Five months!

Dear Kamelya,

Your Samu Teyze is right, you are a special baby. Magic even. You have a sparkle in your eye and a smile that lights up your whole face. I miss you so much when I'm at work that sometimes it physically hurts. When I finally get home and see you, I am so happy and relieved. I think you miss me too because when you spot me, after I've rushed in the door, you reach out your little arms to me and make anxious little sounds: uh uh uh, come get me anne, I'm right here!

You are enjoying your time with your Dede and Jing Teyze. Your Dede is really in love with you and is already talking about how much he'll miss you when he's gone. He sings you lots of songs (including Turkish military songs!) and tells you all kinds of special stories. He's the lucky recipient of many of your smiles these days.

He also is amazed at how quickly you are growing and changing. For example, your hand eye coordination is getting great. You can reach for and hold small things easily. Like your pacifier which you use a little more these days: If it's close enough to you, you can put it in and out yourself as you please. You are also starting to be able to play with your toys on your own, holding them to you and giving them little hugs. You like to munch on the nose of your turtle friend. He doesn't mind.

As always, you are a great communicator and are now starting to almost make words. Your daddy says your first words so far have been wakow (Taiwainese for 'holy cow') and Gaza (you're political already). You seem to say uh oh and hi a lot and one time it even sounded like you said ondan sorna. Your daddy and I really love your voice, which is kind of deep and scratchy. Sometimes you'll be sitting quietly in your bouncy seat while we're eating dinner, or in your tub, and suddenly you'll call out, a little sharp shout. We hope to get it on film.

You can turn over now and this morning, your daddy noticed the first signs of crawling! He put you on your tummy on the bed and your were a little inchworm inching slowly forwards, butt in the air and legs pushing you along. Now we have to be very careful when we put you down or else you wiggle all around! 

You are pretty sensitve to everything around you. You definately need a little bit of time to get used to new people and surroundings but once you decide you like someone, you are loyal. You are very cuddly and love to get kisses. You also have a great sense of humor already and make us laugh every day with your funny expressive faces.

I always thought I would be a more go-with-the-flow kind of mama but we realize it really helps you to have a schedule so we try to stick to a routine every day. Our bedtime routine is the always the same. By 7:30, your daddy takes you upstairs and starts getting you ready for bed. I rush upstairs soon afterwards and pick out your outfit. Then you have your bath which you love very much. Daddy massages you and I pour water on you and it's all very soothing and sweet. When you come out of that bath all pink and warm and sleepy, I wrap you up in a towel in your daddy's arms. You are at your absolute most precious then and that is the best part of the day.

Then daddy dresses you for bed and I feed you. By the time you are done nursing, you are usually fast asleep and daddy puts you in the pack & play for the first part of the night. Then after a few hours, you come to bed with us. I love sleeping with you, pretty girl. You've started snuggling with me at night so much so that you slowly shove me across the bed until we are pressed up against daddy on the other side. I pick us both up and scoot back to our side and we start the migration again.

You really love reading now! I can read you book after book up sitting in your nursery in the evenings and you sit on my lap all attentively looking at the pictutes. Now you even try to hold the books yourself and turn the pages. You still hold your little fists together at your chest a lot and you love to suck on them. Recently you've even started sucking your thumb! 

You have lots of nicknames, most of which are very silly. Lately I've been calling you kookoo which you seem to like. Your dede calls you kucuk hanim kiz and sings you a song that goes, "Guzel kizim, hamin kizim". Mostly though, your daddy and I call you muffin cause you are sweet and good to eat.

One big change that has become more apparent in recent days is your evolving eye color. You used to have steel blue eyes that were sometimes turned more grayish and sometimes were like deep seawater. But now there is no doubt that they are turning a new color that right now looks green. Every color suits you well and your cutest gaze is when you furrow your brow a little and try to tell us something deeply serious. 

You used to love riding in the car, and then for a while you weren't really so hot on it, but now you love it again, to our delight. On the trip to NYC last weekend you were very patient for hours on end. Pretty soon you'll be driving us around and then we'll wonder when the time went. Any day, probably.

Love you,

Anne and Daddy