Dear Ingrid,

Sorry about last month. We spent your 3 month birthday (and your Daddy’s 31st birthday) (and your Grandma and Grandpa’s 34th anniversary) at the lake, eating sandwiches and cookies and swimming and water-biking and doing all kinds of fun stuff that was far, far, away from Mama’s iBook.  You didn’t like the cold water, so much, but you did like napping in your sun tent, and Mama and Daddy enjoyed going for a bike ride while Grandma and Grandpa watched you sleep. Next summer, you will be big enough to splash around, and maybe even wear a life jacket and go on the bikes with us.

In the last week or so, it seems you’re getting ready to sprout your first tooth. You had some hard nights, where you needed to nurse 5 and 6 times, but you’re getting better, we think. Your nose is runny, and you have a bit of a chin rash, and you really don’t like the snot-sucker at all, but I guess it will be worth it to have your very own tooth. It makes mama a little sad to lose the gummy grin so early, but that’s what mamas have to get used to.

You’ve rolled over a few times, unattended, and out of sight, but we’ve found you on your back once or twice, and we didn’t put you there. (Because you can roll over, and because your head control is so strong, we now feel safe to put you on your belly, which is your preferred position.. just like mama!)

We’ve had to retire some of your first toys. Your bouncy seat has been set aside, in favor of your new exersaucer, and while you haven’t yet exactly figured out is that YOU are moving yourself in a circle, and when you realize you are looking in a new direction, you get very excited. Once you figure out the bouncy-bounce part, I think you’ll be extra-super excited.

This month, mama went back to school and started a new job, which meant that you and Daddy now have more alone time than before, and that you have a sitter once a week. It’s going well, though, and you seem to like Miss Sara okay, and of course you are your Daddy’s number one fan, so any time with him is going to be alright for you! On the weekends, we have been doing family stuff — picnics at the waterfront, hanging out in the hammock, going for walks in the woods — all fun stuff that is so muchbetter with baby Ingrid around.

Your personality is bubbling up every day. You wake up so happy, joining mama and daddy in bed and sitting up against us, smiling so broadly the backs of your ears almost touch, it seems. You love to snuggle, and you love when FatKitty gets on the bed with us. You two are getting acquainted, you both look at each other with fascination, each thinking "If I could fit you into my mouth, I totally would."  FatKitty doesn’t mind it when you grab her fur or her paw, and she loves when she gets a mama-guided ear scratch from baby Ingrid.

You are growing and changing so fast, and sometimes I just want to freeze time, freeze these moments and just stay here forever, soaking in all the joy you find in simple things like the sun through the trees or the first feel of soft fur under your hands. But that’s not what being a mama is about, being a mama is about trying to remember those moments as best she can, and trying to make sure to see the wonder everyday.

I don’t have many (good) pictures this month, having Grandpa’s D70 for so long has spoiled us terribly, but I am trying to take more pictures every day. So, instead of photos, here is a video of your giggle. You laugh like an old man, I think, with a hint of sarcasm.  I always wondered what my baby’s laugh would sound like, when it arrived, and now I know: perfect.

Ingrid Giggles

Love, Mama