21 Months

Dearest Devyn,

I can't tell you how much I am enjoying you lately!  You are such a joy to me.  I love listening to you play, especially now that I understand some of the words.  As I type, you are pretending to feed a (wrapped) granola bar to your little froggy pull toy, telling him to eat his oatmeal, saying, "It's OK, frog," and telling him to take a "big step!" over the heater vent in the floor.

Our friend Jennifer from Rocky Mountain Parents as Teachers asked me to count how many words you had, and I stopped at around 80, though I'm sure you have more (she wanted to know if you had more than 50—a resounding yes!).  I'm losing track of how many songs you can sing, but they include Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, The Wheels on the Bus, Old MacDonald, and, excitingly, your ABCs!

You are a little parrot, trying out everything we say, which is pretty cute.  Your favorite new phrases right now are "So good!" when you're eating or drinking something and "Aww, cute!" for pretty much anything. You say "I don't know," and "How 'bout..." when I ask you what you want.  And You've started saying "You're welcome," after someone says thank you.  Such a polite little girl!  Oh, and we hear "Bonky head!" and "Ouchy," a lot after you've done something that hurts.  You also ask for kisses when you have an ouchy.

You've started talking about people you like as your friends—and you certainly made Aunt Wendy's day when you told her she was your friend!

I'm really enjoying the Parents as Teachers curriculum because it gives me a good idea which toys we have that you might like best.  For example, I almost thought you were too old for pull toys, but you're really enjoying them right now.  Puzzles are another favorite.  And, of course, books as always.

Also favorites are your telephone and iPod, both of which you inherited from your dad when we got new iPhones for Christmas.  You are so adept at that iPod it's scary!  A part of me wonders if it's healthy—but the bigger part knows it would mean a lot of angst and screaming if I tried to take it away! So you are a child of the digital age, for sure, baby.  We've even caught you trying to touch the TV and the computer screen to make it move like the screen of the iPod.

I knew, from the moment you were born, that you have a certain kernel of zen that I will spend my whole life trying to learn from and emulate.  This morning, when I was frustrated to the point of tears trying to put your car seat back together, you looked at me and said, "It's OK, mama," and I knew that I needed to slow down, take a breath, and remember that it is OK.

I just hope someday you know how much more OK I am since you've come into my life.

I love you, sweet baby girl.
~Mama