21 Month Updade
Dear Lana,
For 21 months now I have sat down in front of my computer on or around the 29th of the month to recap your most recent exploits. And each month when I think back on the things you have done or said, I feel so totally enamored with you that I can’t help but recall a passing comment from a neighbor shortly after your birth. As she watched me stroll my colicky baby (that was you) around and around our cul-de-sac, she looked at her own four year old son playing in the yard and told me she enjoyed him the most between the ages of six and 14 months. Her comment both disturbed and intrigued me. Most of all, it made me wonder if I would ever look back and identify a time span that I enjoyed you most. As it turns out, the answer is yes. Every month that we spend together is my favorite time with you. Every month I grow to love you more and every month you grow cuter, sweeter, and funnier. My only concern is that you cannot possibly keep this up. You will have to either stop increasing in cuteness at some point or run the risk of being squeezed to death by your adoring Mommy.
What makes you so ridiculously cute, you ask? Well let’s start with your talking, because there has been plenty of that in the past month. You’ve maintained a running dialogue of the events around you and become particularly adept at identifying all the people in your world. You speak at great length about your Granny and Pop, your Omo, Opop and Uncle Kyle, as well as your friends Gracie, Michael, Layla, Andra, and Preston. You pretend to talk to them on the phone and instruct your father and me to sing marathon rounds of "Happy Birthday” to each one in turn. My favorite part of your interest in names, however, is your tendency to call your father “John Mayes” and me “Jiffer” or “JMo” (your father’s nickname for me). You do it most often when you want to get my attention, like last Saturday when we were shopping at a Carter’s store and you were determined to show me something. “Mommy come!” you requested. “Just a minute, Lana,” I replied. “Mommy, COME!” you repeated, and then abrupty began howling, “JMo, JMo, JAAAYYY MOWWWW!” That turned a few heads, even in a store filled with moms who are used to hearing odd things from the mouths of toddlers.
You’ve also learned how to better communicate what you want, like “wanna eat”, “want popsicle”, “want nap”, and “want lick [insert name of any animal here]”. Your most frequent request as of late, however, is “Mommy hold you.” This is my cue to pick you up and comfort you whenever you are scared, hurt, or just unsure. You remain shy and want to be held when introduced to new people or situations, but you absolutely love to observe the people we encounter. This is most evident when we’re out to dinner and our fellow diners inevitably begin to wave and smile at you. You often smile shyly and occasionally even wave back, but if anyone dares approach you latch on to me like you’re anticipating a kidnapping attempt. Still, you “WANNA SEE PEOPLE!” and especially “WANNA SEE BABIES!” whenever we’re out and about.
Speaking of babies, let’s talk about your baby dolls. You've been playing with a couple of my old baby dolls since around your first birthday and you’ve acquired a few new ones since then. During one shopping outing at Babies R Us, you grabbed hold of a soft little doll with brown piggy tails and barely let go long enough for the cashier to ring her up. As we returned home you pointed to the house across the street and began chanting our neighbor’s name, “Sally, Sally, Sally” while hugging your baby tight. The doll’s been known as Sally ever since and her christening marked the beginning of assigning names to all the dolls in your collection. Some are purely functional, like “Heavy Baby” or “Bald Baby”. Others are named in honor of new friends, like “Preston”, the doll acquired shortly after your introduction to a cute little blonde boy down the street. The dolls have offered you a great deal of comfort in the past month, whether it’s sleeping with you in your crib or wearing band-aids to make you feel better about your own boo boos. You, in turn, have been taking much better care of them – only rarely pitching them across the room in a fit of rage. And that, my dear, is just good parenting.
Thanks for making month #21 my very favorite month with you. I’m sure it will hold that special honor for at least three more weeks.
Love,
Mommy
For 21 months now I have sat down in front of my computer on or around the 29th of the month to recap your most recent exploits. And each month when I think back on the things you have done or said, I feel so totally enamored with you that I can’t help but recall a passing comment from a neighbor shortly after your birth. As she watched me stroll my colicky baby (that was you) around and around our cul-de-sac, she looked at her own four year old son playing in the yard and told me she enjoyed him the most between the ages of six and 14 months. Her comment both disturbed and intrigued me. Most of all, it made me wonder if I would ever look back and identify a time span that I enjoyed you most. As it turns out, the answer is yes. Every month that we spend together is my favorite time with you. Every month I grow to love you more and every month you grow cuter, sweeter, and funnier. My only concern is that you cannot possibly keep this up. You will have to either stop increasing in cuteness at some point or run the risk of being squeezed to death by your adoring Mommy.
What makes you so ridiculously cute, you ask? Well let’s start with your talking, because there has been plenty of that in the past month. You’ve maintained a running dialogue of the events around you and become particularly adept at identifying all the people in your world. You speak at great length about your Granny and Pop, your Omo, Opop and Uncle Kyle, as well as your friends Gracie, Michael, Layla, Andra, and Preston. You pretend to talk to them on the phone and instruct your father and me to sing marathon rounds of "Happy Birthday” to each one in turn. My favorite part of your interest in names, however, is your tendency to call your father “John Mayes” and me “Jiffer” or “JMo” (your father’s nickname for me). You do it most often when you want to get my attention, like last Saturday when we were shopping at a Carter’s store and you were determined to show me something. “Mommy come!” you requested. “Just a minute, Lana,” I replied. “Mommy, COME!” you repeated, and then abrupty began howling, “JMo, JMo, JAAAYYY MOWWWW!” That turned a few heads, even in a store filled with moms who are used to hearing odd things from the mouths of toddlers.
You’ve also learned how to better communicate what you want, like “wanna eat”, “want popsicle”, “want nap”, and “want lick [insert name of any animal here]”. Your most frequent request as of late, however, is “Mommy hold you.” This is my cue to pick you up and comfort you whenever you are scared, hurt, or just unsure. You remain shy and want to be held when introduced to new people or situations, but you absolutely love to observe the people we encounter. This is most evident when we’re out to dinner and our fellow diners inevitably begin to wave and smile at you. You often smile shyly and occasionally even wave back, but if anyone dares approach you latch on to me like you’re anticipating a kidnapping attempt. Still, you “WANNA SEE PEOPLE!” and especially “WANNA SEE BABIES!” whenever we’re out and about.Speaking of babies, let’s talk about your baby dolls. You've been playing with a couple of my old baby dolls since around your first birthday and you’ve acquired a few new ones since then. During one shopping outing at Babies R Us, you grabbed hold of a soft little doll with brown piggy tails and barely let go long enough for the cashier to ring her up. As we returned home you pointed to the house across the street and began chanting our neighbor’s name, “Sally, Sally, Sally” while hugging your baby tight. The doll’s been known as Sally ever since and her christening marked the beginning of assigning names to all the dolls in your collection. Some are purely functional, like “Heavy Baby” or “Bald Baby”. Others are named in honor of new friends, like “Preston”, the doll acquired shortly after your introduction to a cute little blonde boy down the street. The dolls have offered you a great deal of comfort in the past month, whether it’s sleeping with you in your crib or wearing band-aids to make you feel better about your own boo boos. You, in turn, have been taking much better care of them – only rarely pitching them across the room in a fit of rage. And that, my dear, is just good parenting.
Thanks for making month #21 my very favorite month with you. I’m sure it will hold that special honor for at least three more weeks.
Love,
Mommy
Labels: monthly update
posted by Guest at Friday, May 30, 2008
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