Dear Miss M,
Oh, how we enjoy you. You are just full of boundless energy and joy. You have a giant vocabulary, and you talk to us all of the time. My favorite new word this week has been your use of "probably." As in, "mommy, that's probably bacon on the floor," referring to a leaf that did indeed sort of look like bacon. Upon hearing a noise in the house, it was "that's probably R." I love hearing you use new words in proper context. Your enunciation is much better now, and people can generally understand you.
The downside to this? You occasionally say things that are a bit cringe-worthy, like loudly announcing in a crowded restaurant that "I am pooping." Or, as we passed two women in the park in full burka, complete with niqab, announcing that they are "scary people." Of course, you also say delightful things that make me completely forget the awkward ones, like "mommy, you are my best friend." At bedtime, you've been telling me as I turn out the light that you are going to "go to sleep, and when I wake up, I'm going to have a good day." I have no idea where your phrases come from sometimes!
You can now tell me what you've done during the day, like go to the park or play with your friends, naming the friends. You have a good little memory. When I asked you today what the rules are for the park, you said "stay out of the water" and "no running." Excellent job!
The "no running" rule is a new one, because you keep falling and hurting yourself. You have fallen countless times recently and hit your head on the pavement, which terrifies us. You run so fast that your little legs can't keep up, and you fall so quickly that you don't even reach out your arms to break your fall, which is how you keep hitting your head. Twice in the last week, you have put your teeth through your lip, which really upset your poor father, who was with you both times. My heart sank when I saw the blood on your dress that night. My poor baby! So, we are working hard at teaching you to be a bit more careful. You are your mother's daughter, I'm afraid. . .we both have a knack for minor accidents!
You are still a picky eater. Your old favorite food, cheese, has fallen out of favor with you. You'll still eat almost all fruits, with blueberries still a clear favorite. You'll also eat toast regularly. Pasta, chicken and beef all have a fair shot, too, and sometimes yogurt. Beyond those things, we struggle.
We are talking about using the potty, but you are still not terribly interested. You can, and do, tell us when you need to poop, but then refuse to go and use the potty. We'll get there, though. We read your potty book tonight before bed, and you were very interested in everything about it.
You love the zoo, and we go there frequently. You call the male lion "Alex," after the lion in the movie Madagascar, and you talk about him from time to time. You love the butterfly exhibit, and love running around. Daddy had your face painted like a pink tiger a few weeks ago, and you were so proud of it when you got home. Your face was just adorable.
You also love the playground, and will stay there for hours. You also love to walk through the park. We go for long walks many days, and you will walk over a mile on your own (and only stop because we make you get into your stroller at that point). You also love to take walks in the woods on the weekends when we go hiking. It makes us laugh when you refer to the forest as "a nice jungle." Clearly, our city kid who watches Jungle Junction regularly needs to spend more time outdoors in the wild!
We have you enrolled in Spanish classes once a week. You don't like to sit still for the parts that bore you, and wander around the room. You are learning things, though--you know animals and colors in Spanish, for example. I asked you to point to the "conejo" in one of your books the other day, and you quickly pointed to the rabbit. I'm so proud of how you are learning! You love the craft part of class, and pay close attention to that. You also love to sing and play instruments. You aren't crazy about story time in class, although you love story time before bed at night.
Speaking of story time, I love to tuck you into bed at night. We have a little ritual, you and I. I snuggle into your bed with you and read to you every night before you go to sleep. You always beg for more stories! When I finally tell you that it's time for sleep, we put on your turtle constellation light and your Tinker.bell nightlight and your sleep sheep that plays the ocean sounds, and turn out the light. You sleep with about a million stuffed animals, which cracks me up. I always have to fish books and animals out of your bed to make room for you.
You are a wonderful big sister. You are so kind to your little sister, which makes me so proud. You are always fetching her binky or giving her a kiss or talking to her, or telling us that "Baby S is SO CUTE!" When I leave in the morning, I always kiss each of you goodbye, but if you don't see me kiss SB, you insist that I do it again to make sure SB got her kiss, too. You love to be around SB, and are always trying to do things with her. When we remind you to be gentle with her, you sometimes turn to us and tell us that you "just want to pet her," as though she's a puppy! It makes us laugh. She smiles big happy baby grins at you when you talk to her. I think it is a mutual admiration society. I am so excited to watch the two of you grow up together. I am so excited to be raising sisters, and I hope you will always treasure that relationship between the two of you.
I love you, dear daughter. You are an amazing creature, and I can't wait to see how your little personality unfolds from here. You can accomplish anything, and you can be anything you want, little girl. I want you to dream big, be kind, work hard, be bold, and live a happy life, and I will do everything in my power to make your life as wonderful and special as I can.
Love,
Mom
1 comment:
Aw, I just love all of this.
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