"Absolutely Gorgeous" - Emery - 2 Months

To my Ems,

Well baby girl, you have been a part of our lives for 2 months now. Your birth was one of the most incredible moments of my life. Seeing you enter the world for the first time with all around you moved to tears was absolutely amazing. Everyone from your mom and I, to your Nonnie and your Gigi, to even your Doctor (who cared for us during all the years we tried to have a baby) shed tears of joy as you made your grand appearance. Emery - it was one of the greatest moments of my life. :-) I will cherish the memories of your birth, watching your mom hold you for the first time (when you pooped on her!), and our first little dance together. I'm so glad you are here.

Well, we took you home from the hospital quickly (life without maternity coverage!) and as your mom wrote to you in February, your first month definitely was challenging. :-) Most moms and dads have a little bit longer of a gap between newborns, and they have the pleasure of forgetting how difficult those first few weeks can be as they fall in love with their child as they grow. Since your big sister is only 8 months older than you, it was all still pretty fresh in our minds. So, as you began the transition into this great big world that we all live in, like every baby, it was overwhelming for you. You had a lot of tears, a lot of screams, and a whole lot of poopy diapers. Month one was filled with no sleep and a lot of adjustment, and a consensus that two kids was a good stopping point for our family. :-) 

But then came month two...and then came your smile....and then came your little laugh...and then came a daddy that cannot get enough of his absolutely gorgeous daughter.

Emery Bug in just one month you have gone from being a difficult baby to an incredibly happy one. You have the most incredible smile, and it reflects your beauty magnificently. I still remember the first time I saw it. It was a night in which I was watching you and your sister so your mom could go out and exercise with her friend Karie. I was doing my best juggling act, trying to keep you and Kinley occupied. Kinster had gotten very distracted trying to eat the remote control, which meant that I had some time to just hold and play with you. I propped you up on my legs and just talked to you. You looked up at me with your big brown eyes and your mouth opened wide. The reaction was unexpected and I got so excited. I began to laugh, and then preceded to make the most ridiculous baby sounds and gestures you've ever seen. Luckily, you loved it and we smiled back and forth playing for 20 minutes. I bonded with you in that moment, and it secured just how much I love you. Now I enjoy repeating our little routine together everyday, as it has evolved to include both tickles and a quick game of "patty cake". Every single thing I do seems to make you smile, which I know has nothing to do with me, but everything to do with my baby girl being happy, social, and absolutely gorgeous.

Ems, you really are beautiful. You have HUGE eyes, which everyone says you got from your mom. They are striking. Now that you love to make eye contact, I love to look into them and see the hints of your mom. I love that you got her eyes. I love that you are going to be beautiful just like she is. Next, you have the softest skin. We love to give you baths, or rub your back, or massage your chunky little thighs. :-) You are so soft. Next, you have your Aunt Kasey's nose, which makes her very happy....cause she thinks she's gorgeous (hopefully you won't have her humility!) Next, you have your daddy's height! At the doctor's office this week they told us that you are in the 85th percentile in height. I'm already making plans for your basketball career. Next, you have Gates ears and a Gates head....floppy and round. Next, you have developed a very calm demeanor, which we believe means that you will be very sweet. You love to play patiently on your mat while we chase your sister around. You go to sleep on a regular routine. You don't cry for no reason. This endearing little personality you are developing is just making you that much more beautiful.

But Emery bug, you are most gorgeous cause of that smile. You open your mouth so wide! You squint your eyes and stick your tongue out, and it can't help but light up everyone around you. You smile so often that you even do it while you are eating, often letting milk run down your mouth (oh, did I mention you love to eat? This is a characteristic you definitely share with your daddy). You roll your head back and forth and even let out little giggles when you are most happy. Your mom and I, and everyone else, has always remarked at how beautiful your big sister is. We used to joke that we were nervous that our biological children wouldn't look as pretty as Kinley so people would have told us to keep adopting! Well, to our amazing joy, we now have two beautiful daughters. You, and your sister, with your big, contagious smiles...are both absolutely gorgeous. 

Keep smiling princess. It makes us all love you even more,

Daddy

You LOVE taking baths. You've never cried during one.

Our little girl who's not so little.

You are so long! You are growing out of
3 Month outfits already!

Kinley cannot wait to play with you! She is ready to be the
best friend you will ever have!

Hello cheeks!

Oh your smile....I'm in love.

Like I said, absolutely gorgeous.

"Dada..." - Kinley - 10 Months

Dear Kinley,

This month...your tenth in this world...is one I will never forget. While I have loved you deeply from the second I first met you, I have to tell you princess...this month was special. Somehow someway every second I spent with you managed to make me fall in love with you all over again. This month my little baby became my little girl, and I'm just now beginning to understand the most amazing / difficult part of parenting...children grow up. As I watched you do so many things for the first time this month, it's hard to describe the exhilaration I felt as you hit milestone after milestone. Ahhhhh Kinster....it's truly incredible the little girl you are becoming. I now understand the pride and joy that parents feel as they watch their children grow. It's truly indescribable. However, I must admit that I now also understand the difficult parental emotion that it all is going too fast, and that sometimes I selfishly want nothing more than to stop time and ensure you grow up slower and stay my little girl forever. This is the great balancing act of parenting and you're giving me a crash course. :-) But alas letters like this one help, and writing these words and documenting these memories is therapeutic for your Daddy and your Mommy. They help us capture these special moments of growth as we both celebrate and treasure them...just as we celebrate and treasure you. 

Okay, little girl, let me tell you just some of the ways you melted my heart this month...

First, you can crawl, and I mean really crawl. You spent most of last month crawling backwards, frustrated cause your body knew how to move but you couldn't convince it to go in the right direction. That quickly changed this month, as you have not only learned to crawl forward, but actually became quite the speed demon. You zoom from corner to corner of the house, stopping along the way to play with your toys, look at yourself in the mirror (where you often give yourself kisses...which is cute now but will be awkward later), rip apart photo albums, get stuck under chairs, spill drinks, bang on the coffee table, spit up, dog pile your baby sister, etc. However, what always gets you going again is your intense pursuit of Sophie...your new best friend. I know you love me, Kinley, but I'm beginning to think you love our dog Sophie more. You laugh hysterically at her just for walking across the room, and if she happens to do something crazy like bark or lick your face, you giggle until you can hardly breathe. Watching you chase her around the house has become quite entertaining for us, and quite annoying for Sophie. :-) Yes, you are quite the crawler. Your curiosity allows you to never sit still, you always have more to explore. I pray you always have the desire to see something new and experience new adventures.

Next, you can pull yourself up and stand against anything.When we first saw you do this just days after learning to crawl we could hardly believe it. You crawled right over to the bar stools and slowly pulled yourself into a standing position. You should have seen the smirk on your face...you were so proud of yourself (a characteristic you will share with your daddy!). You were all smiles until you realized that you had managed to pull yourself under the bars that hold up the seat cushion, and suddenly you had no idea how to get out, which resulted in some serious tears. Luckily, daddy and mommy were there to help. This story has since repeated itself on every piece of furniture in the house, including your crib. The first few nights after learning to pull yourself up you would intensely shake the bars of your crib like you were trying to escape from prison. Like many other things in your life, it's been intense. You've taken some serious falls, and developed some nasty bruises...but you are tough, and you keep going. Let me tell you princess, watching you learn to pull yourself up on each piece of furniture, and even watching you switch hands and shift weight as you creep along the edge of the couch makes me so proud of you. You truly get more efficient everyday, and I just love watching you learn. I love watching you begin to make your way in this world, and I'm already impressed with how smart you are. I pray that you always will learn from your mistakes, get better everyday, and never give up even when you take a few bumps and bruises. 

Next, you can wave hello and goodbye. This is one of those special developments because of the unique effect it has on everyone around you. You have so many people that love you Kinley, and as you have gotten older, you have so many people that love to babysit you. Your Nonnie and your Papa, your Grandpa and your Gigi, your Aunts Kasey, Jamie, Julie, and Lauren, your Uncles Kyle, Brandon, and Luke. They all love you, as do many others. However, this month as you have begun to wave hello and goodbye, and to recognize each of them more, you have also melted their hearts. It makes them feel connected to you and loved by you as you look at them and smile, waving your little hand hello. Or even better, after they've babysat you for hours and you wave goodbye and smile on our way out the door. It's hard to describe the effect you have on all of us. You now wave to me every evening when I get home from work. You wave to Sophie as you sit in your highchair and she walks across the room. You wave to strangers at Costco...especially the old ladies that love to make you smile. You wave when I change your diapers. You wave when I come to get you out of your crib after a nap. You wave...and you smile...and you wave again. It never gets old. I pray that you always know just how much you can effect the happiness of those around you, and I pray that you always continue to make them smile. 

Next, you called me Dada. Now before I describe this special moment, I have to come clean with you on a few things. First, I have been saying "dada, dada, dada, dada, dada" to you on repeat since you were a week old. I was determined to make it your first word, and I was convinced that if I said it to you enough times by default it would be the first thing you said. Well, truth be known, it wasn't. :-) That special distinction belongs to your Mama....my favorite person....and I love the way she lights up every time you say "Ma-ma". You repeat it as you play in her lap and give her kisses. You say it as she feeds your sister and you've decided it's time for you to get her attention. You say it when she comes in the house after she has been gone for awhile. It makes me smile every time I hear it. I absolutely cherish how much you love your Mama, because Kinster...I know just how much she loves you. You are everything to her. And I'm very happy to say, that I think you love me too. Now you've rambled "dadadada" for months now, but you've never used it to call or recognize me (despite all my efforts!). One night this month your Nonnie and Papa were babysitting you so Mommy and Daddy could go to dinner with Grandpa and Gigi. That night when we got back from dinner when we walked in the house you smiled and said "Mama!" I walked over to your Nonnie to pick you up and as I lifted you up into my arms you said it....."Dada". It was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. My heart began to pound. Instinctively I pulled your head into my shoulder and dropped my face against the top of your head. "Dada" ....the word echoed through my head. I wanted to hold you forever. All of a sudden I was welling up with love, joy, celebration....oh Kinley....thank you. Thank you for that moment. It still gives me goosebumps thinking about it. I am so glad that I get to be your Daddy. Its happened a few more times since then, and each time you bring me to brink of tears. I pray that you ALWAYS will call me daddy, and I pray that you'll let me hold you in my arms no matter how old you are just so I can show you how much I love you.

Oh Kinley Bear, I still can't believe you are ten months old. As I said earlier, you make me fall in love with you more everyday with the simplest of details. I love the way your right eyebrow raises when you are excited. I love the way you shove your fingers in your mouth when you get nervous. I love the way you laugh hysterically when I give your raspberries on your sides. I love the way you splash in the bathtub. I love the way you pound the keys on your piano. I love the way you dangle your feet in your highchair. I even love the way you want nothing more than to eat my iPhone. I love you Kinster....more than I did yesterday...and I will love you even more tomorrow. 

Love,

Daddy

This month was your first time on a swing!

You LOVED it! Like always you laughed hysterically!

Yep, you can stand!

You love to play your piano and BANG the keys.

This is you chasing after Sophie!

Oh the "Kinster Smirk"...we know it well.

You are so beautiful.

Pure joy....you make us laugh everyday.