She's Got Skills

Dear Lila,

I am so proud of everything you accomplished this past year. First and foremost, you became the *best* big sister! It makes me so happy to see how warm and loving you are toward your baby brother. Then you started school and have already learned so much: you can sing the entire alphabet song, recite "Patty Cake" and other nursery rhymes and recognize almost all of the letters and numbers and point them out to me (especially when you see the letter L--you point to it and exclaim, "L for Lila!"). You are also speaking with longer and more complex sentences (at home, anyway--you still become mute as soon as we walk out the door), though I still like the ones you jumble, like "Why him no talking?"

This year, you transitioned into a toddler bed, became potty trained and learned to go to the bathroom without any help  (Yay! But for awhile there, SO. Many. Accidents!), started taking ballet (you are so good at balancing on your toes now), made your first best friend (you and Ellie were in Moms & Tots together last year and now you are in ballet and nursery school together and you two have become so tight!) and have continued your record growth--you are 40 inches tall, 41.5 pounds and wearing size 6 clothing. According to your pediatrician, you are the height of a 4-year-old and the weight of a 5-year-old!

Love,
Mom

First Mani/Pedi

Dear Lila,

I hadn't planned on painting your nails until you were a little older but you've been interested in getting your nails done (both your nanny and your friend Cleo get regular manicures and you always admire them), so I took you out for a special birthday mani/pedi yesterday. Since you are still incredibly shy, you didn't say a single word to the manicurist (and she tried so hard to get you to talk to her!) but you did at least point to the color of polish you wanted and whispered to me ever softly what designs you liked. You picked out a light baby blue polish (the same color as Elsa's dress in Frozen) and got a snowflake design on your fingernails and polka dots on your toes. Afterward, you looked very happy with your cute nails!

We wrapped up the morning with pizza and brownies from our favorite pizzeria and a visit to the party store to get you a Sofia balloon. I hope you enjoyed your birthday, sweetheart!

Love,
Mom

You're Three Years Old!

Dear Lila,

Rice is one of your favorite foods and when PoiPoi was eating fried rice for lunch the other day, you asked her for some. PoiPoi shared her rice with you and then asked if she should save the rest for you. You replied, "No, save it for Mama." I was nursing your baby brother on the couch at the time and hadn't said anything and it touched me so much that you were thinking of me.

Your thoughtfulness touched me, but it did not surprise me because you have always been so sweet and considerate. You play and share so nicely with other kids. If you see me get hurt, you immediately ask me, "You ok?" When DiDi is crying, you run over to him, pat him and say, "Sawyer, I here! It's okay! I love you!" (And when that doesn't soothe him, you call out to me, "DiDi crying! DiDi crying!")

Every night, I ask you, "Who is my favorite little girl?" Then you smile and chirp, "Me!" And that is and will forever be true. You are my #1 girl and to paraphrase one of your favorite bedtime books, I Love You Through and Through, I love your kind side, your brave side, your nurturing side and your silly side. I love your giggles, the funny faces you make and the way you mispronounce words like "bloon" (balloon) and "ockypuss" (octopus). I love that you love school (you always ask to go to school and get so disappointed when it's not a school day), that you like so many foods most little kids do not (i.e. steamed crabs and roasted salmon) and that you enjoy watching monster trucks ("Blaze and the Monster Machines") as much as you enjoy watching princesses ("Sofia the First"). I especially love how happy you look when the two of us get to cuddle--I love our cuddles, too!

Over the past three years, you have grown into an amazing daughter, sister, friend and person and I am so happy and proud to be your mama. Happy birthday, Lilabear!

Love,
Mom

Bad Week

Dear Lila,

The saying that bad things come in threes came true this week when you got walloped by a trio of illnesses. Last weekend, you came down with a fever and red eyes that still hadn't gone away by Monday, so we took you to the pediatrician and found out you got pinkeye. Treatment for that requires me to put painful eye drops into your eyes twice a day for 10 days, which you obviously do not enjoy. You run and hide in a corner, cry, scream and cover your eyes when you see me with the eye drop bottle, so I literally have to sit on top of you and pry your eyes open while PoiPoi or Daddy holds your head still. Oye.

On Tuesday, you woke up with rashes all over your body so we took you back to the doctor and discovered that you also had strep. So in addition to eye drops, you have to take an antibiotic twice a day--at least that I can hide in a cup of orange juice.

You seemed better on Thursday so you were able to go to school, which I was happy about because it was the day of your class birthday party. Daddy and I came to your class and I talked to your classmates about you, read one of your favorite books, I Love You Through and Through, to them and brought everyone Sofia the First cupcakes.

Your school holiday show was yesterday but unfortunately, we couldn't make it. At your party on Thursday, I noticed that you were walking strangely and kind of balancing on the outer edges of your feet. That evening, you complained that your feet hurt and crawled around everywhere instead of walking. There weren't any bruises or bumps on your feet so I just put you to bed and hoped the pain would be gone in the morning. But it wasn't. Your feet hurt so much that you couldn't even stand up without whimpering and buckling in pain, so Daddy took you to the emergency room. You poor thing, you were there from 10 in the morning until 6:30 at night while the doctors ran test after test. And after an entire day of tests and waiting in a boring hospital room, all they could come up with was that you likely had a viral infection that was causing you joint and muscle pain. They gave you some ibuprofen and thankfully, you woke up this morning feeling fine and have been walking normally.

There was a fourth "bad" thing, too--even though it is December, it has been so warm (hello, climate change) that you actually got three huge mosquito bites on your face earlier in the week. But those are clearing up, your eyes are not red anymore, you're getting over the strep and your feet don't hurt anymore. Whew, you powered through it all!

Love,
Mom

All The Things You Said

Dear Lila,

Funny and cute things you said this week:

-You were playing with DiDi in his room this morning when you heard me walking down the stairs, so you called out to me, "You forgot me and DiDi!"

-You hugged your baby brother and said, "I hug him because he special."

-GuhGaw was reading a number book to you and teaching you the different numbers. Halfway into it, you beamed at him and told him, "I love you."

-While I was shopping at Duane Reade, you asked for a toy car you saw on a display rack and I gave it to you to play with while I finished shopping. I've done that before and just put the car back before we leave the store. But I forgot to put it back today so after I paid and walked out the door, you called out, "Uh-oh, you forgot this!" Oops! And then we ran right back into the store to return it.

-I was helping you wash your hands and you just randomly said to me, "I want to be 30 and grown up." Wanna switch places with me? :-)

-One day after school, I asked you if you'd played with your friend Cleo. You said no so I asked you who you'd played with and you replied, "I play with the bad boys." What now? Do I need to lock you up already?!

Love,
Mom

A Perfect Moment

Dear Lila,

Funny things you said today:

-"Happy thank . . . happy give . . . happy thank . . . I can't say it." (You were trying to say "Happy Thanksgiving" but you couldn't remember that many syllables.)

-We were looking at photos from before you were born and you asked where you were. I said you hadn't been born yet and you replied, "I was at supermarket with Daddy?" That led to a conversation about how Daddy and I made you and you asked, "Why I no make myself?"

-You farted and said matter-of-factly, "My butt did that."

Other happenings today:

-I feed you lunch before you go to school but you didn't want to eat anything today. I couldn't even get you to eat a pouch of applesauce or drink a juice box because you said your mouth hurt. I didn't see any blisters or redness on your gums, though, and whatever was causing the pain apparently disappeared after you arrived at school because your class had a Thanksgiving feast and your teacher said you were so dead set on finishing all of your food, you didn't want them to throw away your plate when it was time for dismissal. So when I picked you up, your teacher handed me your plate and you cutely sat on the steps in front of your school and ate every last morsel of roast turkey, stuffing, cornbread and yams. Strange how you didn't eat lunch at home on the one day you got so much food at school--did you know and want to save room in your stomach?

-When I pick you up from school, you are usually so tired that you just want to sit in your stroller and eat a snack. But I guess you got a burst of energy from all of those Thanksgiving carbs because you wanted to play in the park across from your school today. It wasn't too cold so we stayed for awhile and I had so much fun chasing you around the trees and through the piles of leaves. It was actually a pretty perfect moment: the sun was shining, the air was crisp, you had such a joyful smile on your face as I chased you and your adorable giggles echoed through the park. As it was happening, I wanted to remember it forever. I hope you will.

Love,
Mom

So Thankful

Dear Lila,

Daddy asked you what you are thankful for and you replied, "For my mom." *melt!*

Love,
Mom

Doll Decapitation

Dear Lila,

This morning, you pulled the head off of your Ruby doll and brought her decapitated body over to me. When I asked you why you pulled her head off, you replied matter-of-factly, "I wanted to see the pink body inside her head." Ummm, okay.

Love,
Mom

Frozen Wake-Up Call

Dear Lila,

You still love all things Frozen and have started waking me up by coming into my room, jumping on top of me and asking me, "Do you want to build a snowman?" I'd be annoyed at you for hurling your body on me while I was sleeping if it wasn't so cute! Instead, I play along, pull the covers over my head and say, "Go away, Anna!" You sigh and say, "Sky wake so I wake." Then you pull my arm and I sit up and pretend to shoot snow and ice everywhere. I "accidentally" shoot you in the head and you collapse face-down on the floor. We continue reenacting the scene from the movie until I pick you up and rush you to the trolls' home, a.k.a. the hallway outside of my room. Hehe :)

Love,
Mom

Good Report

Dear Lila,

You received your very first report card yesterday and you are rocking it in school! You received nothing but high marks in all of the categories and your teacher wrote that you are "such a smart, independent and sweet girl" who "always follows directions and serves as a great role model for the other children." She also said you are "a pleasure to have in class." I am so proud!

Love,
Mom

Stuffed Nose

Dear Lila,

Well, it happened. I finally acquired a "My kid stuck the craziest thing up her nose" story today when you stuffed a roasted chickpea far up into your left nostril. Good lord.

We were at a bakery picking up things for tomorrow's breakfast and you were eating your after-school snack of cheddar bunnies and roasted chickpeas in your stroller. While I was getting egg tarts, I looked at you and you looked upset. I asked you what was wrong and you whispered something so softly that I couldn't hear you. I asked you to repeat yourself. A fat tear rolled down your face, you pointed to your nose and you whispered so quietly, "Nut." I was confused at first but quickly realized that the "nut" was a chickpea stuck halfway up your nose. Oh my god! You'd never stuck anything up your nose before (other than the occasional finger, ick) so what made you decide to put a chickpea up there?! Haha, did you want to save it for later?

Whatever the reason, the chickpea was waaaay up there and I couldn't reach it to scoop it out so in the middle of the bakery, I pressed your right nostril closed and kept telling you, "Blow! Blow harder! Again!" until the chickpea popped out into my palm, along with a big booger. Ew . . . but crisis averted! Oh man!

Love,
Mom

Pretty In Pink

Dear Lila,

This is what happens when I let you pick out your own outfit:

It goes without saying, you really like pink!

Love,
Mom

My Daughter Umbrella

Dear Lila,

Your nanny's name is Mary and her daughter's name is Isabella. You were pretending today and said, "I Mary. This my daughter Umbrella." Hehe :-)

Love,
Mom

Forever and Ever

Dear Lila,

This morning, I told you that I will love you forever and you responded, "That too much." When I asked you how long you'll love me, you said, "One time." Harsh!

In other news, you once again showed me how independent you are after your nap today. You woke up and took off your Pull-up, threw it in the bathroom trash can and put on your underwear and pants totally on your own. Your pants were actually on inside out (haha!) but still, good job!

Love,
Mom

Miss Kai

Dear Lila,

Your teacher's name is Miss Kaitlyn, but you can't quite say it yet. I asked you about her today and you said back to me, "Miss Kai . . . Miss Kai . . . Miss . . . Say her name [to me] again?" Aww!

Love,
Mom

Five Words

Dear Lila,

Five-word sentences I do not like to hear:

"The internet is not working."

"It's negative 10 degrees outside."

"There are no more cookies."

"I peed on the floor."

And the one you said to me today: "I don't love you anymore."

It was the first time you said that to me and it happened after I told you to stop playing with DiDi's swing. You glared at me (which you rarely do) and said in a low, slow voice, "I. Don't. Love. You. Anymore."

Ouch. But then five minutes later, all was forgotten and you were talking to and playing with me as usual!

Love,
Mom

Pick Up Pick-Me-Up

Dear Lila,

Picking you up from school is always one of the best parts of my day. The way a huge grin spreads across your face when you see me walking up to your classroom, how you come running excitedly toward me and into my arms when your teacher calls your name--it instantly cheers me up and makes me feel like the happiest person in the world.

Love,
Mom

Bedtime Buddies

Dear Lila,

One of your cute Lila-isms is how you try to bring so many things into your bed with you every night. After we finish reading whatever bedtime story you've chosen, you climb into bed with it, along with one or two of your "friends." And when I go into your room to check on you an hour or so later, I invariably find a dozen more books, dolls, stuffed animals and other toys scattered on top, around and even underneath your sleeping body. Oye.

How you'd like to sleep every night if I let you.

Love,
Mom

Flower (Girl) Power

Dear Lila,

We went to another wedding last night--this time it was my cousin Sarin's and you were one of the flower girls!

I've been to a lot of weddings where the flower girls froze and had to be led/dragged down the aisle by their mothers but this was not one of those weddings. If you were scared, you didn't show it because you walked down the aisle completely by yourself with more than a hundred strangers staring at you and you didn't miss a beat. You did forget to drop the petals on the ground as you walked but otherwise, you were cool and collected as you marched to the alter and then stood still next to the bridesmaids and the other flower girl, none of whom you'd met before. Daddy and I were seated at the back, so you couldn't even see us over all of the other guests, but you were fine up there on your own and we were so proud of you for being such an awesome flower girl.

At the reception, you once again danced up a storm and you and GuhGaw stayed up until we left at midnight!

Love,
Mom

All Tucked In

Dear Lila,

I was cleaning up your room yesterday when I found the little baby figurine that came with your dollhouse wrapped in your baby Belle doll's blanket and tucked into your Elsa hat. I assume you were tucking the baby into bed--how cute is that?!

Love,
Mom

Dancing Queen

Dear Lila,

We went to my friend Vince's wedding yesterday and it was your very first wedding. You loved getting dressed up for it, seeing the bride in her beautiful gown, trying all of the foods during the cocktail hour and noshing on macarons and wedding cake. You also enjoyed taking pictures in the photo booth and checking out the play area Vince had thoughtfully set up for the kids, which contained inflatable toys and a ball pit. But what you *really* enjoyed was getting down on the dance floor!

You are still shy and rarely talk to anyone outside of our family but you weren't shy at all about showing off your dance moves in front of everyone! Even after my friends, Daddy and I all got tired and went back to our tables, you grabbed my hand and used every ounce of your strength to pull me back to dance floor when I protested. And though your usual bedtime is 7pm, you stayed wide awake and partied until 10pm! Guess you inherited your partying ways from your mama ;-)

Love,
Mom

Hijacked Homework

Dear Lila,

Note to self: Do not leave GuhGaw's homework out on the table, especially when there are pencils and scissors nearby. You got your hands on all three of those things today when no one was looking and scribbled all over a few pages of GuhGaw's homework before you cut them up into several pieces. Thank goodness for erasers and scotch tape!

Love,
Mom

Tiny Dancer

Dear Lila,

You're ready for your first ballet class!

Love,
Mom

Dizzy Spell

Dear Lila,

You were singing "Let It Go" and spinning around in circles in the living room when you stopped, suddenly got this disoriented look on your face and asked me, "Why [is the room] turning?" Haha, you make me laugh, baby girl!

Love,
Mom

Brave Girl

Dear Lila,

The word "stoic" isn't often used when referring to little kids, but I can't think of a better word to describe you. You are and always have been so calm and I am constantly impressed by your maturity, composure and uncomplaining nature. Whereas most babies cry and fuss when they're left in their cribs, you were always perfectly content hanging out on your own until I came to pick you up. You still handle shots and getting blood drawn like a champ and instead of crying when you bump your head or hurt yourself somehow, you usually just chirp, "Oh, I ok!" And when we moved into our new house three weeks ago and you had to sleep in a big and relatively empty new room that first evening (your room contained your bed and a suitcase of your clothes and that was it), you didn't get scared and come running into my room in the middle of the night even once.

Because you are so brave and because you are the size of kids who are twice your age, I sometimes forget that you are only 2 years old. GuhGaw had his birthday party at an amusement park earlier this month and since you are so tall for your age, you met the height requirements for all of the rides. But just because you were ready for them physically, in hindsight, I realize that doesn't mean you were ready for them emotionally. You did not enjoy the tall froggy ride that took you way up high and bounced you back down (the operator actually stopped the ride when she saw how scared you looked) and though you were excited to go on a roller coaster with me, you clenched the handlebars and whimpered when it started to speed up. But as frightened as you were, you sucked it up and didn't cry or complain.

And you showed your courageous side again today on your first day of nursery school. It was the first time you were dropped off somewhere without me, Daddy, PoiPoi or your nanny and you were as cool and collected as I expected you to be. When it was time to line up and walk to the classroom with your teachers, you were a bit reluctant and reached for me but when I nudged you toward the line, you dutifully took your place while many of the other kids were crying and wailing. Maybe it was because GuhGaw goes to school and you want to be like him or maybe because you took a Moms and Tots class at your nursery school last year and are familiar with the building and a couple of the teachers--either way, you totally rocked your first day of school! You looked really happy when I picked you up and said you had fun learning about lions. You also wore underwear to school (it was the first time you went out in underwear instead of a pull-up) and didn't have any accidents, woo!

Happy after a good first day of school!

I'm so proud of you!

Love,

Mom

Tooth Trouble

Dear Lila,

Today was not the best day for you. At your dental checkup this morning, the dentist discovered a painful-looking abscess on your front upper gum, which was caused by an infection in your tooth. We have no idea how long you had the abscess and I'm so sorry Daddy and I didn't notice it! We brush your teeth every day but the abscess was at the very top of your gum and only visible if we pulled your lip way up toward your nose, which we obviously have no reason to do. I hope it didn't hurt you too much for too long :-(

So because of the infection (when your baby tooth first grew in, it already had some decay in it; the dentist cleaned out as much decay as he could last year but the tooth still got infected), the dentist had to extract the entire tooth. Yeah. You can imagine how much you did not enjoy that. I had to put you on my lap and hold you as tightly as I could while the dentist pulled out your tooth. You, unsurprisingly, cried, screamed and kicked like crazy and holding you down was not easy because, dude, you're really strong! I felt so bad for you that I started crying a little, too, but eventually the whole ordeal was over (the dentist asked me if I wanted to keep your tooth, the decayed, infected tooth--ew, no thanks) and when we took you out for frozen yogurt immediately afterward, you were already feeling better as you happily ate your fro yo and swayed back and forth to the music playing in the shop. Whew.

Love,

Mom

Same Rapunzel

Dear Lila,

You were playing with your princess figurines today when you suddenly pressed the Rapunzel one against the underwear you were wearing. Of course, I had to ask you, "Uhh, what are you doing?" You replied, "Same!" As in, your Rapunzel toy was the same as the Rapunzel on your Disney princesses underwear. Oh, ha!

Love,
Mom

Bah Guys

Dear Lila,

Whenever something goes missing and I ask you where it is, you tell me, "Bah guys [bad guys] took it."

Love,
Mom

Squishy Belly

Dear Lila,

I had my shirt lifted up while I was pumping breastmilk earlier today and when you saw my post-baby stomach, you touched it and said, "I love your belly. Squishy. Another baby inside?"

Ouch. Time for me to hit the gym!

Love,
Mom

Wash and Wear

Dear Lila,

Due to that whole paper towel mess in the bathroom yesterday, I now always go with you when you have to go to the bathroom. However, I was still asleep this morning when PoiPoi let you go on your own and when she went to check on you, you, for some reason, were washing your underwear in the sink. Wha?

Love,
Mom

Terrible Towels

Dear Lila,

The good: As I mentioned a couple of days ago, you are fully capable of going to the bathroom by yourself.

The bad: I let you go to the bathroom on your own this afternoon and waited downstairs. You were in the bathroom for awhile, though, so I went upstairs to check on you and this is what I found: Instead of using toilet paper to wipe yourself, you had used half a roll of paper towels (we keep a roll on top of the toilet) to wipe yourself.

The ugly: You had thrown all of those paper towels into the toilet and I had to fish the giant wad of urine-soaked towels out with my hands.

It was a mess but I am so very thankful that at least you hadn't flushed and created an even bigger mess! Oh, and it's going to be awhile before I let you go to the bathroom by yourself again!

Love,
Mom

So Corny

Dear Lila,

I have a keepsake box where I keep special things related to Daddy: airline ticket stubs from trips we've taken together, cards he's given me, programs from Broadway shows he's taken me to, etc. I was looking through it yesterday while you were sitting next to me and started grinning as I read the really sweet things Daddy had written to me in an old birthday card. You asked me, "Why you smiling?" and I told you, "Daddy is so corny." You immediately peered into the keepsake box and asked me, "Where corn?" Haha!

Love,
Mom

Favorite Princesses

Dear Lila,

Your favorite Disney princess is Belle. You and your baby Belle doll were inseparable when you first got her, you were so excited when Daddy and I bought you your own Belle dress and when Daddy took you to see the Disney Live fairy tales show earlier this year, all you talked about afterward was seeing Belle, even though Cinderella and Snow White were in it, too (in fact, you called it the "Belle show.")

Recently, you have also become enthralled with "Sofia the First" after I let you watch a couple episodes of the show. Now, you always ask to watch the show, constantly declare that you love Sofia and light up whenever you see any type of Sofia merchandise when we're at a store. You've already told me that you want to be Sofia for Halloween and asked for a Sofia-themed birthday party.

And so this morning, when Belle was featured in the episode of Sofia the First that you were watching and your two favorite princesses were onscreen together, I was pretty sure you were going to burst from your excitement!

In other news from today, you did so well with potty training and went to the bathroom by yourself several times. And when I say by yourself, I mean that you totally went by yourself--and you even insisted on it. When you had to go to the bathroom, you shouted, "Pee pee!" and ran to the bathroom; if I followed you, you turned around, held up your hand and said, "No, by myself!" I was hesitant to let you go on your own but you rocked it. You were able to pull off your undies, climb onto the toilet (which is a little tall for you, but you managed to wiggle your body onto it), do your business, wipe yourself, flush and wash your hands all by yourself! You couldn't get your underwear back on afterward (it was hard for you to balance yourself and pull them back on while standing) but other than that, yay Lila!

Love,
Mom

Endless Appetite

Dear Lila,

Between 7am and 11am this morning, you consumed a bowl of cereal, 7 ounces of milk, some of my oatmeal, a handful of almonds, half a banana, a third of a scallion pancake and a cup of rice pudding. When you asked me for a cheese stick and I said you couldn't eat anything else until lunchtime, you burst into tears. I felt so bad, I caved and gave you a cheese stick and you finished it.

When it was eventually lunchtime, you happily polished off a bowl of orange slices and a plate of sauteed beef and green beans as if you hadn't eaten anything all morning. You also had some more milk. Wow. I always joke that you have a hollow leg but the truth is, you probably have two!

Love,
Mom

Big Girl Toast

Dear Lila,

This morning, I was spreading cream cheese on a piece of toast for you and you instructed me, "No you cut it [into bite-sized pieces like I normally do]." I asked you if you wanted to eat it like a big girl and you responded by standing up on the bench, stretching your hands toward the ceiling and saying, "Yes! Me big girl! Me eat like this [you mimicking holding the piece of toast and taking big bites out of it] chomp chomp chomp!"

Love,
Mom

Wet Feet

Dear Lila,

After dinner today, you were about to climb onto my lap when you suddenly said, "Pee pee!" and then peed all over my feet. Ugh. Well, I guess it would've been worse if you'd already climbed onto my lap.

Love,
Mom

Sibling Scares

Dear Lila,

This afternoon, I put your baby brother in his bassinet and left you with him while I went to the bathroom. I've done that multiple times and it's been fine--you talk and sing and keep him company while I'm gone. When I came out of the bathroom today, though, you looked up at me and said, "Look, Mommy!" and I saw that you were pressing DiDi's stuffed duck over his nose and mouth--no, Lila! I don't know how long you'd been pressing it on his face but DiDi was thankfully okay.

Earlier this summer, you and GuhGaw were playing on the couch and he pressed a couch cushion on top of your face. I was upstairs pumping breastmilk and who knows what would've happened if PoiPoi hadn't gone downstairs and seen you guys. Dear lord, if my kids could please stop trying to suffocate each other, that would be really great.

Love,
Mom

Bossypants

Dear Lila,

Since you started talking, you've always been very good about saying please when you want something. That's starting to change, though. We went to Target today and you kept ordering me around, saying things like "no, you go there" and "you buy this." When we were walking down the cereal aisle, you grabbed a box of Lucky Charms off of the shelf and said, "I want this." When I didn't respond, you said, "I want this! Hello! I want this!" Um, demanding much?

Love,
Mom

Family Outing

Dear Lila,

Daddy and I did it! We went on our first outing with all three of you kids (with PoiPoi's help!) and survived! We took you, GuhGaw and DiDi to Victorian Gardens Amusement Park yesterday and though it was on the hot side, we all had a fun day walking through Central Park, going on the rides (you and Connor especially loved the roller coaster) and playing carnival games. We even ran into our friends Uncle Ray and Aunt Sylvia and their two daughters and hung out with them for awhile.

But the end of the day did not go so smoothly. As we were walking to the garage to pick up our car, we got caught in a huge rainstorm (luckily, we were able to quickly take cover under some scaffolding to wait out the storm, which didn't last long). Then, when we were almost home, I suddenly smelled something really bad. I asked Daddy, "What is that? Why does it smell like manure?" We didn't know the answer until we pulled into our driveway and you held up your hands and said, "Look, Mommy!" Your hands were covered in chocolate! Where did you get chocolate? But wait, it wasn't chocolate--it was poop!!! You had pooped in your car seat, stuck your hands inside your shorts and gotten poop all over your hands. Oh. My. GOD.

The best reaction was GuhGaw's. He had been sleeping next to you in his car seat and woke up as I was getting you out of your seat to clean you up. When you held your poop-covered hands toward him, his eyes widened in disgust, he shouted, "Wah! Don't touch me!!!" and desperately tried to get away from you, which he couldn't really do because he was strapped in.

Oh man, never a dull moment with kids!

Love,
Mom

Two and a Half

Dear Lila,

You recently had your 2.5-year checkup and at 39 pounds and 38.5 inches tall, you are in the 97th percentile for both weight and height. So when I say that you are my big girl, you are literally my big girl!

You are growing up so much. You know all of your colors and many of your shapes and are getting better at identifying letters and numbers. You are pretty self-sufficient and can eat, get dressed, wash your hands and brush your teeth all by yourself. Just today, you came home from the playground, took off your sneakers and exclaimed proudly, "I take off shoes myself!"

And as evidenced by that five-word sentence, your language skills are also developing really well. Whether you're asking me, "You want my acahdo [avocado]?" at lunch or requesting that I "stay here lil bit please my room" when I tuck you in at night, your sentences are getting longer, more complex and more articulate [albeit sometimes scrambled in a Yoda-like fashion]. Some of the things you say are pretty funny, too. One night, I asked you if the red bump on your leg was a mosquito bite. You replied, "Mosquito duh duh duh duh duh duh [ominous Jaws tune we hum when we play our shark game] chomp! Bite me!"

As for potty training, you have mostly good days and go several days with no accidents. But then you'll have one day where you have two or three accidents that day. (On those days, do you just decide, "Screw the toilet! I'm a gonna pee wherever!"?) And when you do go in the potty, you make sure that I still acknowledge it. When we first started potty training you, I clapped and cheered every time you went in the toilet. Now that it's been several weeks, I don't always do that and if I don't, you order me, "Clap!" Yes, ma'am!

Love,
Mom

Cheeky Imprints

Dear Lila,

Sometimes when you sleep on your stomach, you put your hand under your face, so you wake up with the imprints of your fingers on your cheek. :-)

Love,
Mom

Maybe Not

Dear Lila,

Okay, I may have spoken too soon on you being fully potty trained. You went from having zero accidents in six days to having four accidents today. Ugh.

Love,
Mom

Potty Trained!

Dear Lila,

I think we can say that you are officially potty trained! Hooray! You've been wearing underwear instead of diapers during the day for three weeks now and you've been completely accident-free for the past six days! You pee and poop on the toilet when we put you on it and ask to go by exclaiming, "Pee pee! Pee pee!" Yesterday, you went shopping with Daddy and me and we were out for eight hours. We didn't want to worry about you having an accident and peeing all over the floor at Crate & Barrel, so we put you in a pull-up diaper but you were so good. You didn't pee in the pull-up during the entire day and asked to go pee three times. We're so proud of you!

Oh, and happy 4th of July!

Love,
Mom

Sweet Sayings

Dear Lila,

Sweet things you have said recently:

-While we were eating dinner one night, you walked over to me, whispered, "Tell you something," pulled my face down so that it was close to yours and whispered in my ear, "Love you, too."

-We were reading together when you suddenly said to me, "Best friend ever seen you." (Translation: You're the best friend I've ever seen.)

-After your shower tonight, you were able to put your pajama shirt and shorts on all on your own and once you'd done so, you exclaimed, "Self!"

Love,
Mom

JieJie Here

Dear Lila,

I had to put your baby brother in his bassinet while I went to the bathroom and when he started crying loudly, you went over to him, patted his tummy and said, "JieJie here. JieJie here." So sweet!

Love,
Mom

Messy Day

Dear Lila,

It was sunny today so when you were leaving to go to the playground with your nanny, I told you to wear your Elsa baseball cap. You shook your head no, pointed at your hair and said, "Messy." Ex-squeeze me?? Since when did you learn to care about whether your hair gets messy?!

And speaking of messy, you made a bit of a mess in GuhGaw's room today. You have been wearing underwear instead of diapers for several days now and have been doing really well with potty training. This afternoon, you ran up to me to tell me that you had to pee. But I was in the middle of changing DiDi's diaper, so I couldn't take you to that bathroom in time and you ran over to GuhGaw's tool bench toy and peed all over it. Oye.

Love,
Mom

Lil Bit?

Dear Lila,

The infamously insatiable appetites of teenage boys have got nothing on you! You can easily polish off an adult-sized portion of food and once you've done that, you sometimes even ask for more food! When I fear your stomach is going to explode, I cut you off, but you make it hard to deny you food when you ask for it so cutely.

Exhibit A: GuhGaw was eating a bag of fruit snacks and you asked him for some even though you'd already eaten a whole bag by yourself. I said you couldn't have anymore and you said, "Share nice!" (Translation: But it's nice to share!)

Exhibit B: You'd gulped down an entire adult-sized smoothie and then asked me for some of my smoothie. I said no and you tipped your head to the side and said in this sweet, high-pitched voice, "Me peas. [Give some to me, please.] Lil bit? Lil bit?" You even held up your thumb and forefinger to indicate the "little bit" of smoothie you wanted. Gah, how could I refuse?!

Love,
Mom

Big Sis

Dear Lila,

You are officially a big sister! Your baby brother was born last week and you are so smitten with him. When Daddy and I brought him home from the hospital, your face lit up when you first saw him and you kept smiling and pointing at him and saying, "Baby! Baby!" You also keep saying, "Me hold!" and look soooo happy when I put DiDi on your lap so you can hold him. You and GuhGaw have been fawning over DiDi and petting him a lot (yes, like he's a puppy!) and have even lifted up your shirts and asked to feed him, too, when you see me nurse him, haha! When he opens his eyes and then closes them, you say "see more" because you like to see his eyes. And every time you look at DiDi, you tell me that he's "so cute" and when I asked you if you love your baby brother, you replied,"So much." *melt*

Since meeting DiDi, you have helped me feed him a bottle of milk and burp him, read to him when he started crying, sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to him--complete with all the hand gestures--and, on multiple occasions, put your fingers on either side of your mouth and pulled your mouth outward to make a silly face and get your brother to laugh. You are already such an awesome big sis!

And in other milestones news, today you wore undies for the first time:

As you can see from the photo, you are quite excited about going diaper-free!

Love,
Mom

Mirror, Mirror

Dear Lila,

I love how anything can be turned into a form of entertainment when you're a little kid. This morning, you stood in front of my mirror and amused yourself for quite some time by smiling at, waving at and playing peekaboo with your own reflection.

Love,
Mom

Strong Girl

Dear Lila,

This morning, you carried a full 32-ounce bottle of water up the stairs all by yourself (PoiPoi had asked you to take it upstairs to me) and when I commented on how strong you are, you flexed and showed me your muscles.

Later in the afternoon, I had fallen asleep and woke up to the sound of someone giggling. When I opened my eyes, you were peeking at me from behind a pillow on my bed and laughing your adorable little laugh. What a nice way to wake up!

Love,
Mom

Who Dat?

Dear Lila,

So cute: You're becoming much more curious and constantly asking me, "Why?" and "Who dat?" about things you see or hear. Also, if you ask me for something and I say no, you squeeze your eyes shut and beg, "Pleeeeeeeeeease!"

Not so cute: You walked into my room at 6:30am this morning and woke me up by smacking the mattress next to my face several times. Well, at least you didn't smack me *on* my face!

Love,
Mom

Inked

Dear Lila,

This morning, I put on a purple summer dress. GuhGaw said I looked beautiful and you called me "Cindalella" and wanted to dance with me. Not a bad way to start the day!

Today's other happenings: I was upstairs and PoiPoi was cooking dinner, so neither of us saw you when you took a blue marker and scribbled ALL over your arms, legs, feet and even your tummy! Yeah, so that's why you don't leave a toddler alone with markers!

And then at dinner, you continued to amaze me with your love of vegetables when you only ate your Chinese broccoli and proclaimed, "LOVE choy choy [Chinese for vegetables]."

Love,
Mom

My Girl

Dear Lila,

I haven't really done anything to encourage it, but you are still a total girly girl. When I am in the bathroom putting on makeup, you like to sit behind me on the step stool and mimic me. When you see me put on earrings and a necklace, you ask for them, too, by saying, "Me, too!" The UPS delivery person rang our doorbell one day and the package was a new pair of sandals I had ordered for you. The next day, we received another package that wasn't for you but when you heard the doorbell ring, your eyes widened, you jumped up and started shouting, "New shoes! New shoes! New shoes!"

This morning, PoiPoi dressed you in a new summer dress and you came into my room and announced with your arms stretched out at your sides, "Ta-da! Dress!" :)

Love,
Mom

Mommy Cuddle

Dear Lila,

This morning, you came into my room while I was still in bed and asked so sweetly, "Mommy, cuddle?"

Of course!

Love,
Mom

LittleMissMatched

Dear Lila,

I usually lay out your outfits the night before, but I forgot to last night and Daddy dressed you this morning. When you came into my room, you were wearing a grape-colored purple dress over a blue flowered skirt. I thought to myself, "Um, okay. This is why I pick out your outfits instead of letting your dad do it."

It turns out, though, that *you* had picked out that interesting ensemble. After Daddy changed your diaper this morning, he told you to go into your room and get your clothes. Since there were no clothes set out on your rocking chair, you pulled open your drawer and took out what you wanted to wear. You brought the dress and skirt to Daddy, who thought to himself, "Um, okay. Your mom picked out a weird outfit for today."

Ha!

Love,
Mom

Shark!

Dear Lila,

Some things about my Lilabear:

-This is how you currently count: "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, twelve [you always skip from seven to twelve], three-teen, fourteen, fifteen . . ."

-You learned how to ride your scooter on your own after just two trips to the playground.

-You weigh about 39 pounds now (that's almost as much as GuhGaw and more than many of his 4-year-old friends!).

-You eat foods that some adults don't even like to eat: onions, celery, bean sprouts and bok choy.

-You've graduated from calling me Mama to calling me Mommy (which I'm sad about; I like Mama!).

-You like to draw, pretend to cook in your play kitchen, sing and dance, play with trains with your brother and build things with Legos and your favorite toys are your princess figurines and princess castle. Belle is your favorite Disney princess and it's cute the way you pronounce the other princesses' names: Slee Booey (Sleeping Beauty), Rorah (Aurora), Aree (Ariel), Schnoh Why (Snow White), Cindalella (Cinderella).

Dressed up as your favorite princess!

-When I'm laying down in bed, you often sit next to me and say, "You Schnoh Why, me Prince." Then you hold my face, kiss me on the lips and "wake" me up. So adorable!

-When you watch TV, you often sit with your hands folded in your lap. So proper!

-You love to hide under blankets.

-You also love to play this shark game you invented. I know you want to play when you climb onto the couch, get this concerned look on your face and shout, "Shark! Shark!" We sit on our boat (the couch) and look out for the shark in the water (the living room floor). You pretend to slip off the boat and shout "Whooooa! Whooooa!" But fortunately, I always pull you back up onto the boat before the shark can get you. We play this almost every day and you can "fall" off the boat over and over without tiring of the game!

Love,
Mom

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Dear Lila,

Your nanny was about to put you in the tub for a shower earlier today but you said, "Pee pee! Pee pee!" and pointed at the toilet, so she put you on the toilet and you pooped. Yay!

But then after your shower, you ran into your room butt naked and peed all over your play mat. Doh!

Love,
Mom

Mama Here

Dear Lila,

So much cuteness!

-When you are excited about something, you exclaim, "Yeah-hoo!"

-I was eating a piece of string cheese and you wanted some, so I shared it with you. When you ate all of it, I said, "Aww, no more for me." You immediately opened your mouth and started to take out a piece of chewed-up cheese so that you could give it to me. Haha, thanks but no thanks!

-After I got you out of bed yesterday morning and changed your diaper, I asked you if you were ready to go downstairs and get some milk. You looked down at your pajamas--which I had forgotten to change you out of--raised your hands up questioningly and said, "No change me!"

-When you were getting ready to go to the playground with your scooter yesterday morning, you kept asking for knee pads. I told you that I had ordered them and that they would be arriving later in the day. When you came home with your nanny a couple hours later, there was an Amazon package sitting on the front steps. You carried it into the house while shouting, "Knee pads! Knee pads!" It's so adorable how you remembered that your knee pads were arriving and instantly knew they were inside the package!

-We were reading one of your books today and there was a page about baby spiders. You said to the photo of the spiders, "Ew. Go away, spi. No like you."

-You love pretending to be a mommy. One of your favorite things to do is wrap your baby dolls up in blankets, rock them, pretend to feed them and push them around in your doll stroller. You also like to pretend that I'm your baby, so you tell me to lay down and then lay a blanket on top of me, pat my cheeks and say to me, "Mama here. Mama here."

Love,
Mom

Sweet Thanks

Dear Lila,

It's funny how the littlest things can make your day when you're a mom. You pooped last night and after I cleaned your butt and changed your diaper, you stood up and said to me, "Tank you change me." It was so sweet and thoughtful and made wiping your tushee totally worth it, haha!

Love,
Mom

Sup What?

Dear Lila,

You made me smile today when you were so sweet toward your brother. While I was putting GuhGaw to bed, you ran into his room, climbed into his bed, gave him a hug and a kiss and said, "Goo nigh, GuhGaw."

You made me happy today when I put you to bed and you told me, "Luf you."

You made me proud today when you wouldn't give up. You put on your lion backpack and attempted to clasp the buckles together. They're a little difficult for a toddler to close and you were struggling with them quite a bit--so much so that your whole body was shaking--but refused to let Daddy or me help you when we offered to close them for you. Instead, you kept working at them and really impressed us when you eventually buckled the buckles all by yourself!

You made me feel sorry for you today when you came up to me looking so sad and told me softly, "Daddy yell me." (Oddly, Daddy said he hadn't yelled at you, so I'm not sure what you were talking about.)

You made me laugh today when we were counting in Chinese and every time you said sup yut (Chinese for 11), it sounded as if you were saying, "Shut up." Ha!

Love,
Mom

Tired Moms

Dear Lila,

Last night, I dreamed that I invited all of my mom friends over for a sleepover at our house. The plan was to drink wine, eat popcorn and watch movies but we all fell asleep at 10:30pm. Even in my dreams, my fellow moms and I are so tired that we can't stay up late!

Love,
Mom

Hello, Kitty

Dear Lila,

One of your favorite phrases at the moment is "Me, too!" You want to be included in everything so if I ask GuhGaw, "Do you want a snack?" or "Can you help me carry this?", you raise your hand and say, "Me, too! Me, too!" Even if I tell Connor, "I have to cut your fingernails," you chirp, "Me, too!" and stick your hand in my face.

You also often reply "Yeah, sure!" when someone asks you a question and constantly say "No, me!" when you want to do something on your own, which is almost all of the time. Whether I am trying to help you wash your hands, brush your teeth, pour milk into your cereal bowl or spread cream cheese on your toast, you frequently protest, "No, me!" I'm proud (and a little sad!) of how independent you want to be and how you can actually do a lot of things now without my assistance. Like using scissors! I just showed you how to cut paper with safety scissors a couple of times and today, you were able to cut paper by yourself.

In other news, you are definitely not lacking in confidence--yesterday, you were looking at your reflection in the mirror, went right up to it and said, "Cuuuuute!" Oh, and you have also decided that you are a cat. You constantly crawl around on the floor, say "meow" and even lick my leg. Um, okay.

Love,
Mom

Sad Face

Dear Lila,

You're pretty well-behaved so Daddy and I don't have to scold you very often but when we do, you get so upset. If we raise our voices at you even a little, you look so taken aback, stick your bottom lip out, which starts to quiver, and slowly let out this cry that begins silently and then develops into the saddest little wail. Big teardrops stream down your cheeks and you look sooooo sad that we almost always feel bad for making you so upset. I manage to stay strong but oh man, Daddy turns to putty when you do that and apologizes to you--even though you were the one who initially did something wrong! (You're still so harsh toward him but he is so wrapped around your little finger :P )

Love,
Mom

February Milestones

Dear Lila,

Some things you did this month:

-You continued to impress me with your impeccable manners. You say "cue me" (excuse me) when you cough and always, always say "peas" (please): "More peas," "Peas that," "Me, peas," "Lap peas."

-You learned to put together a lot of three-word phrases and correctly identify dozens of objects, letters, numbers and colors.

-You grew into size 5T clothing (the same size GuhGaw currently wears!) and size 9 shoes. At this rate, your older brother will be wearing your hand-me-downs!

-Your favorite books are Moo Baa La La La and Ten Little Ladybugs, so you asked me to read them to you every night at bedtime and recited Moo Baa La La La along with me.

-Your favorite bedtime songs are "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and you asked for those every night at bedtime, too. You requested the latter by saying, "How I," as in "How I wonder what you are."

-You probably broke the record for runniest nose ever. You went through several boxes of tissues this month and I seriously could not keep up with your snot; as soon as I wiped your nose and threw the tissue in the trash, I'd turn around to find more boogers streaming out of your nostrils. Oh, and your snotty kisses all over my face when I was least expecting them--yum! (*gag*)

-You learned how to count to 15 in English and to 10 in Chinese! Nice!

Love,
Mom

Daddy's Little Girl (Not)

Dear Lila,

Man, you are still being so cold toward Daddy. Last week, he was away for three days for a business trip and when he came back, he knelt down and held his arms out toward you for a hug. You ran toward him . . . and then right around him to get to me. The other night, he was going to read to you while I took a shower. When I came out of the shower, you weren't reading with Daddy in your room but sitting outside of the bathroom door. Daddy said that you had refused to read with him and had been sitting outside the bathroom waiting for me, like a little puppy, the whole time I'd been in there.

One night, Daddy and I were hugging. You did not like this because you ran over to us, grabbed me and said, "No, mine!" And then last night, you and I were cuddling in bed. When Daddy climbed into bed next to us, you tried to push him away and told him angrily, "Go!" When I got out of bed to get some water, you started crying and reaching for me, as if I was leaving you with a stranger forever and not your father. Seriously, you're breaking his heart!

Love,
Mom

The Kindness of Strangers

Dear Lila,

I grew up in Pittsburgh, a friendly city where neighbors say hi to each other on the street and store clerks go out of their way to help you find what you're looking for. Then I moved to New York City, where neighbors don't even know each other's names and store clerks will stand less than a foot away from you staring off into space while you struggle to hold the door open and push your Cadillac of a stroller through (and when you dare to ask them for help, they glare at you for interrupting their daydream about Chris Pine). I am from a friendly city, so I am inherently friendly. Daddy grew up in New York and while he is not rude, he is definitely not as affable as I am. Like Daddy, you and your brother are native New Yorkers but I hope you inherit more of my open friendliness because, while cliche, a little does go a long way.

We have been having a brutal winter characterized by bitter cold temperatures, endless snow and dangerous hailstorms. The sidewalks are covered in sheets of ice and many of the crosswalks are not shoveled, so pushing you in the stroller to pick GuhGaw up from school has been a big challenge. So today, I decided that we would take the bus to get Connor but that was an ordeal in and of itself. The bus stop is only two blocks away from our house but helping you maneuver the slippery sidewalks and slushy snowbanks--while making sure I didn't fall, either--took awhile and we missed two buses on our way to the stop. Once we reached the stop, we had to wait more than 10 minutes in the freezing cold for the next bus and when it arrived, it was so packed that we could barely get in. That's when the kindness of strangers made such a difference.

Once we got on the bus, a woman helped me hold you while I put my Metrocard in the machine so that you wouldn't fall down while the bus was moving. Then, another woman sitting in the first seat near the door stood up so that I could sit down and put you in my lap. I'd never taken the bus to Connor's school before and the bus driver helped me find the closest stop. After we picked up GuhGaw, we were waiting for a bus to go back home and the first bus that came said, "Next Bus Please" but it stopped for us anyway. After we got on, I noticed that it was the same driver who had taken you and me to the school. He didn't stop at the other bus stops, even though people were waiting at them, until he got to the stop we needed; he actually wasn't supposed to have stopped to pick us up near the school, but I think he wanted to help out the mom waiting in the freezing cold with two little kids. I was seriously touched by his--and everyone's--kindness, which turned what could have been an awful task into a much more manageable one. It makes me feel so good to see such caring people like that and I hope that you and Connor will always do whatever you can to make other people feel the same goodness.

Love,
Mom

Sweet Sister

Dear Lila,

While I was cooking dinner tonight, I noticed that you had lined up all of your Disney princess books on the floor. Then, I watched as you took your Disney princess figurines and placed each one on top of her corresponding book. How cute--and organized!

Later in the evening, GuhGaw (who didn't take a nap today) was so tired that he fell asleep on his bedroom floor with his nap mat under his head like a pillow. When you saw him like this, you pulled the nap mat out from under his head, unrolled it, pointed to it and said, "Here, Guhgaw, here," telling your brother to sleep on top of the mat. He was passed out and obviously didn't hear you, but it was still such a sweet gesture :)

Love,
Mom

25-Month Update

Dear Lila,

It's only been a month since you turned 2 but I feel as if you've really blossomed over the past four weeks. For one, you have learned more new words than I can keep track of and have started saying two-word phrases, such as "you here" (you motion to a spot next to you and say this when you want me to sit with you) and "Guhgaw, up" (Connor was laying on the couch and you wanted him to get up and play with you). You also say "cue me" (excuse me), which is so cute (and polite!). 

Your love of reading has continued to grow. You often come up to me with a book, ask me to "ree" (read) and then happily plop into my lap. But you're also content sitting by yourself and flipping through books on your own. You can identify dozens of objects in your books now and if there's a man, woman, boy or girl pictured, you point to them and say "Daddy," "Mama," "GuhGaw" and "me," respectively. You are slowly learning your colors, letters and numbers but right now, whenever I ask you what color something is, you always say it's blue. And all the letters are p and all of the numbers are 2.

You really enjoy your soccer class (when I ask you what you did in class, you say, "Kick ball."), have become so good at completing puzzles, sing and dance even more now and love playing with your baby dolls (it's so cute the way you "feed" them and put them in your lap and read to them). You are so eager to try new foods--most toddlers are so wary of unfamiliar foods but whether it's pickles, tomato juice or something else you've never seen before, you ask for some. You don't always like these new foods (you were not a fan of beets) but at least you always want to try them first. You currently love oranges and cheer "Chang chang!" (Chinese for orange) when you see me peeling one. You also like sour stuff and even enjoy sucking on fresh lemon and lime wedges!

Potty training you has been going slowly but you did well with it this past weekend. You asked to go pee twice on Friday night and then at 5:30am, you woke up, called out for me and asked to go pee. I wasn't happy about being woken up at 5:30 in the morning but I was proud of you for asking to go to the bathroom! 

You are generally incredibly agreeable, responding with a well-behaved "okay" when I ask you to do something, but your stubbornness is becoming more of an issue. You occasionally throw fits when I have to change your diaper or want you to wash your hands and you hate, hate, hate wearing mittens and gloves, so trying to put them on for you before you go outside is a battle I usually lose--you actually clasp your hands together tightly so that I can't possibly put them on. You also don't like wearing hats or your puffy winter jacket but I definitely won't let you go out without those, so I'll wrestle them onto you. It can be so hard to get you to wear them and then if that wasn't frustrating enough, sometimes you cry and refuse to take them off once we're back home. 

And on top of that, there were a few times when I couldn't even get you back in the house. Last week, we came home after your Moms & Tots class but you wanted to stay outside. You refused to come up the steps with me and I couldn't pick you up, so I actually had our neighbor pick you up and bring you into the house! Luckily, she just so happened to be leaving her house to run an errand; otherwise, I have no idea how I could have dragged you out of the cold! The terrible twos, ugh.

Overall, though, you are good more often than not and I love how happy, giggly, playful and active you are now (though you still remain stone-faced and silent when we go out--other than your family and your nanny, probably just a dozen people have ever seen you smile or talk!). I also love what a big sweetheart you are becoming. GuhGaw often gives me hugs and kisses and asks me to keep them in my heart so now you do the same by hugging and kissing me and then patting my chest and saying "har" (heart). Awww :)

Love,

Mom

Mess Maker

Dear Lila,

Your new favorite game is dumping all of your toys on the floor and rolling around in them. I guess it's kind of the equivalent to some adults' fantasy of throwing piles of cash on the floor and rolling around in them!

Love,
Mom

Who Needs A Bed?

Dear Lila,

You have a nice bed. It's big and comfy but I guess it's not big or comfy enough because every night, you insist on sleeping on the floor. You have a foam mat next to your bed but no, you don't even like to sleep on that. You prefer to sleep on the hardwood floor right next to your safety gate. Our nightly bedtime routine goes like this:

-I read a few books to you and GuhGaw

-We give GuhGaw goodnight and hugs and kisses and he goes to his room and gets into bed

-I put on your sleep sack, turn off your light, help you into bed, talk and sing to you for a little bit, say good night and get up to leave your room

-You sit up in bed and say "No! You here" to ask me to stay with you

-When I don't, you say, "Floor," get out of bed, waddle over to your gate and lay down on the floor

-I close your gate, say good night to you again and go downstairs

If I lead you back to bed while you're still awake, you just get up and lay down on the floor again as soon as I leave the room, so now I just wait until you fall asleep and have Daddy carry you to bed when he gets home from work. You've been doing this ever since we switched you to a toddler bed three months ago. For awhile, I laid out a nap mat next to the gate so that you at least fell asleep on the mat but after a couple weeks, you started pushing the mat out of the way and laying on the plain hardwood floor. *scratches my head in befuddlement* Oh well. I guess it's good for your back?

You like to sleep on the floor during nap time, too!

Love,

Mom

Princess Massacre

Dear Lila,

While I was cooking dinner tonight, you were sitting on the floor and playing with your Disney princess figurines. You lined them all up, grabbed a toy car . . . and then plowed them all down. You even went, "Aaaaaagh!" to mimic screaming. Um, should I be worried? :-P

Love,
Mom