15 months
Dear Hazel,
You are 15 months old today. You have suddenly decided you are going places, and all of those places are up. On the table. On the bookshelf. On the fireplace. On the step stool if we leave it accessible for more than two seconds. You’ve started pushing your music table around and standing on it. Today you used it to get to the previously safe shelves of the bookshelf. Soon nothing will be safe.
Papa was worried about you falling off of the fireplace, so he put chairs around it. Now you climb the chairs. It’s like we suddenly have a monkey instead of a toddler. Today you proved your monkey skills. You’ve learned to hold onto me so well I can just let go. You don’t have a death grip of anything, you’re just securely attached. And very clear when you want to be held. And when you want down you’re equally clear.
You’ve had a busy month. We went on vacation to the Oregon Coast with Grandma and Grandpa. You loved that. And so did I. Grandma and Grandpa were a big hit, and I was more than happy to let them chase after you for a change. No shock, you loved the ocean. The beach was a huge hit, and so were the sand toys Grandma brought for you.
You also were enamored with the squirrels and birds. There were lots of them because Grandma let you play in the bird seed. It’s a very baby friendly activity. It even worked with your sand toys.
We spent a lot of time on the coast picking berries. You love berries. You eat them as fast as I pick them and you try to pick them yourself. We have to keep a close eye on you to make sure you don’t pick things you shouldn’t. You are in such a mimic stage right now, there is no way we can prevent you from trying yourself.
In fact, that mimic stage is pretty humbling. You immediately repeat so many things I do. It reminds me so vividly that you are watching me all the time. I’m your role model. I’m trying to live up to that role. I’m working on it, Hazel. I hope I’m doing a good job. Some days it’s hard. Really, really hard. Some days it’s easy. Some days it’s frustrating and some days it’s a breeze. Every day, though, it’s amazing. I love watching you grown and learn and change.
For some reason, 15 months seems like a big month. It seems like more of a milestone even than a year did. Not sure why. Maybe because you’re doing so much, so well now. You can feed yourself yogurt with a spoon. It’s messy, sure, but you definitely get the yogurt into your mouth. You go up and down stairs pretty well. You can run. You can climb. Oh, can you climb. You have 13 teeth. You are learning more words (dog, uh oh, wow, whoa). You sign more all the time, and know what it means. You bring me your shoes when I ask you to. You understand when I ask you if you want to go potty. You don’t always listen, but you do understand. (It still feels like a miracle each time you poop in the potty and I don’t have to clean a poopy diaper. Good work, kid, let’s have more of the same.)
You’re as fond as ever of the pets. I have to be careful to watch you, because you’re starting to try to pick up Molly. You’re enthusiastic, but not particularly gentle. Molly’s tolerant, but starting to learn your tricks. Just this weekend, you surprised me by picking up a chicken. Whoa. Many adults don’t manage that. You’ve learned how to pet them so they stop. You’ve know that for awhile. But you somehow translated that into picking S’more up. It didn’t last long, you lost your grip and she was gone. I was impressed though, especially that neither of you were the worse for wear. No scratches or pulled out feathers.
You’re eating more food. Right now the favorites are blueberries. You’ll sign “more” very energetically for them. You also really love nectarines and can eat a whole one by yourself. You did that while Grandma was visiting here. You scavenged one of hers and happily ate away.
While she visited, we had a happy and sad family gathering. We all went out of Kevin’s boat, Orion, and spread Great-Grandpa Norm’s ashes. It was wonderful to see all of our family. It felt good to celebrate Grandpa’s life in such a way. With some time since his death, it was easier to celebrate more than mourn. It felt good to be around family, including Hannah, who’s not much younger than you.
You really enjoyed the boat, again. I think you’re going to be a fine Northwest baby. You like the water, the outdoors, boating. You’ll get along great.
You’ve been to two Sounders games recently. You were great for both. One you went with Papa and Michelle. You had a great time on the train and slept through a good portion of the game. Papa and I took you a week later. The train wasn’t running this time, so we drove and took light rail. You were a bit more active this time, but you still enjoyed yourself. You certainly know when to clap. I was impressed you weren’t scared by the booms of the fireworks and streamer guns.
You’ve recently developed a fondness for planes. You love to point at them and watch them fly over. If you hear them, you look around trying to find them. Conveniently, planes fly over the stadium all the time. It was fun to point them out with you.
You are such a joy to me every day. You challenge me and you teach me. I see you watching me, doing what I do. I’m trying so hard to be worthy of that. You won’t always imitate me the way you do know, but you’ll always be watching me. I hope that you learn good things from me. I hope to be worth watching and learning from.
In advance, though, I should probably apologize if you spend a lot of your life looking for your keys. Sorry, kid. It’s not your fault. You can blame me. And your Grandma. And check the mustard drawer. I found them there once.
Thanks, Hazel, for being you. For being funny and cute and silly and loving. For kissing me in the morning and snuggling with me at night. For bringing me your shoes and then demanding to go outside. For reading books with me. For feeding me your food. For giving me your feet to tickle. For playing peek-a-boo and chase. For squealing when you see me. For making my life so much richer.
I love you,
Mama
You are 15 months old today. You have suddenly decided you are going places, and all of those places are up. On the table. On the bookshelf. On the fireplace. On the step stool if we leave it accessible for more than two seconds. You’ve started pushing your music table around and standing on it. Today you used it to get to the previously safe shelves of the bookshelf. Soon nothing will be safe.
Papa was worried about you falling off of the fireplace, so he put chairs around it. Now you climb the chairs. It’s like we suddenly have a monkey instead of a toddler. Today you proved your monkey skills. You’ve learned to hold onto me so well I can just let go. You don’t have a death grip of anything, you’re just securely attached. And very clear when you want to be held. And when you want down you’re equally clear.
You’ve had a busy month. We went on vacation to the Oregon Coast with Grandma and Grandpa. You loved that. And so did I. Grandma and Grandpa were a big hit, and I was more than happy to let them chase after you for a change. No shock, you loved the ocean. The beach was a huge hit, and so were the sand toys Grandma brought for you.
You also were enamored with the squirrels and birds. There were lots of them because Grandma let you play in the bird seed. It’s a very baby friendly activity. It even worked with your sand toys.
We spent a lot of time on the coast picking berries. You love berries. You eat them as fast as I pick them and you try to pick them yourself. We have to keep a close eye on you to make sure you don’t pick things you shouldn’t. You are in such a mimic stage right now, there is no way we can prevent you from trying yourself.
In fact, that mimic stage is pretty humbling. You immediately repeat so many things I do. It reminds me so vividly that you are watching me all the time. I’m your role model. I’m trying to live up to that role. I’m working on it, Hazel. I hope I’m doing a good job. Some days it’s hard. Really, really hard. Some days it’s easy. Some days it’s frustrating and some days it’s a breeze. Every day, though, it’s amazing. I love watching you grown and learn and change.
For some reason, 15 months seems like a big month. It seems like more of a milestone even than a year did. Not sure why. Maybe because you’re doing so much, so well now. You can feed yourself yogurt with a spoon. It’s messy, sure, but you definitely get the yogurt into your mouth. You go up and down stairs pretty well. You can run. You can climb. Oh, can you climb. You have 13 teeth. You are learning more words (dog, uh oh, wow, whoa). You sign more all the time, and know what it means. You bring me your shoes when I ask you to. You understand when I ask you if you want to go potty. You don’t always listen, but you do understand. (It still feels like a miracle each time you poop in the potty and I don’t have to clean a poopy diaper. Good work, kid, let’s have more of the same.)
You’re as fond as ever of the pets. I have to be careful to watch you, because you’re starting to try to pick up Molly. You’re enthusiastic, but not particularly gentle. Molly’s tolerant, but starting to learn your tricks. Just this weekend, you surprised me by picking up a chicken. Whoa. Many adults don’t manage that. You’ve learned how to pet them so they stop. You’ve know that for awhile. But you somehow translated that into picking S’more up. It didn’t last long, you lost your grip and she was gone. I was impressed though, especially that neither of you were the worse for wear. No scratches or pulled out feathers.
You’re eating more food. Right now the favorites are blueberries. You’ll sign “more” very energetically for them. You also really love nectarines and can eat a whole one by yourself. You did that while Grandma was visiting here. You scavenged one of hers and happily ate away.
While she visited, we had a happy and sad family gathering. We all went out of Kevin’s boat, Orion, and spread Great-Grandpa Norm’s ashes. It was wonderful to see all of our family. It felt good to celebrate Grandpa’s life in such a way. With some time since his death, it was easier to celebrate more than mourn. It felt good to be around family, including Hannah, who’s not much younger than you.
You really enjoyed the boat, again. I think you’re going to be a fine Northwest baby. You like the water, the outdoors, boating. You’ll get along great.
You’ve been to two Sounders games recently. You were great for both. One you went with Papa and Michelle. You had a great time on the train and slept through a good portion of the game. Papa and I took you a week later. The train wasn’t running this time, so we drove and took light rail. You were a bit more active this time, but you still enjoyed yourself. You certainly know when to clap. I was impressed you weren’t scared by the booms of the fireworks and streamer guns.
You’ve recently developed a fondness for planes. You love to point at them and watch them fly over. If you hear them, you look around trying to find them. Conveniently, planes fly over the stadium all the time. It was fun to point them out with you.
You are such a joy to me every day. You challenge me and you teach me. I see you watching me, doing what I do. I’m trying so hard to be worthy of that. You won’t always imitate me the way you do know, but you’ll always be watching me. I hope that you learn good things from me. I hope to be worth watching and learning from.
In advance, though, I should probably apologize if you spend a lot of your life looking for your keys. Sorry, kid. It’s not your fault. You can blame me. And your Grandma. And check the mustard drawer. I found them there once.
Thanks, Hazel, for being you. For being funny and cute and silly and loving. For kissing me in the morning and snuggling with me at night. For bringing me your shoes and then demanding to go outside. For reading books with me. For feeding me your food. For giving me your feet to tickle. For playing peek-a-boo and chase. For squealing when you see me. For making my life so much richer.
I love you,
Mama