Harper, it’s only the first month, the first time I’m writing a monthly letter to you, and I’m already a day late. Second kid syndrome, much? I’m sorry, I promised myself I wouldn’t do that; that I’d take just as many photos of you as I did of Avalon, that I’d blog about you with the same consistency as I did with her. I also promised myself I wouldn’t eat that delicious cupcake today either, and well, ask my love handles how that went.

The truth is, my negligence is absolutely no reflection on you or how much I love you, it’s just that life with two little girls keeps Mommy extremely busy. But Harper, you are the sweetest baby. I’m amazed that, at only a month old, your personality is already shining through. You’re very laid back and easy going. There’s not a lot that ruffles your feathers, aside from sitting in poop or wanting to eat, and I can’t say I blame you on either of those fronts.

You’re very portable and are a social butterfly, having already accompanied me to book club, birthday parties, Target, picnics, the grocery store, and the mall. Frankly you don’t really have much of a choice but to go with the flow, as we’re always pretty busy running errands and taking your big sister to school.

I’m eternally grateful that you’re such an easy baby. I think that God wanted to give me a break this time around, knowing that I might spontaneously combust with a fussy baby and a two year old on my hands.

You’re sleeping in your own room now, and have been for the past couple of weeks. I didn’t plan on moving you out of our room this early, but you sleep so well  - usually sleeping from 9pm-9am and only waking up once, maybe twice – that I figured you were ready to be in your crib. The video monitor we watch you on helps me cope with you being in your own room, too. Did you know we keep an eye on you all night long? And we probably plan to have your room on surveillance until the day you move out and get married.

As far as the eating goes, we make a good team. You are exclusively breastfed at this point, and I’m really enjoying being able to do that with you. The whole thing is going a lot better than it ever did with Avalon, and I’m hopeful that we’ll make it several months with great success. It’s somewhat of a full time job, of course, and can be challenging at times (like in the middle of your lunch when Avalon informs me that she NEEDS TO POOP!) but I’m grateful for the opportunity to provide for you in this way.

Ever since the day your were born, I have been anxiously waiting to see a smile spread upon your face. Not one of those feel-good-farts type of smiles, but an actual happy smile. And it happened! Just a few days ago. You’ve only smiled a handful of times since then, but when you do it absolutely warms my heart to see your little gummy grin and I can’t wait for all the smiles I have yet to witness.

I’m certainly no expert, but I do feel that as a second-time mom I have a little bit more of a handle on things than I did two years ago as a newbie. One of the biggest lessons I have learned is how quickly the time is going to move forward and how fast you are going to grow up. And it’s such a double-edged sword; on one hand, before I know it you’re going to be a fun, giggling, interactive Gerber baby. On the other hand, you’re not going to be such an itty bitty, adorable newborn for much longer, either. So I know how important it is to soak up each day with you and to enjoy each and every stage of your life and I’m going to do my best to do just that.

I love you, little peanut.