The Light Footsteps Family has been busy enjoying the transition to a family of three.  I’m not sure how so many other women bloggers manage to keep cranking out posts once they have a new baby.  Guest bloggers, perhaps?  Anyone interested in doing some here? I’d take ’em!

Hopefully sometime in the new year I’ll be able to start posting more regularly again.  Recently, I thought I’d have a lot of new content soon as we were planning to close on a new 23-acre homestead tomorrow, but unfortunately, it has fallen through yet again.  I’m not sure if we’ll keep waiting around or start looking at new properties again.  This certainly has been a long search.

In other news, today is Baby Light Footstep’s 2-month birthday!  I wrote her a letter today that I thought might be fun to share here.  I hope you enjoy reading the highlights of our first two months, too.

Dear Cora,

Two months ago, I first saw you and I knew I would always love you unconditionally.  Since then, my love for you has grown in leaps and bounds.  It is now not only unconditional, but also unimaginably deep and I am in perpetual awe of your perfect innocence. 

Your birth was just as we had hoped, and I spent our first week together glowing in the light of my “birth high”.  I would stare at you in my lap and cry tears of joy as I tried to comprehend your beauty.  You needed a lot from me, but I was happy to give you

There were some shocks in that first month, though. I really had no idea that babies could eat so much!  It was quite an adjustment to stop and feed you every two hours (or less!).  I also experienced quite a bit of pain while feeding you in those first four weeks.  My body wasn’t used to such a voracious appetite! However, I am so glad we persevered.  It has been such a joy to see your admiring face staring up at me.   Your perfect little eyes have been changing from steel to blue, and I know these peaceful moments where we deeply examine one another won’t last forever. They are miraculous and I aim to be present during them as often as I can. 

During the first month, sleep was also a new adjustment.  Having just left my womb, you didn’t yet know the difference between night and day and we were up whenever you wanted to be.  And sometimes you were upset!  But instead of forcing anything on you, I followed your lead, gave you what you needed, and I have benefited from this tremendously. By following my instinct and waiting for your signs, I can now put you to bed reliably around the same time each night without any fuss.  We read a book, you have one last meal, and you fall asleep all on your own.  You still wake up several times a night for a snack, but you seem to know that it is night and don’t ask for anything more.  Thankfully, you sleep near me so it is easy to wake up when you do and fall back asleep quickly, too.

In the beginning, you were adorable, but you didn’t do much but eat, sleep, and make dirty diapers.  I still wasn’t sure what to make of life with a newborn.  But around your 1-month mark, you started to crack a smile every once in awhile (more than your precious sleepy-time smiles).  By week 6 they were big and bright and happening more often, and now, at your 2-month mark, you smile many times each morning when you wake up and see me.  I finally know that you love me back and it fills me with total joy. 

Not only are you smiling more now, but you’ve also started talking to us.  You coo and gurgle while you explore your hands or while we have a “conversation”.  My favorite moments are those when daddy can stay in bed with us in the morning and we all sing together.  You are so happy to coo along or howl with us like we are a family of wolves.  I am sure you are going to be a very musical person. 

For only being here two months, you certainly have seen and done a lot.  We’ve had two big holidays together and you’ve met people living near and far.  Your California grandparents were able to come for a week around Thanksgiving and Tia Liesel came all the way from Chile to meet you!  Our friends sent their love all the way from India and even provided you with an authentic Indian outfit.  And of course, you’ve been having a good time getting to know your Ohio Grandma and Grandpa, Great-Grandma, and more.  As you grow older, I hope I can always remind you of how excited everyone was to meet you as a baby.  There is so much love for you. I hope you will always know that and it will help you to remember to always love yourself.    

Each day brings special moments that I wish I could package to unwrap again on a cloudy day.  Even on the hardest days with you, I have happy memories of dancing with you or hearing the last little “hoo” you make after crying.  I know that this time with you as an infant will go by all too quickly.  My hope is to enjoy it as fully as I can and try to hold on to the memories of your eyes, tiny hands, and the funny noises you make while you’re asleep. 

Here’s to many more months of loving you!

Love always,

Mom