Dear Lulu,

You were five months old yesterday and you are cute as a button. And lately you have started to ACT really cute: you laugh and smile when I play airplane with you, you play with your toes, you are so interested in the cats when you are on the ground and they walk by you. Your dad taught you how to blow raspberries, and so now you do that all the time; I can hear you doing it in your crib in the morning before we get you up. I can hear you doing it right now as I write this. Every time you blow one, you laugh at yourself, and you drool everywhere. You are a drooly little thing in general. Last night we took you to the store to buy canned stuff and water for the hurricane (Irene) that we are supposed to have this weekend, and you sat in your blue and grey guitar pajamas in your carseat in the back of the shopping cart and you blew raspberries and laughed and laughed at everyone we passed.

Here are some other things you do lately: you have started to mimic all the sounds that Dad and I make. You especially like it when we say "hi" to you. You are getting pretty good at "hi"--sometimes I get really excited because I think that you are saying "hi" back. There are times when we walk in to a room you're in and you make a sound that sounds a LOT like "hi"...but I don't want to get too excited and be one of those parents who thinks their children can say all these words like "dog" and "ball" when really you are saying nothing at all. (I always feel sorry for those parents who do that.)

I am starting to think you might have a real talent for music, though, and I don't think I am imagining that. Music is a big part of your day to day life now. During the day, when you spend time in your swing, I put one of the cable music channels on TV for you. You listen to classical, jazz, big band and swing, kid's stuff, and some weird shit called "Soundscapes" that sounds really New Agey (lots of chimes) that I always hope will help you sleep but never really does. You like it when I play the guitar for you. Sometimes Daddy does, too--yesterday I was in the office and I heard him playing and I heard you shaking your rattle in perfect time with his playing. You didn't miss a beat. I honestly thought that it was him shaking it, that's how good it was. You like to be sung to--lately, your favorite sound is Jersey Bounce. I sing it to you when I change your diaper and you always chubble wubble around and smile.

Daddy and I have started to do some work in your nursery, which is also our office. It's taken us long enough! But for now you sleep in our room, and so I suppose it doesn't matter until you're older. Still, I want you to have a nice space of your own, and so we've been trying to get your room together. I went online and bought some curtains with trees on them, and a pretty patchwork banner, and some cute little watercolors of foxes riding bikes, boats... I didn't want anything too pink because you don't seem like such a pink baby. You are way too cool for pink.

You had your 4 month checkup (late--I know!) last week, and we were so happy to see that you weigh 16 pounds now! You are also 24 inches long, and wearing 6 month old clothes. My favorite outfit of yours right now is a sleepsuit with red and blue stars on it. I call it your spaceship suit--it just seems SO Lulu.


Daddy and I have lots of stupid nicknames for you--Loulie and Loops and Pants and Pantsy are big ones, but our favorite thing to call you is Bicky. And somewhere along the way, we started calling you Rebicka and Bicktoria. It is really stupid but it makes us laugh.

Right this minute, you are sleeping in your swing right next to me, wearing a sleepsuit that has monkeys on the feet. You love to look at those monkeys when you are awake. Your eyes get so big and you reach down for them. I love you so much! I actually can't wait for you to wake up because I miss you when you are asleep. Isn't that silly? (Still, don't wake up too soon. I still have a lot of internetin' to do before I'm ready to feed you again).

You are my best little friend in the whole wide world.

Fondestly yours,

Mama