Sweet girl,

This post was supposed to be up before the holidays, but the day before we flew out to California you got your shots and baby girl, you didn’t like them at all. You ended up with a slightly higher fever than is normal for a vaccine reaction (scaring your mama), and I dropped the final photo prep so that I could snuggle you and check and re-check your temperature to make sure you were alright. Good news is you came through like a champ… fever came down, and you kept smiling up at me through it all!

Speaking of those smiles… you’ve been dishing up real smiles for us this month, and it could make my heart burst when I see your sweet face light up as your steel blue eyes lock onto mine.

Another thing I love? The way you sleep. You’re a great sleeper, and you’ve already slept through the night once before turning two months old!!  Here’s to hoping there’s a whole lot more of that soon!

Your big sister is still just enthralled with you, and Peanut is always wanting to lay down beside you to take pictures. The camera roll on my phone is full of photos of the two of you, mostly at big sister’s request!

You’ve done lots of traveling already with trips to Louisiana for Thanksgiving, Austin for me to do a photoshoot, and Houston for “Christmas” with your Uncle CJ and Aunt Emily. And little girl? I think you were made for it. You’ve done so well on each trip! Another trip brought you to meet Santa with Peanut, and once again you were just a little dream – Santa said so himself!

You’re starting to try to find your voice and it just makes my heart flutter to hear your little coos and squeaks. You’re not quite there yet, and sometimes you look like you surprise yourself when you do actually make a sound, but o my goodness is it so fun to watch and listen to you try!

Along with the noises, you’ve also figured out how to blow bubbles – and you LOVE it.

I’ve had to go back to work and leave you home (just for a few days before the Christmas break) , and it’s hard little one. It really is. I know it’s a good thing that you’ll grow up to see your mama and daddy working hard to provide for our family, but it’s really hard to leave you and those sweet dimples every morning.

Pumpkin, you’re now out of newborn clothes and diapers, and to be honest, I haven’t quite been able to make myself pack up all those teeny-tiny onesies! It’s just such a concrete reminder that you’re already growing so fast, and a stage of your life is already past us.

Like always though, as much as it’s hard for me to see stages go, it just means you’re growing and thriving and a new stage is arriving for us to enjoy with you. And you better believe I’m trying to enjoy each moment! I love you, sweet girl.