September 19, 2008

Dear Sarah,

With another month under your belt, your confidence about how to navigate this world you live in has increased many fold. You have become a walking, talking, opinionated little girl. You are strong-willed but affectionate, verbose but shy around strangers and very clear about your feelings. We couldn't be more proud of all of the things that you are teaching yourself to do and a one page newsletter hardly seems adequate to enumerate all of your talents.

You don't really walk anymore. You run. And fast! We have had round-the-clock care provided by Granddad for the last two weeks because Mama just can't keep you with you well enough to ensure that you don't do something crazy. You have him well trained. With Granddad's tutelage you have learned how to walk down the stairs properly while holding on to a hand and the handrail. You do really well until you get about half way down and then you begin to admire yourself in the hallway mirror. You have long conversations with yourself and Granddad often just takes a seat on the step and waits you out. You get into everything now. And I mean E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. You're a climber as well so you climb the tv cabinet, the cupboards, the bed, you've even tried to climb the radiator. And you climb on the dog. While she is very tolerant, she did want me to put in a good word for her and ask that you try to avoid the nose next time. The nose, it is very sensitive.

Your word count shifts up and down every day. You learn a new word, you throw out an old one. You call things by different names. You can reliably say bear, bunny, hat, hot, ball and penguin (sort of!). What has been truly incredible for us it to figure out just how much you understand of what we are saying. We can ask you to do things now, complicated things, like, "Put the pillow on the sofa" and you are able to do it. If you feel like it. This is perhaps the most amazing part of all. You know what we're saying because you followed the directions perfectly five minutes ago, but this time, at this precise second you just don't feel like doing it so you walk away sort of softly shaking your head as if to say, "Grownups. Who knows what they're saying? Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em." The most amazing thing that you will do now when asked is to give people hugs. I can ask you for a hug and you will toodle over from wherever you are and hurl your little body at my legs. This more than makes up for all of the times that I ask you to please not throw your sippy cup at the window.

Perhaps the biggest learning curve for me this month has centered around the fact that where I go, you don't necessarily follow. I had this vision of parenthood as this sort of Mother Duck type experience. You walk along and the little ducklings follow you in a row. Honest to goodness, I thought that was how it would be. And believe me Sarah, we will have rather a number of duckings around here in the next few weeks and the idea of them traipsing after me out in the big wide world was very appealing. However, you seem to have completely debunked this idyllic vision that I have held for so long. You don't follow at all. AT ALL. You go wherever you darn well please and I am forced to waddle (indeed, rather duck-like) after you. You will cruise into the street if I let you. You will deviate from the sidewalk to check out a gum wrapper or a piece of barkdust. You don't go aisle by aisle at the grocery store like I do, you jump from dairy to frozen food to deli depending on where the mood takes you. It is truly a sight to see. As with many things, I am having to readjust my expectations, but this has been perhaps the hardest thing to get used to.

One of the most lovely things that we have noticed this month is your love for your books. You now have very definite opinions about books and there are some books that are "after nap books" and some that are "middle of the afternoon books." I am never quite sure where that designation is imprinted on the ISBN but you seem to keep it all straight so I just go along with it. We bring books everywhere we go and they soothe you. You like nothing more than to snuggle in and peruse one of your favorite books. Or, if you're really in a rush, you'll do a book drive by where you bring us a book, read the first few pages, remind yourself of the subtleties of plot and then move on quickly to the next one. Sometimes we need to check out all ten of your favorite books in the space of ten or so minutes. Just to make sure that the story hasn't changed. Believe me, the stories? They don't change.

We put all of the car seats in the car this last week and boy is it going to be crowded. I think that a lot of things are going to be a little crowded around here for awhile. Your Daddy and I are always talking about how you're going to manage when some of our attention is diverted onto your brothers. And we get a little wistful when we think that we might not both be able to go in to see you when you get up every morning and greet your best friends, llama, Tigger and penguin. But then we think about the things that we will, with a little bit of vigilance, be able to keep sacrosanct. Having your morning bottle in bed with us while we investigate the buttons on the comforter cover. Reading "One Duck Stuck" or the "Time for Bed Book" all together before bedtime. Going for walks in the woods with Sophie and the boys as an expanded family. The next chapter begins . . .

Love,
Mama