Dear Jude,
Today is your 17 month birthday. You decided to humor me and go to bed early, thus allowing this letter to be written on time (for once)…
Well, that’s how this month’s letter began, Monkey. A millisecond after I typed the period at the end of the second sentence, you woke up, and I was unable to complete this letter. So, like many of your monthly letters, this one comes to you a few days late.
I’m not sure when it happened, exactly, but sometime over the past month or so, you grew up. No, you’re not driving or dating yet, but you’re simply not the baby that was born 17 months and 1 day ago. You’ve done a fair amount of growing into yourself over the past 30 days. Your personality has developed even further into something we can only call “you.” Your activity level has increased 10-fold (if that’s even possible), and your ability to communicate and comprehend blows me away.
We spent a fair amount of time reading Pat the Bunny this past month. You LOVE this book and insist that your Papa or I read it over and over and over again at each sitting. (Your, eh, enthusiasm for this book has caused Papa to hide it from you, on occasion). You also request I’m as Quick as a Cricket and Charlie Parker Played Be Bop on a daily basis, and those, too, are read at least half a dozen times every time we sit down to read. I love that you love books. I hope you’ll love Harry Potter as much as I do, Monkey, ’cause I can’t wait to share those stories with you
We haven’t spent quite as much time outside as I would have liked to this month, partly because your nap schedule has been off for the past few weeks. You’ve been waking up later (yay!), which means you nap later, but by the time you get up it’s time for lunch, so we don’t have time to play. Normally we would nap after lunch, but your late morning nap means you don’t go down until 2:30 or 3, and by that time your friends are up and ready to go, but you’re ready for sleep. Hopefully you’ll get back on track over the next week or so.
This is your fancy new raincoat. Our friend, Betsy, found it while she was out shopping and picked it up because she knew I was looking for one for you. While we didn’t play outside much this past month, we did go for quite a few walks in the rain. Let me tell you, this coat came in very handy as we braved the rain and wind that defines Chicago.
You stomp your feet when you dance. Papa and I call them your happy feet. Sometimes, when Papa is laying on the floor and playing with you, you stand on his chest/belly and have happy feet up there. It’s great fun to watch, though painful to be on the receiving end of, I hear.
Lately, when you wake up from your afternoon nap, you like to veg a bit, so we watch Veggies Tales on YouTube together for a few minutes. I love the way you lean your head against mine, and I love how you clap along to your favorite songs.
I’m looking forward to spending the cold winter months with you, snuggled up under blankets, with your favorite book in hand. I can’t wait to build snowmen and play in the snow with you. I think we’re going to have a blast together this winter, Jude. Aren’t you excited?
Love,
mama
