letter to maira : 6 months

Dear Maira,

Happy Half Birthday! I'm a few hundred miles away today, otherwise I would be showering you with hugs and kisses and more kisses and hugs all day long. I cannot believe you're already 6 months old.

Since before you were born, I have agonized over the fact that I wasn't giving you everything I gave to Henry. I wanted to do give you the same cozy stay in my belly and peaceful welcome into the world. I wanted to collect photos and letters for you, both while in utero and as you grew. I wanted to spend quiet and lazy days together once you arrived, giving you all of my undivided attention. I was able to do that for your brother, but I was struggling to do the same for you.  

I am realizing now that there's just no way to give you the same experience as I gave your brother and that's okay. Life is a lot more nutty with him and you, and most days I feel like I'm just trying to keep up with you both. My hope is that you'll find that it's worth it, though. That you may not have all of my time, but you have a brother to grow up with. That you may not end up with a stack of monthly letters, but you will have memories of the time we spent together. I really hope that's the case. 

So now that I've gotten that confession out of the way, let's talk about how ridiculously wonderful you are!

In the past couple of months you have blossomed into this amazing little girl. When you were just a newborn, I kept track of your progress in comparison to Henry. You were quieter than Henry. You were more sensitive. You were daintier. But now, you are coming into your own. I am getting to know you just as you, and you are such a delight. 

From what I can tell, you're pretty happy to be here, too. When our eyes lock, you beam, and boy is that smile a killer. I feel like it could power an entire city block. It probably can't, but it definitely makes the person you're with feel like a million bucks. 

The person you most love to be around, of course, is Henry. It's like he's a rockstar, and you're his biggest fan. If he's in the room, you can't keep your eyes off of him. When he gets close to you, you giggle. When he rocks your bouncy seat or puts your pacifier back in your mouth, you are just giddy. It's so much fun to watch you two together.

You also have a grand time on your own. I sometimes let you lay on the floor or in the Pack-and-Play, and I listen to you from across the room cooing and murmuring like it's some serious business you've got going on. And the hard work is paying off, because you've got some good tricks up your sleeve. You roll over from your back to your stomach. You can almost sit up all by yourself. You can pick up, hold, and even shake your small, soft, rattly toys. You are so strong that you even grabbed up my coffee cup the other day. You spilled the coffee all over me and your brother, and when I realized what had happened, I saw that you were still holding the mug. 

Now that you're older, we have gone on more adventures together. You've gone to the beach, a museum, a couple of parties, and my favorite store, Target. You even met Santa last month, but it's not like we had to go to the North Pole to see him. You still don't like long car rides, but you are a fine travel companion otherwise. A lot of the time you just sit quietly, taking in your surroundings. You seem to enjoy being out just like your brother does. I don't blame you. I do, too.

I am looking forward to so many more adventures together, Maira—with your papa and brother, but also just me and you. I love those boys like I love no others, but I also enjoy quality girl time. I hope you'll like doing some of the things I like to do, too, like seeing romantic comedies, going window shopping, and indulging in a sweet treat every now and again. We're gonna have so much fun! 

I love you so much, sweet girl.

Your Mama

***

This is the third in a series of letters to my daughter, Maira. I also wrote letters to my son Henry almost every month for the first year of his life. You can read previous ones here, here, and here.

Comments

[wendy]

love this - she has changed so much, so quickly! xoxo to you maira & your awesome family.

[Rosanna Pereyra]

I just stumbled upon your adorable blog.
What a beautiful heartfelt letter. I wish I would have written letters to my children when t
hey were little but I guess its never too late to start.

Thanks for the idea!
Rosanna

[Kimberly FitzSimons :: Daily Sip Studios]

What a great post. You will love reading this 3 months, 3 years and 30 years from now!

[Darling]

Thanks, ladies! xo