Penelope Jane 4 months

Today you, Miss Penelope Jane, are four months old.  I can barely believe it has only been four short months that I have held you, for it feels as though our soles have known each other for much longer.  On the other hand it feels as if it were just yesterday that they placed your warm little body on my chest.  Funny how time can seem to stand still yet pass us by in a blink of an eye!

You are such a sweet baby, seriously, you are.  You smile and coo, you barely whimper.

Your best friends are by far your brothers.  Tommy is relentless and is forever kissing you on the mouth and smacking patting your head.  He really tries to be gentle and you are not even bothered a smidge by his love pats.  You also never seem to grow tired to his one liners "LOOOOOK at to me BABY" he screeches at you day after day, hour after hour.  And you sweet thing, just look up at him with your big toothless grin.  You are the dotting sister.

And Charlie, oh sweet Charlie.  He is so funny and always wants to know if your eyes are open.  He feels so connected with you because you both have those brilliant blues.  He loves to lay down with you on Daddy and Mommy's bed, snuggled up.  He is so gentle, always asks if he can rub your soft furry head and wants permission to play with you while you are in one of your contraptions.  He is famous for wanting to get you toys and goes to great lengths to pick out just the right one that he is sure you will like.  He is my big helper and often fetches diapers or even extra set of clothes.....for all those blow outs you are known for ;)

You enjoy your weekend dates with Daddy when I am catching up on my zzzz's.  He read you your first book, though he said you had little interest :)  He walks you around the room (just like he did your brothers) and calls you "honey".  He is always concerned that you are healthy and doing well, and he thinks that your eyes are pretty.  You have him wrapped, tightly, around your little finger!

There are so many things you are doing these days.  Kicking and laughing, you have found your fingers and want desperately to sit up.  You are talking more and tell me lots of stories.  You love the bath but hate with a passion the lotion that follows.   You weigh just about 17lbs and are in the 95th percentile or above on weight, height and head circumference (can you tell we just got back from the Pediatrician?!). You are reaching for things and know your name.  You smile all the time.

You are a hungry girl and just recently have started to get on a schedule of eating every 2-3 hours instead of every 30, 45 or 60 minutes.  You also just recently (4 days ago) went through a huge growth spurt in where you ate ALL.DAY.LONG and then 2 days later you SLEPT.ALL.DAY. long.  Within that 48 hours you outgrew all your clothes....no joke!  We just started you on oatmeal cereal and bananas.  At this point you could take it or leave it.  The bananas you find mildly interesting.

At this point you are taking three short (45 min.) naps a day and putting yourself to bed by 6pm.  You often will fall asleep nursing and if not then you fuss yourself to sleep.  It usually only takes a minute or two and then you are in sweet slumber.  You continue to wake two or three times a night and are up for the day by 7am.  I still enjoy those middle of the night feedings and know that before long you will sleep soundly and not need me to comfort you in the wee hours of morning.

It is amazing to me that our Heavenly Father choose you for us.  He knew that you were exactly what we needed.  He knew that your smile would warm our hearts when there was so much sadness.  He knew that your snuggles would be a welcome embrace.  He knew that those middle of the night feedings would make me grateful and show me just how much He loves us.  We feel blessed to have you as our daughter and you bring our family so much joy, so much love and have brought us even closer together.

We love you Penny!