Oh, How I Love Lulu!

Oh, my precious Lulu. You are five months old already! I love my time with you, getting to know you better with each day that goes by. You are very alert. You've already been to two plays, and you watched both with interest. You love to be read to. Your favorites are poems or stories that rhyme, and you love for me to stretch you out with your head on my knees so you can see my face while I read. You like to vocalize. You don't do it all the time, but when you do, you "talk" loudly (I think you know it's all about volume around here), and you know exactly what you are saying, even though we're not sure yet!

You don't cry often, and your needs seem to be pretty simple. I would say it boils down to the three ms - mama, milk and music. You definitely like to have one-on-one time with me, and you don't mind staying up late to get it. You recently made it clear to Patti-Grams that you had no use for either a bottle or formula. Thanks, but no thanks. You may be the only baby to ever join the La Leche League. And on a recent girls getaway to Florida with Aunt Ashley and me, we discovered that there was no end to the number of hours you would ride in your carseat - as long as Pandora Lullaby was playing in your ear. No need for us to try to fool you with an audio book either. You were happy to be good as long as you had your tunes! I'm thinking of getting you an ipod for your first birthday! 

You give me the most adorable smiles. You don't laugh all that much, and when you do find something funny enough to laugh, you'll only chuckle a couple of times before you just good-naturedly smile as if to say, "that was funny the first time..." You are beginning to enjoy toys more, and your favorites are your Sophie the Giraffe and a pink teething bracelet that Patti Grams gave you. You love to interact with Sophie, Will, Lillie, and Zoe. Now you will definitely let me know when you've had it (like when Lillie has given you the 999th kiss of the day), but mostly you take things as they come and you seem to enjoy all the excitement/chaos of life in the Roden Family Circus! 


I have loved learning about each of my babies during their first few months. Precious characteristics come bubbling up long before first steps are taken or first words are uttered. With Sophie, we knew early on that she was full of passion - for better or worse, and thanks be to the Lord, it has been mostly for the better! And though there are other passionate people in our family, none quite as passionate as Soph. With Will, I sensed a depth that was definitely hard to explain in an infant, and yet it was there then and continues to this day to be an important part of who he is. With Lillie, there was a joy unlike we'd ever experienced in our family. And that joy flows through her to  us each day.


With you, my Lulu, there is yet another unique trait that makes you the one and only Lulu. You are the absolute picture of contentment. It's not that you don't have preferences or that you are just willing to take whatever leftover time and attention can be given. You have no problem letting your needs be known. But you do have a way of making the best out of crazy circumstances. You aren't super-sensitive, you calm easily if you ever do get upset, and you seem to find pleasure in simple things.


I am actually learning great lessons about my own contentment from watching you. Though I don't have it all figured out yet, there is a definite connection between contentment and peace, and I am praying that both continue to be a part of your make up, and that both are built in more to who we are as a family. I always worried that if I ever had a truly contented baby that I would somehow neglect to give her the same attention and love that I've given the others, but I've found with you that I so love being with you that I keep you with me all the time. A few weeks ago, I needed for you to spend a couple of hours at the church while I worked with Aunt Tori on something, and I remember walking off with you in a childcare worker's lap, thinking, "does that woman know how lucky she is to get to spend time with Lulu?" I missed you even though I was just downstairs and I was just away from you for a couple of hours. Hmm. It seems there may be a connection between contentment and relationship too. What a gentle teacher you are my beautiful baby!


I want you to know what a joy it is to be your mama. I want you to know that though you are my fourth baby and my third little girl, you are distinctly precious to me. I see already that there are traits that you have in common with your siblings and then ways in which you are uniquely you, Lucie White Roden. Every day that I get to spend getting to know you is a gift. I love you as big as the sky, my Lulu.