My baby love, how has it been nearly a half a year of dreamy you?

It seems each week, you learn something new, show us a bit more spunk, and come into the delightful girl you were meant to be.

You’ve gone from cooing to squeals of delight, you can roll anywhere you’d like to go. You sleep in your nursery like a big girl now. You’ve tasted food and have eagerly leaned in for more. You’ve started to giggle from the tickles of daddy’s beard. You’ve got a grin for nearly everyone.

You are pure sunshine. Your daycare teachers report you smile and grin all day, and we are unsurprised. You can’t resist a smiling face without returning the kindness right back.

And yet, things are going so quickly. It seems I’ve blinked and you are new again. So many things left behind without ceremony. Once, I swaddled you for bed, wrapping the stretchy knit around your tiny body for the final time, and I didn’t know it. Maybe I would have savored it more.

The night time wake ups are starting to be less frequent. And while I know I’ll appreciate the sleep when it returns for me, I can’t say I’ll be glad for the nights rocking you in your nursery, kissing your creamy cheeks, and laying you down gently to be behind us. Your babyhood is for you, my love, but there are moments tucked into it that are especially for me. Pressing your cool face to my lips in the night, streetlights aglow and the house whisper quiet? That is for your mama. How long I longed for this season. And how much better it is than I dreamed, because I never could have dreamed up you.

We can’t imagine life without your grins and cheer, your happy babbles, and your pure sunshine, Charlotte. This Wednesday, when you wake up a half a year old, I will creep into your room in the still-dark morning, I will scoop you into my arms, and I will thank God for the gift of six months of you.

My little love, we can’t wait to see you grow into the person God created you to be.

Love You Forever,
Your Mama

P.S. Thank you to my precious friend Kelly Smits for the gift of crocheted little Wilbur and Templeton. We will cherish them always. A gift that was meant to be.