1. You are such a kid now! You've grown up so much and are getting to be so independent and daring and self-sufficient. I'm so proud of how you are growing up. We have been talking a lot about being "capable" lately and you are really internalizing it. You are so proud of yourself when I call you capable and you are capable at lots of things now. You put your dishes in the sink. You brush your own hair. You will play by yourself now. You can get yourself in and out of the car - I have to strap you in but you can unbuckle yourself and get in and out of the car and close the door and everything else. And you can dress yourself. The only things that are a bit tricky for you are getting socks on and getting shirts off (dresses are no problem). About half the time, when you come in to wake me up in the morning you are already dressed and you thinks it's so cool to surprise me like that. Oh, and FYI, we are no longer limited to dresses. Yeah! You've worn pants and shirts and skirts and even pajamas that aren't nightgowns in the last few weeks. And it's all been your idea. Wahoo!
2. You are independent when we are out and about, too. You almost never stay attached to me when we are at the park or zoo or wherever. You are willing to explore a little now. You will do slides and climbing things and even the occasional swing at the park. When we cross the street, you no longer have to hold my hand because you are so good at either staying close to me or following my instructions if you want to run ahead. You actually feel so cool when I let you cross the street by yourself ahead of me and I let you do that because you only do it when I tell you it's safe. And you are more willing than you ever have been in your entire life to try new things - in the last few months, you've tried a Ferris Wheel, a roller coaster, pineapple, playing in the deep-ish end of the pool, summer camp without a twitch of fear and learning how to ride a scooter. But if you don't want to so something, you can be incredibly stubborn. Once you've made up your mind, we've lost the battle no matter what.
3. You have discovered hyperbole. Everything is "super duper", "a million", or "ginormic" (my favorite - I use it all the time now, too!). The phrase you say the most these days is "Which one haven't we had in a super duper long time?" in reference to books or shows or snacks or whatever.
4. You are the politest kid I've ever met. I think I say that in every one of these, but you really are. It makes me so proud because that's something that is really important to your dad and me. But you always remember to say please and thank you and excuse me and no thanks. If you want my attention, you say, "Excuse me" not yelling or whining. If I ask you to do something, you say, "I would love to." And if you want me to do something, you say, "May you please..." When Clara is less than polite (although she is super polite too), you correct her: "No, Clara, just say no thanks." And when we tell you it's time to do something you would rather not do - go to bed, turn off the tv, leave the park, etc. - you try to find a compromise (usually it's time related and when we say there are only 5 minutes left, you always ask "is 6 a good compromise?"). And you never throw a fit. Although you do get frustrated when I don't know the answer to something - if you ask me a question and my answer is "I don't know" you always respond, "Can you just tell me?" like I'm keeping it secret from you.
5. You are still a pretty picky eater but you are at least a little willing to try new things now. Usually, you have one lick and decide you don't like something. But you have discovered you like pineapple and couscous now. Of course, treats don't count. You will try and like pretty much anything sweet.
6. I know I've said this before, but you are a fabulous big sister. You take such good care of Clara. You worry about her when she's hurt. You kiss her good night. You always ask how she slept. You pat her head when she's upset. You share your toys. You take turns. You teach her how to do things. Nothing makes you happier than getting her to laugh. And you guys really, really play together now. To the point where I've tried to play with you and you've told me to "leave us alone!". I love, love, love seeing the fun you two have.
7. You are a total ham. You love to make all of us laugh, not just Clara. You do funny voices. You make funny faces. If Clara does something that makes us laugh, you immediately copy her. Over and over. If it was funny once, it must be even funnier after a thousand times.
8. You love music and dancing and singing. We have to download songs from your favorite movies and you've got them all memorized. You make up silly words to songs you already know. And you can spend ages dancing around the living room. That's about the easiest way to cheer you up - turn on some song from Tangled or Enchanted and get you to sing and dance.
9. You are pretty active around the house. You and Clara love to chase each other. You are both always standing in weird positions or balancing in weird ways and saying "Look, Mom! I'm doing yoga." And your newest favorite thing is jumping on the couches or the beds. Like, really jumping. You'll stand on the arm of one of the couches and try to jump as far as you can. Or else, you'll try to land in a silly way, like on your stomach. I'm pretty sure it's ruined our couch. But you have so much fun and I love seeing you so brave. Although I could do with a little less of the "Mom! Watch my biggest jump!" demands with every. single. jump.
10. You have a few little games that we play over and over. You love hide-n-seek. And you can hide for a while without getting restless. You love to make me "pick which hand" when you are bringing me something or showing me something. And you and Clara both get a HUGE kick out of the Teasing Game. I give you fake rules - "Don't stick out your tongue!" "No drinking your milk!" - and you have a riot disobeying me. You are even clever enough to tell me to close my eyes after I give you a rule so you can disobey me without me seeing. But you do know the difference between a teasing rule and a real rule. If I tell you something is a real rule, you are really good at following it.
2. You are independent when we are out and about, too. You almost never stay attached to me when we are at the park or zoo or wherever. You are willing to explore a little now. You will do slides and climbing things and even the occasional swing at the park. When we cross the street, you no longer have to hold my hand because you are so good at either staying close to me or following my instructions if you want to run ahead. You actually feel so cool when I let you cross the street by yourself ahead of me and I let you do that because you only do it when I tell you it's safe. And you are more willing than you ever have been in your entire life to try new things - in the last few months, you've tried a Ferris Wheel, a roller coaster, pineapple, playing in the deep-ish end of the pool, summer camp without a twitch of fear and learning how to ride a scooter. But if you don't want to so something, you can be incredibly stubborn. Once you've made up your mind, we've lost the battle no matter what.
3. You have discovered hyperbole. Everything is "super duper", "a million", or "ginormic" (my favorite - I use it all the time now, too!). The phrase you say the most these days is "Which one haven't we had in a super duper long time?" in reference to books or shows or snacks or whatever.
4. You are the politest kid I've ever met. I think I say that in every one of these, but you really are. It makes me so proud because that's something that is really important to your dad and me. But you always remember to say please and thank you and excuse me and no thanks. If you want my attention, you say, "Excuse me" not yelling or whining. If I ask you to do something, you say, "I would love to." And if you want me to do something, you say, "May you please..." When Clara is less than polite (although she is super polite too), you correct her: "No, Clara, just say no thanks." And when we tell you it's time to do something you would rather not do - go to bed, turn off the tv, leave the park, etc. - you try to find a compromise (usually it's time related and when we say there are only 5 minutes left, you always ask "is 6 a good compromise?"). And you never throw a fit. Although you do get frustrated when I don't know the answer to something - if you ask me a question and my answer is "I don't know" you always respond, "Can you just tell me?" like I'm keeping it secret from you.
5. You are still a pretty picky eater but you are at least a little willing to try new things now. Usually, you have one lick and decide you don't like something. But you have discovered you like pineapple and couscous now. Of course, treats don't count. You will try and like pretty much anything sweet.
6. I know I've said this before, but you are a fabulous big sister. You take such good care of Clara. You worry about her when she's hurt. You kiss her good night. You always ask how she slept. You pat her head when she's upset. You share your toys. You take turns. You teach her how to do things. Nothing makes you happier than getting her to laugh. And you guys really, really play together now. To the point where I've tried to play with you and you've told me to "leave us alone!". I love, love, love seeing the fun you two have.
7. You are a total ham. You love to make all of us laugh, not just Clara. You do funny voices. You make funny faces. If Clara does something that makes us laugh, you immediately copy her. Over and over. If it was funny once, it must be even funnier after a thousand times.
8. You love music and dancing and singing. We have to download songs from your favorite movies and you've got them all memorized. You make up silly words to songs you already know. And you can spend ages dancing around the living room. That's about the easiest way to cheer you up - turn on some song from Tangled or Enchanted and get you to sing and dance.
9. You are pretty active around the house. You and Clara love to chase each other. You are both always standing in weird positions or balancing in weird ways and saying "Look, Mom! I'm doing yoga." And your newest favorite thing is jumping on the couches or the beds. Like, really jumping. You'll stand on the arm of one of the couches and try to jump as far as you can. Or else, you'll try to land in a silly way, like on your stomach. I'm pretty sure it's ruined our couch. But you have so much fun and I love seeing you so brave. Although I could do with a little less of the "Mom! Watch my biggest jump!" demands with every. single. jump.
10. You have a few little games that we play over and over. You love hide-n-seek. And you can hide for a while without getting restless. You love to make me "pick which hand" when you are bringing me something or showing me something. And you and Clara both get a HUGE kick out of the Teasing Game. I give you fake rules - "Don't stick out your tongue!" "No drinking your milk!" - and you have a riot disobeying me. You are even clever enough to tell me to close my eyes after I give you a rule so you can disobey me without me seeing. But you do know the difference between a teasing rule and a real rule. If I tell you something is a real rule, you are really good at following it.
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