Dear Allegra,
Today, you are our only child. First, it was just your Daddy and me. We were just the two of us for four years, and then you came along and made three. And for the past two years, now there are three of us. A Mama, a Daddy, a Baby. But you are a big girl now, and a new baby is on his way. Things are about to change, but for today, it is still just us. I love us.
You are slowly losing your baby talk. You love to sing, and you make these crazy mashed up versions of Christmas songs and nursery rhymes that make us all laugh so hard in the car (Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree, have you any wool?). You love eating family dinner with your Daddy and me, mainly because you also love family kazzert, which comes afterwards. You happen to love the K sound right now, so you eat kamanas, wear kanjamas, and have karretts in your hair today.
Some things you used to love, though, you have decided that you really don't like. For instance, sirens. You were all about adventures (avensis) and emergencies (mer-GENCE) this summer, but now you get really scared when an ambulance drives by the house. Every night you thank Jesus that He protects you and Baby Luke from the sirens, and also from Santa.
Oh, Santa. We met him in the city last weekend, when your Daddy's plan to take you to see the Christmas lights at Hartwood Acres went horribly wrong. We had hyped it up like crazy in order to keep the 45 minute car drive interesting...and then found ourselves in the middle of a very dark, christmas-light-free forest. For the first time in 20 years, the light show was cancelled. We tried to take you to another street that had some decorated houses, but you weren't impressed. So on a whim, Daddy headed into the city on the way back home and we stumbled upon a Christmas celebration complete with Santas house. You didn't want anything to do with him, so instead of sitting on his lap, you sat on your Daddy's lap and we all got our picture taken together. Later on that night, though, I found you standing by the tree, staring up at a little clay Santa ornament. 'Santa! Will you bring me sumpin?'
You are also convinced that your Daddy will always keep you safe. And this, my dear, is the truth - he will. That man loves you more than life itself.
Soon, we will be a team of four. Your brother (Baby Wook) is coming soon - within the next few days. Things are about to change, a lot. And change can be hard, even good change. So we might have a few days when we aren't sure how to manage all the new, exciting parts of having a new family member. Still, I am pretty sure that I will figure out how to be a good Mama to a little boy, and that you are going to be a great big sister. We will learn how to love Luke just right, and how to be a family of four that is even better than our family of three.
