Swoon & Sigh: 3 months

Dear Veda,

Today you are 3 months old! I was looking back through some of your photos, and it's crazy how much you've already changed. The fragility of the newborn phase has passed. You are much sturdier and stronger now. And you've finally got some good baby chub to squeeze!

This last month things have gotten even more fun. You have really started to babble up a storm. The best is when I put on music and the 2 of us "sing" along together. I took you to a munchkin music class and you LOVED it! You we're all smiles the whole time, kicking your legs and swinging your arms. Of course, you do have your very own personal musician on hand at home. You really love when your dad plays the guitar and sings songs (Neil Young, Loudon Wainwright, the Kinks and Big Star - a girl after his own heart for sure).

You had your first real laugh one night when your dad was playing with you. You've been “talking” for a while now- smiling, cooing, “singing”, etc. but this sounded like a real belly laugh. Was too cute. Of course as soon as I got the video camera out, you stopped. There you are - already teaching me lessons. Life is now, momma. Stop trying to capture it. Just enjoy it. Now...

You have become a bit more independent, entertaining yourself for longer stretches of time. You are really into your farmyard activity mat now. You swat and grab the animals, smiling and giggling the whole time. You also enjoy spending time in your bouncy chair with the wooden toy bar. You spin the flowers and balls and we joke that it looks like you're computing.

In addition to having more hand coordination, you have discovered the joys of sucking on your fingers. You never really took a pacifier the few times we offered it to you. However, we're thinking we may have a future thumb or finger sucker on our hands. It's funny to watch you try and figure it out along the way. I want to help you when you get frustrated, but know that it's something you need to work out on your own ; )

You continue to be a great sleeper (fingers crossed and knocking on wood!!!). You're going to bed a bit earlier- closer to 8:00 and still waking between 3-5. Your napping has become a bit more consistent- mostly in the mornings. Now, you will take a real nap (1.5-2hours) instead of lot's of cat naps.

We celebrated your 2 first holidays this past month- Easter and Mother's Day. We went to an Easter brunch at our friend Scott and Jen's house. It was a lovely spring day and we got to enjoy a lot of it on their gorgeous roof deck! Mother's day we spent with your maternal grandmother (and great grandmother!) in Connecticut. And... yesterday we celebrated my birthday together- going shopping and out to lunch with friends and then finishing the day with dinner with dad. A special day indeed!