What a Difference A Month Makes...

Dear Leah,

One month ago, you burst into the world literally kicking and screaming. Our lives have never been the same since. This time a year ago, we found ourselves in the depths of despair, and now we spend our days discussing if either of us ever thought it was possible to be this happy, to love another person this much.

You are growing so fast! No longer a little 7 pounder with scrawny legs, you now break 9 pounds and have gained three-quarters of an inch. You have three chins and your cheeks are threatening to overtake the rest of your face. And as Daddy likes to point out, you are getting a belly! Your hair is most certainly your crowning glory, everyone comments on it still, and it's so soft and fluffy that no one can help running their fingers through it, us included. Your lips are so kissable, and you make the most hilarious faces--impudent, happy, sassy, angry, and let's not forget the so-called "Dum-Dum Face", which your mother takes great delight in (we need to get that one on camera yet!). Your legs are fine and strong, your feet perfect with ten wonderful little toes that get cold at the slightest hint of a breeze. You have razor sharp fingernails that no amount of cutting can tame and what a grip your little fingers have on everything! And let's not forget those lungs--you've got some real firepower behind you when you get vexed! The neighbors claim not to hear you, but we suspect they're just being nice!

Your personality is really something to see! Grown men leave their jobs to come and gaze at you, mechanics, chefs, waiters, they all want a peek and they all say the same thing: "Seeing her makes me want to have another one." Old ladies caress your hair and marvel at your perfect hands, telling Mama about their grandchildren with tears in their eyes. And you're such a good baby, no matter who holds you, you don't kick up a fuss, unless of course it's time for a meal.

Feeding you is such a kick! The happy little sounds you make only when you are eating are something we'll never forget. We love how you get so excited when you're eating that you shake your head back and forth, mouth opening ever wider as if you're trying to suck the entire bottle down your throat. Your post-prandial belches have a true air of satisfaction and make us feel as if the Queen herself could have dined on that bottle with true pleasure.

You are the most special little girl in the world. Being your parents for only a month has already been the biggest privilege of our lives. It was fate that we found each other, but it was destiny that we found you.

All our love,
Mama and Daddy