2 months old

Dear Leo,

Today you are two months old. It's hard to believe, as the time has gone so quickly! Just yesterday we packed away many of the outfits you don't fit into anymore, and there are more of those than I thought there would be--including some you didn't get to wear very much.

You are so much more alert this month--you like to be where papa and I are, and you smile and coo at us (when you aren't fussing about something that is). You've just begun to enjoy being in your crib and watching the colorful shapes and listening to the pretty music. (Ok, so it's tinny and a bit out of tune, but you'll learn that when you're older.) You've also found the "other" baby in the mirror, and are no longer frightened by him. He makes you smile, and a bit shy too.

When I hold you on my lap you like to stand on both feet and support all of your own weight, although sometimes you decide you'd rather not after all. You hold your own head up most of the time, although it's still not 100% stable just yet. Occasionally you enjoy tummy time, but most of the time you find it not too pleasant. Hopefully you'll like it more as you get older.

We think we've got your eating habits figured out, but you are still what Grandma Marge calls a happy chucker (not spitter-she corrected me). You still get full body hiccups every other day or so, and you still seem to have some reflux symptoms. but, you are gaining weight and growing just fine, so we aren't too worried. You are starting to sleep longer at night--often 5-6 hours, sometimes more, which we love. But, on the few occasions you've gone 7-8 hours between feedings you've promptly spit up most of you 1st morning bottle--much like a parched man crossing the desert would at the first oasis if he drank too fast.

So far you have met 1/2 of your grandparents (you have seven of them, so it will take a while for everyone to get here). You've met one aunt, but not the other, and even some of your papa's cousins. You've experienced three major holidays, with one more happening soon. By the time Easter arrives you'll be an old hand at celebrations.

I can't believe that in 3 1/2 weeks I go back to work (1/2 time for a month and then full time) and you will start day care. I worry that if we don't have you all figured out by then and have all of your eating and sleeping routinized by the time you start that it will be a bad thing. But everything I read and my common sense tells me that you will just be starting to be on a schedule when you are 3-4 months old, and that hoping for it to happen sooner might be too ambitious. I am sure we'll be just fine.