Dear Camryn

Your Daddy & I started this blog for all of our friends and family so they could watch you & my belly grow, and as a "journal" that I could someday share with you. I am printing this blog and making it into a book that you & I can someday read together, and probably laugh over. This post will start the 2nd book and will be all about your first year. The blog is no longer for friends & family (but they can still read it), this blog is now for YOU. This is my on-going love letter to you, my sweet Camryn Reese!

Dear Camryn,

You are 4weeks old today, and everything about you is growing and changing faster than I could have ever imagined! There are so many things that Daddy & I love about you...

Daddy calls you his June-bug because you're our June baby, and I call you Camryn-bug. You have many other nicknames...

When you're hungry your arms punch and flail like you're swimming and you try to latch onto my lips when I kiss you, and you suck on the tip of Daddy's nose. You kick like you're riding a bike when we change your diaper and you've been known on more than one occasion to shoot (and I do mean SHOOT) poop onto the floor. You have also earned yourself a reputation as Great-Grandpas "gassy girl", and he makes toot jokes every time he sees you.

You are so alert and observant! You turn your head and look anytime Daddy starts talking, and you'll even wake up from a deep sleep and open one eye if he talks to you. You watch and listen when anyone talks to you, and coo as if you're holding a conversation. You are very talkative, you even make noises in your sleep and "Mmmm" the entire time I have you in a wrap or sling. You don't go more than a few minutes without making a noise.

You started to focus on objects, especially faces around 2 weeks old, and follow them when they move. You can stare at our ceiling fans for hours, they put you into a trance.

You smile constantly! I love waking up to you at 4am when you're smiling and waiting to be fed. You always smile when I "motorboat" my lips or beep your nose. You are truly the happiest and most calm baby.

You began holding up your head the very first night in the hospital and shocked even the nurses. When I hold you against my chest you lift your head to stare at me and hold it up for sometimes 30+ seconds. Nana & Papa were so impressed by your strength that they nicknamed you "Super C"! We do tummy time everyday even though it's not your favorite, you'd much rather lay on our chests.

You hardly ever cry. I can count on my fingers the number of times that you've actually cried, and it's only when you're cold or hungry. You hate being cold! Aunt Reese bought you a diaper-wipes warmer and you love it, it made diaper changes enjoyable for you. You also love warm baths, especially when I let you join me in my bath. I enjoy taking baths with you too...except when you poop in it.

I love that when we lay you on your back you throw your arms out like an airplane, and when you fall asleep you always put your arms above your head like a touchdown. You love to lay on your side and spoon with me, it puts you to sleep almost instantly, and then I roll you onto your back. You are the Queen of stretching! I love watching you throw up your arms, kick out your legs, and push up your belly as you stretch out in my arms. Even your face stretches! I know what all those kicks were from when I was pregnant!

You get the hiccups at least 2-3 times a day, and they make you miserable. You seem to get them after feedings, and you end up spitting up your meal, and you turn into an "angry hungry bird" as Daddy says. You really are a hungry bird, you love eating! Somedays I can't get anything done because you are wanting to eat every hour. Your pediatrician was very impressed by your weight gain on your 2 week checkup. You are fitting into your newborn clothes perfectly now, and even some of your 0-3 month onsies fit. Grow baby grow!!

You claw at your face constantly so you wear mittens almost everyday. I try to file your nails everyday but you pull your hand away....this will have to change because we'll have mommy/daughter spa dates someday and manicures are a must! :)

You have a "stork bite" on the back of your neck, and a small birth mark on your ear that's similar to Daddy's. Almost everything about you is similar to Daddy, you are a mirror image of him. Your eyes are a dark shade of blue still, but I think they'll become a light brown, just as I had dreamed they would be when I was pregnant with you. You have my feminine upper lip, and the same button nose that I had in all my baby photos. We can't wait to see who you look like when you get older, but even more, we can't wait to see you develop a personality!

You've started sleeping at night for about 8-10 hours, and wake up every 2-3 hours to eat and be changed. Some mornings around 4-5am you struggle to fall back to sleep, but you usually just lay in bed with me quietly and look around until you're tired again. You are always happy and full of smiles in the mornings, that's when you're the most fun and the time when Daddy steals you from me! Some mornings we sleep in together after Daddy's woken up for work, and instead of sleeping I just lay and watch you. I love when you smile and start laughing in your sleep, I wish I knew what you were dreaming about.

There are a million more things that are adorable about you, but these are just a few of my favorites. You have brought an indescribable amount of joy to our lives and completed our little family! I never knew I could love anything more than I love your Daddy, until you!

Love,
Mommy