A collection of letters...

Over the past 6 months - yes, my little Sprout is SIX MONTHS OLD...TODAY!!!! - I have written a couple of letters to her via Facebook that have elicited a few laughs from friends and family. To commemorate her half-birthday, I am posting those letters on my blog, as well as a new one at the close. Enjoy!

1. Dear Sprout,

Thank you. Sleeping 9.5 hours through the night after a sleep-deprived weekend makes for a very happy Mommy & Daddy...and happy baby, I suppose!

xoxoxo

Mommy

2. Dear Sprout,

Why oh why are you awake at 2:00 a.m.? Did I wake you up from your nap too early, or too late? I think you've been talking with those other babies at mom's group. Just because some of them are still up at this hour doesn't mean you have to give in to peer pressure and do it too! Might be trendy, but Mommy's not too happy about it!

xoxoxo

Mommy

3. Dear Sprout,

Thank you for napping for 2 whole hours this morning, and for being so adorable. You make every day so much fun - especially PJ days where we get to laze around in bed all morning! Love you.

xoxoxo

Mommy

4. Dear Sprout,

If you wouldn't mind, could you please try to sleep through the night tonight? Mommy has to work tomorrow night, and will not have time for a nap tomorrow. Also, going to work and meeting new clients whilst NOT appearing to have been dragged backwards through a bush would be a plus.

xoxoxo

Mommy

P.S. Save the spit-up for Daddy when he gets home tomorrow night, okay?

5. Dear Sprout,

Apparently you didn't get the memo about sleeping through the night. Maybe I'll have to paste it onto that giraffe you seem to spend so much time with these days. Either way, make sure you save your crabbiness for Daddy. He'll be on his own from 6:00-10:00 tonight! But don't let on that I told you to, okay? Our little secret!

xoxoxo

Mommy

6. Dear Sprout,

Would you mind saving some crabbiness for your darling father, who thinks it's a real treat to let Mommy be the one to get 3 hours of sleep when she has to work until eleven tonight? Thanks.

xoxoxo

Mommy

7. Dear monstrous brown furry spiders,

My house is NOT your house, despite the nooks and crannies you can squeeze in and out of. Stay OUT.

Thank you,

C.

P.S. Please don't bite my baby. If you're going to bite anything, choose the dog. She'll bite you back.

Now obviously that last letter was not written for or to my little Sprout, but the content still concerned her. I may, from time to time, just post letters on my blog about random happenstances in my everyday life. They might be funny, they might be serious, or a bit of both. I'm concluding my blog today with a more serious letter to my darling Sprout on the occasion of her half-birthday.

Dear Sprout,

Every morning that I wake up to hear your sweet, scratchy morning voice babbling away to the soother in your hand, you make my heart sing. I cannot believe that you are mine, that you have come so far and grown so much in the past year. From the time you were the teeniest, tiniest Sprout, I loved you with my heart and soul. I hope that you will never doubt my love for you, though I'm sure there will be times that you don't understand that my actions are always driven by love (particularly during your teenage years).

You are growing so rapidly that it takes my breath away to look back at clothing and diapers that we wore on you those first exciting weeks at home. The photos we took of you in the hospital seem like a distant memory. When I look at you now, I see a beautiful, bright little girl that is happier than I can ever imagine being. Everyone should get to witness someone and something so wonderful. Your Daddy and I are absolutely blessed to have you in our lives, and I thank God every day for the opportunity to be your Mommy.

Congratulations on hitting this wondrous six-month milestone, and the many accomplishments you have made thus far. You can already roll over both ways, sit on your own for long periods of time and play, eat at least twenty different foods, almost army-crawl, imitate Mommy and Daddy when they stick their tongues out and blow raspberries at you, and your most recent feat (my favourite so far) - using the back of your hand clapped over your mouth again and again while yelling to make the "wah-wah-wah-wah" sound, imitating Mommy and Daddy's silly tricks they perform for you.

You are brilliant, my Sprout. A bright shining star bringing love, laughter, hope, and faith to all those around you. I cannot wait to see what the next six months will bring, and watch you as you learn and grow through the summer months. There is a world of discovery out there for you - butterflies, trees, flowers, clouds, bumblebees (don't touch!), grass, frogs, and many other wonderful things. I will teach you about what I know, but I will allow you to discover and learn on your own as you begin to move around this crazy world and see it from your perspective.

I love you more than you could ever imagine. Thank you for being on this journey with me, and choosing me as your Mommy. I am so grateful that I get to share my days with such a beautiful, happy little girl. Always and forever, you will be my little Sprout. Happy half-birthday, my darling.

xoxoxo

Mommy