortlessly enjoyable.  When you unlatch at the end of a nursing session, sleepily smacking your lips with a great sigh, I know we are both fully, completely content in that moment.


Your smiles take less time to coordinate these days, and you're smiling quite frequently- especially at your big sister.  You've also just begun to use your hands to reach for items.  When you lay on your playmat, you look up at the mirror, the lights, and the faces on the animals and just beam as if you've never seen anything so wonderful.  After a few minutes of happy smiles, you finally realize you can actually reach for the toys and make them move, eliciting even more smiles.  


One of Tye's favorite things you do (other than burp) is talk.  As you gaze at us, we speak gently to you.  When we pause, you coo back at us. This back-and-forth conversation makes Tye giggle louder and louder until she eventually scares you back into wide-eyed silence.  Someday, I know you two will have plenty of long, drawn-out conversations.  


You've grown into a very happy, easygoing baby.  Though from the time you arrived, it was hard remembering life before you, you're now a more active, engaged member of our family.  You're right where you belong, Baby Girl.  Thank you for the joy you've brought to all of us.  I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.


Love,
Mama