8 Weeks old

Dear Jorie,

This week you are eight weeks old. I missed updating last week because we were on Lopez Island, where I had no internet. You went on your first airplane, and did great. You got to meet all of your relatives on the Ross side of the family. You were very social, "talking" and laughing at everyone. Your Great-Grandma Ross spent a lot of time holding you. As usual, everyone loved you.

You keep getting more amazing every day. You are now very interactive, you play simple games, and love to copy people. Your smile is so amazing, it lights up your whole face. I can't describe how amazing it is to see you smile and laugh. Or to watch you interact with people. Knowing that you're actually reacting to what people are saying, or the faces they're making, it's just amazing.

You actually kind of play with your toys now, batting at them and trying to grab them. You're still getting the hang of opening and closing your hands, so you get frustrated sometimes. I'm convinced you have entire one sided conversations with some of your toys, even seeming to get angry at them for something every now and then, like they said something you didn't like.

One of your new habits is to suck on your hand. It looks like your trying to suck your thumb, but you haven't figured out how to stick your thumb out, so you end up just happily noming on your palm. It's really cute, but it results in a lot of drool! So much that I was convinced for a few days that either you were teething really early, or you had thrush.

We got your social security card this week. It's official, you're an American citizen! I just kind of stared at it after I opened it, reading your name over and over. Thinking about everything you will use that name, and that number, for in the future. We still haven't gotten your birth certificate, but I'm sure that's on it's way.

I know I'm not doing a very good job documenting all your adventures, but honestly to me the most important things are some of the smallest. Watching you smile and laugh with your Great-Grandma Ross, Seeing you stick your tongue out at your Grandpa O and then laugh, watching you laugh in your sleep, realizing you've slept through the night for three nights in a row, packing away your newborn sized clothing because you've outgrown it.

Every day you're growing and changing. It's hard to believe how much until I see pictures of you from when you were born and then look at you. You were so tiny and delicate. You're still tiny, and you're no where near chubby, but you look so much more...robust now. You look stronger. I can see the little girl you will be your face now. I simultaneously wan to freeze time and keep you this small forever and fast forward until you're old enough to talk and walk and share experiences with me. I'm so excited about showing the world to you, and watching you grow up, and yet at the same time I feel like this precious time where you're so small and brand new is slipping by so quickly. From what I understand, this feeling is normal, and won't ever go away.

I love you baby girl.