Dear Heron,

Welcome to our family! We have now spent one month together and it has been such a terrific month! You had a beautiful birth on July 17th at Misawa AB in Japan. I stayed with you in the hospital for three days and then we went home together to be with Daddy and Rhino, your big brother. You and Rhino hit it off right away and he loves hugging you, kissing you, and bringing you things. I’m very glad you two have each other and will be able to play together soon!

You’re a very healthy boy — and a big one! You were 9 pounds and 4 ounces at birth and were 10 pounds at your two week appointment. You have been growing a lot since then and have the biggest cheeks! You’re a great eater and I love the time that we spend together during your meals.

You’ve started smiling a little bit just recently. The first time you smiled was when I was sitting with you on the sofa, singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider and you flashed me a big grin. Then I kept singing to you and talking with you and you kept smiling back. You have such a handsome smile! You’ve since given Daddy smiles when he’s goofy with you and have given Miss Katy (in the church nursery) some smirks! You like to be sung to and rocked and also like to swing. We give you some tummy time every day, but right now you aren’t a big fan. You sleep with us so soundly and rarely fuss much at night. You do still cry quite a bit, but I make sure you get lots of loving!

We’ve stayed at home a lot this month, but you’ve gotten out a bit. Your first trip was to Shimoda where we went to the park, the mall, and had lunch. You slept from the time we left the house until we returned home, though! We also went to Hachinohe for lunch and slept through that! Other than going out to eat, you’ve been to church. You sit with me in the service (or are in the nursery if I’m working) and are always sleeping or calmly looking around at the people nearby. Right now you don’t care so much about where we are usually, you still just like to sleep a lot!

I’ll be writing you a letter every month to keep track of what is happening in your life, so you’ll be hearing more from me soon! I am so thankful God has blessed us with you, another beautiful, healthy little boy! Daddy and I love you so much and we are so glad to have you in our lives.

Love,
Mommy