Dear tootle-britches,
This has been such a fun and VERY busy month! It's crazy to me how grown up you seem lately. When I see pictures of you or see you from a distance, I think, "wow she reallys isn't a baby anymore, she's such a little girl!" We really have been super busy and you have handled it all beautifully...I think better than I have :o)! Thank you for being such a sweetie!!! I love you. Here are sixteen SUPER things I want to remember about you at this age:
1. My oh my, what a little world traveler you've been! This month, you've been to Granbury, Little Rock, Austin and back to Granbury. Busy busy! On each of our trips, you have been a huge trooper and have done so well. I don't know why I'm so surprised about this, because you've always been a good traveler. I guess I should give you a little more credit. Well really, we just need to thank God for answering our prayers for safe and stress-free travel. And I LOVE that we've gotten to have a few mommy-daughter trips, but I sure do know we both missed daddy a LOT! We are going to stay put for a while :o)
2. Well, I knew it would come some day and it's finally arrived....you're finally going through a mommy stage!!! Daddy is being very gracious about giving me a turn, but I know he must miss the attention a little :o). You are constantly asking for "mama" and are pretty clingy too. I love to hear you call for me after naps and I love the fact that you follow me around constantly and won't let me out of your sight :o). I love my little shadow!
3. Now, even I can't compete with the intense love you have for your lovie right now! You affectionately call your lovie blanket "addie". We don't know why, but it has definitely stuck. You've always loved the soft, furry texture of your "addie", but lately you ask for it (ok, beg for it) ALL THE TIME. We've always limited your time with lovie to naps and bedtime, but you just can't seem to function without it lately. Honestly, daddy and I aren't sure what to think about this obvious addiction you have for your "addie" right now, but we kind of hope it's just a stage.
4. You are our little chatter-box for sure...certainly all-girl! I've kept a list of all the words you are saying at the end of each month and I was absolutely amazed when I looked at your list this month...you've got about 90 words right now and are learning new ones everyday. We really have to be careful about what we say around you because you repeat just about everything we say :o). I remember holding you when you were just a tiny infant and wondering what your voice would sound like...it's way better than I could have ever imagined :o)!
5. I must say, the SLP in me was so proud when you started combining words into phrases this month! Super cute. It makes you seem so big to be able to express yourself so well! My favorites include: "hold you" (which really means hold ME, but I know what you mean), "help you" (same thing), "bye ____", "hi ____", "lean back" (what you do in the tub), "no-no Mamum (Tatum) and "are you?" (where are you?). You are such a big girl!
6. We had know idea when we heard your first word "ball", that it would still be your favorite word! It's hilarous to hear you say it about a million times a day. No matter where we are or what we're doing, you can find something that looks like a ball to you, and you definitely point it out. Some of my favorite "balls" you have found are: the moon, buttons on our shirts, the sign for Target (bless your heart, you've seen it enough!), a globe and your newest...EYEball. Ha! Now, we'll just have to teach you the difference between balls and circles :o)
7. You learned how to go down a slide all by yourself! I hadn't even thought about letting you try, but your Karo watched you do it first at Chuck-E-Cheese and then I got to see you do it at the museum. You seemed so proud of this new skill:o)
8. You've always been just an angel of a sleeper but you've been waking up a lot during the night lately. We aren't real sure what's going on, but it usually just takes one of us going in there and laying you back down. All we know to do right now is pray for peaceful rest, so that's what we'll continue to do.
9. Well, we thought you had the one-nap-a-day thing down because you did it for about 2 1/2 weeks, but you are back to NEEDING two naps a day. We don't know if you're going through a growth spurt or something, but you've been super tired lately.
10. You've started learning how to using a spoon all by yourself! Some days are super, some days are just super messy!!! We are very proud of how hard you are trying and love to watch you feed yourself. Most of the time, you still turn the spoon over before it gets to your mouth and often lose your food down your shirt :o)
11. You LOVE to play with puzzles! We do it over and over throughout the day :o). Your favorites right now are the numbers and people puzzles and you are actually pretty good! It's very cute to watch your determination and then hear you say, "help you?" when you need a little help :o).
12. You've gotten to see all your grandparents this month and have LOVED spending time with them. You are SO very blessed to have such incredible grandparents and I love watching you interact with all of them. One thing is for sure...they are ALL pretty smitten with you :o)
13. This month you have become MUCH more timid. When we see a stranger or someone that you're not too sure about, you cling to me, point and say, "mommy", as if to tell them, "you better step back, this is my momma!" You're also more timid in our music class with all the older kiddos. Even though you know many of the songs and will do the motions here at home, when we are there, you just stand still and stare at everyone :o). But the craziest part is that you act really timid and run to me when daddy "chases" you. This is something that you LOVE, but have started being less sure about.
14. You continue to love playing with your babies and have now started doing all kinds of funny things with them...you like to sit them at your table with you (to help you with your puzzles), change their diapers and rock them in your chair. You are going to be such a GREAT big sister some day :o).
15. Daddy and I were so proud when you learned your first color....yellow! I was especially excited because that is my favorite color :o). It must help that you love lots of yellow things...bananas, mac 'n' cheese, eggs, duckies, and your baby's hair.
16. Boy, do you love your puppy! Tatum, who you now call "Mamum" is still the highlight of your day. When she is behind her gate in the kitchen, you guys try to sneak each other little treats...she slides her bones under the gate to you and you hand her all of your dishes from your kitchen. You little stinkers!!! I just feel bad that most of the time you say these three things to her..."no-no Mamum", "stay" and "shhh". Oops! I guess I didn't realize how much we say those things to that poor dog :o)
