You're Four Years Old!

Dear Lila,

You have ballet class every Saturday morning and getting you up and ready for it every week is usually a battle. You take a long time to eat your breakfast, you don't want to brush your teeth, then you don't want to get dressed and put on your tutu and tights or get in the car with Daddy . . . you're often crying and I'm often yelling, "Lila, you have to get ready! You're going to be late!" You always have fun once you get to class but I do not have fun getting you there! Then yesterday, we were reading a Fancy Nancy book where she gives her dad ballet lessons and you said you really like ballet. I asked you, "Then why do you always give me so much trouble when you have to go to ballet class?" You said, "Because I don't want to go. I want to stay home and spend time with my beautiful mama." Well, okay, I'll never make you go to ballet class ever again, hahaha!

You are and always have been so sweet and being your mama makes me so unbelievably happy. The way you smile at me when you're reading or playing and realize I'm looking at you, the way you suddenly hug me and tell me that you love me several times a day, the way you ask me if I can cuddle with you every single night, the way your face lights up when I say yes and climb into bed next to you, the way you insist on just one more "huggie" and kiss when I have to get up--the feelings I get from these little moments with you are exactly why I love being a mom, your mom. I love you so much for being so sweet, so kind and so gentle. And every day, I am so proud of you for your strength, your determination, your patience and your compassion. When you had a stomach virus last week, you felt awful and threw up several times but you powered through it without ever whining. When you practice writing your letters, you are so focused and persistent, even when some of the letters are tricky for you. When we drove back to New York from Pittsburgh after Thanksgiving last month, it took nine excruciating hours because there was so much traffic, but you didn't complain or cry or whine "Are we there yet?" even once; you just sat in your car seat and colored, read a magazine, talked to me, ate snacks or napped. And when DiDi cries, you immediately try to console him by singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" or the alphabet song to him.

You make me laugh every day with the cute faces that you make (you scrunch up your face in different ways and ask, "Do I look funny?") and the funny things that you say (we were pretending Daddy was a monster one day and you said, "You be the peekout!" -- you meant "lookout," haha). You also continue to impress me with your very mature palette. You eat things like scallions and spinach salad and when we went to a buffet last month, you turned down the brownies, cookies and pie and asked me to pile your plate with cucumbers, carrot sticks and watermelon (not that you don't have a sweet tooth--you could and would eat ice cream after every meal if I let you!). You are my amazing little girl and I can't wait to see what amazing things you have in store. Happy birthday, Lilabear!

Love,
Mom

Only Child

Dear Lila,

Funny things you did today:

-There was a book fair at your school this week and when GuhGaw went yesterday, he bought a Paw Patrol book. You went today and bought the exact same Paw Patrol book. I asked you why you did that and you said that GuhGaw wouldn't share the book with you yesterday. So you got your own--smart!

-I was brushing your teeth when you suddenly looked down your shirt and said, "I want big-girl boobies." Um, no. You're still only 3! I think you said that, though, because your nanny and I had been looking at a photo of me when I was pregnant with you and I had said, "Yeah, I was pregnant in that picture. That's why my boobs look so big." Oops, I really have to watch what I say around you!

-You and Daddy saw the movie "Moana" over the weekend and while I was showering you, you said, "Moana's family only has her, her daddy and her mama. Can we do that?" I asked, "What about your brothers?" You replied, "Can we give GuhGaw and Sawyer away? Can we drive them to PoiPoi's house?" Um, no.

Love,
Mom

Old Maid

Dear Lila,

After school today, you and GuhGaw were playing in the front yard when you picked up a big branch, bent over slightly, started using the branch like a cane, scrunched up your face and said in a deep voice, "I'm an old grandma." Haha! Neither of your grandmas do that--where did you learn that?

Love,
Mom

Nighttime Buddy

Dear Lila,

When I was tucking you in tonight, I asked if you wanted a friend, which is how I refer to your stuffed animals and dolls. You usually ask for Belle Bunny or Aurora but tonight, you said, "You my friend. I want you." *melt*

Love,
Mom

Just A Trim

Dear Lila,

Things you did today:

-Impressed me with your understanding of time: You asked if you and I could have girl time and I said we couldn't because I had a lot of work to do. You then said, "You said yesterday that we could have girl time tomorrow, so that is today!" Wow. (And we did manage to squeeze in a few minutes of girl time tonight after all.)

-Used a pair of safety scissors to trim your hair: Your nanny was cleaning up the study when she found hair clippings in the corner. You can't really tell that you cut it at all when looking at you, though, so at least your self-cut wasn't anything drastic!

Love,
Mom

Catgirl

Dear Lila,

At bedtime tonight, I leaned down for you to kiss my cheek but instead, you licked it. Then you laughed and said, "I'm a kitty cat." So silly!

Love,
Mom

All Hallows' Eve

Dear Lila,

Happy Halloween! I think I enjoy this holiday more now that I have kids than when I was a kid myself. It's so fun to dress you and your brothers up in your costumes and to see how excited you get about all of the candy. This year, you were a chef for your school party and your new favorite Disney princess, Elena of Avalor, for trick-or-treating:

Halloween fell on a Monday this year and we went trick-or-treating right after school. You're usually tired at the end of the long school day and after an hour of trick-or-treating, you were really exhausted, so I was going to take you home. But we were walking down a big street with lots of houses giving away candy and as strong as your desire to go home and rest was, the desire to collect more candy was even stronger! You kept saying, "Just one more house, Mama." So we'd hit one more house and prepare to head home, but then you'd say again, "Just one more." And so that "one" house became about two dozen more! Near the end of the street, you couldn't even hold your heavy bag of candy--I carried it and you would take it when we got to a house, get the candy, walk back to me and immediately hand the bag to me. By the last house, you could barely muster the strength to walk up the stairs and open your bag. You draaaaaaged yourself up the steps and just stared at the man, who had to push the candy down into your bag for you. You looked so sleepy, I went to the top of the steps and carried you down, for fear that you were going to fall down. Wow.

I usually let GuhGaw and you eat one piece of candy when we start trick-or-treating and one more when we get home afterward. You, however, managed to sneak several pieces by me, which you ate in addition to the two Munchkins you got at Dunkin' Donuts and the cup of ice cream you scored at Shake Shack. So really, it was no surprise when you came to me after we got home and complained, "My tummy hurts!" Awww!

Love,
Mom

Beautiful Old Lady

Dear Lila,

Happenings this month:

-When you could't spear a piece of broccoli with your fork, you said, "I can't fork it!"

-You learned about the five senses in school, so when you were drinking a cup of bubble tea one day, you said, "I tasting my bubble tea [you drank a sip]. I 'melling my bubble tea [you took a deep breath]. Now, I seeing my bubble tea [you held the cup right up to your eye]." So cute!

-You are beginning to write letters better and can write the first three letters of your name well (the a still gives you trouble). And you have also graduated from drawing people by making brief streaks across the paper to drawing people with round heads, actual faces and stick-figure bodies. It's kind of amazing how that just seemed to happen overnight.

A Lila Original

-You had your first shelter drill at school a couple of days ago. I felt so sad when GuhGaw had his first one last year and I felt sad again when you told me about yours today, especially when you said that when you started talking during the drill, your teacher warned you and your classmates, "If you talk, your mamas will never see you again." I get it, it's a serious thing and they want you to take it seriously but yeesh, that was a little harsh, wasn't it?

-Today, you said to me, "You look like an old lady who looks beautiful." Um, thank you?

Love,

Mom

Hallway Sighting

Dear Lila,

Your and GuhGaw's classrooms at school are both on the first floor and you two finally saw each other in the hallway today when you both had to go to the bathroom at the same time. You told me that you guys hugged each other when you saw each other and when your teacher asked you what your brother's name is, you said, "My brother's name is GuhGaw." Hehehe :-)

Love,
Mom

Tangled

Dear Lila,

So this happened today:

In case you can't tell, you're holding a mini fan and your hair is all tangled up in it. (And from the smile on your face, this situation obviously does not bother you.) "Lila! Why did you put the fan in your hair?!" "I don't know." After several exasperated minutes of trying to untangle your locks from the blades, it was clear that it was a lost cause and the scissors had to be brought in. Good lord.

Love,
Mom

First Day of Pre-K!

Dear Lila,

Here are some words to describe you right now:

Super Helpful: When DiDi dropped a bunch of Cheerios on the floor, you picked them up without anyone even asking you to. And when I was putting sunblock on him one time, you helped me rub it into his skin, again totally unprompted.

Super Sweet: I sometimes tell you that I love you to the moon and back. You sometimes tell me, "I love you to the moon and to the sun and to the back." And then you point to your back, hahaha!

Super Cute Speaker: You say things like "restanaut" (restaurant), "amial" (animal), "leyow" (yellow) and "I can't fork it" (when you couldn't spear a piece of food with your fork and pick it up).

Super Slow Eater: You used to be a quick eater like GuhGaw but now you eat so slowly, it is seriously painful to watch you sometimes. We had fried rice once and you literally ate it grain by grain. Are you just trying to reeeeeally savor your food? Oh my god, and your milk! It takes your more than an hour to drink a small cup of milk sometimes! When we're in a hurry, I put two chocolate chips in the bottom of your milk cup to get you to drink faster (it works!). I am not looking forward to rushing you through breakfast every morning so that we can leave for school.

And speaking of school, you are also now a Super Awesome Pre-Kindergartener! You started pre-k today! You were actually very very lucky to get a spot at GuhGaw's school--there are only 18 spots in the pre-k class and dozens of kids applied for them. There was a big chance you wouldn't get in but you did, yay! And even though you are at a brand new school with a brand new teacher and brand new classmates whom you never met before, you handled your first day like a boss. There was no fear, anxiety or panic (or if there was, you didn't let it show). You walked into the classroom, explored all of the different areas and participated in circle time as if you'd already been in the class for months. Funnily enough, DiDi was also quite at home in your classroom and also walked around and explored the room as if he owned the place. The cutest moment? When you went to the front of the room for circle time, DiDi didn't want to be left behind so he walked right over to you and hugged you tightly.

I am sad that you'll now be in school all day and I won't get to see you as much, but I am really excited about all of the great things you're going to learn this year!

Love,
Mom

Hug It Out

Dear Lila,

You were playing with DiDi in his room today and when I walked past the door, I saw you and him sitting on the play mat just quietly hugging each other. Oh my god, my ovaries!

Love,
Mom

The Next Age

Dear Lila,

Me, hugging you tightly: Can you stay this age forever?
You, matter-of-factly: No, I ready to move to the next age.

Love,
Mom

Another Stormy Monday

Dear Lila,

Last Monday was when we got stuck at Starbucks during a big thunderstorm. Today, we had another thunderstorm encounter but were way luckier.

When we went out to pick up GuhGaw from camp, the sky was again deceptively sunny, bright and clear. GuhGaw asked if we could play in the park for a little bit but it was too hot (over 90 degrees), so we just went to the supermarket to get some fruit before heading home. When we came out of the store, I noticed that the sky far off in the distance was dark and ominous but it was still sunny where we were. I joked that we better hurry home before we got caught in a storm again. But oh ho, it turned out to be no joke. Halfway home, the sky above us did instantly turn dark and ominous and thunder started booming. It was so loud, it literally sounded as if bombs were exploding all around us and even I got scared. We picked up the pace as fast as we could and you covered your ears, started crying and kept shouting, "I scared!" :-( GuhGaw also covered his ears as we walked/ran and tried to comfort you (and himself) by saying, "We're almost home. We're almost home." DiDi in his stroller, meanwhile, looked confused and didn't know why we were all so distressed.

The sky got darker and darker and the thunder got louder and louder but by the grace of whoever/whatever controls the weather, it didn't start raining until we were all safely in our house. We entered the door at 4:32pm and at 4:34pm, the sky tore open. It was much worse than last week; heavy sheets of rain poured down and the streets turned into streams in a matter of seconds. We would have been drenched instantaneously if we'd been caught in it. Oh my god, we're soooo lucky we weren't!

Love,
Mom

Playing Mom

Dear Lila,

DiDi still needs to be held when he naps during the day (he immediately wakes up if I try to put him in his crib) so I was sitting in the dining room and holding him while he napped this afternoon. You came into the room with your Belle doll wrapped in your Anna cape. You pushed a dining room chair near mine next to the window, sat down and cradled and rocked your baby while you looked at her dreamily. You patted her back gently and kissed her head every so often. You even lifted up your shirt and "nursed" her at one point. SO. SWEET!

Love,
Mom

Stranded at Starbucks

Dear Lila,

After you, DiDi and I picked up GuhGaw from camp this afternoon, we went to the supermarket to pick up a few things and then headed to Starbucks because I was craving their new iced coconut milk machiato. En route, the sky started to darken but I thought we were fine because I'd heard that it wasn't going to rain until the evening. I'd heard wrong. We arrived at Starbucks, picked up my coffee and a bottle of water for you guys, turned to go out the door and oh sweet mama, it was pouring. Like get-soaked-to-the-bone-within-seconds pouring. And we had no umbrellas or rain cover for the stroller because the sun had been shining in a pretty blue sky when we left the house to pick up GuhGaw.

So no biggie, we were just about a 10-minute walk from our house and the rain would let up soon, right? Um, no. We stood under the awning and watched the torrential downpour for 5 minutes, then 10, then 15. You and GuhGaw amused yourselves by running around a pole and getting wet every time you ran out from under the awning. We'd arrived at Starbucks at 5pm and soon it was almost 5:30pm. If we'd left then, I'd still have to bathe all three of you and myself and cook dinner and feed you dinner, which meant you'd probably go to bed at like 10pm (your regular bedtime is 7). But we couldn't even leave then, because the sky was still leaking like crazy, so I decided that we would have dinner at Starbucks.

GuhGaw was so confused when I told him. "We have to eat dinner here?!" "Yes, we can't go home because it's still raining." "Are we going to have to sleep here, too?!" Thankfully, no, and thankfully, if you're going to be stranded somewhere during a thunderstorm with three small children, Starbucks is definitely not the worst place to be. We sat down at a table and GuhGaw and you played with his Pokemon cards--and kept inching closer to the guy at the neighboring table so that you could look at his laptop screen until you were literally looking over his shoulder and I had to say, "Oh my god, you guys, get away!" (Fortunately, he was understanding and smiled.) I ordered egg and sausage sandwiches for us and bought a pureed fruit pouch for DiDi and we actually had a pleasant coffeehouse meal. You, GuhGaw and DiDi really impressed me with how patient and well-behaved you were, considering we didn't have much to do to stay entertained.

By 6pm, it was still raining but it had lightened up a little, the sun was coming out and I was getting antsy, so I decided that we would make a run for it. We all got wet but we made it home safely and 10 minutes after doing so, it stopped raining and the sun started shining brightly. Seriously?

Love,
Mom

BFFs

Dear Lila,

When I was putting you to bed tonight, you gave me a big hug and told me, "You my best friend." Doesn't get much better than that :-)

Love,
Mom

Nursery School Grad

Dear Lila,

GuhGaw came down with the incredibly contagious coxsackie virus last week and despite my best efforts to keep you two apart, you do live in the same house after all, so you caught it, too. You developed a fever on Wednesday and had the telltale red sores on your hands and feet yesterday (and impressed me by actually asking for medicine so that you could feel better). Back in December, you missed your winter holiday show (and the chance to meet Santa) because you got sick that week and I was so upset that you might have to miss your nursery school graduation today, too, but no! Thankfully, you woke up this morning feeling better and were able to make it, yay!

You were sooooooo shy when you started school back in September but you have made such leaps since then. Your teachers told me that by the end of the year, you were participating so well in class, singing along during music time and answering questions during activities. You were super soft-spoken, but you did speak! And outside of class, when we were walking to the playground with your friends, I watched as you gradually came out of your shell and became confident enough to not just talk to your buddies but also to their parents.

You absolutely loved going to school this year. In the mornings, you always asked me if you had school that day and you got excited when I said yes and disappointed when I said no. Sometimes when I said no, you tried to trick me and said you did have school! And every time we drove by your school on the weekends, you'd shout excitedly from your car seat, "My cool! My cool!" (You still can't pronounce those s's, haha). I am so happy that your first school experience was such a positive one. You loved all of your teachers, you made several good friends and you learned and grew so much. I am so proud of you, Lilabear!

Love,
Mom

Danilla Ice

Dear Lila,

Haha, I like the way that you say "danilla" instead of "vanilla."

Love,
Mom

Inside the Lines

Dear Lila,

You used to scribble wildly all over the paper when you colored but seemingly overnight, you have learned to color inside the lines--and you do so really well. You're also really good at tracing letters and drawing lines from one object to another. You're going to be so ready for pre-k next year!

Love,
Mom

Plant Children

Dear Lila,

Yesterday, you were playing by yourself and I asked you what you were playing. You replied, "I'm playing play date. I have to bring all my babies. I don't have any kids, just babies." I asked you what happened to your kids. You said very seriously, "My kids fell onto to the ground, grew into plants and died." Ohhh-kaaaay.

Love,
Mom

Self-Reflection

Dear Lila,

Your nanny changed you into a sundress when you were getting ready for school today and then she left the room to get your sunblock. When she came back to your room, you weren't there and she couldn't find you. She eventually found you in my walk-in closet, where you were admiring your dress in the mirror. Oye.

Love,
Mom

Dry Spell

Dear Lila,

You have been potty trained during the day for a long time now but you were still peeing in your diaper while you were sleeping at night . . . until now! For the past two weeks, your diaper has been completely dry when you wake up in the morning and there were even a couple times when you woke yourself up in the middle of the night and asked me to take you to the bathroom. Yay, you are officially diaper-free!

Love,
Mom

Fashion Over Function

Dear Lila,

I'm girly (if I had to pick between going shopping and going camping, I'd always pick shopping--in fact, I think I'd pick anything over camping) so I don't totally mind that you are, too, but I do worry that you are becoming a little too girly. Your hair is really long and I clip it up so that it stays out of your face but you always take the clip out and let your hair down because you think you look like a boy when I tie your hair up and that you "don't look like a princess." I told you that Belle wears her hair up but you said you wanted to look like Awowa (Aurora).

Then today, it was warm, so I said you could wear a short-sleeved shirt to school. You then suggested that you wear a dress. I said that wasn't a good idea because you were going to play on the playground at school and if you were wearing a dress, it'd be more cumbersome to go down the slide. I said you should wear pants if you wanted to go down the slide. You then said to me, "Okay, Mama. I won't go down the slide." My daughter would rather wear a dress than play on the playground . . . um, huh.

Love,
Mom

Let Her Eat Cake, Part II

Dear Lila,

Your favorite foods are rice and noodles but you also have a serious sweet tooth like your big brother (and to be honest, your mama). For Mother's Day today, you gave me an adorable bookmark decorated with a flower made out of your fingerprints and the prettiest cherry blossom mousse cake that Daddy picked up from one of my favorite bakeries. I couldn't wait to eat the cake--and neither could you!

I saved it for after dinner but you asked me if we could "Eat cake now?" half a dozen times throughout the day. When I finally unearthed the pristine white container from the refrigerator, you instantly appeared at my side (whoa, did you smell it or something?) and practically dove inside the box when I opened it. I told you I'd take a few bites and give you the rest and while I took those bites, your mouth was pretty near mine as if you were trying to intercept the cake from going into my mouth. And with every bite I took, you asked me, somewhat pleadingly, "My turn now? You save rest for me?" Man, were you happy once I finally handed you the fork-- and I literally only took 3 bites before I forfeited the cake to you!

I love you, my little foodie!

Love,
Mom

Him Is Laughing

Dear Lila,

Some random things about Lila, age almost-3-and-a-half:

-Every day I ask you how you want me to style your hair and every day you reply, "Anna braids."

-Speaking of hair, one of your biggest pet peeves is feeling stray hairs on your body. You get really upset if there's a stray hair, like, stuck to the bottom of your foot and insist that I remove it instead of doing it yourself--you don't want to touch it, even though, most of the time, it's your own hair. And you go ballistic in the bathtub when you can see a bunch of stray hairs stuck under the plastic mat. You refuse to stand on top of them, as if they'd burn your feet, even with the plastic mat in between you. And again, it's crazy how much you dislike them because it's usually your own hair!

-Your number one pet peeve, though? Getting your ears cleaned after you shower. Actually, it's much more than a pet peeve because you hate it so much and/or are so afraid of doing it that when Daddy and I tell you it's time to clean your ears, you clamp your hands over your ears, start screaming bloody murder and try to run away. It takes the both of us to do it, too, because one person has to pin you down while the other goes in with a Q-tip. You scream and thrash so much and cry so long and hard afterward that we only attempt to do it once a week, sometimes only once in two weeks. And that means that when we do actually manage to clean your ears, they are full of gross yellow/orange wax. Ew.

-By now, you can easily recognize and recite the entire alphabet and can count to 20. You are also learning about famous artists such as Andy Warhol in school, which is pretty cool.

-You have really come out of your shell during this school year. Before September, you never talked to anyone beside our family and your nanny. Now, you frequently talk to your friends and your friends' parents when we walk to the playground together after school and your teacher told me that you have recently started talking a lot in class. When I went to your class's Mother's Day Tea Party today, I saw that your talking is sometimes on a barely audible level--when you went up to Miss Kaitlin and asked where you could sit, you whispered it so quietly that she had to get down on her knee and practically put her ear on your mouth to hear you--but you are talking nonetheless!

-You are still the girly girl who loves pink and wearing dresses and skirts and twirling in them. You have Sofia the First and Anna costumes and you wear them frequently. You also love to pretend that you are Snow White or Rapunzel and that I am your "prinsh" (prince).

-The way you talk now is really cute, like when we were playing ice cream parlor and you asked me, "What flavor you like in your mouth?" Or when you couldn't pronounce Philadelphia and kept calling it "Fishedephia." Also, the pronoun "he" totally eludes you. Even though I correct you all of the time, you always say things like, "Him is laughing" and "Him don't like that." He! It's he!

Love,
Mom

Flying Rats

Dear Lila,

One of my worst fears was realized today when I was walking down a street and a pigeon flew INTO my HEAD. I don't know if it was trying to hit me or just misjudged and flew too low, but it flew toward me and hit the side of my head. Ew ew ew ew EWWWW. I immediately took a shower when I came back home and washed my hair like three times, but it still feels dirty. *shudder*

Love,
Your pigeon-hating mom

Crazy Day

Dear Lila,

So here's how yesterday went:

-At 7am in the morning, GuhGaw came into my room and told me he had wet his bed.

-I threw his pee-soaked clothes and bed linens into the laundry closet.

-Daddy showered GuhGaw and I checked on DiDi, who had also wet the bed.

-I threw his pee-soaked clothes and linens into the laundry closet and bathed him.

-Later in the morning, I sat down on the couch to nurse DiDi and he spit up on my shirt sleeve, his pants and the couch.

-I put our dirty clothes and the couch covers in the laundry closet.

-You got a splinter while playing in the attic with Daddy. No soiled laundry resulted but you did need a Band-Aid.

-After you went to bed at night, I heard you coughing. I checked on you and found you in bed, covered in your own vomit. I carried you out of bed and you continued to throw up on the floor. When I ran out to get some paper towels, you followed me, stepped in your vomit and tracked it across the room.

-Daddy mopped the floor. I showered you and put your super gross pajamas and bed linens in the laundry closet.

-I was getting clean sheets for your bed when you came running into the room. You tripped on your too-long pajama pants, which I had meant to roll up but didn't, and banged your mouth right on the sharp corner of the open dresser drawer. It cut your lip open and there was so much blood. I hugged you tightly and shrieked, "What is going ON with this day?!?!?"

-Your blood-stained shirt joined the straight-up MOUNTAIN of soiled pajamas, sheets, mattress pads, blankets and couch covers that was already in the laundry closet and I wanted to join the (clean) blanket on my bed and sleep for a month. Gaaaaaaaaaah!!!

I faced a never-ending laundry marathon but you definitely got the worst of it today. Nonetheless, you were your usual resilient self and bounced back quickly from each situation. Your lip must have hurt pretty badly but you only cried for a little bit and bravely stood there while Daddy put ice on it. Funny side note: GuhGaw knew you had banged your mouth and when he heard Daddy dumping the ice into your bathroom sink afterward, he called out from his bedroom, shocked and alarmed, "Were those Lila's teeth?!?"

Daddy came home tonight and asked me how my day was. Compared to yesterday? No one wet the bed, threw up or cut his or her lip so it was a definite success!

Love,
Mom

Big Laughs

Dear Lila,

I've said it so many times before and I'll say it again: You are growing so big so fast! I just bought some things for your summer wardrobe and since your current shirts, pants and shoes are already getting a little snug, I ordered the next sizes up: size 7 clothes and size 11 sandals. GuhGaw wears size 12 shoes but he still fits into his size 6 clothes so your clothes are officially bigger than your big brother's!

You are a big girl who also gives me big laughs with all of the funny things you do and say. Some recent examples:

-There was a hole in the knee of one of your leggings, so you went into the study, grabbed a piece of tape and put it over the hole.

-You found a dead ladybug in the play attic and told me, "Ladybug no coal." I didn't understand you and asked you, "Coal? What do you mean, the ladybug's not coal?" You sighed, exaggeratedly crawled across the floor and said, "Coal!" Ohhhhh, crawl! The ladybug's not crawling!

-When I scold GuhGaw, I often ask him, "You understand me?" Now, you say the same thing to me sometimes, except you say, "You unnertand me?"

-I realized that you can't pronounce the letter s and drop it when it's at the beginning of a word, so smile becomes "mile," school becomes "cool," squirrel becomes "quirrel" and so on. I have to admit, I find your baby talk comforting--my baby girl is still in there! You're not a total big girl yet!

Playing firefighter

-You ate a lot at dinner last night and I said I didn't think you'd have room for dessert. You pointed at your hip and said, "I have room right here."

-GuhGaw often reads aloud to us and points to the words as he reads them. You have started copying him. You can't read yet but you point to the words as you "read" them, i.e. recite made-up stories based on what you see in the pictures.

-You like to clip a blanket around your waist and turn it into a skirt. You also often ask me to clip one into the back of your shirt to make a cape. You are definitely my Supergirl!

Love,
Mom

Really Much

Dear Lila,

Cute things you said to me recently:

"Mama, I like you really much."

"I like hearts because you make my heart feel really nice for my life."

Not-so-cute thing you did recently:

While I was brushing GuhGaw's teeth last night, you and DiDi were in DiDi's room and he suddenly started crying in pain. When I ran into the room, you explained that DiDi had been crawling toward the heat vent (which you know he shouldn't touch) so you kept him away from it by pulling him backward across the floor by his arm. Oh no no no! You were so good to try and protect him but thank goodness you didn't dislocate his shoulder, yeesh.

Love,
Mom

Beautiful Girl

Dear Lila,

You pretended to read a letter from GuhGaw today and said, "Dear Lila, Lila is booeyfull [beautiful]."

I agree!

Love,
Mom

No Privacy

Dear Lila,

You (calling out from down the hall): Mama!
Me: I'm in the bathroom.
You: Mama!
Me (shouting louder): I'm in the bathroom! I'll be right out!
You: Mama!
Me: In the bathroom! Wait a minute!
You (barging into my bathroom): What you doing?

Not peeing in peace, that's what.

Love,
Mom

Slow and Steady

Dear Lila,

I love your independence and self-efficiency, I really do, but when it's time for you to take a shower and GuhGaw is waiting so that I can help him with his shower after your shower and DiDi is starting to fuss in his crib and I just need you to get undressed, like, yesterday so that I can get all three of my kids cleaned, pajama'd, brushed and in bed but I can't because you say, "No, I can do it!" and insist on sitting down to slooooowly take off one sock, standing up to put it in the hamper, sitting down again to slooooowly take off the other sock, getting up to put that one in the hamper, plopping down yet again to slooooowly pull off your right pant leg before slooooowly pulling off your left pant leg and pushing me away when I attempt to assist you and make this painfully slow process go even a millisecond faster . . . OH DEAR GOD.

Love,
Mom

Pretend Mom

Dear Lila,

Yesterday, you were talking and then suddenly said, "Aww, I so cute. My voice so cute." Haha, yes it is!

Later, we were playing and you told me, "I baby. You pretend you my mom." Um, I don't have to pretend that!

Love,
Your actual mom

Awesome Big Sis

Dear Lila,

You always take such good care of your baby brother and I don't even have to ask you to do it. This afternoon, our hot water heater wasn't working and I was on the phone with the repairman, who was giving me instructions on how to fix it over the phone. My cell phone doesn't get any reception in the basement where the heater is so I had to stand in the living room to talk to the repairman on my phone, run downstairs to do what he told me to do, run back upstairs to tell him that the hot water still wasn't on, run downstairs again to try another thing, go upstairs to tell him that didn't work, either, etc. That alone was chaotic enough but DiDi was also in his high chair and crying at the top of his lungs because he wanted me to hold him. Witnessing the situation, you went over to DiDi and tried to calm him down by talking to him and giving him toys. At one point, you were shaking his ball rattle and when he kept crying, you shouted to me, "Ball not working! DiDi still crying!"

You weren't able to get DiDi to stop crying but I am so proud of you for trying to!

Love,
Mom

Nighttime Wakings

Dear Lila,

You usually have no problem sleeping through the night (a trait you've had since babyhood) but you woke up screaming twice last night. The first time, you woke up yelling, "I want my stars! I want my stars!" (You have a turtle nightlight and ladybug nightlight that project stars onto your ceiling and they turn themselves off after about half an hour.) The second time, you ran into my room crying frantically, "I can't get back in bed!" Sheesh. Well, why did you get out of bed?

Love,
Mom

Let Her Eat Cake

Dear Lila,

We had your (belated) birthday party today at Park City Gymnastics, where you and your friends had fun playing with a giant parachute, chasing balloons and navigating obstacle courses where you had to jump on trampolines, walk across balance beams, climb ropes, somersault on padded mats and slide down a big inflatable slide. Since you were the birthday girl, you also got to put on the "flying belt" and soar through the air. All of these things did not make the biggest impression on you, though. After the party, I asked you what had been your favorite part. You replied, "The cake." When I asked you what had been your second favorite part, you said, "The pizza." Well, it was good cake and pizza!

Love,
Mom