i always post a letter to you on your 'birthday' date but on september 14th we were flying back halfway across the world to you after our first big trip away. i really, really missed you during our time away even though i know you were having fun with all of your grandparents. sure i enjoyed sleeping in and spending a lot of nights walking aimlessly with your papa (and taking naps and reading books) but i saw you in everything i did. wouldn't elodie like this little horse painted on the wall? i bet she would eat all of this spaghetti (skip-ghetti). i imagined riding on the bus through the winding streets of positano with you and walking down all thousand of the stone steps to the ocean. i stared at the italian mama rocking her toddler to sleep on the boat ride from capri and daydreamed of rocking you. it made me realize that i would give up a thousand days of leisure to nurse you through a sleepless night. i am so glad i don't have to make that choice but if i did, yep, that would be the one i would make.
this last month has been pretty amazing (they all are) but you are really wowing us with your language development. hearing you say 'mama, i love you' without prompting makes my heart so warm inside. you watched intently as a girl went upside down on the monkey bars and said, 'mmm wish i could do that when i was a big girl.' your concepts of today, tomorrow, the weekend are taking shape and now we can reason with you a little bit more. you know your days of the week and have memorized mama's phone number. all your papa and i can do is sit and stare in awe of who you are becoming.
some sayings i really love:
it's froggy out (it's foggy out)
it's hot papa, can you turn on the windy? (air conditioning in car or roll down the windows)
who gave you that bracelet mama? it's so shiny. (my wedding ring)
you really love 'good night, gorilla' -- i read it to you in the past and it didn't really make sense to you but now you narrate every page with delight at how naughty the gorilla is for sneaking in the zookeeper's bed.
you love singing all the time and we always have marathon dance parties in your room. every night we sing silent night, stay awake and i will. after bath you say 'wrap me up like a little baby' and make us throw you on the bed. you hide under the covers and go to 'the coco' - we still haven't figured out what that means. you make us smile in a million different ways. we love you darling.
pictures of you this time last year (21 months with lots and lots of hair)
pictures of you this time last year (21 months with lots and lots of hair)
and this time two years ago (9 months with lots of hair)
