Four Month Girl!

Dear Baby Doll,

Here you are, 4 months old, and getting bigger and stronger. We still realize that we are so lucky to have you, and you remind us of this every day. During the last month you have made progress in the car not screaming as much, and you have become very attached to your mom. While this is a good thing, when dad comes home and wants to hold you and take care of you, you've been getting very upset which is unacceptable! :-) However, daddy has come up with a system that works for you, involving letting you scream for a bit, then rocking you until you go to sleep. You
spent all night July 13th with daddy and were very good, only taking a bit to settle down to sleep. You've also become quite the celebrity on the WebCam, getting together with grammy and grampy, Nana, Auntie Paula, and even Uncle Franc and Auntie Cristina in Ecuador.

Unfortunately you had a virus and got sick this month, which was very hard for mom and dad. We took you to the hospital, where all of the nurses were holding you and adoring you. Luckily you got better, but mom and dad definitely knew that something was wrong when you were screaming when we touched you and weren't eating. But don't worry, daddy got the same virus you did, and doesn't blame you for screaming since everything hurt. You have still been playing a lot with mom during the day, and telling us baby stories that we love. You spent a couple of days with Auntie Melissa
who came down to give mom a break, and even met Auntie Kerianne up in Washington. Right now you are up in New York with mom, enjoying time with PopPop, and of course being held by all of the people up in Star Lake. Mom and dad took you up to Baltimore to visit Tasha and Mary, who of course adored you and fed you while we ate and had a great time. You took yet another trip on the train and were excellent the entire time, even with mommy finding her way around Penn Station in New York. Next week you will go to Boston for the first time and meet some of daddy's friends in the
Norries community, and then back to Grandma's and grandpa's for yet another party. Boy, for such a little baby, you've certainly managed to have a lot of parties.

At 4 months you seem to be developing as you should, today was your first day eating cereal and you responded pretty well to it. Right now a challenge is getting you back on your sleep schedule, since while you were sick and in pain you woke up a lot during the night. You have also started rolling over in bed, which scares you since you are just used to being on your tummy. But don't worry, we will help you adjust to it and you will be a pro very soon. As more and more time goes by, and as we get
closer to Auntie Beth's next visit and the time to see Judge Dalton, mom and dad are realizing more and more how much we love you and cannot imagine life without you. You have changed our lives so much for the better, and have brought us all closer together as a family. You should never ever forget that there is not one single thing more important than our family that we have built, and we can only look forward to many many happy days and years together watching you grow and develop into even more of a special girl than you already are. It is a wonderful thing for dad to be able to come home and say "Hi Darlin'" and scoop you up in his arms after a long day at work. It is a wonderful gift to have mom be home with you during the day and watch you develop. Most of all, without question, you are the best part of our life, Little Leah, and will be for a very long time.

All our love,
Daddy and Mama