Dear Vivvie #1

With Cohen, I did an update on him every month throughout his first year. That was kind of my version of his baby book since I'm a crappy mom & gave up on scrapbooking years ago. Well, my friend Emily (the one who took the pictures of Viv) wrote her kids letters throughout their first year or two. I thought it was such a cute idea that I decided to do it for Vivvie. So, here's my first letter to her (along with a few cute pictures I've taken of her over the past few days...most of them in her legwarmers & little ballet socks that I am now obsessed with)...


Dear Vivvie,

You have now been part of our family for one month, as of yesterday. I swear it has been the fastest month of my entire life! Why couldn't your pregnancy have gone this quickly? In a way, it feels like you just got here a few days ago...but in another way, it feels like you've always been a part of this family. It's funny, but long before you got here, I would find myself always feeling like we were missing someone in the family. There were several times when our family would be out somewhere & I felt like I had lost one of my children. I had the three boys right in front of me, but I would still find myself looking around for someone else. I haven't found myself doing that since you arrived. It's awesome to have our entire family here now! Life just feels complete. I know that you were definitely supposed to be part of this wild & crazy family. Everyone of us love you so much already!


You are growing like a weed right now! Clothes that used to drown you just a few weeks ago are now fitting just right. Your "headpieces" that I force you to wear don't look quite as huge as they once did (although they are still big...don't get me wrong). So far, you are tolerating them really well even though I'm sure they are not very comfortable. But, fashion first, right?

I swear you get cuter by the day! I love your big beautiful eyes & the funny little newborn smiles you give us from time to time. Whenever someone sees you for the first time, they ooh & ahh over you & how adorable you are. We still haven't figured out who you look like. Nana thinks you look just like your daddy...especially your cute little nose. I'm glad you got his nose. It's way better than this honkin' Skousen nose that I got stuck with. From time to time, I think you look a little like Cohen as a newborn, but Cohen is a carbon copy of me as a baby, so I don't know how you can look like BOTH me & Dad, since the two of us are basically polar opposites in the way we look. I guess, over the next year or two, we'll finally be able to figure out who you really look like.

I have had so much fun dressing you up over the past month. I rarely dress you in just a sleeper because you have too many cute outfits. They're probably not as comfy as a sleeper would be, but you just look too stinkin' cute in them (again with the fashion first thing). I've also been putting little baby bracelets on you. And, from time to time, I even put a little bit of baby perfume on you too. Yes, you read that right...baby perfume. A friend of mine gave it to me at one of your showers. It smells like baby powder & just makes you smell delicious all day long. Is that a little overboard? Probably, but I couldn't really put perfume or legwarmers on your brothers, so I'm making up for it with you. I have yet to give you a pedicure, but I'm sure that will come with time, don't worry.


You are such a happy little baby! You rarely cry...unless you're hungry, then you let out this inconsolable cry that basically says, "I'm going to die if you don't feed me this instant. What's the hold up Mom?!?" Anytime you cry, your brothers rush to your aid. Connor & Aiden are both quick to shove a binky in your face the second you make a peep. And, if you even so much as whimper, Cohen comes running to me saying, "Help her Mom! Help Baby Bib!!!" By the way, he calls you "Baby Bib" because he can't say his V's yet. It's pretty darn cute.

You are unlike your brothers in multiple ways. For one thing, you LOVE to lay on your tummy. Your brothers HATED it & would have nothing to do with tummy time. You, on the other hand, love it & probably prefer it to laying on your back. You are already lifting your head up like a champ! Everyone is amazed at how strong you are. It's a good thing you are strong...you're going to have to defend yourself against three brothers your whole life, so you should probably start pumping iron right now.

You are a VERY spitty baby. You spit up ALL THE TIME! It doesn't matter whether you've eaten a lot or just a little bit, you WILL spit up. I've just come to expect it. I always have spit up on me somewhere...my shirt, my pants, my hair...something will have spit up on it. I've just decided to be proud of it & wear it like an accessory. Fashion first, remember?

So far, you have been a pretty good sleeper. You usually just wake up once each night between 2 & 3 o'clock. I swear you have some sort of weird internal alarm clock because you ALWAYS wake up sometime between 2 and 3 & then again between 6 & 7 without fail. When Dad & I hear you crying, we always look first at the alarm clock and then have a good laugh at how regular you are.

Speaking of sleeping, I am very happy that you seem to be a deep sleeper. It amazes me what you can sleep through--the vacuum, the blow dryer, your brothers' hooting & hollering--you sleep through it all. And, it's a good thing too. I don't think your brothers have any volume control whatsoever.

One thing that has surprised me since you were born is how HARD it is to take care of four kids. I had no problem adding a 2nd child or a 3rd child, but it has been really hard this time around. I don't mean to make you feel bad by saying that. It's definitely not all because of you. It's just that four kids is a lot! I feel pulled in four different directions all day long. I wish I had an extra set of hands or several clones of myself. If I did, I might actually be able to get one of the 2,362 things on my to do list done. But, I just keep telling myself that it will get easier as all you get get bigger...and then once you're all bigger, I'll want you to be little again. So, I'm just trying to enjoy each day...even the hard ones.


So, there you go Miss Viv. There is your first of twelve letters that I will write to you throughout this year. But, before I go, I just want to tell you how much I love you already! I am so happy to have a daughter & to have that daughter be YOU! I always felt like I would have a daughter someday...and I am so glad that you are finally here! Love, love, love you! --Mom