Dear E,
You've grown so much this last month. You're more verbal than ever and seem to pick up new words almost every day. And your comprehension has grown to the point where you understand mostly everything I saw to you. When we leave you with your babysitter sometimes you get upset but if I talk quietly to you about where we're going, the fun things your friend Ashley is going to do with you while we're gone, and what time we're going to be back you'll usually quiet down. It's amazing to have a more give-and-take relationship with you.
While you still like to please your dad and me you're starting to assert your own opinions more and more often. You continue to be very easygoing but during this last month you started to try and play us to get what you want. If something you care about isn't going your way you're not above covering your eyes with your balled-up fists and crying pathetically. I hate to tell you but it sort of undermines your credibility when you suddenly cut the crying and peek out from behind your hands to see if we're falling for it. If the tears don't work (and they almost never do) you'll aim a knowing glare at us. But even that's pretty cute.
Speaking of your shenanigans, I gave you your first time out this month. You were holding a container of dried fruit and I asked you to hand it to me. But you didn't want to and so you looked me in the eye and then threw the fruit on the ground. NOT cool, E! So I sat you in your little red chair and talked to you about how it's important to listen to Mama. At the end of two minutes you were in tears but hugs and reassurance were given and then everything was better.
Your attention span has grown recently and you usually ask for book after book to be read to you before bed. I can almost see the wheels turning in your head as you look at the pages and listen to the words. We've been reading Goodnight Moon to you since you were tiny and lately you've developed a fondness for pointing out the moon wherever you see it. The problem is that you don't really have a concept of the sun and so you are quite insistent that any round shape in the sky is the moon.
We've tried correcting you (e.g. "That's the SUN. The sun shines during the day.") but every time you matter-of-factly and very insistently correct us. And now it's kind of become a thing: you like to flip to every page in your books that has a round object in the sky and look us in the eye and state "MOON!", challenging us to disagree with you. It's pretty funny. I'm sure we'll have plenty of other disagreements as you grow up but this one might be the most adorable.
Love,
Mama
Labels: letters to E