Dear Eliza,
You are growing so fast. Stop it.
You are only three months old, but you are so tall that you fit most comfortably in six-month clothing. When you wear three-month clothing and stretch out after a nap, it looks like your little feet are going to punch through your close-toed pajamas.
You continue to sleep really well and better than Greta, who likes to wake me up consistently for a late-night bathroom break. You have a crunchy cough right now that bothers us a lot more than it bothers you. It makes our hearts ache a little every time we hear it. Mom likes to check your temperature several times a day to make sure you don't have a fever (with the ear thermometer, don't worry).
The past month included two great highlights: first travels and first laughs.
You made your first trip back to Indiana to meet your mother's side of the family for Christmas. Your ethnicity is 50% Hoosier.
Our first travel by airplane together had its ups and downs (Get it?! #DadJoke).
We failed by choosing not to bring a stroller. Instead, I carried you in your car seat through most of SeaTac Airport. Your Dad has fairly strong, well-chiseled guns admired by women in many area codes, but they could only handle so many minutes of carrying you at a time along with all the other luggage.
On the airplane, a nice flight attendant moved a nervous girl in our row, so we got the whole row to ourselves! It made the flight to Detroit, where your Grammie and Popa picked us up, a breeze. The take-off and landing didn't phase you at all. What a champ. You're ready for world travel.
Grammie and Popa hosted a lovely Christmas. A stranger would have thought you were the second coming of baby Jesus for all the visitors that came to see you. It was a parade of family and friends. We exchanged gifts. I hooked you and Mom up with some new Patagonia outerwear, and I got a Kindle to insure I remain literate so that I can teach you to read in a few years. You also received some fun rattles that you played with right away because your little pinchers are starting grasp whatever is put in front of them. The day after Christmas, we ate a maple bar for Gramps, per tradition, while you focused on eating your hands.
You met two great-grandmothers, Barbara Artherhults and Carolynn Lowden (Grandma Chicken) and only remaining great-grandfather, Carl Artherhults. You are a very lucky little girl to have met all four of your great-grandmothers.
Our flight back home from Indiana wasn't quite as easy as the first time. We shared the row this time, so your Mom was crammed in the window seat with you and your Boppy (baby cushion). I was stuck in the middle. We traded off trying to keep you happy. You were for the most part. Your Mom was really concerned about a blow-out diaper but you pardoned us from that. Many thanks.
We spent New Years Eve at the Chaffee cabin, and I skied at Crystal Mountain on New Year's Day while you hung out with Aunt Courtney, Bridger and Bennett. You saw some elk for the first time! Mom has the picture to prove it. The Northwest is full of great, wild creatures. Only pet Greta.
Just a few days after the New Year, you surprised us with your greatest feat yet: laughing.
Not just laughing, but belly laughing.
A neighbor, Teri, came over to update us on what's been happening around the neighborhood and for some reason you thought that was the funniest thing. She was wearing a funny winter hat, and I think that's what set you off. You laughed hard for a few minutes off and on. I couldn't stop laughing as a result. We grabbed a phone and caught the last of your chuckles on video. It was the most wonderful sound. It was a great laugh.
There's not enough laughter in the world, so keep laughing and you'll make it a better place.
Love, Dad