Happy 21-months, Madeline!
November 20th, 2009It’s time for another letter to Maddie! As usual, I have a lot to say about my little girl. I’m sure many of you are shocked.
Dear Madeline,
Every time I sit down to write these letters, I’m amazed at how many changes that you have been through since the last letter. It’s difficult to even know where to start!
In my previous letters, I have talked about your language development. At your 18-month doctor’s appointment, we filled out a questionnaire about your development. Of course, this makes us parents a bit anxious about whether you’re on target with your development. One of the questions was about whether or not you used two word sentences. You had a little bit, so I had concerns about language development. I had no idea you were about to undergo a language explosion. Others had mentioned this to us, but I don’t think I fully comprehended it until you hit the phase. Wow!
I stopped keeping track of the words that you were using. You can pretty much say any word that you want and you can use a large number of words in context without prompting. You now regularly talk in real sentences. You make connections and observations I wouldn’t expect you to make and constantly amaze us. You are also quite funny at times. And often you tell us exactly what we should be doing. It’s pretty clear who is the boss of this household.
One of the first longer sentences that you said was, “I need my pants on,” when you were on the changing table getting your diaper changed. You often say things like, “Daddy, sit down” or “Mommy, come. Let’s play.” You ask about the whereabouts of people and things. “Where did Jojo go?” or “Where did my friends go?” After dinner, you always push away your plate and say, “I’m done” over and over. Once recently, you were talking to your grandparents on the webcam and turned your back and said, “I’m done.” You then proceeded to try and close the laptop to end the conversation. When Nana and Bapa were visiting recently, Nana asked for you to “come and see” her. You looked at her from across the room and said, “Nana, I see you.” Too funny! A few days ago, we were at a friend’s house and looked at a fridge full of baby photos of their friends. You looked at the other babies and said, “where’s my picture?”
You recognize many of the people in your life now and can name them by name. We sometimes look at photos on the computer, and you name everyone in each picture. You have taken to calling my parents Nana and Bapa (though you are transitioning to calling him Papa). Your other grandparents seem to be Grandma and Grandpa, and we’ll see if you come up with other names next week when we’re visiting with them for Thanksgiving.
You really started calling people by their names while we were on your second cruise in September with Nana and Bapa as well as your Aunt Kristin and Uncle Chad. Everyone was excited to hear you say their names. You’d point at everyone at the dinner table and let us know who was in attendance. You have also started referring to yourself as, “Maddie,” while patting your chest as if to say, “that’s me!” Very cute.
Our cruise went pretty well, though traveling with a toddler is challenging at times. You took your second roundtrip flights which weren’t too bad. You didn’t sleep on either flight, but you stayed reasonably happy most of the flight. The flight on the way back was after a long day for all of us, and we were glad to get back home. You made your first visits to Massachusetts, Maine, and Canada (two provinces, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick).
Unfortunately, you stopped sleeping through the night around the time that we went on the cruise. Since the cruise, you have not slept through the night at all. You have joined us in bed every night. Most nights, you are in our bed shortly after midnight and some nights even earlier. For the most part, you do sleep when in our bed. You are a sweet cuddler, even if you can somehow take up the majority of a king-sized bed! This arrangement works for us, but we are a little bit concerned about how things are going to work when the new baby arrives!
You’ll be a big sister in about 2 months. It’s hard to believe that it’s going to be so soon! We are hoping to transition you to your big girl bed before then. It will be interesting to see what this does to your sleeping patterns! We are no longer worried that this big change will adversely affect your sleeping patterns since you’ve regressed a bit anyway. I’ve been working on painting a mural in your big girl room, and I hope that I can finish it very soon!
We’re always guessing about your teething. Usually, we can tell when you’re teething, but your little teeth seem to take forever to make their grand appearance! Until the last few weeks, I feel like you have been teething almost constantly since my last letter. You now have 8 teeth! I’m sure you will get your molars and other teeth soon.
You have continued to be healthy since your tubes surgery in early July. We are so grateful for this! You have had a few colds, but you haven’t had any major illnesses or even a fever. It’s been amazing. You did have another round of hives, and this time we have no idea what caused them. At least we knew a bit better what we were dealing with this time.
At your 18-month appointment, you were 22 lbs, 5 oz (fully clothed) which is around the 20th percentile. In the last few weeks, I feel like you’ve been going through a growth spurt. I would guess you’re getting close to 24 pounds by now. You were in 12-month clothing throughout the summer. They started to get a tad tight towards the end of the summer, but now I am starting to feel like you’re outgrowing at least part of your fall wardrobe in 18-month sizes. Oh darn, that might mean I have to go shopping for you again!
You are still a Daddy’s girl, no doubt about it. You absolutely adore your Daddy and are upset when he’s not around. He calls you his little shadow as you follow him to room to room when he’s doing chores around the house. It’s pretty cute! I cherish the moments that you cuddle with your Mommy. You have recently started calling us Daddy and Mommy. I love it! You started with Daddy for several weeks, and you’ve only been calling me Mommy for a few days. Dada and Mama are great, too, but there’s something special about being called Daddy and Mommy!
Not only are you attached to Daddy, but you are quite attached to your stuffed animals, especially Jojo the bear. Jojo has to go everywhere. He’s a staple in the car and is your cuddle buddy at bedtime. You often take 7 different stuffed animals in the car. In addition to Jojo, you often bring Puppy, Bunny, Pooh, Valentino, and your baby doll. Jojo and a few other buddies went with you on the cruise, and we used the pacifier quite liberally on the trip. We had restricted pacifier use to bedtime, naptime (at home), in the stroller (sometimes), and in the car prior to the trip. We made some exceptions on the trip! After we returned, we restricted your pacifier use to only bedtimes. You have taken this pretty well. In the morning, you usually hand us your pacifier when you’re ready to get out of bed. “Daddy, paci.” You don’t ask for it at inappropriate times, and you can even see a pacifier without throwing a fit.
Recently, you have also required at least one book in the car. We have been reading to you for a while, but lately you seem to really enjoy them. Daddy usually puts you to bed, and he reads Goodnight Moon to you every night. I love reading to you. You are always on the go, so it’s so nice to have you sit in my lap for a few quiet moments while we read books. When we get to the end, I always say, “the end!” and you often say, “again!” I don’t mind it one bit. I love these moments.
You were healthy for your second Halloween and much more aware of the festivities. You went trick-or-treating for the first time with your buddy Keira. We went to a few houses, and you didn’t quite seem to understand what was happening. I have a feeling you’re really going to be into it next year. Your costume was adorable! You were a little flower fairy. You seemed to enjoy wearing your costume. We had a sleepover at Keira’s house. You and Keira have so much fun together! You are both all smiles when you see each other! We are getting ready to spend a few days with Keira’s family in the mountains, and I think you’re going to have a great time.
You’re taking your second set of swimming lessons, just about a year after your first set of lessons. You’ve had two lessons so far, and you have 4 more to go. I got into the pool with you the first time, and you kept getting distracted by Daddy. You weren’t very into what was happening in the pool. We decided that Daddy should be in the pool with you at the second lesson. You had so much fun with your Daddy! You looked like you were really swimming, and you followed many of the teacher’s instructions. We are looking forward to seeing what the rest of your lessons will bring.
You are an amazing little girl, and I’m very proud to be your Mommy. I love you so much, my little chatterbox. I look forward to seeing what the months ahead will bring. You have some major changes ahead of you. We’ll be moving you from the crib to your big girl room, and you’ll be a big sister before we know it. I love you big bunches, Maddie Moo.
Love,
Mommy
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