Dear Santi,

My Little Love,

You are a little magician. You make time disappear! Where have the past eight weeks gone?!

It amazes me how much you have changed since my last letter. My favorite of all the changes is your smile! You respond with a smile when we smile at you. You particularly love it when we stick out our tongues, sometimes you even mimic us and stick your tongue out at us! You have the sweetest smile, you even smile in your sleep. Oh my happy baby, I love you so much.

You are also full of cuddles and coo's right now. After you eat you like to snuggle up and gaze at me. It just melts my heart. I sing to you all the time and I'll continue to do so until you're old enough to complain. Even then, I'll probably still sing to you. Over the past couple of weeks we listened to Jimi Hendrix, Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, Kate Nash and of course, the Beastie Boys. Music makes you so happy.

On April 30 we took you home for the first time. Like HOME, home, to Carlsbad. We stayed for a week and it was such an eventful trip. It marked your longest car ride and mommy's first beer since before I was pregnant. Those were on different days of course.

At your last doctors visit you weighed 10.9lbs and you were 23 inches long. You are so big and healthy! Your eyes are still blue and your hair is outrageous.

Everyday you sweep us off our feet, making us fall head-over-heels in love with you over and over. And it never gets old. We adore you.

Love,
Mama

Dear Santi, my first letter to you

Dear Santi, my little love

Throughout our relationship, I have always called your dad, "my love," or just "love." Naturally, you are my "little love," so that's what I call you. I get a kick out of thinking about the day that you, my little love, will be bigger than me. Even then I will call you "little love."

You are four weeks old today, but we have only had you home for one week. Someday we will tell you about those first three weeks of your life, but not today. Your first week home went pretty smooth, you seem to be taking it easy on us. Thank you! You are a good baby who likes routine and loves to eat. You like your pacifier, being held and listening to music. This week we listened to The XX, Sade, Adele, Led Zeppelin, The Arcade Fire and Gotye.

You make the sweetest faces. You smack your lips when we give you your medicine. Your eyes get wide with surprise when you go "boom" in your diaper. You fart, a lot. For someone so small to make a noise that's so big, it's pretty cute. You are still on oxygen and have to wear a nasal cannula most of the time. But you are so strong and coordinated that you try to pull the tube off your face. With your finger nails being as sharp as they are, we've started keeping you in mittens. We call them "kitten mittens." We even call you kitten mitten.

You have at least one dimple, you might have two. Your eyes are still a greyish blue. We keep wondering if they're going to change. However, your grandmother Coco, Auntie Melissa and I, all had dreams about you having blue eyes before you were born. Time will tell. And then there's your hair! You were born with a full head of thick brown hair that could rival a 3 year old pageant queen. Your hair is gorgeous. It's lightened up a bit and there might even be hints of red in there. Again, time will tell.

I know we barely just met, but I am madly in love with you. So is your dad. So are your Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles. We all love you so much. You have changed us and ourlives forever and for better. I hope that you are able to feel the great energy of love that surrounds you and carry it with you throughout your life. Never having one moment of doubt. Not one moment of wondering if you are loved. You are loved. And those three words don't even scratch the surface or do our love for you justice.

Now that we found you, none of us will ever be the same.

Love, Mama