Five Month Old Baby!

Sweet Leah,

We can hardly believe it has been 5 months since the first moment we saw you and held you. The time has flown by, but this past month in particular has been an absolute whirlwind. You have been so patient with all the changes we underwent, far more patient than I (your mother) was during much of the time.

The month started out in New York, where we visited your grandfather while he was recovering from his heart attack. You made a million friends on the train ride up there, and a million more while we were home in Oswegatchie. It was very special for me to walk you through the rooms of the house where I grew up and introduce you to the people who meant so much to me.

You also got to test out two new modes of transportation: Greyhound buses and city rail. We took the bus from New York to Boston and traveled the city by T. You made many friends on the bus as well, and I think you enjoyed the trip around Boston. You barely made a squeak as we walked the Freedom Trail, and you seem to enjoy sitting in your car seat in the stroller where you can watch me as I push you all over the place. You had lots of fun at Daddy's Norries convention where you screamed during Mommy's speech and it took four women to finally settle you down after more than 30 minutes! You have, in general, become a little bit less happy to be around people you don't know--you cried a lot this month visiting friends and family. This has been a little bit hard not only on Mommy (who would welcome a rest for her arms!) but also on everyone who wants to love and hug you. Towards the end of this month, you seem to be getting better, but you are certainly very selective about who you want to spend time with. You even went to spend an afternoon with Wendy and the boys, and seemed to enjoy yourself very much, although you slept your head off when you got home! Towards the end of the month, you started getting along better with Daddy too--yesterday you sat with him for nearly 3 hours without so much as a peep! This makes him very happy, as he has been very patient but has had a hard time with your apparent distaste for him.

After the trip to Boston, you got to go back to Rhode Island and visit Daddy's parents. There was a big party for you there and people came to visit from 3 states just to see you! It was very special for you to meet Mommy's friend Lynn who is also adopted and Mommy and Daddy's friend Denise who would like to adopt. We were happy that you accepted cuddling from both of them! The entire community there spoiled you absolutely rotten--you received many wonderful gifts! You also got to know your cousin Ethan better.

By the time we came home, we'd been away for 20 days and we were all exhausted. Daddy and I sat down and figured out that in your short life, you have visited 11 different states already! (New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) We are planning only one more trip, this one in October, and it will cover 4 more states. Then you are finished travel, we promise! Mommy for one is totally over it! But you are so patient and such a good baby that you take the worry and burden off it for us.

As soon as we got home, you had to go to the doctor and survive another round of booster shots. Still, you are over it almost as quickly as you get upset! You weighed over 15 pounds and were 23 1/2 inches long. We are waiting for you to hit the magical 2 feet mark, but I bet you are there by now! We can see a couple little white bumps in your sweet little mouth and we suspect you might well be developing some teeth! You are drooling unbelievably, so it wouldn't surprise us in the least if that were the case.

This has been a big month in your development, too! You are starting to sit up on your own for 5-10 seconds at a time before tipping over. You have relaxed your fists, and now are grabbing things with your hands and putting them in your mouth. You grab some things we would rather you didn't, like Mommy's drinks and the tissues that have an entertaining way of continuing to pop out of the box. You have started to eat solid foods. You have a new exersaucer and you play with all the toys now, making them play music or attempting to chew on them. It is a new favorite in addition to the busy chair and the monkey mat!

You are eating real food now and while you do not like bananas (good girl!) or rice cereal, you seem fine with applesauce and squash! We can't give you 6 ounces of formula yet as you have a tendency to spit up if you eat that much, but it doesn't stop you from wanting it. You have graduated away from the newborn nipples on your bottle and are using bigger bottles now than before. You still like to hold them when you think of it, but nothing replaces snuggle time with Mommy.

You are making new sounds, most especially your "Pteradactyl scream" which you will do until you cough, and then you giggle at how loud you can get. Your laugh is the best laugh in the whole world. You also are babbling and chatting up a storm, which is fun. You love when we make silly sounds to you!

Watching you grow and change is so rewarding. Your personality is developing into a total ray of sunshine. We are still stopped by people in restaurants who interrupt our dinner just to tell us how sweet and cute you are. We know we have the most precious gift of all--the gift of you and we treasure you every day in every way. We couldn't have chosen a better daughter. We love you.

Mama and Daddy

Updates!

Ok, it's been a couple weeks and I'm going to try and be better about updating a bit more regularly. However, please don't feel shy about inviting yourself over to visit Leah if you haven't gotten to see her yet! Just drop me an email or contact me over at Facebook and we'll set up a time!

So we had Leah's 4 month appointment on August 24th--a bit late but better late than never. She had her next round of booster shots which was not pleasant, but we got through it. I'm hoping we're almost done with them! She weighed in at 15 pounds, 1 ounce and was 23 1/2 inches long. She has developed a little rash, but it seems to be clearing up. They swabbed her throat for strep just in case the mystery virus was still hanging on and man did she hate that! But the results came back clear and the rash is clearing up, so we're chalking that one up to heat and drool.

On August 28th, Beth our social worker came by the house for our second post-placement follow up visit. It was a nice visit all around, I was proud to show her Leah's room, which was a rabbit hutch the first time she was here. She loved it and loved the color, which made me feel great! We had a great visit--talked about Leah's health, about relations with the birthmom, any issues coming up relating to stress and parenting, and that was about it. She was telling us about some hot springs she had taken her son to when he was little and needed some soothing and I later asked her about it again and she told me where they were. I've looked them up on line and found the B&B and resort where they are located and Michael and I have decided to go there for our anniversary next year.

Other than that, Leah is doing just great! I can't believe another month has flown by almost--in one week she'll be 5 months old and I'll be writing another letter. Sheesh, they weren't kidding when they said time goes by so quickly. It's breath-taking. Her development and growth changes every day. Occasionally now, she will sit up on her own for a few seconds at a time--like 10-15 seconds before tipping over. She has got the biggest, happiest smile and amazes me every day.

In other news, my friend Donna is finishing up her homestudy. I'm so excited for her and hope her journey goes as smoothly as ours has been! Congratulations, Donna! Can't wait to meet your baby!