Dear Ella . . .

You are such a little cutie! And I'm convinced you must be the happiest person on earth! Even in the middle of the night, when we're both half asleep and I'm changing your diaper, all I have to do is catch your eye and you immediately give the biggest smile (and sometimes a big happy squawk too!). You are the most precious thing to me!

At three months you:
• love to "talk". We have such fun conversations and you're adding new sounds to your little "vocabulary" every day.
• have started giggling a little! I know it won't be long before we hear a full out cackle!
• are becoming ticklish and are starting to delight in funny noises and different sensations. You like it when Mommy and Daddy boodle your belly and tickle you under your chin.
• are becoming so strong! You can sit for several minutes in your bumbo seat without tiring. You usually sit up straight if I'm holding you on my shoulder and you love to arch your back - especially on the changing table.
• are so close to rolling over! If I roll you from back to front, you can easily roll you self back - you just haven't done it completely on your own yet. You're also almost ready to roll from back to front. I think it would have happened already if your changing table didn't have contour sides!
• can sleep through the night (8+ hours) now, but you still don't do it consistently. The longest you've slept is just over 9 hours. You teased us with a few nights of that in a row, but quickly went back to sleeping 5 1/2 to 7 hour stretches (which is still wonderful!).
• have started reaching and grabbing for things like your singing sunshine on your playmat. Yesterday I found you patting the mirror on the side of your crib.
• love to chew on your hands (and get slobber everywhere!). You especially love your right index finger (forget thumb sucking!). It's so cute!
• love your Daddy. Every time you see him you just light up! You follow the sound of his voice and watch his every move when you're in the same room. It makes my heart so happy!
• have started to become a little clingy to Mommy and sometimes to Daddy too (which is heart wrenching when I think about having to go back to work in a couple of weeks). You cry when we let anyone else hold you - even other family members. But all it takes is for me to scoop you up and snuggle you and then you're a happy baby again
• steal Mommy and Daddy's hearts every single day.