Dear Doodlebug,
We're about 2 months away from your third birthday and I wanted to take some time out from the whirlwind of dealing with your brother's pending arrival to celebrate how wonderful and amazing you are. I want you to know how much you make your parents smile and how much you heal our hearts.
Where once we were worried that you weren't talking enough, now you are quite the conversationalist. You can make long, fairly complicated sentences which positively amaze us, like, "When I go to H-y's and play in the sand and take my shoes off, my feet get sandy." When you parrot us, it's fun to see ourselves reflected in you--like when you got up from the game and held up your index finger, and told daddy "I'll be back in 1 minute" while you went to eat a bite of cereal; or when you go upstairs and say, "I'll be right back"; when you put your Pooh bear to bed, tuck him in and tell him, "Good night. I love you. I see you in the morning."; or when the kitty runs away and you look at me and say, "That happens sometimes." We love how when daddy calls us his "ladies," you giggle and say, "I not a lady. I a big girl."
You are so polite with your automatic "Thank yous" and your "pleases" are coming along nicely. You've even begun asking to be excused from the table--you obviously didn't get that from us. You are working well at picking toys up after you play with them and I am working on letting that happen more on your schedule rather than making you clean up each item when something new catches your fancy. You are doing a much better job at taking turns while playing games, although sometimes TAD (toddler attention deficit) kicks in and you forget it's your turn.
You can do puzzles well beyond your age-rated abilities, practically make your own coffee from the Keurig (if you could but reach it and if you actually drank coffee), and pick out and play your own DVDs. Your ability to memorize books and songs is so impressive. It's fun to hear you tell us stories or "read" us books-- how every page starts, "One day," and then you attempt to describe what you see in the pictures.
You seem to be adjusting to the idea of a brother/usurper fairly well. You always take his "C pillow" (a Boppy) back to his room if we use it for nap time. You point to my tummy and tell me I have a "baby brother" in there and then, sticking out your belly as far as you can, you proudly announce that you have a baby in your tummy--although you have declared that yours is a girl. You announce happily that you will help him learn his letters and numbers as he gets "big and big."
You still love to jump--whether on your bouncy (trampoline) or across the floor from blanket to blanket (thereby avoiding the floor/lava), or down off the couch in full flight. We have harnessed some of that into gymnastics class which you seem to adore. I love how you show me what you learned and then say, "I do dat in dymnastics." It's very clear you are proud of what you can do and you have every right to be. I love the joy you have when you run back and forth across the room, shouting, "watch me, Mommy." I love the twinkle in your eye when you grab my arm or leg and say, "I got you. You can't get away."
You can be amazingly clear about what you want at times and other times you will regress and simply point at your mouth, or point at a desired item and refuse to use your "big girl words." Still, your big girl moments far outweigh those times. You are working on being so independent whether getting your clothes and shoes on and off by yourself; working to figure out the whole potty thing; or getting your own yogurt from the fridge, spoon from the drawer, and getting the lid off without any help.
I am amazed every day at the differences in you that have come in less than a year. When you watch the DVD of your birthday from last year, I can't believe how much you have grown and matured in just 10 months. In some ways, these differences feel bigger than those between your birth and 10 months. But, the best part--or at least my favorite part--is when you give spontaneous hugs or say "I love you too, Mommy. You're my best friend." Those times help me feel healed and I think I can make it through just about anything.
So, thank you for being my doodlebug. Thank you for being so amazing. I can't wait to watch you continue to grow into the person you are becoming. I am so proud of you.
Love,
Mommy
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