Month Twenty Nine

Val,
Today was the last day you were 28 months old. Now you're twenty nine
months, somehow that seems so old. So far removed from toddlerhood, let
alone babyhood. Sigh.

But even though you're a big girl now, something you tell me a thousand
times a day, and even though I miss parts of those early days with you,
I am having so much fun with you. The things you tell me blow my mind.
You can ask for things in a number of different ways, you can even try
to negotiate for things like candy or a few more minutes doing something
we need you to stop.

Your language skills appear to be quite advanced for your age. I know,
this makes me seem like an ass for rolling my eyes when other folks say
their kids are gifted but I'll just say that you have an amazing grasp
of language for someone your age. The more we see of this, the clearer
it becomes that our public schools here won't be enough of a challenge
for you.

The biggest thing that's happened this month is that after going your
whole life with help from us to go to bed, we finally hit a point where
we can tuck you in to your bed and Just Leave The Room. You toss and
turn some but rarely get out of bed, eventually you go to sleep.

This means that we never had to let you 'cry it out,' a technique where
parents just leave their kids in their cribs at bedtime, no matter how
much crying and carrying on goes on. Eventually, with this system, the
kids learn (imho) that nobody is coming for them and fall asleep.

We didn't want that for you. Before you had words, crying was the only
way you could tell us you needed something and even though that wore us
out, it was the right thing for us and for you. Now we read a book and
kiss you goodnight. It is a beautiful thing.

The other big news is that you got a Big Girl Bed, aka a toddler bed.
You were so excited about it when you first saw it. You love to grab a
book, climb in bed and start reading. Some days, you still ask for your
crib but I think most of the time you think your bed is great.

Speaking of reading, we've started going to our local library every
week. You can get 2 books at a time, since you're 2 (got that rule from
the wise AmFam). Since we've started this, you are spending more and
more time reading. This pleases me so much. We also go to storytime at
the library, I'm not quite sure you like that bit but we'll keep going
because it's free.

School is going so much better these days. Most of your class moved up
to a new class and now you're one of the oldest kids. This setup is
going great for you, you haven't cried at school in weeks and the number
of potty accidents are way down.

It's been another fabulous month, my dear. As always, being your mom is
better than I'd ever dared to hope.
Love,
Mom