Ruth,

Today you are 3 months old, and the biggest change this month has been your little personality, is really starting to blossom. You smiled for the first time at Britt a day before you turned one month, and you really started smiling at Daddy around 6 weeks. I finally managed to get a smile out of you the day you turned 2 months old. I still think you are our more serious child, I have to work harder to get smiles than I ever had to with Britt. Sadly you will probably hear that the rest of your life. As second child, you will forever be in comparison since we only have our experiences with him to relate back to. You should find comfort in the fact that at least we only have one reference point, the next one is going to have to be compared to you both, haha.

The most astounding thing about you to me, is how talkative you are. (Way ahead of Britt in this, you should be proud to know.) Whenever someone stops to look at you in the car seat, you feel as if it is a chance to share your views on the political front, your theories on how to solve world hunger, your explanation of scientific concepts that even Einstein couldn't quiet grasp, oh and most important of all your chance to convince people to pick you up. I may not have a clue what you are telling me, but boy do you have a lot to say in the most animated and urgent sounding way. This week we went to Salem for their Church meeting, and boy did you talk to everyone there, and yes you succeeded in getting lots of different people to hold and talk to you.

Just one night this week we had the best conversation. All the way home from Church, your Daddy and I talked about Russian history. He thought the Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church were almost exactly the same, so of course I bored him with all the details of Russian history and how the two churches are very much different. We got home, and Daddy needed to run to the store for Cokes, so while I changed the sheets I asked you if you listened to our discussion, since you were awake the whole trip. I told you how when you were bigger you could read my history books and how we would learn all about not just Russian history, but US history and English history and Egyptian history. After talking about that sort of stuff, I told you we wouldn't just learn history, but we would learn mathematics and we would do fun stuff like word problems, not just silly theoretical math but how it applied to things, and how we would use it to learn way fun stuff (cause math really isn't fun) like physics and chemistry. I told you how we would learn how the universe works and study all sorts of fun and important things. You in the most appreciative way added your coos and other sounds at the appropriate times along with facial expression about how exciting history sounded and how dreadful math sounded. And I realized, it was our first real conversation. The first, I hope, of many.

Not only are you a real chatter box these days but you are growing stronger each day. Why just last night you manged to rock forward while you were sitting leaned up against the pillows on our bed. You balanced without resting against anything for almost 30 seconds. I was shocked. Whoever heard of such a thing at just 3 months old. You rolled over from back to stomach for the first time on Thursday. You have done it almost nonstop since then. You never have cared for being on your back. You either want to be sitting up, really straight or on your belly.

You find your hands more and more often these days as well. You like to suck on your middle two fingers or your thumb, and still only take the pacifier when you have a mind too. Fingers suit me just fine, after all I don't enjoy constantly turning around while Daddy drives like a lunatic trying to get it back in your mouth and Daddy likes it even less when I make him get up and go and put it back in your mouth at night when you wake up fussing.

We have also managed to get you to sleep through the night 5 of the last 7 nights. We still can't get you to sleep anyway but in the swinger, so I have no idea when we will actually try to move you into the crib, but at least we are sleeping mostly at night now. All sorts of exciting things this week. Of course what I didn't mention was that you didn't go down on some of those nights until 2 o'clock. You are indeed our little night owl. You sleep great all morning, and party all night. You are most alert and awake in the last afternoon and early evening, then you take a short nap before dinner, and party until midnight or later most nights. I think we might have to work on breaking you of sleeping in the swing this next month.

Britt seems to be your best friend, and we hope that you two will remain close. Even after you get old enough to realize that he is just a bit possessive of you, and even after he realizes that you can take his toys away too. You two seem to enjoy laying together in the floor or on the bed and you grin and laugh at each other. It delights me to no end to watch you two when you are both happy and not shrieking at me.

I love you,
Momma