18 Months

July 16, 2010

Dear Tess,
On the 8th of July you turned 18 months. I haven't written you a letter in six months, but you've been going through such a growth spurt lately, I want to write down these memories before you change again. You have changed so much over the last six months. Right after you turned a year old, you started to walk, and there was a lot of energy that went into your physical development. But for the last few months, the amazing part has been watching your awareness change. You've started to talk--just a few words--but more importantly you've started to communicate more clearly.

We've been saying that you babble in full sentences for months. Now, you still babble in full sentences--acting as if everyone around you understands you perfectly--but now your babbling will be punctuated by a single English word. You've said: mama, dada, shoes, dog, uh-oh, keys, bubbles, up, no-no, nurse, and da (which means yes). You walk around saying "mama" all the time, especially when I'm gone. You have also started saying "da...da" and making a gesture like you're driving a steering wheel to mean "driving." When you say this, you want to get in the car, or any car that happens to be near-by, and climb around inside of it, push buttons, and pretend to drive. You say "up, up" all day long, often meaning "down." You'll try to say "open" now also, but you are less sure of that word.

When we were on vacation in California, a dog chewed on your beloved monkey. His ear ripped, and when we showed you the damage, you were horrified. You held onto the ripped ear and then babbled a long string of nonsense ending with a very clear and serious, "uh-oh!" You were surrounded by Virginia, Marti, Eric, me, and Veronica and Benjamin. We couldn't help but laugh at your impassioned pleas, and when we would laugh, you would just start at the beginning of your sentence all over again. For days, you would look at monkey and say, "uh-oh," even after his ear had been sewn to look like new.

For the last month or so, we've been very busy. Your grandma came to visit at the beginning of June. Then we went to California for two weeks. We came home for 4 days, went to Amagansett for the 4th of July, and then 4 days later left for the Catskills where we are now staying with Tim, Charlotte, and Owen. You have loved all of the activities and new people. That shouldn't be a surprise to me by now. I call you my "out and about baby," because you always want to be out and with friends.

You've become ever more social, and your ways of relating to people are becoming more sophisticated. During this trip, you've become good friends with Tim. You used to give him your stink eye, but last weekend you bonded over a shared joke. I was sick with a cold, and so your Dad, Tim, and Charlotte took you for a long walk while I slept. You kept asking for "mama" and so Tim started telling you that he was "mama!" You thought that was so funny, and later in the day you would look at Tim and say, "mama" and laugh. Once you figure out that you can laugh with someone, you love to climb in their lap and share more laughs.

We also started swimming lessons this month, and you loved every minute. You are a water baby! You love the beach. You love the ocean waves. You love the lake. You love the pond. You love the swimming pool. You don't mind if I dunk you under the water. You like to go deep into the water until it come up to your neck, and you really like it when I hold you and let you kick and splash in the water. You also love the sand--picking it up and throwing it. You are fascinated by rocks and sand. You stop on parking lots to reach down and see if you can pick up hand-fulls of asphalt, it fascinates you so.

Right now you are a huge fan of the song "The Wheels on the Bus." You do the hand motions to ask me, or anyone else you can convince, to sing it for you. You love all singing, and when you get bored or antsy, I can almost always calm you down by offering to sing.

"Do you want to sing?" I ask.
"Da," you reply, instantly stopping your fussing or crying and watching my face intently waiting for me to begin.

You can run--a funny lumbering run. You climb. You are very good at stairs, though I still always offer a hand. You still love your books at home, but when we are on trips you would prefer to hang out with people. You are starting to be interested in colors. You are very much interested in cars, trucks, motorcycles, and "things that go."

You now nap once a day, usually a good long two-hour nap. You sleep better at night, as well, though just this last month, you've started waking up every night for a nurse.

It's a lot of work to keep track of you these days, and you've just started testing out a new independence. You never used to run away, but you do now with a little gleam in your eye and a chuckle as I yell, "no" at you. In fact every time I say "no," you jump and then repeat the action again with a nervous laugh just to see what I'll do. You are incredibly stubborn, and will fight me for the longest time when I say you can't have something or do something dangerous.

You've started giving me this look where you smile a coy little smile while cocking your head to one side. At all different times of the day, I will look at you, and you'll give me your smile. You are my sweetheart. My shadow, my pal, my love muffin. I call you a little mime these days, because you act out so much and make us laugh.

I love you.
Mom