A letter from Aunt Jess

Dear Zoe,

I just got back from visiting you for a WHOLE WEEK and man did I feel like the luckiest person ever. Not only did I get a chance to be around my precious sister, but I got to hang out with you everyday, which just felt like pure magic.

You have changed so much from when I last saw you! Now you can hold up your head, you can roll over, you can bend in half and eat your feet, you can grab things and everything you grab you put right into your mouth. You SMILE and LAUGH all the time and I feel like you can tell that we are best friends right down in your cute little heart. The greatest new development is this little screech you do when you are happy... you laugh really hard and then you go "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" like a little squeal. This little squeal will sometimes come out when you are just chattering away, I think you are learning your voice and that you think that new sound is hilarious, which, of course it is.

You and Chelsea came to wake me up every morning and we hung out for a while in my bed while I got used to the idea of waking up (p.s. that is the best way to wake up ever). Chelsea would put you right between us while we talked and you would turn your head back and forth looking at us, then you would smile and laugh and try and eat my hair. I imagine that it didn't taste good, but you just kept chomping away. I like to think that you know some baby secret about how drool is good for hair, but the truth is you put everything in your mouth. Then you would look at me and I would look at you and we would just stare at each other and I feel like I could stare at you until I go blind; you are just that amazing. Then you would do something funny before I got too cheesy and started to cry at how awesome you are. Mostly "the something funny" is poop in your pants really loudly. One morning you got the hiccups and I felt so bad for you that I could barely stand it. Hiccups are the worst aren't they? I would have them for you if I could lil' Zoe B.

Chelsea let me hold you as much as I wanted and you know, it was impossible for me to put you down. If I did put you down, I would lay you down on your blanket and then I would have to lay right next to you and watch you roll over and then we would make faces at each other and baby high-five. Other than that I didn't even want you to sit in those baby holders called inane things like "exer-saucer" and "bumbos", and you didn't want to be in there anyway, you wanted to walked around and kick it with the adults. So I would hold you non-stop and kiss on your cheeks and MAN are those cheeks cute. They are so big and round and they only get bigger when you smile and that is A LOT. Chelsea would have to hold you to nurse and to put you to bed, but pretty much all the rest of the time, you were hanging out with me. And you know what? It was so much fun baby girl!

I took about a million pictures so that when I got back to New York, I could look at your fat little cheeks and super bright eyes and be so, so happy to be your auntie, even if that means I'm far away (and yes, I cried when I left you and your momma). But now I look forward to the next visit, when I can see just how much you've grown and what new tricks you'll have up your tiny sleeve! I know soon you'll be sitting up on your own and then crawling and I know you will just RULE at those too, because you so totally own everything you do right this minute.

 I just love you so much little best friend, we are soul mates that's for sure. Baby high-five!

I Love You to bits and bits and bits!!!!!!!!

Aunt Jess