December 5, 2011
Dear Leah,
What a fun couple of months it has been! You are truly turning into a little girl now and no longer a baby. There's a lot of love/hate feelings about this. I love that you are learning something new every day, and becoming your big sister's best friend (don't tell Lilly, that might cause tears). But, I hate that cuddling is a bit more rare. You're still pretty shy, and take some time to warm up to new people and places. Those are times I certainly cherish when you cling to me for reassurance and comfort.
You love pretty much everything about your big sister, and you are even patient when she takes something of yours. The extent of your fighting back at this point is to come tell us, i.e. point and grunt. I certainly see a wonderful friendship in the future and now more than before I'm so glad that we decided to have kids really close in age.
Now, with the boys at daycare, the sharing and friendliness is a different story. We have been told a couple of times that you tackle Aiden and stand your ground. We were so excited not to have been to the doctor since your ear tubes, and then one day I got a phone call saying you were playing with Aiden but something went wrong and eventually Aiden ended up sitting on top of you. You were very upset and favoring one arm, not wanting to bend it and seemingly in a lot of pain when someone touched it. Off to the doctor we went! He suggested x-rays because although you it appeared you were able to use your arm, you were still very upset even 1.5-2 hours later. The doc did say that a solid nap would be good before the x-rays, just to help calm you down and see if some ibuprofen and sleep would help. Although you didn't take a nap that day, you "forgot" about your arm and we never did go get x-rays. I decided there was no reason to expose you to the radiation if it didn't seem absolutely necessary.
You love, love, love your blanket and have become quite attached to it this month. We still find you chewing on the corners and stroking it for comfort. It doesn't bother me at all as I am a blanket lover too, but your daddy gets annoyed I think. You also still love those darn bottles! We were slowing taking them away and I had hopes to getting them gone by 14 months, but you still like one in the morning and one at night. The morning one is key for mommy and daddy because it usually guarantees another 2ish hours of sleep for everyone. If we get you a bottle between 5:30-6:30am when you first wake up, you will go back to sleep until 7:30 on weekdays, and even 8:30 on weekends. Your bottle before bed is more concerning to me, without it, you struggle going to bed peacefully and it usually takes 1-2 hours to get you to nod off. And, a lot of times that's because I break down and get you some warm milk. Maybe next month?
Speaking of warm milk, you and sister are alike in this way. You probably learned this from your sister who tries to warm her own milk up from time to time. You always want your milk warmed up. You have just started pointing to the microwave when we offer you cold milk. Gosh! How did my girls end up this way, warm milk grosses me out. High maintenance!
A new word this month is "Mama"! Finally, I'm getting some recognition….even if it's usually when you are tired or not feeling well. You are still ornery and when I say, give Mama a kiss or a hug, you run off to Daddy. Another favorite hobby of yours is "talking" on the phone. You'll hold it up to you ear and say "hello?" A 5th tooth finally popped through and we are hoping for more soon. Teething is a rough, slow process for you!
But, you are a pretty good eater most of the time. That's important for your sturdy, solid frame. Already wearing a lot of 18 month clothes! You favor vegetables and have started using a plate and utensils. Most of the food that ends up in your mouth is placed there with your hands, but you think you are pretty big stuff to have a fork and spoon at dinner like the rest of us. The plate works well for most of dinner, but the food is usually dumped on your tray by the end. Only once has it ended up on the floor. You have started to boycott your high chair though. Not fun trying to get you strapped in! You want your own big chair, or you just want to sit on mommy's lap to eat.
Climbing is one of your FAVORITE things to do. You figured out to get on the chairs, and ultimately on the table. Yikes! You are even trying to scale the kitchen stools to reach the countertop. The couch is another favorite and you can go up and down the staircase like it's no one's business. And, you are FAST, super fast. "Sit down Leah" is a popular phrase at our house. Even Big Sister knows when to use it. We've also seen a lot of tantrums in the past couple of months. You just melt down when you are told "no" and sometimes it's a long recovery. Probably 8 out of 10 times it's because we won't let you climb on something.
Although you have started being more vocal; babbling and chattering more often and louder than ever before, you still don't say many words, but we know you understand a lot. You can follow simple instructions and have started to shake your head "yes" or "no" in response to questions. It's pretty funny to see you shaking your head up and down, over exaggerating to get your point across. Just in the past week, this is accompanied with your opening and closing your mouth, trying to say "yes". Daddy has been working with you and I think you are getting close. One of these days we think there will be a word explosion from you! Your sister was a little late with her vocabulary too, and it makes even more sense with you since she answers questions for you and is often your voice.
I'm excited this is your first real Christmas and I hope you get into the festivities too. It was hard shopping for you, but I think Mommy found a few good options!
Love you more and more every day!
Abby
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