Ellis :: Letter :: Month Five

Dear Ellis,

I cannot believe that you are five months old. The last month literally went by in the blink of an eye.

You are smiling and laughing all the time. I love the way you smile with your eyes, and push your tongue up to the roof of your mouth when you do. It’s so adorable. This month you’ve rolled over (from your tummy to your back) and been teething like crazy (but no actual teeth yet). You’ve started to sit up (with pillows all around you) but you don’t mind when you tip over…it actually makes you laugh.

You LOVE to be tickled and held upside down on people’s laps. This month you also tried rice cereal for the first time and you love it. You like to help us bring the spoon to your mouth, and you’re starting to get the hang of the whole swallowing thing. Most of it ends up on your face and bib, but you seem to love it all the same.

In the past month you’ve experienced your first transition into fall. The days have been mostly sunny but it’s starting to cool off in the mornings and evenings. The days are getting shorter so you are going to bed when it’s getting darker and we are usually awake before the sun comes up. Aside from a minor hiccup when you had your first cold (this week), you’ve been sleeping all through the night most nights and this mama is certainly grateful!

We are getting into a routine, taking your brother to school three mornings a week. It has been nice to enjoy some quiet time at home just the two of us (to nap, snuggle, eat, and once a week…to grocery shop). Of course we miss your big brother’s loud playing and energy (he remains your favorite person, and source of entertainment) but the time just us two is very precious. You’re already growing up too fast so I’m trying to cherish these moments when you’re still my “little” (nineteen pound) baby.

This month I’ve been so thankful to God for the gift of your life. It has been so healing to my heart to get to be your mama here on this earth. Before you were born we lost two babies who are now waiting for us in heaven. Have I mentioned that before? After experiencing the pain of not being able to welcome those babies into our family, we wondered if God would ever bless us with another child. We were (and still are) so thankful for your brother Harry, but we wanted to have more than one child. We wanted you so badly, and now that you’re here Ellis it makes me get all teary-eyed because we love you so much. You have made our family more joyful just by being you. You have shown us God’s gracious mercy and love…and we are certainly having more fun now that you’re around.

Every month you and Harry are able to interact more and more. As much as I’d like for you to stay my baby forever, I am eagerly anticipating the energy and excitement that will come when you’re able to crawl, walk, and eventually run to keep up with your big brother. I can almost hear the giggles and mischief you two will surely get into already.

Keep being you little mister. We love you times a billion!

Love always,

Your Mama

38/52 (2016)

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Letter :: Ellis :: Month Four

Dear Ellis,

Well mister…I’m finally sitting down to write this letter and you’re already four-and-a-half months old. I’ll be taking your F I V E month pics in just a couple of weeks.

Moms always say this, but seriously “where does the time go?”. I cannot believe you are so old. You are such a little love these days. This month you started to grow attached to “lovies”. You like to play with and chew on them, but you especially love to snuggle them when you’re tired. You fall asleep best with a blanket or lovie by your face and your thumb in your mouth. YEP. That’s right…this month you became a thumb sucker. Not only is it the most adorable thing ever (I take pictures of you sucking your thumb almost every day because it’s just so cute), but it also helps you sleep. I almost feel guilty admitting this (because I know so many sleep deprived mamas) but you consistently sleep between 10-12 hours a night. I give all the credit to your thumb which soothes you throughout the night until you’re ready to wake up for the day. I have thanked Jesus for the cuteness of it, and the sanity that it has brought me…because, SLEEP!

In other news this month, you are working on your rolling muscles but haven’t quite rolled on your own yet. I help you partially over, but make you do the rest of the work. We shall see if you manage to roll before your brother did (at 8 months, lol). No rush though…we don’t mind keeping you in one spot since we know that as soon as you’re mobile our lives will be a lot crazier (and your brother’s legos will have to relocate from their current location…sprawled all over what has now been named the “lego room”).

Still no teeth, but if the drool and constant finger (as in our fingers) biting is any indication, they’ll be breaking through soon. You love to blow bubbles with all that slobber you’ve got which is fun.

Thanks for being a trooper on our trip to Hawaii! You were so easy-going on two long flights and a week away from home. You enjoyed many naps by the beach and pool. You slept great and even joined your brother for a few swims in your floaty toy. It was a trip we will never forget (sorry you won’t actually remember it, but we took several hundred pics so we can tell you all about it when you’re older).

Oh Ellis, we love you tons. Your fuzzy little blonde hair that’s really starting to grow in is velvety soft. And your eyes are changing, but not to the light blue I expected like Harry’s. They’re kind of a grey, green, hazel color at this point with a dark blue ring around the edge. So the jury’s still out on what color they’ll settle into eventually. No matter what color they end up being, there’s nothing better than making you smile so big that you smile with your eyes too!

Love you times a million,

Mama