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

Month 28

Oh Val, I sort of suck. It seems that I've missed a couple of months
here and I'm sorry. We had a very busy summer and this blog, my gift to
you for the future, has suffered.

In the meantime, though, you've been a very busy girl. You've mostly
mastered potty training, graduating from cotton training pants to 'big
girl panties'. Most of the time, anyway.

Sometimes you shout 'I'm tinkling' and we grab you and run to the
nearest bathroom. Most of the time we get there in time, sometimes we
don't but no matter what, it all beats diapers.

You're happier at school these days. When you get dropped off,
sometimes you cry for a while but sometimes you don't. Your teachers
tell me that you don't nap at school. I feel bad for the teachers since
it doesn't give them a break but it means that on school nights, you go
to bed without too much trouble and you stay asleep all night.

Speaking of beds, you slept on a mattress on the floor while we went to
Disney World. You were so tiny in that bed, and you rolled off a couple
of times onto the floor but every morning when you got up all by
yourself and came into our room, we were greeted with a huge grin.

So this weekend we got you a big girl bed. Well, it's a toddler bed but
it's so darn cute. Seeing that little bed instead of your crib is sort
of emotional for us but you love that bed. The morning after you got
it, you grabbed 3 books and plopped down on the bed to read.

You have a repertoire of 3 songs: ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle
Little Star. You sing them constantly, in the car, in a store, at
dinner, and you always ask us to sing with you. The world is your
microphone, literally, as you sing into anything that remotely resembles
one.

Those are the highlights. I know I say this all the time, but it's
true. Being your mom gets more fun every month.

Month 25

Val, it seems that I'm so busy answering your thousand questions all day that I haven't had time to blog about what you're up to this month. Good thing you're now 26 months. How is THAT possible?

Anyhoo, now that you're two (and a month, you like to tell people) you talk a mile a minute, full sentences and more. You run so fast, then stop to admire any and all shiny things that capture your attention. You do this so much that I think I'm about to sprain an ankle trying not to trip over you. You seem to need to do this every. single. time that you leave our living room and cross over the baby gate into the dining room, usually while we're on our way to the bathroom. You'd think I'd learn by now but no, every time, I am surprised that you'd stop there, at the gate.

Your gymnastics class now has 2 little girls who are younger than you. You're the showoff in the class now, doing all kinds of jumping and poses and more jumping, largely on command. I'm so proud of you when those other kids are sort of doing their own thing and you're busy following directions.

You've been at preschool for 2 months now. At first, it sucked, really sucked. You'd cry. A lot. I had all kinds of guilt about it, about seeing tears in your eyes when I went to pick you up. But one day, a little farm came to visit. You petted 1 pig (as you tell it), a goat and saw some chickens. I don't know what about the farm made school better for you but now you don't cry. You do seem to wet your pants at least once a week but I can live with that if you're not crying.

I say this every time and it's true. You just get more and more fun. Let's see what 26 months is like!

Two

=D
Originally uploaded by gadgetgrrl

This is what two looks like, my dear Val. Aside from that fact that it's unreal that you're two, here we are.

I'm thrilled to report that you're pretty much potty trained. This is just fantastic for us, it means no more diapers. Even though it means sometimes we have to pull the car over and find a bathroom, it also means no more diapers. The joy of that, I cannot stress enough.

Your language is just crazy. I think it's off the charts but if I actually looked up then saw that it was true, then I'd be bragging. And that seems wrong. But when you tell me 'I take a shower when my other mommy gets home,' I have to wonder how many other kids your age bust out with that kind of language.

Maybe they all do, I don't know. I just know you.

And you, my dear, are fantastically funny and smart.

You also love to 'fwim' and 'fwing' in any pool or puddle and on any swing that comes your way. We do our best to indulge your love of the water and the flying. Hell, we do our best to indulge you as much as possible.

Our next door neighbor claims that we're spoiling you by buying you Hello Kitty bandaids. If that's the definition, I can live with that. Because bandaids? They are small and not that expensive.

We are working hard with you on manners. You said please and thank you a lot, maybe more than seems necessary but I'd prefer it become something you do without thinking so we do it a lot.

You've also arrived in the terrible two's. So far, it's not all that bad, just some tantrums that we don't play into. You may finish them across the room, or wherever we send you to do this, then you can come back and talk about whatever it is that you wanted so badly you felt the need to scream bloody murder about.

I suspect that if we're consistent in this, it might pave the way for good behavior. But who knows, we may well have gotten it all wrong.

You've been in preschool for 4 weeks now and I wish I could say it was going well. But you cry when Andrea leaves you, and some days you have tears in your eyes when I pick you up at the end of the day.

I cannot tell you how much this breaks my heart. Please, please, start liking preschool soon so I can stop feeling like the worst parent in the world for having to send you there.

But other than that, you're doing so well. And we're still having a fabulous time being your moms.

Happy birthday, baby girl!

Month Twenty Three

Ice cream!
Originally uploaded by liz2d2

I've been remiss in posting this, I think because I'm totally in denial about the fact that at the end of this week, you'll be two.

It's so true, my little baby has vanished, leaving a very loud, very funny toddler in her place.

We are having SO much fun with you right now.

Your language is off the charts. You say so many things so clearly and more than once you've shocked us by saying the same thing using different words if we don't respond quickly enough.

You run and climb all the time, at least as much as we let you. We're working hard on getting you to understand that it's imperative that you hold our hands while in parking lots. I totally get it -- you'd rather be gallivanting around doing your own thing than hanging on to us but still, it gives us a bit of a heart attack every time you try to take off.

Speaking of things you're doing on your own... Next Monday you start preschool. It's near our house, it's sunny and bright and you seem to like it a lot. We like it, too, even if it means you're going to be on your own with a lot of other kids. At this very moment you're visiting preschool, eating your lunch with the other kids while Andrea waits outside for you. We've visited a few days already. This time, when Andrea went to leave the room, you asked 'going to work, Mommy?' then went on about the business of eating your lunch.

This weekend, this Friday, you'll be two. I cannot grasp that at all but yet here it is. We are having a big party for you, complete with a badass water feature at the park and a Zoe cake, per your request.

We are so in love with you, baby girl. Happy Birthday!

22 Months

I made this one.
Originally uploaded by torturedmommy

Oh Val, you are almost 2. You're really not 1 at all, even though on paper that might be true. But no, you are a Little Girl. Walking, running, talking, using the potty most of the time, running on tiptoes a fair bit and going down gigantic slides all by yourself.

I'm pretty sure if I blink, you'll be pulling out of our driveway to go to college. So I'm trying very hard not to blink because I don't want to miss a thing.

Your favorite two questions these days are "Why?" and "Doing, Mommy?" Even if I've just told you what I'm doing, and why, you still need more information. Or, I think, the same information again just to re-confirm that you've got my attention.

Please don't worry about that. You most certainly have our attention.

Other parents we know talk about how hard it is having a little one. I won't pretend that it's the easiest thing in the world when you're being stubborn, when you're totally underfoot and we're trying to get something done around the house, when you pretend like you don't hear me. But that's all part of what we signed up for, we knew this going in, that there would be times like these (they don't call them the terrible 2's for nothing). All of that frustration is forgotten when you come to us and say 'cuddle you, Mommy' or we catch you sleeping with your butt in the air.

We've already made plans for your 2nd birthday party. I've given up being astonished at how fast the time is going and am just doing my best to cherish every moment with you.

21 Months!

Fountain fun!
Originally uploaded by liz2d2

Oh Val, we weren't looking and somehow you're almost 2. 2! It is with great and extreme bewilderment that I contemplate what to do for your 2nd birthday.

Today I looked down at you in your crib, surrounded by your Backyard.igans dolls and I couldn't believe how much of the crib you now take up. How did you possibly get to be this big?

You weigh about 24 pounds now. I know this because we weighed you at Cheddah's house and we confirmed the weight on the produce scale at Safeway. Your carseat is still rear-facing because the more I read about it, the more I know it's the safest place for you. We're lucky in this because you don't seem to mind.

Your words are just out of control. At last count, you have somewhere around 300 of them and you are not afraid to use them. In fact, you're even stringing them into sentences when we least expect it.

You're also well on your way to being potty trained. This thrills me to no end because while it does mean running to the potty with you fairly often, it means fewer dirty diapers in our world. It also means a growing pile of ridiculously cute underpants in your drawer.

Speaking of drawers, you're outgrowing your dresser not because you have any more clothes than you used to but because those clothes are a lot bigger. We just figured this out. Yep, we're smart like that.

If I ask you who's in your family, you say 'me!' then 'mommy!' and then, 'mommy!' You also can say your whole name, saying your last name with an almost Southern twang.

Your favorite word these days is diffrent. No matter what we offer you, you'd like something 'diffrent!' I do get this but it does present a challenge for us -- how many times do we hold our ground and when do we give in? We're still figuring that out, I suspect it's a lifelong lesson for all of us.

Last weekend, you went ice skating for the first time. I was so proud, so happy. It was the moment I'd been waiting for since before you were born. You had a great time and we did too.

Being your mom is more fun every day. Keep up the good work!