Gwen: three months

I have read Dooce’s blog for several years.  I’ve always liked the monthly newsletters she writes to her daughter Leta, who is now five years old.  My mom wrote a similar journal for me chronicling the first months of my life.  I’d like to start something like this for Gwen to look back on – something she can be properly embarassed by when she’s older.

Here goes:

Gwen, you’re three months old!

In the last month, you’ve made a big transition from being a relatively single-minded baby into being a more responsive and interactive little girl.  You smile with delight when you see any new person, but your dad and I live for those beaming grins, especially when you wake up from a nap.

One of those beaming smiles

So far, you don’t look like either of us in particular, but you look a great deal like my father.  Maybe it’s your rounded face?  I joke about it now, but you are so classically pretty that I asked your father after you were born whether he was sure you were the baby that came out of me.  You are so much cuter than your two rather plain (but not unattractive) parents.  We’ve already started to see how your face has changed as you’ve grown even a few months older – and I can’t wait to see what a beautiful girl you’ll be when you’re a few more months or a year down the track.

you and your grandfather

Your grandparents visited us earlier in March, and you took to them right away.  They haven’t had a lot of experience with babies since I was one myself, but they did a great job taking care of you.  We can’t wait to ship you off to spend summers on the farm with Grandma and Grandpa when you’re older.  I hear they’re already teaching the sheep, cats, and chickens all about you.

thoughtful girl

I can’t speak for your dad, but I’ve changed dramatically since you were born.  In an episode of Cosmos, Carl Sagan used an analogy to relate two-dimensional people living in Flatland who get a glimpse of a third dimension to our understanding of additional dimensions beyond our own.  I feel as though I’ve been living in Flatland and I’m seeing the third dimension at last.  There are lovey and protective feelings that I never knew existed before you arrived.  I’m enjoying my time at home with you so much that I can’t fathom yet how I would ever spend days apart, much less several days in a row when I go back to work in December.

Let’s make the most of the time we have together.