Vegas baby

Good morning, Daddy!

Actually, I guess it's afternoon where you are. But I hope that you had a good morning, anyway. Mama woke up this morning to a silver-dollar sized fist in her eye. Ka-pow! Oops. I'm still getting the hang of this whole motor-control thing. I'm learning new things every day! Yesterday, I learned that if I open my hand to feel the texture of Mama's hair, and then close my fist, I can keep her hair with me. I like that, but I'm not sure Mama enjoyed it. Lola also seemed a bit alarmed when I tried to keep ahold of her whiskers. How was I supposed to know they were attached? No one tells me these things. Her ears look pretty appealing; I bet they're a permanent feature, too. Mama is teaching me “gentle.” She learned that if she softly squeezes my wrist, I open my hand. Probably I'll get better about the hair-grabbing thing when I get hair of my own. On second thought, I'll likely just pull my own hair and then cry about it. The whole cause-and-effect thing eludes me.

Like with my mouth. I don't have any teeth yet, but they're sure coming. I can feel them way underneath my gums. The front of my mouth is a little tingly and sensitive. It feels a lot better when I chew on something. A lot of those “teether” toys are hard plastic. Now, Daddy, who the heck wants to gum on something hard? That doesn't feel good! You guys got me a baby toothbrush, and it's made out of soft rubber (BPA-free!) and has cool little spiky-bumpy brushes. I love that thing! My favorite thing to chew on is my own hands. They're just the right shape and size to go right in my mouth. But sometimes (this is where the cause-and-effect thing comes in) I bite down on my fingers really hard. I have pretty strong jaws for a five-month old. Well, then my hand hurts and it makes me cry. I keep right on doing it, though! I'll figure it out someday.

So Mama says we're taking a vacation in October. It's my six-month birthday, Mama's birthday (I'm not allowed to say which one) and you're all done with your tour. What a fun celebration! I've never been to Las Vegas before. How many babies get to spend their half-birthday at the Hard Rock Casino? Mama and Auntie B. say I'll need a special party dress. Nothing too cha-cha, of course; I'm still underage. I'm excited for the airplane ride. Mama's excited for the pool. And we're both excited to see you again. Lola's bummed that she can't come, but I explained to her that they don't allow doggies in the casino. I think Mama's a little worried about taking the first part of the trip by herself, and making sure she packs everything I need. I told her that as long as she remembers to bring me, we'll be just fine. All the other stuff will fall into place.

Well, Daddy, I guess I should go. It's my naptime, and then Mama and I are going to the fabric store. We've discovered that I love my soft little blanket, so Mama's going to make more. I think she's crazy and should just buy them, but she insists. She's kinda' stubborn like that. But you knew that already. Enjoy your day off in Boston, and I'll see you soon!

Love, Piper.

P.S. – I don't know who Alison Jains is. Is she nice? It will be my first concert when you come through town, and I hope I like it. Mama says it will be too loud to stay for the whole thing. Just how noisy can a girl named Alison be, anyway?