At 33 months
Go Giants!
Originally uploaded by KatletDear Tai,
You are almost three, and I am so amazed. Time keeps going faster and faster, and you are getting so big. You are over three feet tall, and you are losing all of your baby fat. Thank goodness you still have your chubby cheeks, and you will always be delicious. You don't mind it when I nibble on your fingers or toes or the back of your neck... but most of the time when I kiss you, you wipe it off even though I'm not slobbering. Sometimes you will give me a kiss or hug if I ask, but mostly you like to do it on your own time.
This is not to say you aren't sweet. You love to help out - you help me make playdough, you helped Daddy work on the house today (cutting and gluing pipe) and you help Ba cook and put up decorations. When your friends are crying, you will offer one of your toys or tell them that it's okay. You hug your friends far more willingly than you hug us (it starts young!) and you say, "Etienne is my friend. I love Etienne and Etienne loves me." When Daddy or I need to take medicine, you like to put it in our mouths for us.
Speaking of mouth - you are talking up a storm. You still ask why about everything, and when I say, "what do you think?", if you don't know you say to me, "You think about it." If I ask you about school, and you don't know what to say, you will mumble something so I ask you to repeat yourself, then you say, "I already told you."
You are scooting like you'd been born to it. I bought you a razor scooter as a stop-gap between your trike getting stolen and buying you a bike, but after just a few weeks you're zipping around no problem. You've gotten fancy lately, balancing with your back foot up, doing tricks - sticking your leg out. You like to pretend to fall down, then say, "It's a good thing I'm wearing this helmet!"
You are sleeping half by yourself, and half with us. You still like me to tuck you in and get in bed with you for a little bit. You don't ask to hold my boobies very much anymore, but you do like to have me rub your back or your head. Last night you said, "Don't stop. Ever." When you come to bed with us, you want me in the middle but sleeping on my pillow with you. You often tell me, "Don't breathe."
You're eating well, as usual - though you are going through phases. You don't love the fake chicken nuggets as well anymore. The last week or so you love burritos, yogurt (especially blueberry), noodles (as usual), toast and cereal. You ask for "popsisles", and have a hard time sticking with one piece of Halloween candy a day.
You loved Halloween again this year. You dressed up as a horse, as you planned. (Well, technically a cowboy riding a horse.) You loved having the friends from our Mom's group over for a party, then trick or treating. Though your favorite part by far was handing out candy to all of the trick-or-treaters who came to our house. You loved asking "What are you?" You weren't afraid of their costumes at all.
You are potty trained, and have been for about three months, even at night. I can't believe how well you did with that. You've only had a couple of accidents, mostly during transition times.
You've had a ton of transitions lately. After being at Magic Palette for a month, you said goodbye to Teacher Jan, and your friends - Richard and Tate, and started preschool at the Montessori school. The first day Daddy and I dropped you off, you headed in to play without a backward glance and it has been only getting better. You go five days a week, and if it were up to you, I think you'd go all seven.
You have new friends, you like your teacher, you nap and eat your meals. You participate in circle time. Miss Evelyn and Miss Amanda say it's like you've been part of the class forever. You fit right in. I am so happy for you. I'm so glad you don't take after me, you are more comfortable and outgoing.
During the day, you don't need me much anymore. You like to do things with 'my friends'. If we go to ride scooters at the playground and no one is there you say, "Why are there no friends?"
You are an inspiration to me, love. I am learning to be more outgoing, more friendly, and to find the joy in small things.
Love you forever and ever,
Mommy