16 Months

Dear Lucy,

Today you turn 16-months-old. My question is, what the heck happened to you? You’ve gone from this wild, crazy baby to a wild, crazy toddler in 3 weeks flat. I know I’ve said that before, but I really had no idea what a toddler was until now. Just in case you’re not aware, a toddler is someone who refuses all food, even if it’s food they used to love. A toddler runs around the house screaming for no apparent reason. A toddler hears the word “no” and does things anyway. A toddler clings to me for dear life if she sees someone she does not recognize.

But hey, being a toddler isn’t a bad thing. You’ve also started to exhibit some big-kid tendancies. Like pretending to put your new baby doll to bed. Or chasing bubbles around a room, attempting to pop each and every one, and squealing with delight. You’ve also, finally, started to play with toys how they are actually meant to be played with. You play your toy piano instead of just hitting the on/off button over and over again. You stack your blocks instead of chewing on them. You sit and look at books, saying “ooohh” when you see a character you like, instead of throwing them at the dog.

I’m not sure if it is the fact that you now play pretend with your own baby doll or if you just decided you miss me more during the day, but you’ve finally given in and started to call me Mama. Thank, God, Lu, because I was about to take you back to the hospital and ask for an upgrade, as the baby I took home was obviously broken. The minute I walk into the babysitters house and you spot me it’s all, “Mamamamama!” along with some “Mommeeeee!” thrown in for good measure. When I really needed a break this weekend, your dad offered to let me watch a movie or take a nap in our bedroom, and you stood on the other side of the closed door banging and kicking and screaming “Mamamamama!” until I let you in. Wait, I wanted this, right?

Oh, Lu, you are a little firecracker, that’s for sure. But this weekend, after a very long morning, we snuggled up in the big bed, turned on Disney channel, and fell asleep together. And then, last night, when I was so tired that I went to bed at 8 o’clock, your dad brought you in the room to say goodnight. We all laid together for a while, and at one point, you stood up, cocked your head to the side, smiled, leaned down and gave me a huge kiss right on my nose. Then you leaned down again and gave me one right on the lips. You put your head down on my chest and held me close with your pudgy, little arms. My goodness, I love having a toddler.

Love,
Mommeeeeeee

Format for these monthly letters was originated by Heather at dooce.com. Hopefully my absolute copying will flatter her.