Dear Holly – An Almost-8-months Letter

My Dearest Daughter

I can’t believe I haven’t blogged or written you a letter in so many months. I suppose I’ve just been caught up LIVING this beautiful chaotic life with you instead of blogging about it. Which is a good thing, but I feel now is the time, since you are snoozing peacefully and I have a few spare moments, to bring this whole thing up to date.

You, my dear, are the shining star in my universe. Watching you grow at such an astounding pace has been unbelievable We have our good days (most of them) and our bad (few and far between thankfully) but you and I ride them out together like a rough tide. I’ve done a fair bit of travelling with you and you’ve proven to be a great traveller and a very adaptable tiny human. We did our big trip over east to see your grandparents, and you handled it with aplomb. Five flights in 10 days, and you slept on the planes like a champ. I was so stressed that we’d be the couple with the screaming baby, but you proved us wrong. You spent a week in Tasmania with us and your FuzzyPop and Grandma Linda. It was the first time you’d ever really felt the cold. You spent days with your Pop while your Dad and I attended some motorsport events. Pop loved every minute of it. You slept in a travel basinet with no issues at all. You met a dog for the first time, Pop’s beautiful Labrador Sam, and you cooed and chortled at him with delight.

Then we jetted off to Brisbane to see Grandpa Owen and Grandma Flora, and also Uncle Dan, Aunty Jess and Cousin Elijah. You were patient when being played with by your exuberant 7 year old cousin, and put up with the photo sessions and attention very well. You slept in Elijah’s old cot and loved it, treating it as your own private play area to roll around in. The weather in Brisbane was nice and warm, a treat after the chilly Tasmanian climate. Your grandparents took you for long walks around the local nature reserve, and talked to you about many different plants and animals. You will probably realise later in life the advantages of having an environmental scientist and a botanist as your grandparents. I’m hoping that you will develop a love of animals and the outdoors like me, and that you will be eager to learn more about the world around you, and compassion towards all living things.

You’ve been down to Boddington a few times to see your cousins Amy and Xander. You love the farm and your Aunty Tess loves to grab you for baby cuddles as soon as we see her. You have a wonderful extended family around you, and will have so much fun growing up with your lovely cousins and everyone around you who loves you.

We also travelled down to Dunsborough this month to dogsit for Nanna Maz and Grandpa John whilst they went on holiday. Once again you delighted in their big old Labrador Jake, and had many a smile for him, especially when he approached you and gently licked your face, resulting in squeals of delight from you. We started to learn how to pet animals gently and not grab at them – something we’ve been unable to do with our cat Sabrina as she likes her own space. Your first instinct is still to grab at everything and hold on tight though, so we’ll need some more lessons in that when it comes to animals. You and I spent 10 days in Nans house together, and we had a really nice time. We got to go out walking on the property, see kangaroos in the morning, and I walked with you out to the end of Busselton jetty one morning, a place that holds many dear memories for me. One day when you’re older I’ll take you past my old house in High Street, and regale you with stores of my south west youth.

You’ve made many leaps and bounds in the last 4 months. You still get frustrated when trying to crawl, but you’re a good roller and can pivot on your stomach in any direction. You can sit unaided by yourself for quite a long time, playing happily with your toys. You really interact with your toys now. You’ve started paying a lot of attention to stuffed animals, and your favourite is your grey elephant. You also love the big green dragon, and recently have started grabbing for a simple white teddy bear that one of my workmates gave you. You also LOVE musical toys, we have some singing flowers which are your favourites, but you also love Alfie Bear. We bought you some fabric blocks which I stack up in front of you and you giggle when you knock them down. One day you’ll be able to stack them yourself!

You started eating solids when you reached six months old. You’re a really good eater and rarely turn your nose up at anything – except watermelon. You love almost every vegie and fruit I give you, but your favourites are pumpkin, creamed corn, chicken, broccoli, capsicum, ravioli, avocado, porridge, yoghurt, baby mozzarella cheese, raw mushroom and vegemite toast. You had your first encounter with peanut butter the other day and had no reactions, so we are pretty pleased about that. We feed you a mixture of purees / lumpy mush and finger foods. You love getting your hands dirty and squelching food in your fist. It makes you smile.

You have very strong legs and your favourite activity is still jumping. I’m getting great muscle definition in my arms from  bouncing you so much. I dread the day that you’re too heavy for the Jolly Jumper!  I daresay that when you learn to pull up on furniture, cruise and walk, that there will be absolutely no stopping you!

You’re usually a great sleeper. We have you on a routine of two naps a day (not the one nap routine that you were trying to set!) and it’s working well. That’s IF I can get you down for your second nap. Sometimes I can and sometimes you just want to party! But that’s OK, you just get an early bed time if that happens. You generally sleep through the night, which your Dad and I are very thankful for. We’ve had some rough nights in the past few weeks due to you getting your first cold (poor snuffle nose baby) and teething, but generally we have good sleep going on in this house. You now sleep in your own cot and love having the extra space. Speaking of teething, your very first tooth started to poke its way through just yesterday. You’re doing very well, I know it’s frustrating to be in pain but you haven’t been a complete monster. Only a partial one. And I must say you’re loving all the extra drool, makes for much bigger raspberries!

Holly my love, you’re the best thing I ever did in my life. You’re so big now and have such a cracker personality. Your hair is growing and you keep growing out of your cute outfits, but I love the fact that every morning when we wake up, you’ve grown and developed just a little bit more. I can’t imagine my life without you. I will always be here for you, to soothe you through those rough nights, to reassure you through pain and fear and frustration, and to teach you about the world. Your Dad and I are over the moon every day when we see you smiling and hear you coo-ing. You say Dad-Dad-Dad a lot now, and even though we know you don’t really know what you’re saying, we love it. Sometimes you do seem to say it in context (like when Dad comes home after work) and it makes him light up.

We love you so much. Keep on being awesome.

Love

Mum