Growing Pains

Dear Sonia,

Hi girl! Your mom had a hard couple of days this week. Your Uncle S and other Auntie K were there to visit you and meet you last weekend and then when they left, your mom got really sad.

Because your mom and I have both lived far away from home a bunch of times, we really know how this feels. It's horrible. You see people you love, and then they leave, and it's just this weird empty feeling. It's usually only when people visit you. When you visit, there's always the happiness of returning to your own home and your own bed and your own everything that somehow makes the sadness of leaving them bearable. When I was only 10 or 12, and your Great Auntie P would leave to go back to New York after a visit, I would have this icky feeling in my tummy that I couldn't explain to your Nana. Come to find out, this is what it was!

So, even though your mom has had this feeling before and knows how it feels, it still is hard when it happens. She'll be fine, of course, and your family is really great there in Texas. Your daddy, and your mom, and your grandparents. You're a lucky girl to have so many people who love you.

I'm coming to see you in one more week! One more!

Oh yeah! I just found out from your mom that you do the same twisty thing with your hair that I do! (Now, my dear niece, this is in fact a curse. Perhaps YOU won't be 35 and still doing it -- in the middle of meetings at work no less -- but maybe you will. We'll talk. Oh, and I'll teach you to tie knots in it with one hand, that's the best part!) I started doing it when I was tiny in my crib, before I even had hair. Just a little twisty motion with my finger. That's what you do. But since you have as much hair as a two-year-old already, you apparently sometimes get caught up in it and grab it and pull, and then you cry because you hurt yourself! Careful!

Anyway, I've included a photo of you with Uncle S. He digs you. He sent me a text while he was visiting you that said "U will love her." He has clearly understated how I am going to feel about you, because I already love you and I haven't even met you. Imagine what will happen when I hold you? Imagine!

Love,

Auntie K

Boston, Boston!

Dear Sonia,

I'm coming to visit you in only two more weeks! I'm so excited to meet you. I bought you this cool Jamaica Plain onesie so you can proclaim your allegiance to Boston in a secret way (because who would know Jamaica Plain is Boston in Texas?)

Here it is:



Cute, huh? I also bought you an adorable little pair of socks from Life is good. They are a great store that is headquartered here in Boston. They have little peas on them and on the shirt (which I didn't buy because it was $28 and that just seemed insane for a shirt that would fit you for about a minute and a half) it said "Sweet Pea".

I have to really be careful, because I was at the SOWA Open Market (an amazing artisan market in Boston in the summers) and everything I saw I wanted to buy for you! Alas, your Auntie K is not made of money. Oh well.

I'm counting the days till I meet you!

Love,

Auntie K

A Uncommon Name?

Dear Sonia,

For someone with a relatively uncommon name, there are sure a lot of you around all of a sudden.

I've already posted about Sonia Gandhi and I sent your mom a card when you were born that said "Hello Sonia" cut from a Target ad, because they have a new line of beauty products by Sonia Kashuk.

And now, Sonia Chang-Diaz is running for State Senate here in Boston. She has a headquarters building right down the street from my house.

You can check her out here.

And here I thought you were so lucky to get a more unique name, considering I've got one of the top 25 most popular names for the decade I was born. I guess this is all a little weird, actually, since a little research just proved that Sonia has never broken the top 150. In fact, when it was at its most popular in the 1970s, it was only ranked 183 and in 2007, the most recent year for data, its rank was 646. (Of course, in Spain, it's in the top 100, but has declined in popularity over the past 5 years.) So there you go.

Okay, little one. It's a nice day and it's supposed to rain later, so I'm getting off the computer and heading out to take advantage of the lovely weather.

Added on July 29, 2009: Sonia Sotomayer was just approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee to be the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice and the third woman Justice.

Love,

Auntie K

Lookin' like me

Dear Sonia,

Today I got a text message from your mom that said this: "Can I just tell u that today it looks like I gave birth to you! :)"

So I called her right up and she, of course, was running low on minutes, which is why she texted to begin with. She said that for some reason, you really look like your Auntie K today!

Cool, huh?

Love,

Auntie K

Three P.M. Pride

Dear Sonia,

Today your mom called me and said she was proud because she'd managed to get you and herself out of the house by 3 p.m. to do some errands. You were happily sleeping in the car and she went to the drive-through (I don't know the drive-through of what, actually), and then was headed to the library. You are a champion car sleeper (just like your favorite Auntie was!).

Anyway, anyone being proud of being able to get their act together in only 8 hours to leave the house sure puts parenthood in perspective for those of us who aren't parents!

Love,

Auntie K

Mother's Day

Dear Sonia,

Today is your mom's first Mother's Day! She didn't have to wait too long after you came along to get a whole new holiday with presents and everything! Thanks for making her feel even more special than she already is!

I got her a special magnet with you on it! Here's a not-very-good picture of it. It's on your fridge, but this way, it'll be here on this blog, too.


I got your Nana a kayaking trip to Casco Bay Harbor in Maine, one of her favorite places on earth. She seemed a little worried that she wouldn't be able to kayak, but I know she'll be fine. I'll update you on how it went after we go in June.

Anyway, I hope you and your mom have lots and lots of good Mother's Days in the future. She'll sure remember the first one!

Love,

Auntie K

Photos galore!

Dear Sonia,

Your Nana has gone insane with the photo messages. Or maybe it's your Mom on your Nana's phone. But I keep getting them. And then, yesterday, I told your Papa that I got a great photo of you yawning, and he said "Yeah, Mom sent it to me too!" What? What? Since when does your Papa know how to open a photo message? Everyone's getting so tech savvy!

Anyway, here's the photo I got today. Clearly your Mommy took this one.



Your Nana might hate this photo, since it shows her sleeping, but as long as it isn't bigger, she should be fine. And it's so sweet! Look at you, snuggled up on top of her and you're both sleeping!

You get to have more Nana time tonight, because your Mom and Dad are going out for dinner to celebrate their wedding anniversary, which was yesterday. Fun!

I can't wait for you to take a nap on me. Only 1 month from today, and I'll be in Texas to meet you.

Love,

Auntie K

Big YAWN!

Dear Sonia,

So here I am, sitting at my computer at work on a gorgeous sunny day. It's only about 65 degrees out, which is my absolute favorite temperature, and we just came through about 5 days of rain, so I really hate that I'm inside.

All of a sudden, my phone, from deep inside my bag (my new bag, which I love (it has a penguin riding on a rooster on it!)), my phone goes "BING BONG!" This is the sound for receiving a picture-message on my phone. I knew it would be your Mommy or your Nana, sending me a photo of you.

It was! Look!


How totally hilarious are you? Look at those nostrils!

And then Nana texted me (which, by the way, you should note that your Nana knowing how to text is so great!) to say that she sure is going to miss you. She is leaving Texas to come home to Boston on Friday. She's been with you for three whole weeks! It will be hard for her to leave, I'm sure. (And even harder to go back to work - it's really easy to get used to not working after three whole weeks!)

Well, babe, this is two posts in one day, but this photo just couldn't wait!

Love,

Auntie K

You share a name with....

Dear Sonia,

You share a name with...Sonia Gandhi.

And in the annual issue of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People, she is honored. Click here for the story about her.

She's Italian! And she's so important in India. She is an Indian politician, the President of the Indian National Congress and the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi. It's really very interesting. She even spells her name the same way you do.

I just thought you should know about her.

Love you!

Auntie K

Sleep, little girl, sleep

Dear Sonia,

You lay in your cradle happy as a clam after eating during the day, and drift off to sleep. Why, oh why, then, can't you do that at night?

Your poor mommy. Your poor daddy, who has to sleep so he can get up and do surgery!

You are such a snuggler, I think it's just a ploy to get into bed with your mom. For now, you're gonna get away with it, because you are only two weeks old! But soon, crying it out is going to become a way of life, I think. :)

We love you, girl, but sleep, already!

Love,

Auntie K