March 2013-Almost 18 mos old!

Time goes so quickly! I’m so glad I get to share a lot of it with you.  One of the things so special to me about keeping you on a regular schedule while your mom works is that I never leave you without knowing when I will see you again. What a treat. There are times it is as long as a week between times I see you. When that happens I can clearly see changes in what you know and what you can do. Recently I’ve had opportunities to observe you with other children at story time at the library & a music session at Gymboree. You are thrilled when other children engage with you. When the teacher at Gymboree said the class was going to be ABBA music, my first thought was your Dad, rather than a Swedish “pop” group. You loved dancing to the music. Your mother always loved music and it seems you will too. On Feb 26 as I was putting you down “post bottle” for a nap you spontaneously wrapped your arms around my neck and kissed me. It was a first for me & made my eyes tear up. There was one day with you I described as a “Perfect Day”. I must admit your 3 hour nap contributed to the perfection, but we went to a bookstore & you picked out new books, you spoke to almost everyone & sat at a table with me to share a pretzel snack. We shopped at Toys R Us and because the weather was good we played outside post nap. You love to look at Elmo videos on my laptop. We’re also introducing you to Mickey Mouse characters since we’re going on a Disney Cruise in June. So I find the videos using Google. You love saying the word & surprised your parents by recognizing it later. You are so smart! The last day I was with you had diaper rash. It broke my heart when it made you cry with pain. The nurse said the best thing to do was keep you “diaperless” as much as possible. It made me stay with you constantly to prevent an accident. I spent a lot of time pulling you around the house while you sat on a big towel. You loved it! It made me realize simple things like a bath towel could be as much fun as an expensive toy. Your squeals of delight stay in my ears and make me smile when I remember our time together.  Recently there have been some stressful things going on at my work. What an oasis of pleasure it is to spend time with you. You will be 18 months old March 17.