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

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

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

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