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Dear Josephine,
I can’t believe I am saying this but you are about to turn six months old. It’s already been half a year since you were born. I know they said “the days are long but the years fly by” and now I am starting to understand what people meant when they said that to me. While on one hand I am happy to watch you grow and develop and build more of a relationship with me and your mom, on the other hand I am very sad about how quickly the time is going by with you. Now we only have something like seventeen and a half years or so before you might go live on your own. Seems like a lot of time, but if it keeps going this quickly, it’ll come a lot faster than I’d hoped for.
There’s been a lot of developments in your life since I last wrote to you. First and foremost, my mom (your Bubbie) has taken over the day-to-day nanny duties, and on Fridays, you go with your mom to your other grandparents’ house. This has been a blessing in disguise for everyone involved as your grandparents and Aunt Mary definitely enjoy getting to see you more often. It has been fun for me to watch my mother interacting with you. She has been spending a lot of time taking care of your great-grandmother as well who is 94 years old. It is an interesting dichotomy to see her balancing the care of a baby grandchild against the care of her aging mother. While one of these things is undoubtedly bringing her some stress and sorrow, I think you have brought some light back into her life.
Another thing that happened is that you started to eat solid foods. You like some more than others. Actually, sometimes it’s kind of hard to tell what’s going on. You make some funny and weird faces when you try new foods, probably because it’s different and you are still figuring it out. But you also keep leaning your head forward as if you want more. So, I guess I’ll go out on a limb and say you are enjoying the changes in your diet.
The bad news is that we found out that you are allergic to nuts. You had some allergic reactions when we tried to acclimate you to nuts early on in your life to see if we could avoid this being the case. Your mom blamed herself for this since she also has a nut allergy and of course I think that is silly. We will be worried about you and we feel sorry that this is a thing you will need to worry about in your life, but at least you won’t go through it alone. We already take great precautions for your mom so it will be pretty easy for us to make sure we keep you safe as well.
The biggest thing that happened though is that we decided to buy a new house and move to Wellesley. You’re a pretty lucky baby because you’re not even half a year old yet and you’re about to move into a pretty nice spot! What I thought was really cute was how your mom carried you around on all the open houses we went to in your carrier. Your little head would be peaking out over the carrier as if you were assessing each potential future home. Sometimes you napped through the showings. Either way, we’re excited to move with you and introduce you to the home that we hope you will associate with your entire childhood.
I have a sneaking suspicion that your future might involve music or dancing. I say that because every time there is music on, you gravitate to it. You always calm down if there is a song playing. Oftentimes, you’ll start squeaking and squealing with excitement when you hear new songs, and you’ll make excited gestures with your hands and feet. You especially love to do this during bathtime when your mom plays songs for you.
I think my favorite thing about you is when you recognize me and smile. Even if I am across the room, if you poke your head up and see me and I smile at you, you will burst into a big smile. I’ll come say hi to you sometimes during the work day when my mom is taking care of you and you always welcome me with a big smile and sometimes a little giggle. I think of all the happy feelings I have ever had throughout my life, nothing compares to that little bond we have already created.
When I was younger, I used to really like a band called Everclear. They had a song I always liked, and I think it took me until now to fully grasp its meaning as the lead singer sings to his daughter:
I see you roll your eyes
You know it makes me smile
You are like the sun to me,
Bright as liquid fire
I feel so powerless
To hold you up above the world
You are quite a lot of trouble,
Such a pretty little girl
I like to watch you play
When you don’t know I’m there
See you when you’re sleeping at night
Reach out and touch your hair
I’m gonna make this world
Be just how you want it to be
Yeah you just don’t understand
You’re my everything.
Until next time.
Love,
Dad
Jeff Kirchick 