Dear Gem – Months 14 & 15

by | Daily Life, Living Well, Parenting & Family

I’ve fallen so far behind in writing these letters to you that I need to combine two months into one. In fact, it’s almost time to write your 16 month letter. I guess I’d better make this a good one.

It would be really easy for me to blame this on the cancer, fatigue, etc., yadda, yadda, yadda, but the truth is that your mama is a procrastinator. Seriously. I even procrastinate on going to the bathroom if I’m watching a really good show, then I have to do that goofy potty walk/run to get the the bathroom and hope that I make it in time so I don’t have to change clothes before I get back to my show. I even procrastinate on doing things that I want to do, especially if it involves something complicated, like getting off the couch.

Ok, I’m not that lazy. But I have been avoiding things that involve thinking lately – and I suppose writing these letters qualifies under that heading.

You are changing so much every day; you ‘re just full of surprises. You have started arguing with me. When I tell you “No touch” you put down your foot and firm up your face and firmly announce “touch!” You have also discovered the word “no,” and you back it up with a shake of your head. You’ve even been using yes and no correctly in context to the TV. You were watching Ni Hao, Kai-Lan the other day and Kai-Lan asked if you had ever seen a dragon; you shook your head and said no. Then Kai-Lan asked if you would like to see a dragon, and you nodded your head and said yes. That just blew me away.

We’ve had a busy couple of months. Earlier this week we spent the day on the Adventuress, a 133 foot long, 3 masted schooner that just happens to have the 2nd largest main sail on the Pacific Coast. This is a mighty ship. You did quite well on that trip, despite the fact that we wouldn’t let you run around on deck. Little Miss Independent, you like to run free; you are such an adventurer. You don’t want to hold our hand when we walk, you want to explore everything untethered. You are frequently disappointed in that endeavor. But, as you learn to listen to us, and obey us, you’ll get more freedom – even if the thought of letting go of your little hand still terrifies me.

You enjoyed our trip to the zoo so much that we ended up buying a membership. I’m hoping to make good use of that membership, Mommy needs to log some long hours walking anyways. Daddy and I had more fun watching you than the animals.

At times you looked more like you were cheering on your favorite sports team – or even your favorite rock band.

And you certainly didn’t mind pushing Daddy’s head around to get a better look.  He’s getting used to you grabbing his ears and eyeballs, and he really loves carrying you around on his shoulders.  It’s a good thing, because it’s your favorite place to be.

Your other favorite place to be is at the book store.  You love books, and the kids section of the book store has BOOKS! and also TOYS! which means you can spend hours running back and forth from the BOOKS! to the TOYS! until you completely wear yourself out and crumple up into a big pile of fussy and we take you home for a nap. Actually, that happens several days a week.

You love your books at home too.  In fact we have a couple fabric books that week keep in your crib because we discovered that when you wake up in the morning, you will entertain yourself for an hour or so by “reading” your books to Molly and Peanut. One of my favorite experiences each day is snuggling a little deeper into my pillow in the morning while listening to your sweet voice babble away to your stuffed animals.  It’s a lovely way to start the day.

You bring so much happiness to our home.  I’m so blessed that I get to be your Mommy.

I love you.

Mommy

Read more Letters to Gem.

Judy Schwartz Haley

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