14 Months

Dear Annie,
For some reason blogger refuses to let me upload pictures right now, so for now I can't add pictures of you balancing precariously on various chairs and toys, which seems to be your favorite new trick. Of course, we are constantly trying to get you to sit on your bottom in the chairs, and you usually comply, after giving us a wicked little grin. You seem to have recovered from your double super nasty ear infection, or at least you are now eating and sleeping normally. I have learned that the curse of the new mother is that you have very little wisdom from experience. I have been frantic about your sleep and convinced that none of us will ever sleep through the night again but then once the infection was gone, you were fine. Almost instantly. I think second time Moms know this. They know that almost everything, both good and bad, is temporary when it comes to these babes. When you have never been through it before, it seems to be so concrete and permanent, like there's no way anyone will recover. But you do, and we do, and we all move forward. I will try to remember this more as you continue to grow.

But for the same reasons, I think first time Moms have a little bit easier being "in the moment". I don't know what it's like to have a 2 year old that can talk, so I don't look forward to any of those future stages. I just love where you are right now. We don't know anything else. And right now you are officially walking 100% of the time, you wobble around with precarious speed, you have a wonderful sense of humor and have learned to laugh on cue. You know your belly button and are inclined to show it to just about anyone that takes the time to look your direction. You also have found your nostril and love nothing more than to stick your finger up there. You now have FOUR top teeth, though we rarely get a good look at them. There might be more up there but you won't let me look. You WILL let me cut your nails now, which is a huge relief. You even crawled up into my lap yesterday with your baby nail clippers and let me get a few. Fingers are easier than toes, but you have yet to scratch me with your toenails, so this is fine.

You are still in size 4 diapers, you still prefer milk from a bottle but will drink water from a sippy cup like a champ. You know that you can get snacks from both the deli section and the bakery at the grocery store, and get very confused when those snacks are not received. Your hair is still blond and curly and I still haven't figured out exactly what to do with the curls. Most of the time they look crazy despite my best efforts. Aunt Lynnie, our resident expert on all things curly, has advised me to finger curl your hair, but there simply isn't enough or I am doing it wrong. Likely the latter. Hopefully she can give me some tips when we see her in September.

The one good thing that came from the great ear infection is you seem to be a bit more cuddly. You will crawl into my lap now with a book and actually sit through a reading (or two, which is dictated by you slamming the book closed and then reopening it back to the beginning). You have started playing Hide and Seek with us, making one of us "hide" with you while the other seeks. You have not mastered the art of being quiet while hiding, and your shrieking with glee always gives you away.

You love your bunny and you love the binkie more than I would like, but it's not a battle I am looking to fight right now. You love Danimal yogurts and cheese. You love bath time with Daddy and playing "where are you" with bunny. You love the movie "How to Train Your Dragon", which still surprises me. I think it's because you can relate to the main dragon, Toothless.

In 20 years I want to remember your sweet new voice saying "peese"(please) and "dis" (this) when you want something. I want to remember your sly grin when you are testing our boundaries. I want to remember your "uh OHHHH" when you throw your binkie out of the crib. I want to remember your arms up, straight leg zombie walk around and around in the house and how you never.ever.seem to get tired from walking. I want to remember how you make the "eek eeek" noise, which is our sign to brush the teeth. I want to remember how we sing "bears are now asleep..shhh shhh shhh" when we are trying to be quiet, and how you touch the tip of your index finger to the roof of your mouth when we shhhhh. I want to remember how tough you are and how you rarely cry, except for if you bonk your face. Anything else seems to be no big deal. I want to remember how fearless you are around water and how much you enjoy it, even if it is splashing right in your mug. I want to remember how you play with the two tags on bunny when you start to get tired, especially since those tags are not long for this world as you have started biting at them with your six big teeth. I want to remember how I can get you to eat pretty much anything as long as it is on my plate. Once it hits your tray, there's zero interest. I want to remember how sweet your little hand feels around my index finger as we walk around, especially since you seem to need my hand less and less.

I want to remember everything. We love you so much, sweet girl.

Love,
Mom