Dear Charlotte,
Has it really been a month since we met you and you became our “Somebody?”  A whole month as officially “Somebody’s Parents?”  It has.  You’re a month old today.

You’ve made our introduction to parenthood better than we could have ever imagined.  You are a wonderful baby.  We wish we could attribute how great you are to our superior parenting skills.  But, we don’t have those.  You’re just a great kid.  You hung in there as we fumbled through the first diaper changes and got the snaps on your Onesies askew.  Occasionally you gave us looks like, “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”  That may have been when I dressed you in a foofy outfit that was way too big for you to leave the hospital.  Or it may have been when we nervously put you in the bath for the first time, deathly afraid your little face would hit the water.

I’ve been careful not to say “I can’t wait until she…”  I want to enjoy every phase of your life.  If the rest of your babyhood/childhood/teen years fly by like the first month has, I don’t ever want to wish time away.  So I’ve tried to soak up every moment of you as a sleepy, snuggly newborn.

This month we’ve watched you as you slept and then slowly started coming to life a little more each day.  We were amazed at how you grew.  You and I figured out nursing and feedings together.   Daddy and I laughed at your “milk-drunk” face and giggled at clothes that seemed to swallow your little body up.  We worried about your baby acne and whether you were eating enough.  We got nervous when anyone with the slightest sniffle or cough came near you.  We beamed with pride when family and friends admired you.  We jumped out of bed at the slightest noise you made in the night.  We stared at you and admired how beautiful you are.  It was hard to believe you were here and you were ours.

As your mother, when I met you it was like a whole part of my heart opened up that I never even knew existed.  For that, I can never thank you enough.  I have so many dreams for you and I look forward to watching you grow.  But, I will never forget your first month.  I love you Charlotte, my darling, darling girl.

Love,
Mama