Dear Sommer,

I can't believe that two months has passed already. Thank you for giving me nine hours of uninterrupted sleep the past three nights. It's really helped clear the sleep deprivation fog of new motherhood that I have been living in since you were born. Not only was Mommy able to finish her xmas shopping today, but I was also able to start this blog, something I wanted to do since the idea dawned on me in those late weeks of my pregnancy.

There are so many things I want to tell you, but as I look at you now, napping in your crib with your arms up above your head, hands balled into little fists, I am at a loss for words. All I can do is feel. Every time I look at you I become paralyzed with emotion. It starts in my stomach and radiates through every cell of my body. This is a feeling I have felt before, not too long ago over a bottle of red wine and a lake trout dinner at a restaurant overlooking a waterfall in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina. Daddy almost gave Mommy a coronary that day when he had me on the back of his motorcycle doing 150 miles an hour on a winding mountain road.

Side note: Regardless of what your father's interests are, you are never allowed to date a boy who rides a motorcycle. EVER.

Anyway, even with my elevated blood pressure and newly developed heart condition, I knew I loved your daddy more than anyone else in this world, and I knew someday he would give me what I wanted so badly, a beautiful little baby. It was during that trip that we chose your name, not knowing that it wouldn't be long before we were blessed with your arrival.

You have changed our lives so much in the eight weeks you have been with us, and it is true - I can't imagine life without you. I miss you every night when you go to sleep and my favorite moments of the day are when we hang out, smiling and cooing at each other.

I love to imagine what you will be when you grow up. I wonder if you will be a creative type like me, haplessly making your way through the world, or if you will inherit your daddy's technical skills and disciplined nature. Either way, I promise to support you and encourage you. I hope that no matter what pressures you feel in this world, that you stay true to yourself and always follow your heart. The hardest thing you will do in life is seek out your dreams, but I pray that you do, no matter how foolish or outlandish they may seem.

I could go on writing pages and pages on what I wish for you and how much you are loved - not only by daddy and me but by your entire extended family. You have had so many visitors, gifts, hugs and kisses - it's clear your arrival has had a profound effect on everyone around you. You are a special girl, my little bug.

Time is going by too fast. Two months have flashed by my half-awake, swollen eyes in what feels like an instant. I have to find a way to slow it down so I can make this last forever.

I love you,
Mom

I believe the light that shines on you
Will shine on you forever
And though I cant guarantee
There's nothing scary hiding under your bed
I'm gonna stand guard
Like a postcard of a Golden Retriever
And never leave till I leave you
With a sweet dream in your head