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Dear Holly: Your Invisibility Cloak

18 weeks.

Dear Holly: Your Invisibility Cloak

Dear Holly,

Sunday afternoon after you woke up from your nap, I sloppily picked you up in your blanket, as it flopped over on top of your head.

I could tell you were in the mood to be walked around the house; looking out windows and at wall decorations. Obviously, the most interesting thing going on in our house is typically your brother Jack.

He was busy this time making a plane out of the couch, covered with his tent as well as blankets and pillows. He explained to me that the motor is the sword he made out of blocks.

Then he looked up and saw you: “Daddy, how can she even see with that blanket over her eyes?”

Dear Holly: Your Invisibility Cloak

I hadn’t noticed that the blanket had fallen from on top of your head into the form of a hood, leaving just enough room for you to see.

As I continued walking you around our house, I was surprised that you hadn’t made a peep; even though your diaper was wet, since you had just woken up from your nap.

But I wasn’t going to stop the show. If you were happy in your strange condition, I wouldn’t be the one to interfere.

By the time 30 minutes had passed, and you were still quiet and content under your homemade hood, I developed a likely theory:

You believed that the hood from the blanket made you invisible.

And I say this because I’ve never seen you go so long while in need of a diaper change, without making a sound. It was as if you felt if you did, it would expire your superpower of invisibility.

In the end, you went about an hour before finally choosing to expire your ability to be unseen by the rest of the world.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: Your Invisibility Cloak

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Dear Holly: You Turned 4 Months Old This Week

4 months.

Dear Holly: You Turned 4 Months Old This Week

This week as you turned 4 months old, you discovered your feet. It’s been very exciting for you, as your toes are like a new toy for you.

Sometimes as I’m talking you while you are laying down, you’ll be smiling at me and even talking to me (in your “goo goo” language), and then all of the sudden you’ll just grab your toes and instantly roll over.

Because that’s another thing you’re into these days: Successfully rolling over on your tummy.

Even in the midst of being really tired and ready for me to wrap you up in a blanket for a nap, it’s typical for you to grab your toes and roll over… if for no other reason, to kill time until I get you to sleep.

Something I’ve officially learned about you this week is this: Pink is definitely your color.

Dear Holly: You Turned 4 Months Old This Week

We had you dressed in a blue outfit on Monday and you just didn’t seem like yourself. It was as if you felt out of place.

But every day since then, Mommy has chosen pink outfits for you, and you were back to thriving!

Obviously, I’ve been Instagramming you a lot. One of my recent favorites is from Tuesday, when you decided while I was feeding you breakfast, that it was more fun to play than to eat.

The way you looked at me, it was as if you were so much older than a 4 month old girl. I think you knew exactly how you adorable you were.

Another one of my favorite pictures of you is one that I took of you right before I took you and Jack to school. You held your hands together in a way that seemed to say, “I’ll just be here if you need me.”

I’m pretty sure that everyone knows I’m crazy about you.

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Holly: I Think of You as a Pink Kitty

16 weeks.

Dear Holly: I Think of You as a Pink Kitty

Dear Holly,

You were born to parents who have an olive complexion, yet you undeniably are the color pink, in comparison to us. I like that. It makes sense to me that a baby girl as feminine as you are would be colored accordingly.

And also from the beginning, you’ve had mannerisms that remind me of a kitten.

For example, you’re not much of a crier. When you do cry though, it just sounds more like a little kitten meowing for someone to hold it.

Whenever you play, you are just like a little kitten toying with a ball of yarn, when you see anything you can reach in front of you.

In a complete coincidence, the backpack Mommy pick out for you for daycare features right there on the front of it… you guessed it- a pink kitty!

I should also point out that during these past couple of weeks, you have been transitioning into using your “stand up play center”. Really, you’re still a little too young to be in it.

However, Mommy and I have noticed that despite you not quite having the cognitive skills mastered just yet, your muscles are strong enough to support you.

You are so eager to prove yourself to us. And the talking you do…

There is so much on your mind! Whatever you are trying to tell Mommy and me through all your “goo-goo” language, it sure sounds exciting as well as urgent.

You are simply happy to be alive, that’s for sure.

So despite the chaotic schedule our family has in the midst of Mommy and me both having full-time jobs (and me having a 2nd job of blogging and vlogging) and you and your brother being away all day at school, it is such a blessing to come home and see our precious pink little baby girl and her alien-loving big brother.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: I Think of You as a Pink KittyDear Holly: I Think of You as a Pink Kitty

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Dear Holly: Dolly the Doppelganger and Belle of the Ball Instagram Posts

15 weeks.

Dolly and Holly. ‪#‎doppelganger‬

Dear Holly,

This past weekend our family didn’t do much, which is very unusual for us. Therefore, the main thing I did was take care of you.

You better believe, though, that it was crucial to keep my phone nearby so I could take some inevitably good pictures of you to share with the world on Instagram.

The first magnificent shot was when Dolly (the doll your Grandma sent you from California, in which your brother Jack adopted as he practiced for you) ended up near your play mat.

It just so happened you were wearing pink and white, just like Dolly. So I placed the doll right next to you, and the magical shot was born.

The rest of the world agreed that Dolly really is your doppelganger!

Then later that afternoon, you spit up on your outfit you were wearing, so Mommy helped you with a wardrobe change.

Dear Holly: Dolly the Doppelganger and Belle of the Ball Instagram Posts

Belle of the ball.

She put you in the dress that Uncle Andrew and Aunt Dana sent you. My immediate thought when I saw you in front of me was, “belle of the ball.”

It instantly became one of my favorite pictures of you, ever. How could it not?

Look at your big smile. Look at the way you appear to be playing in your dress.

Seriously, just look at how beautiful and happy you are!

I know it’s only natural to see my own baby daughter as the prettiest little girl I’ve ever seen, but truly, you are one beautiful baby.

And it only makes sense that you would be, when I look at Mommy.

So while last weekend was seemingly uneventful overall, I was proud to capture two wonderful pictures of you:

One hilarious picture and one adorable picture.

And I see how that’s what kind of little girl you are proving to be already: hilarious, yet beautiful.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: Dolly the Doppelganger and Belle of the Ball Instagram Posts

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Dear Holly: Riding on Your Brother Batman’s Shoulders

14 weeks.

Dear Holly: Riding on Your Brother Batman’s Shoulders

Dear Holly,

You now depend on Jack to entertain you each evening while Mommy and I finish preparing dinner. These days, we are able to lay you down on a blanket while Jack finds new ways to amuse you.

Earlier this week, Jack discovered his Batman mask from his Halloween costume two years ago in his closet. He also grabbed his favorite blanket and decided to “fly” around you, flapping his “cape” and regularly stopping abruptly in front you to proclaim, “Beware!”

From there, he would present you with a dramatic pause, as if to solicit a response of possible intimidation.

Each time, you instead presented him with a look that implied, “Okay, go on… What else ya got?”

Anytime he would stop pretending to be Batman for any reason, like getting himself some water or a snack real quick, you would make it known that he needed to return to his job post.

Dear Holly: Riding on Your Brother Batman’s Shoulders

You would turn your head from side to side, looking for him, then letting out a squeal to communicate to him, “Hey, come back… You have work to do!”

I think your brother is surprised that even though he is just randomly joking around, he is actually playing an important role in the family: His ability to entertain you is an asset; more so than he might realize.

And last weekend when Nonna and Papa were here, Jack recruited me to help him carry you on his shoulders. With my assistance, he carried you the distance from the living room to the dining room, and back, several times.

This shouldn’t have been something you liked. It didn’t make much sense that you went along with it and liked it. I can clearly see how your sibling relationship is developing with Jack.

His obscure ideas again prove that even when Jack doesn’t take himself seriously, you often do.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: Riding on Your Brother Batman’s Shoulders