Letters to Aden: Three Months

Hello my little boy,

You are three months old today!

It's as if the little person you're becoming has come alive the last few weeks. Your personality is starting to blossom and you're the happiest, calm little dude. (Can I get a hallelujah?!) Well, there were a few days around nine weeks of age when you were fussier than normal. The baby books say you were going through one of your first mental leaps of development around this time as you began to discover the world around you. It seems to be true because you love to look around these days, watch Tory playing in the living room, or me cooking dinner in the kitchen. You'll lay in your swing for a long time and watch your reflection in the mirror above you. Most times, your chill personality is up for whatever - riding in the car, wiggling around on a blanket, or hanging out in the Baby Bjorn attached to me.

You're a talkative baby (your favorite sound to make is "ooooh") and if you're awake, you're almost always making some sort of cooing sound. The day you turned 12 weeks old, you laughed for the very first time. I've been waiting to hear that little chuckle because excitement just radiates on your face. You've so smiley all the time and now you have an adorable baby laugh to go with it. You flash me a great big grin first thing in the mornings and smile from ear to ear when you see Daddy after work every day. I've even seen you smile at Tory this month, so it's safe to say your big sister is growing on you.

Brudda (as Tory calls you), you're growing like a weed. This month, you're wearing size 6 month clothes and they aren't any too big on you. In fact, I'd bet you'll be moving up a clothing size very soon. You aren't necessarily filling the clothes out width-wise, you're just long and stretching right out of onesies and one-piece outfits. I'm in serious denial about your size (how can my baby be growing up so quickly?!) and I'm shocked time and time again when I try a "huge" outfit on you only to discover it fits just fine.

Things you love this month: the activity mat, baby swing, pacifiers, being wrapped tightly in your fuzzy blue blanket, riding around in the Baby Bjorn and splashing in the bathtub. You've really started to notice things around you and purposefully move your arms, fists and legs in the direction of objects. When you're nursing, you bat your fists toward my nose or stroke the few pieces of hair on your head, and "kick, kick, kick" your legs feverishly when sitting in the bouncy seat. If I'm holding you on my lap, you prefer to stand on your legs rather than sit, although you can't support your weight for long. Big sister Tory is kind enough to make sure you have a toy to play at all times. She nestles dollhouse people in your armpits and piles board books and rattles on your belly. Isn't she just the sweetest to always keep you in mind? 

You outgrew the baby bassinet next to our bed this month, so we moved you to your crib at 11 weeks old. It broke my heart having you sleep so far away from me (across the hallway - ha!), but you truly are sleeping better in your crib. The transition was easy; you seem to sleep anywhere. These days, you're usually waking up for the day around 9:00am, taking an afternoon nap around Noon - 2:30pm, a power snooze around 5:00pm and are asleep for the night around 7:30pm. I use the term "asleep for the night" loosely, of course, because you're still eating every three hours around the clock. You're distracted very easily while eating during the day and I think that's why you're not sleeping in longer stretches at night. You seem to guzzle down milk at nighttime and during the day if Tory's being loud or we're not tucked away somewhere by ourselves (which, honestly, can't happen all that often when it's just you, Tory and I at home), eating can be hit or miss with you. 

It still amazes me how I can lay you down after a feeding, or anytime really, and you're perfectly content to look around or fall asleep on your own. It's just so ... awesome having a happy little baby like you. Sometimes if you're having a hard time getting settled, you will fuss for a bit and you have a bad habit of clawing at your face and head. After you'd wake up with scratches all over you, I finally dug out some baby mittens for you to wear. 

Aden, you still have the most beautiful baby blue eyes. I'm curious to see if they'll change color, but so far your blue eyes seem to be here to stay. I can't quite figure out where you've inherited them. Both Daddy and Tory have brown eyes and almost everyone in my family has green eyes. I'm interested to see what's to come of yours. In the meantime, I love looking into your beautiful eyes and depending on what you're wearing or if you're siting in the sunshine, they just sparkle.

Everyday with you just gets better and better, and I'm excited to see what's in store for you in the weeks to come. Love you, my little lion cub.

XOXO,

Mommy