6 Months (and 1 week)

Dear Claire/Biscuit,

You turned 6 months old a week ago, and while I can't believe time has gone by so fast, I also can't believe we've only known you for half a year. You're such a part of our little family, how can it be that you weren't here smiling at us last Christmastime?

Your 6-month check-up went very well. You gave everyone at the doctor's office your usual round of smiles and you wowed Dr. P with your sitting and baby push-up skills. You've thinned out a teensy bit, at least according to your growth chart stats, but you still look marvelously biscuit-y to me! You're in the 90th percentile for height (27" long, or 2' 3" tall), the 75th for weight (17 lbs. 14 ozs), and your head is off the charts.

Clairebear, you just kill me. There's so many things I want to say to you, but mostly I just flip through your pictures and want to go wake you up and bring you back downstairs so I can snuggle with you and watch you smile.

You have so many smiles, most of them big and all of them fabulous.

YOU are fabulous Claire. Your daddy and I joke all the time that we always knew we wanted children, and we now know we like toddlers an awful lot, but we had no idea how much we liked babies. You are so fun and so easy and you give us so much. Your brother thinks so too. This is what I found last Saturday morning when I went to get you out of your crib:

We heard you making your little wake up noises, and started discussing who's turn it was to go get you, but then we heard your brother go in your room. He does that sometimes. He sings and dances for you, and sometimes even reads you books, and your daddy and I just lay in our bed downstairs and listen to the two of you laughing through the monitor. It is quite simply the best way to spend your first few waking minutes in the morning. After listening for a little while, I headed upstairs. But when I cracked open your door, I had to run downstairs to grab my camera. Your brother was holding up his color flashcards and saying, "and this is a RED APPLE."

He loves you so very much Claire. He calls you "my baby" (or more often, "my biscuit") and he comes to visit you every day in your class at daycare. You two are quite famous at our little neighborhood center. He goes on walks with you around the playground, and if his preschool class is on the section of the playground next to your room, your teachers put you in your bumpo so you can watch him out the window. He does dances for you and shows you his treasures (lately, giant acorns). He is very proud of you and loves to introduce you to people around us in stores. He likes to tell you to eat your food so you can be a big kid like him and he likes to tell your daddy and me things that you want in case we can't figure it out for ourselves.

As for you, you love pretty much everything. Any smiling face, any eye contact, any friendly sound. You love to squawk and squeal and we have long conversations with you at dinner. You chew on EVERYTHING, but your favorite things are your brother's old squeaky blocks and the figures from our new nativity set. The camel is especially delicious.

You also love your baths and eating peas. Peas are your very favorite thing in the whole world and you quite literally dive into the spoon when you're eating them. You love when we hold you and spin around in circles. You love to be tickled. You love anything that involves your big brother. Your adore your daddy- even hearing the word "daddy" makes your hands flap and your ever-present smile grow bigger. Really, you love being part of our family -- dinners, errands, reading stories, walks, car rides- you're just a happy girl.

You have every single one of us wrapped around your little finger and you don't even abuse the privilege. I can't tell you how healing the last 6 months have been for your daddy and me, Claire. To have you- so easy and happy, with so few tears and so much sleeping- it's healed us in places we didn't realize were still broken.

I'm sitting on our couch right now, looking at our four stocking hanging above the fireplace and I just don't think I've ever been happier in my life. We love you Clairebear.

Love,
mama