August 2010

Dear Girls,

This past month marked the last month of summer for everyone in our house (except me). Mommy went back to work, and the two of you went back to school and day care. Besides getting back into a routine, this was a fantastic month for our family.

This was another month of firsts, and we'll start with Rachel.  My baby girl, you got your first big girl haircut, and I wasn't even there to see it.  Your mother and I have been talking about cutting your hair for a long time, and we used to cut your bangs before we decided that they'd look a lot better if we just let them grow out.  You mother said you did a great job, and when you got home, you asked why they'd given you your hair in an invitation.  It was actually a keepsake card with a lock of your hair taped to it.  You got about 6 inches of hair cut off, and it looks so different now.  The ends used to be very fine, and would make cute little curls, but now, with all of your hair the same length, it's thick and looks all grown up.

Emily, we took you to the beach for the first time this month, and you had a blast. It reminded me a lot of the first time we took your sister to the beach (which was in October) and we had trouble keeping her out of the water.  You just kept crawling into the ocean.  You loved the water, and the waves, and you kept wanting to drink the water, and you had no qualms at all about crawling around in the sand.  I can't wait to take you back when you learn to walk.

Speaking of walking...we're getting there. You have figured out that you can sit down on your own once you're standing up, which was a big barrier to you standing up on your own.  Now, you crawl around the house like speed racer, and pull yourself up on anything and everything. You've even started to pull yourself up and your parents, if we're standing still. We're starting to move away and forcing you to move with us. I'll also grab your hands when you try to stand up and me and help you to move your feet.  You're going a few steps at a time right now, but there hasn't been any furniture surfing yet.  You just don't have the confidence to do it on your own, but I'm sure that will change soon enough.

You're learning more words, too. You've been saying "uh-ooooh" for a while now, and you do it whenever you drop something from your high chair, or want to warn us that you're about to. You've also started saying "bye-bye" and you always seem to know when we're leaving someplace.  You started signing "please" to us recently, and you I swear I heard you saying "good girl" the other day as you stood up on your own, then sat down on your own.

Rachel, you started into your second, and final, year of preschool, and now you're big girl on campus. You have a new teacher this year, and you're doing really well. You love school, but I can already see a difference between this year and last year.  Last year, you'd come home singing new songs and showing us how you could count and write letters.  This year, you seem almost a little embarrassed to sing the songs for us, like you're a little too mature for that sort of thing.

One thing you have started doing a lot of in the last month is trying to sound out words.  You are enthralled by words and letters, and it seems like every day you're trying out a new word.  You usually get them wrong, but you get close.  The other day you were telling me that sell is spelled "S - E - L"  It reminds me a little bit of a note your Aunt Sarah left for Nana when she wasn't much older than you.  She had answered the phone one day when no one was home and took a message that said something like "Cone cld" and it was supposed to say "Connie called."

Emily, we've always said that when it comes to eating, you're our little porker, and this month has been no exception. You have never lacked an appetite. We're trying to get you to be a little more civilized, though, so that you don't look like such a barbarian shoving food into your mouth and letting it fall all over your chest and get rubbed into your hair.  So this past month, we started showing you how to use a fork.  You've been enthralled, and most of the time, when you grow tired of picking up your food, we can entice you to eat a whole 'nuther portion by putting it on a fork.  You love to take the fork from us and feed yourself, and recently, you've even started helping when we stab the food for you.  It won't be long now.

One final thing that happened this month was that we finally got out from under the scrutiny we've been under for the past 7 months.  I'm not going to go into a lot of details here, and when you read this, years from now, you probably won't have any memory of this, but the trip to the beach was our little celebration of the end of this ordeal.

I am constantly amazed at how different the two of you are. Rachel, you were always such a calm baby, and did the things we asked you to do. Sure, you got a little stubborn at times, but overall, you were quiet and relaxed, and just sort of took things in.  Emily, on the other hand is rambunctious and loud and does whatever she wants. A perfect example is the dog's dish. Rachel, when you were a baby, you stopped trying to play in his food and water after we scolded you a few times.  After that, you actually helped pick up spilled dog food from the floor and put it into his bowl for him.  Emily, you still try to sneak into the kitchen just so you can splash in his water, even after we've scolded you and moved you and redirected you what seems like a million times.

No matter how different the two of you are, we love you both very much. The little things that make you, you, are the things that make us fall in love with you over and over every single day. We had no idea that our lives could ever be so full.

Love,
Daddy

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