Dear Madeleine,

Sorry it has been such a long time since I wrote to you. You have survived your first family Christmas and are in your first New Year. There have been so many changes, it seems incredible.

You babble now. You have no freaking clue what you are saying but it still warms that cockles of your daddy's heart when we hear "Dadadadada" through the monitor. You are mastering many different syllable combinations however, "Mama" is not one of them. I am trying to train you to say it but you just smile at me coyly and laugh, flapping you little arms like bird wings. Mommy's frustration amuses you greatly.

You are also a pro at rolling from your back to your little belly. Every time we put you to sleep on you back like good parents you immediately roll to your side and curl up in a little ball of cuteness. Then when you wake up, in a fit of anger, you thrust yourself onto your little belly and scream bloody murder until we roll you back over.

You have begun to use your little chubby arms to push your whole torso off the floor and you can scoot your little body in a little circle, especially if a toy you want is just out of reach. And can I add that as much as you enjoy your toys much of the time your would prefer my cell phone, or the remote, or a receipt from Target. Needless to say I have been doing a lot of cleaning lately. There is no telling when you will begin to crawl and attempt to put anything that isn't nailed to the ground into your mouth.

You have such a sweet disposition. You are very loving and cuddly and you enjoy being held when you are sleepy. You do not like being put into your crib but if I let you hold my hand for a while your usually fall right to sleep. You love smiling and playing. You cry when your daddy and I leave a room and your face lights up like our non-existent Christmas tree when we appear again.

There is no limit to how much I enjoy spending time with you. You are endlessly entertaining, everything you do is new and exciting for me and every face you make is precious and worthy of being photographed. I can't believe how much you are growing. Six months seems like such a long time but it has gone by in a flash.

We couldn't love you more my little M-meister. Please get over that little cold you have because it breaks mommy's heart to see you suffer.

All my love,

Mommy