To my 17 month old going on 13 year old,
This has been the month of the whine. When you want something, you want it NOW and the whine comes out. It is also the month of hitting. I know you are just testing (and you are possessive over toys…). All children go through this. I was warned, and I know it is just a phase…but I am ready to retire the phrases "we don't hit", "use your words", and "how do we ask for things?"
Speaking of using words…you are saying ALOT of them. Like up to 5 new words a day! You say mommy and daddy (da-E) now (instead of mama and dada). I love hearing you say mommy. It is one of the words you say perfectly, and you can really hear your sweet voice. You have started saying water now instead of wawa. You also say Wilder (your friend) which sounds a lot like water, so that gets confusing. Some new favorites: shower, girl, apple, elbow, cereal, boobie, fish, computer, fly, fart, paint, oh no. You will say "other side" when you want to switch nursing sides. You ssssshhhh with your finger over your lips. You are obsessed with identifying every light you see, saying "light" all day long. You put your hand up and say "stop". You took a little girl's stuffed animal in vegas and when we tried to get you to return it you said "I keep!". You love shaking your finger at Leon (or any other dog!) and saying "no!" when he barks. You have added a lot of names to your vocab: Brooke, Brett, Wilder, Isla, Charb, Ca (eric), No-wah (norah). In fact, you have a slight obsession with Isla, Nana and Charb. At least with saying their names. You say their names consecutively at least 100 times a day. Nana…Isla…Charb. Nana…Isla…Charb. You draw out the Nana and the Isla (Naaaay Nay, IIIIIsla….)then it is a short pause and you bluntly say "Chawb" (charb). Eeeevery time. You even woke up one morning whispering their names. I mean…it is a little odd! But we do love our Charbys!
You RUN everywhere. Your right arm tucked up and swinging back and forth in a prissy sort of way. I love hearing your pitter patter throughout the house. You seem more balanced this month for sure. This has brought confidence and walking is not good enough any more. You are running and climbing up everything. You love slides. You say "wheeeeee!" when you go down any slide or slide-like object. You have this hilarious, deep chuckle that you started this month. It almost sounds sinister. You love to tickle and to be tickled. We can wrestle on the bed forever tickling each other. You hold your fingers up like a tickle monster and shriek with delight. You shoo flies. You shoo stinky poos and say "shoo-E!". You put your hands over your face when you are sad or embarrassed.
You love your babies (dolls and stuffed animals). you will rock them night night and even breast feed them! Sometimes you hold them up to mommy to breast feed. You like to collect things in your block wagon and wheel it around the house. Daddy bought you a lawnmower that you love to push around. You love the park and stroller rides. You run right up to the swings and could swing forever. You are getting into the slides now too. You still love your books and your toy farm. There is a little diving board on the pond of the farm that makes a spring noise when you press it. It is a favorite pass time for you. Outside, you draw with your sidewalk chalk, play in your pool, or in the side yard. The play kitchen has been a huge success. You love to stir and pour "milk" into cups and cheers. You can sit for longer stretches of time on the kitchen counter and "help" me cook.
You had your first real ice cream cone this month. We shared a cone. Cookies and Cream. Nothing real exciting to report in the food world. You have started getting more cereal and milk (goats milk) in the morning. You love asking for "ce-we-al". Restaurants are near impossible these days because you are always on the go!
We had an awesome visit from Happy and Nana, a super fun Halloween, and a trip to Vegas to see Papa and Gaga. This year's trip to the pumpkin patch was a little different than when you were a baby and so much fun! I love watching you run and explore everywhere we go. There was a time when I feared the day that you were not going to be my baby anymore. How was I going to keep up with a toddler? I did not anticipate how cool it was going to be to rediscover the world through your eyes. You are becoming a real, little person that has ideas and feelings. You comprehend everything and you have a wicked sense of humor. You make me laugh all the time.
You are still a dancing maniac. Anytime you hear music, even commercials, you stop and break it down. You recently started to shake your hips to the beat along with clapping, stopping, bouncing, and shaking your head. This month (or last month…) we faced your carseat forward. This has led to dancing in the car together.
I decided one night (after a week of you waking up at 2/3 am to nurse forever) that we were going to night wean cold turkey. You have typically been a good sleeper, and since 3 months old you, more often than not, sleep until at least 5. We still bring you to bed with us, but I don't offer you milk. You fuss for a couple of minutes or less and then fall asleep. No more night nursing! Overall, you are doing one big morning nurse and one big night nurse before bed. Very infrequent during the day. You have been preferring mommy for bedtime this month. We talk about our day, relax our body because "tomorrow is another adventure", and sing songs. Daddy has been putting you to sleep with Star Wars and Game of Thrones stories.
You are a california beach girl. you run through the sand and the waves. We try to go as much as possible. You are a blondie. your hair is getting thicker and longer.
So you may be a little sassier these days. But you are also the sweetest, most loving little lady. You say hi (and sometimes give hugs) to everyone you see. You give the best hugs and kisses. Sometimes spontaneously. You pat our backs. You love on Leon all day. When you say your "night nights" you carefully hold Leon's face in your hands and kiss him on the lips. You will snuggle for minutes at a time. You will climb up and put your arm around my shoulders and just sit a minute.
Even after the hardest of days, all it takes is one look at your sweet little sleeping face in my arms to make me want to do it all over again the next day.
We love you,
Mommy and Daddy
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