Dearest Lily,
In a week and a half you'll be three months old. You're only a a quarter of the way to the end of your first year and so much has happened already.
You are my world. I look forward to having you wake me up every morning with your "I'm hungry" whimpers just so I can watch you give me a sleepy smile while I sing to you as you try and wake up. The smiles you give me make me know that you know who Mommy is and that makes me all the happier.
You make me smile and laugh with all you do. The way you move your pacifier and shove your entire right fist in your mouth, or choose to chew your left thumb instead. How if I kiss you too close to the corner of your mouth you turn and try to eat my face (and have actually succeeded to gnaw on my cheek a few times.) When I lay you down for bed only to come into the room a minute later and find you in a half push-up position with your head poking up above the bassinet. The fights you put up so you won't fall asleep. The way you push yourself off the side of the tub. When you smile at my voice or yell at me because you're either hungry or sleepy and don't want to be laying on your back or sitting down. How I leave you in your crib, on your stomach, your head up, panting with hunger so I can warm your bottle and come back to find you flat on your back with your feet in the air and a look on your face that reads, "What just happened?" The fit you throw when you want attention, and the smiles and giggles you give when you get it. The stories you take hours to tell. The list can go on, and I love everything you do.
You really are my world, Lily, and I'm thankful and blessed to have you with me. You were my best Christmas present and no words could fully express the love I have for you. I almost lost you, twice, and I'm full of joy every day when I see your face and your dimples when you smile. I know I tell you this every night when I lay you to sleep, but I love you. I hope that one day you'll understand just how much.
--Mommy
