5 Months Old

Dear Izzie:

Today you are 5 months old. It now feels like you have been with us forever. I could not imagine my life without you. You have gone through a lot of exciting changes in the last few weeks. It's been super fun to watch you grow and discover fresh talents.

You can now turn from your back to your belly and stay on your belly for really long time. You rock forward and back trying to get yourself forward and get frustrated if you can't flip onto your back again. We usually have to flip you and then you are happy again. You love your toys and explore them with touch and of course your mouth. You love to discover what a toy does and you observe with great interest if it squeaks, plays music, rattles, feels soft or is great for chewing. You still love your play mat and you also love to watch cartoons. We only let you watch it a few times a week but you giggle with excitement and currently your favorites are "Angelina Ballerina" and "Olivia". We also still read a lot of books together and you follow each picture with great interest. I cannot wait till we start doing crafts together. Your other big interest in the moment is to watch me put make up on. You pay very close attention to all the pretty colours in my shadow palette and all the brushes I use and of course you love lip gloss. I can tell you can't wait to get your hands on make up!

Having you teach Mom and Baby yoga with me is double fun now. You are enjoying so many poses and finally you love the "flying baby" pose. This is when I lift you up in the air as I lay on my back. I lower you down to kiss you and then lift you up again. You love leopard swing where you lay on top of my arm and I swing you from side to side. I think you must also love to explore the world from a different angle when we do standing poses such as warriors and tree as you look out into the world and smile at other babies. Baby yoga routines and massage continue to be a delight for both you and I. And I make you laugh every time I am in down dog and you get to pull my hair.

Other fun games and activities you enjoy is "peek a boo", "paddie cake" and "this little piggy". Whenever you pull a blanket, a bib or a towel over your face we say "where is the baby?" and you scream and kick with laughter...then we pull it down and say "there she is!!!!" and you laugh more. We also love to lay down with you and pretend we are eating your toes or fingers, you pull them away and then stick them right back at us so we can try again! Great fun! We love blowing raspberries on your tummy and you do too especially when we say "I'm gonna get you!" Mommy also uses a different voice for a toy or a doll and you actually think they are talking to you...and then you like when the toy kisses you and sometimes tickles you too.
You find it funny when mommy puts a random object on her head such as a towel, sweater, strainer, or a toy and then asks you "do you like my hat?". The play time is definitely one of our favourite pass times!

As far as body awareness goes you have discovered your tongue and your feet. You love to stick out your tongue, lick and smack your lips. You also love to hold your feet and pull them close to you. Its so fun to watch you go through these discoveries.

You are now sitting in a high chair and watch mommy cook. You love your high chair and you play in it with your toys. Soon you will eat your first solid foods!

We are so happy and blessed to have you. I still look at your ever day and cannot believe that you are my daughter. I look forward to a lifetime of love and fun we are going to share together. I will do my best to be the best parent, guide and a friend to you.

Love,
Mommy

4 months old

December 29, 2009

My Dear Princess:

Today you are 4 months old and I have no idea where the time went. It seems like yesterday that I held you in my arms for the very first time. You are such an amazing little girl. You are calm and content but also very curious about the world around you. You adapt to new situations quite well and you always know what you want...and what you want is to nap! You are an excellent napper and a great all night sleeper. We have spent our first Holidays together and it was a lot of fun. We took you to the mall to see Santa and you did not protest even one bit. You were calm as always and even tagged at Santa's beard. The photo turned out wonderful and we were so proud of you. What a great little girl you are! We visited 4 different houses with you and you took it all like a pro. You did not mind being held by everyone and took your naps even in the midst of chaos. This little angel is living up to her name. Everyone in the family is in love with you and your smiles.
Thank you for loving us and choosing us to be your parents.

xoxo
Mommy

Three Months Old

November 29, 2009

Dear Angel,

You are 3 months old today. You will be 3.5months on Christmas. As you can imagine we are exceptionally thrilled for the Holidays this year as you are going to be here. Last year on December 23rd I found out that I was pregnant. On Christmas Day we told our families we had a gift for them they could only see in 9 months. I cannot believe its been almost a year since you started to grow in my belly and 3 months since you are in the outside world.

You are learning new things with each passing day. You can also roll over one way, reach for toys, and you can bring your hands together. Ever since you found your voice you love to make new sounds and entertain yourself and us with "talking" and "singing". You are quite a chatterbox and you can get pretty loud too! You also giggle and laugh, which is the most amazing sound in the world. Daddy can make you laugh the most...apparently mommy is not as funny. You are always smiling as you are such a happy and content baby. Others always comment on how beautiful and happy you are. You have beautiful complexion, sweet smile, dark blue eyes and a lot of dark hair. You melt everyone's heart and even random people in the supermarket stop to talk to you.

You are fitting perfectly into 0-3m old clothing and sometimes even into 6month old clothing. You weight at around 14 pounds. You are now double your birth weight! Where did my tiny baby go? You are such an excellent sleeper that we have decided to put you in your crib to see how you would like it. Since you are getting bigger and sleep longer we want to make sure you are as comfortable as possible. You love your crib and you go to sleep at around 10pm and wake up at 9am. You feed and stay up for a bit and then go back to sleep for another hour or two. At night we swaddle you and rock you to sleep. Its amazing to watch you fall asleep in my or daddy's arms every night. In the morning when you wake up you greet us with the most amazing smiles...what a sight to wake up to!

You do very well at play dates and continue to enjoy Mom and Baby yoga. You love hanging out with other babies. Currently you love to hang out with baby Amatiel and baby Nathan who are your closest friends. Your other friends that you like are baby Rowan, baby Sophia, baby Avery, baby Aaoki and baby Toby. You also really enjoy spending time with grandma Eva who spoils you with attention and affection. She is just on cloud 9 to have you as granddaughter. She baby sits you every second Saturday for a couple of hours when I go to teach Prenatal Yoga. Grandma Sharon also baby sits you from time to time and also loves to spend time with you.

My heart is filled with love for you and I will always be grateful for my precious baby girl.
Thank you for being you and for choosing me to be your mommy.

Love,
Mom

Two Months Old

October 29, 2009

My sweet pumpkin pie,

You are two months old today. I cannot tell you enough how much we enjoy spending our time getting to know you, loving you and watching you grow. You are even more alert now and still very curious about everything around you. You want to look at lights, pictures, nature and study people's faces.

You are also making a lot of cooing sounds and are having tons of conversations with others. You love to connect with daddy when he gets back from work. You tell him all about your day with mama. It is so sweet to see you both immersed in a loving exchange. You are daddy's little girl and mommy's sweet angel. I thank you so much for coming to the world and making us a family.

At two months you have done so much discovering. You have came with me to Mom and Baby Yoga classes. You love to look at other babies and listen to meditation music. You even nap sometimes probably because of the music. I really enjoy all the baby yoga routines we do and baby massage. You seem to like when I massage you, stretch your little limbs, stroke your back and kiss and cuddle you as I go through my own practice. Our yoga practice is such a great way to get to know you, your body language and your behaviour. I love that we do yoga together just as we have done for 9 months of pregnancy. I think you are going to be a yoga star!You love going outside and as we go to the park you look at the sky and the trees. Then you fall asleep being rocked by the steady rhythm of a moving stroller. I smile at you and talk to you the entire time. I am so happy and fulfilled. I cannot belive that I actually sing to you and you don't mind. I love holding you. I love seeing wonder in your eyes as you observe things.

You started to sleep longer. You let us sleep through the night and give us 7-9hours of uninterrupted sleep. It feels good to know you enjoy your rest and trust us-so do we! I still continue to love sleeping with you. As we fall asleep I hold your little hand and you look so tiny in our big bed. I love waking up and seeing your little face next to mine. Its such a great feeling to see you first thing when I wake up. You still never cry and only get fussy sometimes but we are very good with knowing your needs. You just make it so easy for us. All you need is love, food and sleep and you are happy. Such low maintenance baby you are!

If I have learned one thing over the years is that nobody enjoys tired, stressed out and overwhelmed mother. I am so happy to be able to give you fresh and energized self. You can be secure and stable knowing that your mom is thriving too on this journey of motherhood.
Thank you for being you, for choosing us to be your parents, for making our lives richer and deeper on all levels. I will always do my best to guide you with love and patience on your path.

Love always,
Mom

One month old

September 29, 2009

My sweet little girl,

You have been with us for a month. When you were placed on my chest for the very first time and covered with a warm blanket my heart melted and I knew that I have truly never loved that deeply before. As I embraced you and whispered the words of welcome I felt the undeniable bond between us. I also wondered who is my little girl going to become? How is she going to grow? What personality will she have? And I knew in that moment that our journey has just began.

Today you are one month old. I cannot believe that you have been with us for four precious weeks. I love your presence in the outside world. You are so cute, cuddly and amazing. Your skin is the softest thing I have ever touched. I love the way you smell and the way you sound. You have gotten to experience so many things. You have been in your stroller when we have taken you for a beautiful summer walks. You have taken many bubble baths with me and you love the water. You are just fascinated with how it feels to be submerged in the warm water. You have been in your princess like swing, in the baby carrier close to my heart and in the bassinet. You do not like to sleep in the bassinet and prefer to sleep with us. We actually love sleeping with you as we have more time to bond and to respond to your needs better. I have tried to have you in the bassinet and really did not like it myself. After being so close to each other for 9 months having you sleep away from me is something I cannot enjoy.

We have watched you grow and get stronger every day. You have an amazing head control and you are very strong. You love kicking and stretching your legs and you observe everything around you. You are very curious about everything. You only cry briefly and not very intensely when you are hungry. You have a lovely and peaceful energy.

You have met all of the family and friends except for your grandpa Arman who will be visitng from the Philipines in the Spring. You are so lucky to have 3 grandmas and 3 grandpas. They are all so crazy about you. My mom and your grandma Eva is just over the moon with her first granddaughter. My dad and your grandpa Les cannot take his eyes off off you and constantly smiles at you. Your grandma Sharon is happy because you are her first granddaughter and third grandchild. Your cousins Chase and Brayden already love you and want to play with you every time they visit. We have to tell them that you are a very tiny baby and will play with them when you get a bit older.

I am so lucky to be your mama. The past month have been full of little surprises, smiles, joys and laughter. Even though there is sleep deprevation and an overwhealming sense of responsibility what I will remember most is how you have transformed our lives into that of enormous joy and love. I know its a cliche when you hear people say that when you have a child you love like you have never loved before but it is so very true. My heart has grown and expended and continues to expend even more with each day. Baby girl, I love you so much and I thank you so much for choosing me to be your mama.

Love,
Mommy