5 Months - just a little late

Dear Addilyn, 

This last month has gone really fast and has been so much fun.  This has always been my favorite time of the year, but has been even better with you here.  We've been really busy this month and have gone to lots of new places.  You have loved it!  You are so social and love being around people.  Every time someone looks at you, you do this little giggle and shrug your shoulders and give the biggest smile.  It is wonderful! I hope you keep loving people.  

One of the parties you got to go to this year was a Cowboy and Indian party.  We all got to dress up and you were the cutest little Indian ever.  I had so much fun making your costume and getting to dress up as a family.  

We are so lucky to have lots of friends to play with.  You're especially lucky to have lots of girlfriends your age.  We've had lots of playdates and this month you have started noticing other babies more and more and I can't wait for you to really play with them.  

This month we celebrated Thanksgiving and clearly we are the most thankful for you this year! We had Thanksgiving at your Grandma and Grandpa's house first and then went to Aunt Sheri's house for a second Thanksgiving and a little Hanukkah celebration too.  

The day after Thanksgiving is always my favorite day of the year and I think you loved it too! I know you won't remember it, but luckily we'll have tons of pictures to show you.  You were so happy even though it was a little cold outside.  We rode on a tractor ride to go pick out our tree and found a perfect one!

This day last year was really scary for us, as I was newly pregnant with you and we had a scare where we thought we had lost you.  It such a hard day and I was so happy to replace those memories with new ones this year.   You have made every tradition we have better and better!

That night we decorated Grandma and Grandpa's tree and decorated ours the next morning.  It was so fun putting up the ornaments and telling you about them.  Soon we will have lots of ornaments for you!  You were much more interested in wanting to eat the ornaments than putting them on our tree.

Your sleep finally started getting a little better at the end of this month.  You are now spending the whole nights in your crib and on a good night you wake up to eat twice and have even stayed asleep until 7:45 in the morning.  We still haven't managed to break you of being swaddled as your flailing arms still wake you up, but maybe next month? 

One of your biggest discoveries this month is that you can blow bubbles.  You blow bubbles all day long.  Even in the middle of the night when I am feeding you.  It is really funny and you are quite proud of your new skill. 

You got to go swimming for this first time this month and you loved it.  We went away for the weekend to a little house in Wisconsin with our friends David, Ally and Ella.  We had so much fun, but I think the best part for you was swimming.  We went at least three times and each time you were so happy in the water.  This made your daddy SO happy, since he loves swimming!

My favorite thing about you is your smile.  You smile ALL the time.  You smile at me, at daddy, Molly, other people, everything!  You even smile when I take your picture.  You may be one of the happiest babies there ever was.  It has been so fun watching your little personality come out and your daddy and I couldn't be more happy with who you are.  

I am continually amazed at how much you are growing and changing every month.  Sometimes I am sad that it is going so fast.  There are days I wish you were a little newborn baby again, but I am also so happy at the sweet, happy, fun little girl you are becoming.  It is so much fun being your mom and I am thankful God picked me for the job! 

Love, 

your mom