Dear Child

Dear Child,
No matter how much I love you, my desire to write adoringly about your endeavors is dampened severely by battling you for naptime for more than an hour. Please, please, accept me as a substitute nap-inducer when Daddy is not home.

Moving On.

Hilarity #1:
This morning we were sharing a cup of water. You dumped it on the floor. Tired, I asked you to go get a towel and clean up the water. You did. !! All by yourself! You went to the kitchen, opened the drawer (with some difficulty and equal perseverance), grabbed a towel, brought it back to my feet, and cleaned up the water. Unreal! So Cute! So impressive! Most one year olds do not do that. You are clearly the best.

Hilarity #2:
More involving the towels. Daddy brought down a load of clean kitchen towels and asked if you wanted to help fold them. You shouted "Yes!" and ran into the kitchen. I folded one towel, put it away, and grabbed another. You watched me do this (as you've seen me do many times), grabbed the pile of towels, shoved them into the drawer, picked up the one you dropped, then shut the drawer and walked away. No flies on you! You know the bottom line and you got the job done. Awesome, kiddo. Awesome.

Hilarity #3:
Last night Daddy went into the kitchen to check on dinner. It was done, so he said he would set the table. You climbed off my lap, ran as fast as you could into the kitchen and shouted "Help, Help!" while reaching for the plate he was holding. Then you helped set the table chanting "helper, helper, helper". How many one year olds are so thoughtful? How many one year olds are so excited about helping their parents set the table for dinner? No one. No one but you, my love. You are exceptional.

Hilarity #4:
You've started requesting ice in your baths. We got you some bubble bath for Christmas (which you hated at first). Now, whenever we mention a bath, you first ask for bubbles and then ask for ice. I have no idea how you got the idea of ice in the bathtub, but you have a blast with it. You just hold it and dunk it and watch it melt. Then, you search though the bubbles looking for the melted ice. Silly fun.

365 project

I don't want to miss out on this next year with you sweetheart. You are so special. And growing so fast. I'm going to try taking a picture of you every day, posting it, and posting a little blurb about what happened that day. Getting started has been hard because while on vacation we don't have a way for me to upload pictures but I realized today that I could at least start writing the posts.

I'm not sure if I'll keep this all on this blog or if I'll move it to a blog of its own. We'll see. A great many pictures and posts will be about your sister, so they wouldn't fit on this blog, and I certainly don't want to leave her out.

Today we had a great time playing with your cousin and aunt and uncle. You tease your cousin E. like he is your big brother, and he responds in 'kind'. It's hilarious to watch. He doesn't want you playing with whatever you have, and you are so quick to steal whatever is near him, hold it behind your back and see what he does about it. You're instigating a bit. Daddy and I love watching you with your cousins. So do your aunts and uncles and Nana and Papa. You have a huge extended family who loves you very much.

Friends

You have 3 friends that you play with most often.

Lady D, Lady S, and Mr. M. You LOVE your friends. You have a blast with them. The four of you move in a little herd that thoroughly examines and enjoys everything in its path. Last night we hosted Mild Mannered Mellow Baby Playtime (which used to be called Crazy Baby Playtime, but you little ones took that charge too seriously) and you had a blast. You all played dress up and climbed on things and figured out the parts of the living room that haven't been thoroughly baby-proofed since we last moved our furniture.

Mr. M's momma gave us a Christmas card that has Mr. M's picture on it. You carry it around with you when he's not here. You show him things, and try to share your teething rings, and generally just try to be the best hostess you can. When he gets here, you try to do those things with him, and so I'm trying to help you learn that the autonomy you so love and cherish may also be something he enjoys as well.

You're sweet my love. A sweet girl with very sweet friends.

Potty Learning

Well my dear you have decided that it's time to use the potty. I'm not sure how you learned what it's for, because neither Daddy nor I use it in front of you, but you know what it's for and you want to use it.

Last night I was letting you run around naked while I folded your clothes and diapers. Suddenly you stopped running, pointed to where you had just dribbled a bit, said "poop!", then went to the door of your room, pointed to the bathroom, and said "potty. potty!"

A little bewildered, I scooped up your naked self and took you to the potty. After a few minutes of relishing how fun and exciting sitting on the potty was you then announced "poop," grabbed at your lower abdomen and began peeing. When you were done, you clapped for yourself and grabbed my shoulders to hop off.

Sweetheart, I know no one has taught you this. I know it because I am with you 24/7. You don't want TV, and you haven't been with a babysitter in months. I have no idea how you figured all of that out. Just more proof that you are awesome. My little baby genius. My little baby genius who is trying very hard to grow up.

Sweet Singin' Girl

Well, you've discovered how to sing along with "I've been working on the railroad". You sing along to any parts with an "O" sound at the end. And it's AWESOME.

You're still mildly obsessed with vacuuming. It's looking good for our floors, and I'm glad we don't pay an electric bill.

I love you daughter. You're smart as a whip and strong and passionate. You're learning new words so fast that your little brain keeps practicing even at night. I'm not joking, you've been talking in your sleep! yes, I'm watching and listening to you sleep. Still. You're just as incredible now as you were day one.

Blackberry Applesauce is Yummy

I love the way you eat applesauce. Scoop it up in your hand, slurp and suck it off your sticky fingers, repeat. You make me laugh sweetheart.

This child is a huge fan of bathtime. . .

. . . and I am a huge fan of her. ♥

Getting Dad's attention

This morning you and Momma were eating lunch. Daddy was upstairs studying.

You coughed, looked at me, smiled, and coughed again. This went on for a minute, and Daddy came RUNNING down the stairs as fast as he could. He thought for sure you were choking. You were not surprised, didn't even turn to look at him, you just said "Dad, down" and pointed to his chair at the table. You'd been asking about Yahtzee, and when I explained that we'd play it later, you seemed unfazed. You just got Dad's attention, and directed him to sit down at the table.

Little stinker!

Addie's first library books

Adelaide, you've been to the library a lot in your short life, much more than most children your age but today was the first day that we checked out books for you. We asked the librarians about Spot books (your current fav) and they pulled some out of their private collection so that you could read some with flip up pieces. They don't get circulated, but we were allowed to read them in the library. You had both the librarians laughing the whole time we read. You'd mimic me and stare intently at each page. How you can do both things at the same time is beyond me, but you do it with style.

You've also discovered naked time. And you LOVE it! So occasionally, while we're out and about, you will grab the bottom of your shirt, pull it up, and then yell "NayNayNay!" (requesting to be naked). It's pretty cute. You're pretty cute.

Love you baby.

Addie's Rules

You understand the rules surrounding the phrase 'thank you'. Sunday, you handed me something. I took it, thinking I was doing you a favor. You started to walk away, turned back to me, and signed 'thank you' with a confused look on your face. Then you did it again. I thought you were saying 'thank you' so I said "you're welcome". You continued signing 'thank you' looking more frustrated. When I realized you wanted me to sign 'thank you' and not 'you're welcome', I did. You smiled and walk away.

The next day, Dad forgot to say 'thank you' and you did the same thing. You're quite stern when you correct our lack of manners.

Thanks, baby. We'll try harder.