California Stars: Letter to my monkey

On Monday you will be four months old. Just thinking this makes my heart flutter. At four months of age, you are 25 inches long, and you weigh nearly 14 pounds, ounces shy of doubling your birth weight. You are both perfectly average and wonderfully extraordinary. Your eyes have transitioned from the stunning violet blue at birth to a deep, dark brown. This is a perfect example of how extraordinarily average you are. Brown eyes are the most common eye color, yet yours have a beautiful hazel-blue twinkle to them, and Daisy I have never loved brown eyes as much as I have loved yours. And, as an added bonus, I now can sing “Brown Eyed Girl” while we dance around the office, cause Daisy “you my brown eyed girl.”

In fact, Daisy you love music. All kinds. We can be frequently found rocking out to “Ramblin’ Man” by the Allman Brothers or “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt” on your Silly Songs CD. The Beatles, Sunday School songs, Johnny Cash and Tom Petty are all found on our playlist. We sing and dance the day away. And when you need to be calmed, it’s always “Miles from Minnesota” from The Lower 48. It might be because of the melodic beat, or maybe because you’ve got Minnesota in your blood. But I secretly believe it’s because you have a wanderlust spirit.

This month Daisy you have gone from a helpless infant to pure baby. You have just begun to roll, not really understanding exactly how you achieve this great feat because you can’t yet replicate it at will and roll with a huge grin on your face, “DID YOU JUST SEE ME MOMMA?” Besides discovering that you can scoot around your blanket, I have recently discovered you are a little daredevil. You love it when your Dad tosses you around or spins you in circles. It makes ME dizzy and makes my heart skip a beat when I see you flying through the air, but it all melts away when these little pint-sized peels of laughter hit my ears.

You have also become ridiculously expressive. We have had several days where you have gone from sun-up to sun-down without crying at all, not one single time. I would love to say that this is because I am a baby whispering genius, but the truth is that you’re actually just very easy to read. I appreciate this. Please keep it up. It will make your adolescence so much easier on your Dad and me.

This month has been a big month for us. We are growing and learning. You have learned all sorts of things like how to stand without wobbling so much or how delicious your fingers taste or how Penelope (your pink lovey) makes you less fussy in the car. And what I have learned is this: I want you to know that you always have been loved. Loved beyond comprehension. Loved without condition. Loved.