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

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

Extra Awesome please....

Dear Lilia,

Today you made your first trip to a restaurant. It's called Chilis. They have lots of food there. You were asleep through most of it, but you woke up a little towards the end. I hope that you plan on getting familiar with that place, because Mommy and I like to go there a lot.

Unfortunately for you, you're too little to enjoy any of the yummy food. The Texas Cheese Fries are very tasty. We'll definitely let you have some when you're old enough (assuming that the giant lump of cheese that's still digesting in my stomach doesn't end up killing me).

Mommy was very excited for the Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie for desert. Being related to a bunch of Bezzants, you'll learn to enjoy anything with the word "Pie" in it (just wait for your first "Pie Day"!).

Thanks for being so good at the restaurant and during the drive home. You certainly make it easy for us to get out every so often.

Love,
Daddy

Drawing a blank

Dear Lilia,

I don't have a whole lot to say today. That may be a result of Mommy and me being sleep deprived. We sure hope you sleep better tonight. I love you!

Love,
Daddy

Sleepless in Provo

Dear Lilia,

I have one phrase for you.

If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

I recommend that you remember this phrase every day as you make decisions on when to sleep. 3:30am is a REALLY good time to sleep 99.9999999% of the time. Mommy really enjoys her sleep, but she wasn't too worried when you woke up at 3:30am and wanted to eat and get a diaper change. That's entirely normal. You usually eat, get a diaper change and then go back to sleep.

What's not normal is staying awake until about 2pm with only very light naps in that 10.5 hour time. Mommy doesn't get a nap that way and tends to get really tired.

One way to tell if you really should be sleeping is if it's really dark in the room. You know how you can see better when things are all illuminated? That's called light. You can't see very well in the dark (or at all for that matter at this point), so it's a good time to get some sleep. Please keep that in mind tonight, because Mommy and Daddy are both really tired today.

Love,
Daddy

Family Visits

Dear Lilia,

Today was a good day for you and your extended family. You got to meet your great grandmas and grandpa.

First, we visited your Grandma Monson. She was very excited to get to hold you. In fact, she held you the entire 40 minutes that we were there. She kept saying how pretty and perfect you are. I have to say that I agree with her.

Second, we went to Grandma Jodi and Grandpa Howard's house for dinner where you got to meet Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Cliff. Grandma Ruth did most of her holding of you after dinner. Unfortunately for you, you didn't get any of the dinner. Someday we'll teach you to love fish and roast, but alas, you can't have those things yet.

In true Lilia fashion, you were sound asleep for the first two visits. Just as we were leaving to go to visit Grandma and Grandpa Shaw, you woke up. You then proceeded to cry almost the entire way there because you thought you were starving to death. I hope you know that we love you little girl.

Beyond those visits, you got mobbed by most of the Shaw family when we went there. This time around you were wide awake the whole visit. Everyone liked being able to see your pretty dark eyes (blue or brown? It's too early to tell). Calvin was very excited to get to hold you again.

All in all, you had a busy day. Now you're getting a well deserved rest. The only thing I worry about now is that it is currently 10:20pm and you've already been sleeping for 2 hours. I think I can bet on you waking up just about the time I drift off to sleep.

Have I mentioned that we love you?

Love,
Daddy

You Are a Girl

Dear Lilia,

You are a girl.

I state that simply because of what happened this morning.

There are fundamental differences between boys and girls. One of those is that boys tend to wet on other people often because of the way their plumbing works. Girls don't have that kind of plumbing, so therefore they don't really have a chance to wet on other people.

You proved me wrong on that today.

I didn't realize you could create a nice fountain that landed perfectly on my chest. That prompted a cry of "Help!" to your mommy. Needless to say, she thought it was kind of funny. Personally, I think you did it to me in retaliation for changing your diaper right after you woke up this morning. Whatever the reasoning was, please remember the first statement in this letter.

Love,
Daddy

Scares and Good Eating

Dear Lilia,

I've decided that you aren't allowed to deviate from your normal habit of doing things. Up to this point, you have liked to sleep for about 1.5 hours and then wake up to eat for 1 hour or so and then go back to sleep. Most of the time you have a two hour to three hour block of time that you like to stay awake.

Today, you decided to pretty much sleep the entire day with only being awake long enough to get food periodically. That coupled with not really being able to wake you up very well and being completely limp while sleeping scared your mommy and me. You took your very first trip to the pediatrician today.

Thankfully, the pediatrician said that you seem to be absolutely fine. He even weighed you and found that you now weigh 7lbs and 8oz! That means you've gained 5 ounces from your birth weight. Almost a full pound from what you weighed when we left the hospital. That made Mommy and me happy. We want you to get some meat on your bones!

Thanks for being OK. Please continue to sleep well tonight. That would make me very happy!

Love,
Daddy

Boys already?

Dear Lilia,

I thought I would point out something funny/interesting to you today. Do you realize that you win the hearts of young children, those who don't show much emotion at all, and men?

Today we went to visit your Grandma and Grandpa Shaw and your cousins Calvin, Emerson, and Owen. Calvin is definitely whooped over you. He was very excited to get to hold you twice and liked being close to you and petting your head.

Your Uncle Matt is whooped over you as well. He likes to have excuses to come and see you to hold you and talk to you in Mandarin Chinese (he's practicing for his trip to China). You seem to like his voice the best, because you act soothed when he talks to you.

Your mommy told me that your Uncle Ryan (Aunt Mica's husband) really likes you too.

I just really hope that this effect doesn't happen so much when you're a teenager and boy crazy. It's OK for boys to like you at that age, just as long as they know there are two kinds of kids: the good kids and the dead kids.

Love,
Daddy

Enjoy it while you can

Dear Lilia,

I hope you realize that you are more than likely the envy of every model in the world. No matter what you wear, people fawn over you and say how cute you are. You can even stick your tongue out at people and everyone says how cute and funny it is.

Also, your face seems to be able to create all sorts of expressions. Mommy and I don't even know what half of them mean. My favorite so far is what Mommy had to say about how you looked at her this morning. I quote:

"I just kissed Lilia on the cheeks and she opened one eye and looked at me like 'what exactly do you think YOU'RE doing?'"

Honestly, how come you can get away with something like that? If I tried that I would get in trouble! The only thing I ask at this point is that you reserve some smiles for me so that they're not all used up by the time I get home from work everyday.

Love,
Daddy

Better out than in

Dear Lilia,

Can you tell me the secret to how you eat so much and not look like you've eaten at all? Do you just have an amazing metabolism? Could you pass that to me somehow? I don't know how you possibly stick all that liquid you drink in your small little body. My parents told me I had a hollow leg when I was a teenager, but you must have a hollow body.

Another theory is that it just fills up your whole intestinal tract at once, because you always seem to need a diaper change not too long after you eat. Whatever the case may be, just know that I will always envy your digestive system.

Love,
Daddy

Catching some zzzzz's

Dear Lilia,

To put it in short, your daddy is whooped. You could get me to do anything for you by just staring at me with your big beautiful eyes. This however, does not really extend into the night-time quite as much. I still love you just as much at night, but I can't really see your eyes in the dark and I feel it would be much better if you decided that 10pm - 6am was sleeping time.

Now the problem could be remedied by simply moving to India where the days and nights are opposite to those here, but I really don't feel that's financially possible at this point. Maybe in 25 years when you are rich and famous we can discuss the logistics.

Love,
Daddy

Patience, Lilia, Patience

Dear Lilia,

I know that I've already written to you in regards to not going to the bathroom while we change your diaper, but maybe I need to expand a little on my views.

First, it would be fantastic if you wouldn't insist on pooping right AFTER we finish changing your diaper. Before would be best. This is made more important by the fact that Desitin works much better if it's on your bum for longer than two minutes.

Second, you're getting WAY too smart for your daddy. Every time I come up with a new way to prevent a diaper accident you decide to make things more "entertaining". Case in point -- I finally figured out how to make you go before being in the middle of the diaper change, but then you go and change things up by waiting until AFTER I've decided that you really don't need to go.

Third, I know that you have lots of pent up energy in that little body of yours, but flailing your arms and legs all over the place doesn't make the whole process go any faster.

Love,
Daddy

Our Angel

Dear Lilia,

How can someone fail to believe in God after spending five minutes with you? You were the answer to many prayers. It's not possible to see your perfect hands and fingers, and your cute little toes without knowing that a loving Father sent you here to bless the lives of two of His children.

Love,
Daddy

Target Practice

Dear Lilia,

I know that you're only 4 days old, but Daddy would like you to know that diaper changes are a really bad time to decide to go more.

Love,
Daddy