Letter #6

Dear Evalyn, O my sweet baby girl. Today you and I had a mommy/daughter date and it was amazing. You are almost two years old and you have become an incredible ball of personality. Since Loreli speaks enough for all of us, you are taking your time with expressing yourself in words. During our alone time together I noticed at the beginning, you made your faces and usual noises in the car. When we got to the mall you started whispering to me and by the time we got home you were trying to say more. The alone time showed me that you just need a chance to speak and find your words. I very much enjoyed our time together. We shared pizza and potatoes, which you loved. It's almost comical how you are so incredibly tiny yet you eat constantly and will eat just about everything in sight. After pizza we enjoyed a ride on the carousel. You were nervous and held me close, but I put you on a horse that rode up and down and once the ride got going, your smile went from ear to ear. I will absolutely remember that ride for the rest of my life. It was only you and I, no one else existed. We tried out the new play area at the mall and took photos together and then did some shopping for Christmas. Each of you girls continue to amaze me with how different your personalities are. I especially love your beautiful smile and tiny hands. Holding your little hands just melts my heart. And your giggle is enough to pull anyone up on their darkest day. Thank you so much for our special time today Evalyn. As much as I wish that I could stop time and keep you girls little forever, you are growing into a beautiful little girl and I cannot wait to see more of your personality shine through. Loving you always and forever, Mommy

Letter # 5

Dear Evalyn, Hello my big girl!! You are now one and a half years old! In the last six months you have completely changed and gone on a roller coaster of development. Right now you are in what I like to call the "fun" stage. You are discovering all of the fun ways to play with toys and entertain yourself, but you don't yet have the attitude and talking back that your older sister has. You LOVE to giggle and spend countless hours just giggling away at anything and everything. You are now starting defend yourself when your older sister tries to take a toy. There are times that I can see a little attitude brewing inside, and you like to try to get away with things as you flash your huge smile, as if your cuteness makes it all okay. You most definitely love your older sister. You were recently moved up to the same room that Loreli is in at daycare and she takes great care of you by showing you how to play with the toys, making sure you don't escape from the room and protecting you when she feels you need it. I was shocked by all of this because you are both still so young, but you are there for each other in every way possible. Your appetite has also changed dramatically. A year ago we struggled to get you to keep anything down and now we can't put the food in fast enough! And you love nearly everything we give you, which is great! You can't get enough of fruit and vegetables and this makes Mommy so happy! After what a struggle your first year was, it is such a relief to see you flourishing in all of these ways. Grandma Mary and I are pretty convinced you are a genius. You may not be full blown talking yet but you surprise us nearly every day with what you know. You can do things that not even the 2 or almost 3 year olds can do like stacking rings in the correct order or putting things together after taking them apart. I can't wait to see what type of accomplishments you will continue to achieve. There is no doubt that Daddy and Grandma Mary are your favorite people. If either one of them is around you always insist on being in their arms. Even though you are no longer a baby and becoming a big girl, I have a feeling you will always find that Daddy and Grandma Mary will cuddle with you. You are about to lose your status in our family as the baby. Any day now you will be the little/big sister! It's important in your new role as big sister to baby Charlotte that you show her the same love and caring that Loreli has shown you, and continue to do that throughout your lives. The three of you will have a bond that no one else in the world can touch. Loving you forever, Mommy

Letter # 4

Dear Evalyn, My sweet little Nugget you are a year old!!! I cannot believe that this day is here. This year has been an incredible one full of times we weren’t sure of how to do what was best for you and times that were priceless full of joy and happiness. You were so incredibly tiny when you born and early on you developed colic and acid reflux. It took months to find the right doctor and the right methods to keep you happy and stable but once we did figure everything out, you began to flourish and develop so quickly. I feel like you have come such a far way in such a short amount of time. Within the last two months you have gone from barely being able to sit up by yourself to pulling yourself up while hanging onto things and you are so close to walking! You also went from being completely toothless to now having four teeth and two coming in! You just learned how to clap and I can tell your first word will be coming any day now as you are always mimicking peoples lip motions and trying to get something out. You and your big sister Loreli have become so incredibly close in your first year. You two never cease to amaze me with your communication and love. At any time your sister is not around you are constantly looking for her. You enjoy watching her and it’s so interesting to see how you want to do everything she does. I know that as you two get older there will be plenty of time of arguing and competition, but as you are so close in age you really have had a strong loving bond since the day you were born. As we come to the end of your first year and you are officially turning one year old, I just want to let you know how much we love you. Every day you add light and love to our lives and we are so excited for what your future holds. Happy first birthday to my little Nugget. Loving you forever, Mommy

Letter #3

Dear Evalyn,
You are now six months old. My last letter to you was when you were six weeks old. I can't believe how much has happened in such little time. You have made yourself more than known in this family. You are a colicky baby and for that reason perhaps I often coddle you more than needed. You and I have become very close, though your Daddy is sure to cuddle you every night.

As you and your sister grow bigger and you both discover new things about the world, life becomes hectic and our day to day routine makes time go by fast. Occasionally I am lucky enough to have a moment with you in which I freeze into my memory forever. The look of you snuggled into my arms sound asleep, the sound of your laugh or the picture of your enormous and beautiful smile are all memories I will cherish forever.

The other day you were having one of your screaming fits and I went through my routine of things I do to calm you down. First a diaper change, then a bottle, next walking around the house with you. Nothing seemed to calm you down and so the last thing I could think to do was sing. Your favorite song is "You are my sunshine," which I have always loved to sing to you and your sister just as my mother sang to me. When I sang the phrase, "You'll never know dear how much I love you," you suddenly stopped screaming, looked into my eyes and gave me the biggest smile ever. I feel like that was you trying to tell me you love me. You completely melted my heart in that moment.

Until the next time my sweet lil Nugget...
Loving you forever,
Mommy

Letter #2

Dear Evalyn,
I can't believe you are already six weeks old. In one hand it feels as if you've been in our lives forever and in the other it doesn't seem as if it has been six weeks. You have changed our lives forever Evalyn Rae.

My labor with you was completely different than when your sister Loreli was born. Since birth you have proven to be your own person and the complete opposite of Loreli. You were so incredibly tiny when you were born, everyone asked if you were premature. You were my full term tiny little Nugget. I was afraid to hold you or do anything with you because I could barely feel your weight in my arms.

You have a full head of hair, didn't want anything to do with breastfeeding and at 6 weeks old are barely fitting into Newborn sizes. You most certainly have made yourself known in this family. Nothing about you is "normal" or "average."

When I was pregnant I knew that I loved you. I never questioned whether or not I would be able to love two children. It is just incredible that I made two completely different little girls and love you both so much. I couldn't ask for more out of life right now.

When I hold you in my arms, whether you are wide awake and cooing or sound asleep and snuggling, I am captivated by your beauty and presence. I am amazed at how you and your big sister have bonded and connected in such an automatic way. You and your sister haven shown nothing but love to one another since your first day.

You complete our family Evalyn Rae. I fall in love with you all over again every second I am around you. I am captivated by your presence every time you snuggle close to me dreaming away or wiggle around with your big, beautiful eyes looking all around.

Loving you forever,
Mommy

Letter #1

Dear Evalyn,
We are only about a month and a half away from finally meeting you! When I first learned that you were on your way into our family I had a mix of emotions. I was concerned that your sister Loreli hadn't had enough time to be the baby of the family and I was concerned that I would be spreading myself too thin with having two children so close in age. All of that worry is gone and I am just ecstatic at the thought of your arrival.
You move around the most at night. I feel like this is our secret time of just you and me. I put both hands on my belly as you roll around, making sure I am well aware you are there and growing bigger each day. When I feel your kicks and rolls I imagine you in my head and what it will be like to snuggle you close to my heart. I want you to know how much you are wanted and how much you are loved, even before you are out in the world. There is nothing I anticipate more than having you in our family.
You will be coming into this world and already have a sibling. You will have a big sister who will be very close to you in age. I know that this will help create a great bond between you two. I want nothing more than for you two to be the best of friends. Through out life relationships and friends will come and go, but your sister will always be your sister. I know that with you two being girls we will see our fair share of battles, but you will always have each other.
Ever since the day your sister was born, I knew our family was not yet complete. I feel like having you in our family will fill that empty space. I want to make it clear that I will never love one of you more than the other. My heart has more than enough love to always love both of you with all that it has to give and I will always do everything that I can to ensure both of you are healthy and happy.
I feel blessed to be able to bring you into a family full of so much love and support. You will learn as you grow that you will never be alone in this world. You will always have a grandparent or aunt or uncle or cousin or some family member who will be there for you if for any reason you can't come to Daddy or I. Both Daddy's family and mine are filled with wonderful supportive people. I know that every family has its arguments or hard times but ours really is a positive bunch.
The next time I write to you will be after you are born. Until then I anxiously await the moment I will get to see your beautiful face and hold you close to me. I love you so incredibly much.
Loving you forever,
Mommy