Months Nineteen and Twenty

Dear Aeralyn,

Last week you turned twenty months old.  I realized then that I had yet to even write your nineteen month letter, so I decided to put them together.  I was feeling a little like I had let you down because I didn’t get around to writing your letter last month.  And then I started thinking about all the fun things that we had been doing these past few weeks, and it made me feel a little better.  You may not a have a baby book that has every little detail filled out, or an elaborate scrapbook full of memories, but you do have a mommy who loves to spend time playing with you, and that is more important right now. 

You have changed so much these past two months.  Your vocabulary has more than tripled what it was when I wrote your eighteenth month letter.  Your favorite word by far is ”No”.  The answer to almost every question is ”No”.  Even when daddy asked you if you were a good girl for mommy the other day, you said “No” very nonchalantly.  Well, atleast you were honest.

That brings me to my next point…

You are what all the experts call a “Spirited Child”.  I should really let them put your picture in their books next to the Spirited Child description.  You are on the go non-stop from the time you wake up in the morning until the time you go to bed at night.  You have opinions about the way things should go during your day, and if something happens and things don’t go just right, you let everyone know that you are not happy about it.  I’m learning to deal with your tantrums a little better now than when they first started, even though I will admit that it is tough.  There are some days when I think that if you throw one more fit, I’m going to list you on ebay.  This stage you are going through is the hardest so far, but I know we will make it through. 

I’m also learning to stop comparing you to everyone else’s kid.  You are your own person.  You have your own way of expressing your thoughts and emotions, and I’m finally realizing that that is okay.  Remember that one day when you have kids of your own.  Trust me, it will save you ALOT of aggravation.

As soon as you wake up in the morning, you want to put on your shoes and head outside.  We spend more time outside than in these days since the weather is so nice.  You love to swing, climb, and slide on your little swingset.  Most of all, you LOVE to go fishing at the river.  We have already been fishing three times so far, and you have loved every minute of each time.  You are not the slightest bit afraid of the fish, and you get so excited when daddy or me catches one so you can touch it.  You also, much to my horror, like to play with the worms and the crickets that we use to catch the fish.  I guess you are going to be a bit of a tomboy. 

I have had so much fun lately watching your imagination at work.  You have started pretending quite often lately.  You will pretend to change your babies diapers and feed them a bottle.  You will “read” books to your stuffed animals, and make your little Backyardigans figurines dance.  Which, by the way, you LOVE the Backyardigans.  Your favorite movie is Surf’s Up, and you ask for it atleast once a day.  As soon as I put the DVD in, you start to dance and sing the songs that they sing.  You dance during the whole movie and I’m sure would watch it 25 times a day if I let you.  At first I worried about letting you watch TV, but as much as you love watching the Backyardigans, you love to play outside, color, read books, and play with your toys even more.  I’m happy about that and I hope it stays that way.

You have started communicating to me when you want things, which makes my life and yours a billion times easier.  If you want a drink, you will say “I grink, I grink!”, or if you want to go outside, you will say “I shoes on!”.  You will say “more” and do the sign for it when you want more of something.  You will say “Surf’s Up” and grab the remote when you want to watch your movie.  You say yes and no when we ask you questions (although mostly you just say no), and you follow simple commands with ease.  You can open the refrigerator and grab whatever snack you want, and you love to help me pour your drink.  It is amazing how much you have changed into a little functioning person.  It seems like it has all happened overnight. 

I almost afraid of typing this for fear that something will change, but I feel like I need to put this in here; You are the best eater I have ever seen when it comes to toddlers.  You almost always finish whatever it is I give you for all of your meals, and you eat plenty of snacks to keep you satisfied throughout the day.  Some of your favorite foods are: cheese (of course), yogurt, tomatoes, ranch dressing and ketchup for dipping, grapes, oranges, raisins, bagels with cream cheese, cinnamon toast, spaghetti ( I have learned that I can pretty much hide ANYTHING in spaghetti sauce and you will eat it.  I wonder if it’s because of all that spaghetti I ate while I was pregnant with you?), grilled chicken (you’re not much on fried chicken or chicken nuggets, which is so weird but totally ok with me), grilled cheese, potatoes, butter beans, corn, green beans, sweet peas, carrots, fruit snacks, anything and everything that is sweet, peanut butter sandwiches (hold the jelly)…and seriously this list could go on forever.  But, my point is, that I love that you are a such a good eater.  I love that you are almost always willing to try something, even if it looks a little weird.  I realize that most toddlers are extremely picky about what they eat, and that I’m very lucky to have such a good eater.  Now, just keep it up.   

Punkin’, you are mine and your daddy’s pride and joy.  We are having so much fun with you right now, and we know it’s only going to get better from here.  You have made me slow down and enjoy the smallest, simplest things.  I can never thank you enough for showing me what is really important in life.

I love you more than you will ever know,

Mama