Dear Lilia,
I'm afraid that I may have said something that you overheard and took to heart. Usually, when your mom asks me if I'm tired and if I want to take a nap I say something along the lines of "Naps are for sissys!". Now I'm afraid that you heard me say it sometime and decided it was a life lesson for babies as well.
I'm sorry if you haven't figured it out, but you can get REALLY grouchy if you don't take naps when you're supposed to. Unfortunately, you don't seem to really care, because over the course of the last month or two you haven't done so well at going down for naps. Don't get me wrong, you have been improving over the last week, but it still needs a lot of work.
What I'm trying to say, is (GASP!) that what I say/do isn't ALWAYS applicable to everyone. I'll let you know in the cases that it doesn't apply to you so that you don't get confused. Maybe at this point it's a good time to bust out with what your Grandpa Shaw likes to jokingly say: "Do what I say, not what I do".
In short, please take naps. You're a lot happier when you do, and when you're happy, Mommy's happy, and when Mommy's happy, everyone's happy. There, a little life lesson for you in how to make Mom happy. Nap.
Love,
Daddy
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Early to bed...
Dear Lilia,
There are several things that you've made me learn over the last several months, but one just occurred to me about 2 days ago.
Some time back, you started deciding that your bedtime was between 7:30pm and 8:30pm. That worked perfectly fine for Mommy and I because we got to relax and spend some time to ourselves after you went to bed.
A little bit later, you started deciding to go to bed between 6pm and 6:30pm. Again, that's all fine too. I have started to notice something strange happening to my thought process after you go to bed though.
Now, once you're in bed, I think, "Well, I might as well get ready for bed. It's not like I'm going anywhere now." To me, that would be fine if it were closer to 9pm at night, but it kind of weirds me out that I think that when it's not even 7 pm! You're rubbing off on me more than you might think! Pretty soon I'll be going to bed at the same time as you.
Love,
Daddy
There are several things that you've made me learn over the last several months, but one just occurred to me about 2 days ago.
Some time back, you started deciding that your bedtime was between 7:30pm and 8:30pm. That worked perfectly fine for Mommy and I because we got to relax and spend some time to ourselves after you went to bed.
A little bit later, you started deciding to go to bed between 6pm and 6:30pm. Again, that's all fine too. I have started to notice something strange happening to my thought process after you go to bed though.
Now, once you're in bed, I think, "Well, I might as well get ready for bed. It's not like I'm going anywhere now." To me, that would be fine if it were closer to 9pm at night, but it kind of weirds me out that I think that when it's not even 7 pm! You're rubbing off on me more than you might think! Pretty soon I'll be going to bed at the same time as you.
Love,
Daddy
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Words of Wisdom
Dear Lilia,
You'll find that there are many sources of wisdom in the world, but I would like to point out one in particular. This is one that you can always turn to when you need some good old sage advice: Calvin and Hobbes.
Now, I know that you're thinking that Uncle Nate and Aunt Rana don't have anyone in their family named Hobbes. That is true. I am in fact speaking of a different Calvin (not your cousin named Calvin). I'm talking about the comic strip. Let me give you some examples of what I have learned over the years:
Where babies come from
Where the sun goes when it sets
What causes wind
Why our eyes close when we sneeze
How Daddy knows so much
One of lifes little mysteries
Another mystery
Love,
Daddy
You'll find that there are many sources of wisdom in the world, but I would like to point out one in particular. This is one that you can always turn to when you need some good old sage advice: Calvin and Hobbes.
Now, I know that you're thinking that Uncle Nate and Aunt Rana don't have anyone in their family named Hobbes. That is true. I am in fact speaking of a different Calvin (not your cousin named Calvin). I'm talking about the comic strip. Let me give you some examples of what I have learned over the years:
Where babies come from
Where the sun goes when it sets
What causes wind
Why our eyes close when we sneeze
How Daddy knows so much
One of lifes little mysteries
Another mystery
Love,
Daddy
Daddy's Girl
Dear Lilia,
I know, I know. The last time I wrote, you had decided that you liked Mommy the best, but apparently you changed your mind rather quickly (gee, I wonder who you got THAT from?). Now you seem to have settled on me. Let me explain how Mommy and I know this.
It started about two weeks ago during the weekend. You seemed to be smiling at me a lot more and laughing with me. Then it gradually turned into doing OK at home with Mommy during the work week and then you started to fuss and give Mommy a hard time while I was at work. When I would come home each time this happened, you would pretty much stop crying and be content for the rest of the night.
I think the part that drives Mommy nuts though is that you seem to think it's not OK to sleep when I'm not home. She'll put you down for naps (so that she can get some rest) and then you'll proceed to only sleep for about 20 minutes. On the other hand, if I'm home and I tell Mommy to get some rest and that I'll take care of you, you fall asleep and proceed to stay asleep for the next two hours.
Don't get me wrong, I like getting this special treatment, but I think you need to give Mommy a break when I'm not around.
Love,
Daddy
I know, I know. The last time I wrote, you had decided that you liked Mommy the best, but apparently you changed your mind rather quickly (gee, I wonder who you got THAT from?). Now you seem to have settled on me. Let me explain how Mommy and I know this.
It started about two weeks ago during the weekend. You seemed to be smiling at me a lot more and laughing with me. Then it gradually turned into doing OK at home with Mommy during the work week and then you started to fuss and give Mommy a hard time while I was at work. When I would come home each time this happened, you would pretty much stop crying and be content for the rest of the night.
I think the part that drives Mommy nuts though is that you seem to think it's not OK to sleep when I'm not home. She'll put you down for naps (so that she can get some rest) and then you'll proceed to only sleep for about 20 minutes. On the other hand, if I'm home and I tell Mommy to get some rest and that I'll take care of you, you fall asleep and proceed to stay asleep for the next two hours.
Don't get me wrong, I like getting this special treatment, but I think you need to give Mommy a break when I'm not around.
Love,
Daddy
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Momma's Girl
Dear Lilia,
It's been a while since I've written and a lot of things have changed for you. One of those happens to be that you finally decided on who you like best. As only makes sense, you chose Mommy.
I understand completely considering that you spend all day with her, she plays with you all day, and she feeds you. I do like it when you at least PRETEND that you like me though. In the last week or so you learned to actually laugh. Mommy showed me how she could get you to laugh by nuzzling your belly, but it sure doesn't work when I do it. It's actually kind of funny how you'll laugh hysterically when Mommy does it, but you just look at me like I'm crazy when I do it.
Needless to say, I was happy that you decided to save up lots of smiles for me this weekend. You decided that it was OK to be a Daddy's girl for a couple of days. I finally even got you to laugh for me. I think it's a good trade-off. You can be a Momma's girl during the week and a Daddy's girl during the weekend.
I hope you realize that we both love you no matter who you like better, but I hope that you keep throwing me a bone by being a Daddy's girl every now and then.
Love,
Daddy
It's been a while since I've written and a lot of things have changed for you. One of those happens to be that you finally decided on who you like best. As only makes sense, you chose Mommy.
I understand completely considering that you spend all day with her, she plays with you all day, and she feeds you. I do like it when you at least PRETEND that you like me though. In the last week or so you learned to actually laugh. Mommy showed me how she could get you to laugh by nuzzling your belly, but it sure doesn't work when I do it. It's actually kind of funny how you'll laugh hysterically when Mommy does it, but you just look at me like I'm crazy when I do it.
Needless to say, I was happy that you decided to save up lots of smiles for me this weekend. You decided that it was OK to be a Daddy's girl for a couple of days. I finally even got you to laugh for me. I think it's a good trade-off. You can be a Momma's girl during the week and a Daddy's girl during the weekend.
I hope you realize that we both love you no matter who you like better, but I hope that you keep throwing me a bone by being a Daddy's girl every now and then.
Love,
Daddy
Monday, July 5, 2010
Fourth of July Weekend
Dear Lilia,
You've had an extremely busy weekend. It all started on Saturday. Mommy bought tickets a few months back to the Stadium of Fire. It was going to be the first time that either of us had gone. When we bought the tickets your Grandma and Grandpa Bezzant volunteered to babysit you.
Mommy and I were somewhat worried about how things would go because you had been pretty fussy all day. Little did we know that you had simply been saving up your sweet goodness for your grandparents. You fell asleep before we got there at about 6:15pm. When we picked you back up at 11:15pm your grandparents told us that you slept until 10:15pm or so and then were an angel until we picked you up. You definitely went easy on them. I'm glad that you left a good impression though. Maybe we'll be able to sweet-talk them into babysitting again in the future.
Sunday was a busy day for you too. That day you got your baby blessing. Mommy and I spent all morning getting the house ready for family to come over after Sacrament Meeting and making sure you didn't spit up all over the pretty dress that your Great Aunt Penny made for you. Again, you were fussy before church, so we were worried about how your blessing would go, but you were a little angel again. You were sound asleep when the blessing started and wide awake at the end (but very quiet the whole time). You got passed around to get held by all your Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents after church. As usual, you were very happy to see all your family.
That same evening we went to your Aunt Karla's house to watch some fireworks. Your Uncle Matt was very excited to hold you pretty much the whole time. You sure have that boy wrapped around your fingers.
In my opinion, Monday (today) was the culmination of a darn good weekend. We all got to go have fun at Grandma and Grandpa Shaw's house and have a BBQ. I beat your Mommy in a game of ladder golf and your Aunt Becca had fun holding you for a while. I think the best part of the day for me was in the evening though.
A family in our ward (the Nichols) have a big BBQ and fireworks display every July 4th. This year was the first year that we went. It was fun to meet new people and talk to people that we knew. The best part however, was when the weather was perfect, you were asleep, and I was holding you. At the time, the song "What a Wonderful Life" happened to be blasting on the Nichol's stereo and I couldn't have come up with a more perfect moment. It made me realize just how happy I am to have you and your Mommy. You two had better not go anywhere!
I hope you know that Mommy and I love you very much. We're very grateful to have you be our baby and couldn't have asked for a more wonderful blessing in our lives.
Love,
Daddy
You've had an extremely busy weekend. It all started on Saturday. Mommy bought tickets a few months back to the Stadium of Fire. It was going to be the first time that either of us had gone. When we bought the tickets your Grandma and Grandpa Bezzant volunteered to babysit you.
Mommy and I were somewhat worried about how things would go because you had been pretty fussy all day. Little did we know that you had simply been saving up your sweet goodness for your grandparents. You fell asleep before we got there at about 6:15pm. When we picked you back up at 11:15pm your grandparents told us that you slept until 10:15pm or so and then were an angel until we picked you up. You definitely went easy on them. I'm glad that you left a good impression though. Maybe we'll be able to sweet-talk them into babysitting again in the future.
Sunday was a busy day for you too. That day you got your baby blessing. Mommy and I spent all morning getting the house ready for family to come over after Sacrament Meeting and making sure you didn't spit up all over the pretty dress that your Great Aunt Penny made for you. Again, you were fussy before church, so we were worried about how your blessing would go, but you were a little angel again. You were sound asleep when the blessing started and wide awake at the end (but very quiet the whole time). You got passed around to get held by all your Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents after church. As usual, you were very happy to see all your family.
That same evening we went to your Aunt Karla's house to watch some fireworks. Your Uncle Matt was very excited to hold you pretty much the whole time. You sure have that boy wrapped around your fingers.
In my opinion, Monday (today) was the culmination of a darn good weekend. We all got to go have fun at Grandma and Grandpa Shaw's house and have a BBQ. I beat your Mommy in a game of ladder golf and your Aunt Becca had fun holding you for a while. I think the best part of the day for me was in the evening though.
A family in our ward (the Nichols) have a big BBQ and fireworks display every July 4th. This year was the first year that we went. It was fun to meet new people and talk to people that we knew. The best part however, was when the weather was perfect, you were asleep, and I was holding you. At the time, the song "What a Wonderful Life" happened to be blasting on the Nichol's stereo and I couldn't have come up with a more perfect moment. It made me realize just how happy I am to have you and your Mommy. You two had better not go anywhere!
I hope you know that Mommy and I love you very much. We're very grateful to have you be our baby and couldn't have asked for a more wonderful blessing in our lives.
Love,
Daddy
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The art of the birthday week
Dear Lilia,
Tomorrow is Mommy's birthday. She claims that she's going to be REALLY old, but she's only going to be 25 years old. With her being 25 and me being 28, I must be ancient or something. Maybe I should just bust out a wheelchair or walker to fit the part better. In any case, that's not what I wanted to write about.
Mommy thinks that there is a thing called a "birthday week". It's something she made up a few years ago to have an excuse to be able to get me to do anything for her (like I don't already). A birthday week consists of the entire week before OR after your birthday. Essentially you can treat every single day of the week as if it were your birthday.
Now, I just want to get something straight here before you get old enough to try and think you can do it. A birthday week CANNOT extend into a birthday month. Also, if you forget about the birthday week, you CANNOT use it later on. Mommy has tried to do both those things. It just doesn't work. Sorry if that disappoints you. Besides, you can pretty much get anything you want from both of us anytime anyway (because we love you so much).
Please keep these lessons in mind later in life. It will save you much disappointment later.
Love,
Daddy
Tomorrow is Mommy's birthday. She claims that she's going to be REALLY old, but she's only going to be 25 years old. With her being 25 and me being 28, I must be ancient or something. Maybe I should just bust out a wheelchair or walker to fit the part better. In any case, that's not what I wanted to write about.
Mommy thinks that there is a thing called a "birthday week". It's something she made up a few years ago to have an excuse to be able to get me to do anything for her (like I don't already). A birthday week consists of the entire week before OR after your birthday. Essentially you can treat every single day of the week as if it were your birthday.
Now, I just want to get something straight here before you get old enough to try and think you can do it. A birthday week CANNOT extend into a birthday month. Also, if you forget about the birthday week, you CANNOT use it later on. Mommy has tried to do both those things. It just doesn't work. Sorry if that disappoints you. Besides, you can pretty much get anything you want from both of us anytime anyway (because we love you so much).
Please keep these lessons in mind later in life. It will save you much disappointment later.
Love,
Daddy
Monday, June 21, 2010
Turn that frown right upside down
Dear Lilia,
Yes, I know that it's been almost a month since I wrote you last. Let's just say that work has been slightly hectic and I'm sorry that it's been so long. On the plus side, I have lots of things to write about (most of which I can't remember right now, but I'm sure that they'll come to mind).
During the last few weeks you've learned to smile a bit more. You tend to smile a lot as you're going to sleep (that's not so random, who doesn't enjoy sleeping?), but the strange part is that you also smile a lot as you're waking up. Are you sure that you're our daughter? Mommy and I aren't exactly known for being morning people, so I have NO idea where you got the idea that waking up in the morning is a happy thing. For the time being, I'll just continue to think that you're just excited to see us whenever you wake up, and that's why you smile.
The one thing I don't seem to understand is that you don't smile when Mommy or I tickle you. That tends to make you grunt. I'm not sure if you know yet, but grunting isn't exactly lady like. In fact, I tried to teach Mommy to grunt a while ago and she couldn't get it down, so I know you didn't get your skills from her. If you could teach her how to do it, that would be awesome. She seems to have problems getting the guttural sound in her throat to come out, so that should give you a starting point.
Wow, I sure got off topic there. What I was trying to say is that most people tend to smile and laugh when they get tickled (unless they're in a bad mood, but I don't think you are 100% of the time). So next time that I tickle your feet or your belly, please humor me and give me a little smile. They're a lot of fun to look at.
I sure hope that you know that Mommy and I love you very much little girl. You're only 7 weeks old and we're already wrapped around your little finger, so please throw us a bone and let us know how you feel through your smiles.
Love,
Daddy
Yes, I know that it's been almost a month since I wrote you last. Let's just say that work has been slightly hectic and I'm sorry that it's been so long. On the plus side, I have lots of things to write about (most of which I can't remember right now, but I'm sure that they'll come to mind).
During the last few weeks you've learned to smile a bit more. You tend to smile a lot as you're going to sleep (that's not so random, who doesn't enjoy sleeping?), but the strange part is that you also smile a lot as you're waking up. Are you sure that you're our daughter? Mommy and I aren't exactly known for being morning people, so I have NO idea where you got the idea that waking up in the morning is a happy thing. For the time being, I'll just continue to think that you're just excited to see us whenever you wake up, and that's why you smile.
The one thing I don't seem to understand is that you don't smile when Mommy or I tickle you. That tends to make you grunt. I'm not sure if you know yet, but grunting isn't exactly lady like. In fact, I tried to teach Mommy to grunt a while ago and she couldn't get it down, so I know you didn't get your skills from her. If you could teach her how to do it, that would be awesome. She seems to have problems getting the guttural sound in her throat to come out, so that should give you a starting point.
Wow, I sure got off topic there. What I was trying to say is that most people tend to smile and laugh when they get tickled (unless they're in a bad mood, but I don't think you are 100% of the time). So next time that I tickle your feet or your belly, please humor me and give me a little smile. They're a lot of fun to look at.
I sure hope that you know that Mommy and I love you very much little girl. You're only 7 weeks old and we're already wrapped around your little finger, so please throw us a bone and let us know how you feel through your smiles.
Love,
Daddy
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
All work and no play makes Daddy a bad boy....
Dear Lilia,
The last several days have been pretty darn crazy. It started with me being up over 24 hours from Friday morning to Saturday morning and working that entire night. Then more work on Saturday. Then more work on Sunday. Did I mention that I've been working days and nights for the last two days as well? I'm sorry that I haven't written you again before now.
Through this whole mess, Mommy has been taking care of you all day every day. I'm sorry that I couldn't hold you and rock you to sleep at night. I'm also sorry that I didn't get up during the night to help take care of you. You see, Mommy can be stubborn sometimes. She wouldn't wake me up when you started fussing. I'm just hoping that your stubborn streak (because we know you already have one, believe me) doesn't come out quite so strong.
Yesterday ended up being the day that Mommy and I were just too exhausted to do anything. It also happened to be the day that you got sick (at least we think so). All day you wouldn't go to bed for more than 10 minutes or so and you only wanted to be held and fed. Mommy was exhausted by the time I got home from work and we both wanted a nap. We thought we had a great idea by taking you on a drive. You usually sleep really well in your car seat. Well, we got back home and you were back awake within a half hour. Again Mommy was stubborn and didn't wake me up. I ended up sleeping for three hours.
Thankfully that night you were so exhausted that you had a really good night. You only woke up twice! Thank you for letting Mommy and I sleep. We've both been feeling a lot better today. We won't complain if you decide to do that again tonight.
Love,
Daddy
The last several days have been pretty darn crazy. It started with me being up over 24 hours from Friday morning to Saturday morning and working that entire night. Then more work on Saturday. Then more work on Sunday. Did I mention that I've been working days and nights for the last two days as well? I'm sorry that I haven't written you again before now.
Through this whole mess, Mommy has been taking care of you all day every day. I'm sorry that I couldn't hold you and rock you to sleep at night. I'm also sorry that I didn't get up during the night to help take care of you. You see, Mommy can be stubborn sometimes. She wouldn't wake me up when you started fussing. I'm just hoping that your stubborn streak (because we know you already have one, believe me) doesn't come out quite so strong.
Yesterday ended up being the day that Mommy and I were just too exhausted to do anything. It also happened to be the day that you got sick (at least we think so). All day you wouldn't go to bed for more than 10 minutes or so and you only wanted to be held and fed. Mommy was exhausted by the time I got home from work and we both wanted a nap. We thought we had a great idea by taking you on a drive. You usually sleep really well in your car seat. Well, we got back home and you were back awake within a half hour. Again Mommy was stubborn and didn't wake me up. I ended up sleeping for three hours.
Thankfully that night you were so exhausted that you had a really good night. You only woke up twice! Thank you for letting Mommy and I sleep. We've both been feeling a lot better today. We won't complain if you decide to do that again tonight.
Love,
Daddy
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Mommas Girl
Dear Lilia,
I hope you realize that you're already turning into a Mommas girl. Lately you've started smiling and this face is a typical one that you give to your mommy.
To me however, the face you give is quite different.
I hope you know that I love you very much, but I would appreciate a nice smile every now and then rather than a scowl.
Love,
Daddy
I hope you realize that you're already turning into a Mommas girl. Lately you've started smiling and this face is a typical one that you give to your mommy.
To me however, the face you give is quite different.
I hope you know that I love you very much, but I would appreciate a nice smile every now and then rather than a scowl.
Love,
Daddy
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