3 Month Letter

Dear Queen B, 

"Let me be your ruler.

You can call me Queen B, 

and baby I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule. 

Let me live that fantasy."

-Lyrics from "Royals" by Lorde

This is a song that came out this summer, and your Dad and I have been singing it like it is our family's theme song.  We are The Royalls after all.  And you are our Queen B.  

What a month it has been.  

I cannot believe summer is already over.  I spent all of last year preparing for the summer. You were due to arrive at the very beginning of summer, and all I could think about while pregnant was what an amazing, life changing summer it was going to be.  I had thought of all these wonderful things we were going to do together in the Venice, CA summertime.  I envisioned us walking to the beach everyday with rainbows and butterflies and hearts and happy music.  And while the summer wasn't a fantasy land...it came pretty darn close.  

This month we continued hanging out with the Mama Tribe.  The boys in the group are already vying for your attention.  You are going to be a heartbreaker.  We have hung out with friends a few times. Your dad went to Vegas over Labor Day Weekend, leaving you and I to ourselves for 3 whole days!  We survived and you enjoyed your first College Football Saturday cheering on your Cowboys to a win over Mississippi State.  Your daddy and I had our first date night!  We went to a restaurant in Santa Monica for dinner and drinks where we celebrated our friends' Erik and Justin's birthday.  We left you at home with Princess the Doula for 3 whole hours!  She had you asleep when we came home at 9 pm and you slept until 5 am!  We could have stayed out all night if I hadn't missed you so much.

Our family experienced the worst kind of heartache this month.  Your cousin, Lillian, left us to be an angel too soon on August 17.  While your Daddy went to be with family in Oklahoma, your aunt Lolo and cousin Genevieve came to stay with us in California. This was the best medicine for my heartache. Something I will always try to teach you will be the importance of being there for your family.  

You keep growing! So fast! You can already wear your baby Toms (see above) which I thought were for when you started walking!  You are so much more about playing and being awake these days.  You kick your legs at lightning speed.  I thought this was normal until your Aunt Lolo saw you doing it and said, "Does she always kick her legs like this?".  You constantly have your hand in your mouth.  Sometimes I think you're starting to teeth, but you have not given us too much extra fussiness...so maybe not.  I did take your pearl bracelet off because I kept thinking it was going to burst in your mouth.  Your eyes are still blue.  You smile and laugh.  Your laugh sometimes sounds like you are croaking in your throat.  It is funny!  You love to be outside and stare at the sky.   

You enjoy tummy time a little more now.  You are better at it at least.  You can hold your head up real strong.  It is only a slight bobble head.  I felt like you were getting bored with the birds in your bouncy seat, so we made a Target trip to get a "gym" mat.  It is a blanket on the floor with some toys arching over it.  You like the mirror on this toy most of all, and there have been moments where you halfway rolled over.  Any day now!  You can bring your hands together, and you have found your feet.  You will stick your feet up in the air while on your back and are fascinated.  I still wear you around in the wraps, but you are starting to get annoyed when you are in the wrap facing me for too long.  You are an adventurer and want to see out!  I will have to figure out how to face you forward in the wrap soon!

One thing you are already obsessed with is the iPhone.  You see alot of it because I am taking so many pics. I rarely can catch you in the act of smiling or laughing.  You will just make a serious, focused face as soon as I hold up the phone.  We have started to put you in your crib more.  It makes me sad though.  I like it when you are in bed next to me =).  You have even slept from 8pm - 5am on more than one occasion.  Your dad will get you in the middle of the night if you cry from your crib and bring you to me.  You will nurse and fall  back asleep.  We also set up the cosleeper which is like a crib that attaches to our bed.  I will sometimes put you in there or just keep you snuggled up next to me.

first cowboy outfit! 

this is the day we said a prayer for Lillian at the beach 

You still like to sleep on your side in c-formation.  You must still be getting out all the kinks from being curled up inside of me for so long because you kick and stretch like CRAZY!   Your hair is growing back thicker on the top so your old man look is not as noticeable =) Somedays you look blonde, somedays brunette, and somedays strawberry blonde!  Time will tell.  You have a little birthmark on your left leg that has been fading since birth.  I wonder if you will still have it when you are older...

We spend a lot of time outside.  We are looking forward to our first camping trip with you.  I think we will be able to do it soon!  I really think you are going to like it. I started going back to the chiropractor and doing pilates.  While I am getting worked on, the girls at the front desk love to hold you and pass you around.  You are quite the flirt when you want to be.  You gave me a good 40 minutes of pilates before you lost it.  I am trying to schedule them at night, so your daddy can stay with you.  We also walk to the park most days, even if we don't stay at the park.  It is a nice 1.5 mile walk.  

You are at about a bath a week.  We use the sunflower bath that fits in the sink.  You love bath time!  You have never cried during bath time.  Not once.

One thing in our routine that has been the most consistent has been your morning nap.  You wake up anywhere from 6:00-7:30 and you are usually ready for a nap at 9:00 on the dot.  I will bounce you over my shoulder with Ripple and Brokedown Palace playing on the iPhone.  You are usually out before Brokedown Palace even starts.  You love these lullabyes.

Even though it is sad that your first summer is over, I feel myself getting excited for your next set of firsts:  football season, oklahoma, halloween, thanksgiving, cooler weather, camping, christmas, and on and on. At the same time, I keep reminding myself to live in the moment and to not plan too much for the future or reminisce about the past.  Each moment is fleeting, now more than ever before.

Love you so much,
mama and dada