She’s a year and a half and about one or two months ago we
were playing in mommy’s closet when she pulled one of my black see through
dresses in front of her face and said “I see you”. It was that moment when she said her first sentence and it hasn’t
stopped since then. My grandparents had
been working with her saying “I – looovveee – youuuu” and so I wasn’t sure if
she knew what she was saying when she would say it, but that sentence that day
in my closet made it clear she knew how to put the words together to say what
she wanted. Now that I know she
understands, nothing is more fulfilling than when she walks over to me in the
middle of playing and says “I love you” out of the blue. She counts to ten, somewhat says her ABC’s
and is on a roll with her colors. We’ve
also started to experiment with the potty training. She’ll sometimes tell us or even go and sit on her potty by
herself, but it’s not consistent yet.
We have lots of work to do in that area.
And nothing beats her putting herself in time out. She gets very easily aggravated when trying
to do something and it doesn’t work as she wants it (like putting a lid on the
Tupperware or getting the cart to go in the direction she wants) and then
screams at the top of her lungs and throws stuff. Little bit of a short fuse….
But she also will pinch and grab at you if you try to make her go or do
something not on her terms (we’re leaving now or time to get a clean diaper
while playing). We would gently slap
her hand, tell her no and put her in the corner. Then she would walk up and pinch me, tell me “not nice” and then
go sit in time out. So hard not to
laugh! The fun has only begun. One day in her room, she took all the extra
packs of wipes of the shelf and threw them on the floor and then an after I
picked them up she did it again and I said “Oh really” and she looked at me and
said “Oh really”. I think we’re in
trouble…..
Recently, we took our first beach trip to Clearwater with
Nana & Poppy to celebrate a friend of ours birthday (Tom). We got all geared up and then started
walking down the beach when it wasn’t long that we found the most happy thing
that a beach can offer……sea gulls! Sea
gulls everywhere and sea gulls that would let you get so close before flying
away really made for a great start. She
was so excited to see “bird, bird, bird”.
As we walked down the beach on the wet, firm sand all was well and then
we walked in the soft, sugary beach sand that sticks to you and all broke
loose. Turns out she hates things
sticking to her (including something as joyful as bubbles in a bubble bath…. I
thought all kids loved bubble baths).
She loved the water and most of all she loved playing in the sand and
making sand castles with her Poppy.
My most recent and fond memory is from our recent trip to
the LegoLand water park. There was a
whole area devoted to little kids and she couldn’t get enough of the toddler
water slides. There was a flat and very
wide yellow slide and then a blue tube type of slide that had no top to it. She kept saying “more slide” and then saying
yellow or blue to pick which one. The
yellow we could slide next to each other but the blue she had to go down
alone. The first time down the blue was
a huge success and then the second time she slid around like a star fish
almost. I didn’t want her to stay
scared of it so we went down one more time, but the whole way down she said
“No, No, No”. Then we stuck with the
yellow. That it when it happened…... So often I’m playing with her that I don’t
“witness” what we’re/she’s doing. I’m
caught up in the action and not able to just enjoy in a remembering way the
moments we have. Then I was standing at
the bottom of the slide and looking at her & Ryan at the top and it hit me
with a rush of emotion. I see my little
girl sitting next to daddy and she’s so itty bitty and she’s got on her pink
long sleeve surfer girl swimsuit with her white bucket hat and those little
chiclet front teeth peeking out and cheeks perked up so much that her eyes were
squinting from the huge grin she has on her face while rocking forward trying
to scoot to go down the slide and she’s looking at me with such happiness. I was able to really take in the moment to
keep it in my heart forever. It was
like an outer body experience where I was witnessing our lives happening. I will never forget that moment and find
myself recalling that cute little face over and over each day.
