Sixteen Months
Dear sweet Rosy-
Happy belated sixteen month birthday! Don’t think I forgot it for one second. I have just been distracted by the crafting and Halloweening and the teething. Oh, the teething. We’re revisiting the stage of eating everything. Marbles, tiny dolls covered in Elmer’s glue, rock after rock. Only one explanation. I’m trying to savor the huggy, clinging moments that come with feeling not so good. You are my baby, after all.
This has been the month of WORDS! Word explosion! Every day brings a dozen or so new words- doctor, chicken, stars, pink, yogurt. Two-word sentences. “Mama pee!” being my recent favorite. Sophie was an early talker. You are proving to be just as verbose and observant as she was and continues to be.
You learned to run this month. True get-off-the-ground running. It’s FAST and absolutely darling. In Atlanta you fell in love with a tiny push bike and set to work running after Sophie’s bike, stubbing every toe on your foot as you aimed the thing into her path. We’ve spent the last few weeks trying to find another toy that could inspire such action in our driveway. Nothing has worked. Not the baby stroller, not the shopping cart, not the bike leant by friends. Maybe you were inspired to run because there was room to run! Whatever set you off, it was so much fun to watch.
Another big change this month- pretend play! Already- who knew? Much of it comes from watching Sophie, but you stirs pots of pretend food, open the doctor kit and shove the thermometer in Bunny’s mouth. You spend a large part of the day hauling Baby (my grandmother’s Cabbage Patch kid) around and wrapping her in blankets, lying on the floor with her, pushing her in the shopping cart with her faithful companion, Duck. My favorite game is when you carry around a bar of soap and gently dab it, then touch someone and smile. Oh the mischief- good clean mischief.
Your favorite food is meat, which you call chicken. Sausage chicken. Hamburger chicken. Scrambled eggs had a two-week renaissance. Yogurt is high on the list. Any “gummi,” which is a catch-all for any sweets and marshmallows (a favorite). Apples still rule the day. Your favorite book is More, More, More Said the Baby, and anything about ducks, or dogs. You’ve learned to climb on the couch and stick your little legs straight out and say, “A show?” Horrible, eh? The only show you’ll watch is Signing Time, but it’s clear that it brings you great pleasure to copy Sophie’s morning routine. This month, for the first time, instead of crying out at night, you say, “Mommy? Mommy? Mama! Mama!” Heartbreaking and awesome all at once.
Every day you are more to us. More opinions, more thoughts, more fun. More Rosy. Tonight you were looking at the mirror and started saying, “It’s Rosy! Hi Rosy! That’s Rosy! and you leaned in real close and kissed that face. I kiss you all day long, every time I get the chance to scoop you up. But never could my kisses add up to say how much I love Rosy. We are all in love with our Rose. Thank you for a great month, sweet Ladybug.
Happy Halloween!
love, mama
