Dear Charlotte,
This past month you've really started to show
us more of your sweet and kind personality, while also letting us know you
certainly have a voice of your own.
Living with a toddler, I’m realizing that the voice your finding is just
the start of a long line of words and opinions to come. Luckily
right now you’re still in the “sugar and spice and everything nice” phase of
your girlhood and your father and I are savoring each minute.
Your first few
months we heard coos and little gurgles, but it wasn’t until this past month,
and almost overnight it seems, that you started to really find your voice. All of the sudden you are talking and
squealing and letting us know just how fun it is to be Charlotte. And it’s the sweetest thing. You get excited when you see a new toy or
walk into a new room, you squeal when you see me, your Dad, Anna or one of the
cats. Especially the cats. I love going into your room in the morning or
after naptime; the smile that is plastered on your face and the squeal you let
out simply make my day. You’ve also
started waving, clapping, and reaching up to be held with that big gummy grin.
Although you are
still our petite little girl, you are developmentally growing by leaps and
bounds. You love to jump in your
exer-saucer or bouncer and if you aren’t eating, you prefer to be on the
move. You’re not crawling yet, but that
will happen any day. You have all the
moves down pa but you just can’t get them coordinated into one movement. Part of me thinks that there’s a chance you
may skip actual crawling go straight from scooting and sliding to walking. You can do things physically that Anna
couldn’t do until after she crawled, such as going from all-fours to sitting to
back to the ground. You can scoot and
stretch and wiggle your way to just about anything and anywhere you want. We know that because you’re not crawling at nine months, it’s doubtful that you’ll walk by a year (we heard this with Anna) and
that’s totally fine with us, we’re cherishing these last few weeks of
immobility because we know that once you can move, you will do just that, and
nonstop.
You went through
a couple of periods this past month where I could have sworn you were getting
teeth or going through a growth spurt, but you continue to prove me wrong. One weekend you refused to nap and one of
those evenings went to bed at 5:30pm as a result. Two other times you were running slight
fevers, both after your flu vaccine, one of those times it turned out you had
hand, foot, and mouth disease and were dealing with a pretty sore throat. Through it all, you’re still the sweetest
little girl and love nothing more than a hug and a snuggle. Even when you had a restless night’s sleep,
just received a handful of vaccines, or are having an “off” day, you still love
to be held and snuggled tight, give us kisses and hugs and emit an aura of love
that can be felt all around. When (or at
this point, if, ha) your teeth come in, I’m sure going to miss that gummy grin
of yours.
You've
expanded your food palate quite a bit this month and now enjoy Mum Mums, puffs,
small bites of our food, yogurt and proteins.
You eat three meals a day and are still nursing five times a day. You like to be in the middle of the action
and love the vantage point your high chair provides. We brought out your first sippy cup when you
had a sore throat to let you explore with ice water; you loved playing with it
and have taken a few sips, but aren’t ready to give up nursing or the bottle
quite yet. I love the quieter times in
the morning and before bed that we spend together nursing, but if we’re
anywhere near a group of people, or if the TV is on, you’re very easily distracted. And you love the “hot dog dance” at the end
of a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode; that little head whips around with no
regard to what you were doing the second beforehand.
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You’re hair is still a dirty blonde and your eyes are a beautiful ocean blue. And your lashes, oh, those lashes, they are the envy of any female on the planet. Your skin is fair like mine and with the cooler temperatures often have rosy cheeks; the combination makes you look like a little cherub. You are sticking with the 5th to 10th percentiles for both height and weight, but still have some chunk going on in those thighs and the roundest little belly. I love that you are my (other) petite little girl and I can’t tell you how much joy you bring to our lives by just being you. You’re beautiful inside and out even at your young age. You’re at an age where everything is new and exciting and something to be explored and I’m so glad that I have you to remind me of that every day. I hope you never stop reminding me to stop and appreciate the little things in life, for those are the most important, just like you.
Love,
Mom
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