Personality at 3 weeks old

Your feet and arms never stop moving.  You're always making faces, especially in your sleep.  You've been really attentive from the moment you came into this world.  You focus as best you can on whoevers talking, and follow my voice as well as Isaac's whenever we talk to you.  We didn't expect that for a little while yet, and it makes us smile every time to see.  Yesterday you were laying on Grandma G's chest and you started bobbing your head around a bit.  You'll be holding it up on your own in no time.  Isaac put you on your stomach on our bed last weekend and you moved your legs like a little frog.  We're in trouble once you start crawling!  If this keeps up, you'll be up and at it in no time.  Isaac walked early at 9 months but I was so late with crawling and walking (almost 15 months) that I had to see a specialist to make sure nothing was wrong with my back!  Turns out I was just lazy, and eventually became a runner, so you just never know how!

You have a nice full head of hair, but not too much like those babies that come out with crazy afros and mohawks!  You have more hair than Morgan lol, your six month old cousin (who you haven't met yet).  Sometimes baby hair falls out and grows back in later.  I hope this doesn't happen because I'm in love with yours.  Dark with a little girl when it gets wet.  I forsee thick, dark, curly hair.  It's in both of our families.  Your eyes are a reeeeally dark grey-blue but they'll probably change.  I love the colour now, though.  You have long eye lashes like Isaac (I hope that stays too!) and big feet like me.  Sorry, kiddo.  Hopefully you'll grow into those.  Everyone who looks at you says you look like me.  Neither Isaac nor myself can see it yet.  Time will tell.  Both Grandmas have very strong genes, so it'll be interesting to see what you get from whom.

Personality-wise, it's still too early to see.  You only cry for food though, which is wonderful.  It's so easy to tell what you want at any given time.  Of course you have your moments as we all do, but 99% of the time if you're upset, it's because you're hungry.  You sleep through dirty diapers and puke, and make a face (if anything) if you have gas.  We're currently struggling to get you to burp because you've been eating until you puke for the last few days.  Hopefully you'll learn your limit soon and stop yourself before you have too much.  Grandma H was bouncing you on her knee yesterday and you let out two good burps on your own, so I know you have it in you!  Once you learn to burp regularly I think you'll sense when you're full a little easier.  As for sleep, you are a solid sleeper like me!  It's great.  You sleep for 3-4 hours at any given time (day and night), wake up to eat, I'll change your diaper, and you're out again for another 3-4.  We actually struggle to wake you up if we need to.  Once you're out, you're out!

You love to stretch out, especially laying on your back on the couch.  If we take you out in the stroller or truck, or if you've been sitting in your chair, you're happy as can be once we set you down to get a good stretch.  You arch your back really far and even tip your head toward your back so your body is in a total U shape.  You also enjoy the bath, which we do every other night because you sleep well afterward.  If Daddy's here, he's actually been getting right in the tub with you (since I still can't bend over that far) in your pink Winnie the Pooh tub (from Cody, Shawna, and Chris from Ottawa).  I fill it up and check the temperature with the turtle toy (from Sarah from Ottawa), wash your face, then strip you down and put you on your little hammock in the tub, and Daddy washes you up.  You've fallen asleep on us a few times, and never cried.  You don't like getting out sometimes, but I don't blame you.  It's cold!  We try and make it as warm as possible, and if we're fast enough with the towel, blanket and clothes, you don't cause a fuss.

I can't imagine the person you'll become.  I hope you're motivated, funny, care-free and fun-loving like Isaac.  I hope you're honest, not afraid to talk about your problems, and enjoy school like me.  I hope you set goals for yourself and don't let anything stop you from pursuing them.  I hope you're smart about relationships, you wait for the right person, and when you find that one, I hope you don't hold back.  I hope you don't settle for anything less than the best and one day find a man as good to you as Isaac has been to me.  I hope you learn to use your words (not your fists) in an argument in a way that proves your point, without being cruel.  I hope you're not afraid to come to us, your cousins, and/or your aunts or uncles for help, advice, a laugh, or a shoulder to cry on.  I hope you ask a lot of questions and want to learn about everything, even when your asking over and over and over starts to drive Mommy and Daddy crazy.  I hope you understand that when we ask you not to do something, it's for your own good.  One day you'll discover that we know this because we tried to do the exact same thing, and I understand that once you know this you'll one day throw it in both of our faces.  That's ok.  I hope you understand that Mommies and Daddies make mistakes too, and sometimes we've also had to learn our lessons the hard way.

I hope you like Peanut Butter.  I hope you don't like tomatoes, because Isaac and I don't, so we never buy them.  I hope you listen to all kinds of music like we do.  I hope you find a hobby you love, like guitar or soccer.  We won't push anything on you that you don't want to do, but extra-curricular activities are a great way to learn about yourself and meet kids your age.  I hope you have a teacher that you will never forget.  I hope you like the outdoors.  I hope you can appreciate a good book.  When you learn to read, however, I hope you're not as anal as I am about proper grammar and spelling.  It's a good thing to know but it drives other people crazy sometimes.  I hope you enjoy having time on your own as well as with family and friends.  While we all hate small towns at some point in our lives, I hope you always remember where home is.  I hope you want to travel and explore different places, learning about other lifestyles, and cultures.  I hope you love to laugh until you cry, but know when it's appropriate to be serious.  I hope you're lucky enough to have the same friends for as long as Mommy has.  I've known Uncle Laine, Uncle Vaughn, and Aunt Kelly since Kindergarten!  I hope you're not scared of thunderstorms like me.  If you are, Daddy will be here to show you that you're okay.

It scares me to think that one day you'll learn of all the bad people in this world.  I hope you know that bad people can sometimes pretend to be good, and look like anyone else.  I hope you stay safe and never run into a bad person.  You might think nothing bad would ever happen in a small town but crazy things can happen anywhere, and unfortunately, there have been bad people here that you'll hear about one day.You just have to remember that for every bad person there are thousands of good ones who are there to help you and love you.  I went to school to learn how to put these bad people away, and make sure they can't hurt anyone else.

I hope you learn that you have to work for what you want in life; it isn't just given to you, and sometimes it won't always work out the way you want.  When you're older and think that you're in this alone, you're not.  I've been there.  Isaac's been there.  You might get fired from a job.  You might fall for a boy who likes someone else, or you might have your heart broken in a relationship.  You might break a bone.  A girl in your class might be your best friend one day, and talk about you the next.  I hope none of these things ever happen to you, but if they do, don't be afraid to talk to someone about it.  Growing up can be hard, but we've all gotten through it.

I hope you never experience a death of a loved one, especially like I did growing up.  One day you'll learn about Wyatt, Tristan, Drew, Erin, Dave, Mrs. Foster, Mrs. Cassibo...The list goes on, sadly.  I'll take you to Wyatt's Memorial Chainsaw Challenge and I'm sure his sister Whitney will be babysitting you one day.  I'll take you to Erin's Memorial Baseball Tournament and the ALS Walk that we do for Dave.  You'll learn why Mommy never wants to see you near the green bridge in town.  When you're in third grade, I'll read you "The Witches" like Mrs. Foster did to me...Death is something a child should never have to experience, but all of these people have left me with stories to pass along to you.