Saturday, December 14, 2013

Letter to Anna: Month thirty-one

Dear Anna,

You make me proud every single day that I’m your Mommy with the polite, sweet, and loving girl you have become.  Watching you learn something new, process cause and effect, expand your vocabulary and learning to care, show empathy, and genuine concern for others is priceless.  You make a long day at work melt away with your smile and I have no cares in the world when you come in for a big bear hug. 


You’re not only expanding your vocabulary, but you also understand what to say and when.  You’re great at saying please and thank you without being prompted (thank you more than please, but we’re working on it) and communicate your thoughts and sentences with the clearest and sweetest little voice.  You continue to mimic phrases and sayings and repeat them back to us with the correct cadence and timing, and it’s simply adorable.  This past month you really got into saying “oooohhhh my goodness” and “ooohhh my goodness gracious” when something struck your fancy.   And just today you repeated “holy moly” back to me and I almost died.  You’ve also captured many a heart this Christmas season with “Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas”, complete with your little arms spread wide apart.  Watching you process a new phrase allows me to literally see the wheels turn in your head; you often will repeat something several times to yourself before saying it back to us and then before we know it, the words are a regular part of your vocabulary.


You're able to communicate very clearly with little transition most of the time and are able to tell us what you want and when you want it, unfortunately we don’t always agree.  As I write your letter, you are sick with strep throat, but it’s not getting much better.  You were able to tell us that your throat hurt and were the model patient at the doctor’s office, even when they did the horrible throat swab.  It’s killing me to see you grab at your throat and cover your mouth when you eat and we’re letting you try anything and everything that sounds good and might ease the pain.  It breaks my heart to see you sick, but what a relief to finally have an idea about what is hurting you versus the guessing game we play with your sister.  I didn’t think it was possible for you to have a sweeter temperament, but it seems you do, even when you feel your worst. 



You're developing quite the active imagination and are a very creative little girl.  Our evenings consist of dance parties, sing alongs, run and chase games, and you often lead your Daddy and me around your world of make believe.  One of your favorite games is going on a “bee or fly hunt” ... once we find the bee or fly, we then spend at least half an hour pretending to touch it and run away with a squeal of delight.  You are great at truly dramatic play and can squeal, show fear, find a sad face, and even cry on demand.  You love to lead a parade around the house, start a choo-choo train on the floor, cook us dinner, and generally play in your own world of imagination.  You moved up to a new room at school a few weeks ago (no transition issues!) and it’s amazing to see how much you pick up from some of the “older” children in regard to dramatic and imaginary play.  Most of your notes tell us how you and your friends were playing with dolls, or singing songs in a group, or creating your own fun game and it makes me very happy to hear and see how much you are learning in the group setting.  You take a dance class at school one day a week and we love to see what you’ve learned every Wednesday evening with our own special performance. 


It’s been a pure delight to see Christmas through your eyes so far this holiday season and you are loving every minute.  You helped to decorate the Christmas tree by handing us ornaments and were enthralled with the other household decorations, especially the small tree we placed in your room.  The DVR has quite a bit of space dedicated to Christmas specials from your favorite shows (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sofia the First) as well as classics your Dad and I grew up enjoying, like Rudolf and Frosty.  Your Dad thrives on holiday tradition and it’s been pretty fun to watch him watch you enjoy his traditions; it’s almost like having a third child in the house.  You alternate between calling Santa by his formal name and Ho Ho, but we’re not sure of the rhyme or reason and you are constantly correcting us. It didn’t surprise us in the least when he came to your school last week and your teachers told us that you observed from afar; you circled him, eventually giving him a high-five, but didn't want anything to do with sitting on his lap.


You are definitely my child and love repetition, order, and aren't a fan of change.  You have a fairly detailed bedtime routine even after the teeth brushing, book reading and prayers.  First you give your Dad a hug and a kiss after a back-and-forth  about who will carry you to your crib (it’s always me), then once we are there, we do big hugs, little hugs, big kisses, little kisses and a high-five.  Once you are under your covers, we account for all of your stuffed animals and it’s finally time to get some shut-eye.  I can’t complain because you sleep through the night, take great naps (asking for them fairly often), and even know when you need to take a rest before a “case of the crankies” set in full force.  You are the number one enforcer of doors being closed in the house, know exactly where the kitchen stool goes, and are getting pretty good at cleaning up your toys and books. 

Life seems pretty crazy these days and during the (many) times that I’m flustered or overwhelmed it’s almost like you have a sixth sense that brings a calm to a situation; a gesture as small as a hug and a smile turn my attitude around completely.  Your gift of love can’t be taught or learned.  As crazy as some of the ideas are that come from your two-year old mind, as many messes as I clean up daily, as many different dinners I make in an attempt to satisfy your crazy food preferences, as much laundry as I do on a weekly basis ... I wouldn’t trade any of it.  Because one hug from your with that million dollar smile makes it totally worthwhile.  Thank you for keeping me grounded, forcing me to take time out of my day to play, and for being one of the brightest stars in my life. 


Love, 
Mom

0 comments: