Letters

This month you're learning all the lessons pertinent to playing well with others.  You've grown into the concept of Toddler Property Laws:

    If I like it, it's MINE!
    If it's in my hand, it's MINE!
    If I had it a little while ago, it's MINE!
    If it looks like mine, it's MINE!
    If I think it's mine, it's MINE!

And specific to your situation:

    If it's at Grandma's house, it's MINE!
    if I've ever played with it when you're not around it's MINE!

Since your sister has started to crawl and can get into your toys, you have suddenly become very possessive.  I have always been intrigued that a child can be happily playing with some toy, but as soon as he sees someone pick up something else he considers 'his' he'll drop what he's doing and jump up to reclaim his unused (but still cherished!) property.  It's so hard to explain to you that your sister just wants to be where you are, and be doing something like what you're doing.  She's not trying to get in the way, or steal your toys away from you, or act out any of those malicious intentions your evil-eye glare ascribes to her.  She just wants to do what you're doing.  As the oldest child, I'm not sure you will ever understand the struggle to catch up to and keep up with an older sibling.  It's something Sophie and all the kids younger will live with for a very long time, until finally one day they give up chasing you and find themselves.  Make sure you know who you are by that point, so that things aren't reversed and you end up chasing the poise and self-confidence in them.

Your language and mental skills are improving, as ever.  My favorite advancement this month is the addition of supporting sentences to your thoughts.  You don't just say what you want, you follow it up with an explanation.  "Daddy, I don't want my seatbelt anymore.  This is your seat.  That's (pointing to the driver seat) my seat.  I'm getting bigger.  I'm taller.  I want to drive the car, and park."  Or, "I want to go to Grandma's house.  She has cookies over there."  And for the first time, you came out with a spontaneous, "I love you, Daddy."  I can manage to pick my jaw up off the floor, but I'll need some help getting off this cloud.  You could have powered a small city with the electric feeling shooting through me right then.  But as good as you are, there are still some things that slip by you.  Mama asked you if you were a punk.  You said, "Yes!  I'n a punkin!"  

My favorite day with you this month was when we took a trip downtown to Gallivan Plaza for free pizza, and a break from the home project grind.  You love pizza, and you love parks.  At one point in the 'party' they started handing out balloons to kids.  I couldn't find where they were coming from, and couldn't convince you to follow me long enough to look, but you soon pointed out three or four balloons floating up and away.  "Look Daddy!  Balloons up in the sky!"  You were so happy to be at a park, you just wanted to run run run.  We ran around the ice skating rink (empty cement oval in the summer).  We ran around IN the ice skating rink.  We ran back and forth through the water fountain 'hallway' many many times (as far from the actual water as you could get.  Heaven forbid you actually get wet).  I just followed you with the camera, and got lots of good pictures of you, running running running.  We rode the train from Temple Square to the Plaza and back, which you liked as well.  You had a good time, and your Daddy had a wonderful time with you.

I love you, kiddo.  One of your favorite things to do at night is ask for a 'nuggle from Daddy before you fall asleep.  I love just holding you when you're calmed down and ready for sleep.  I like this snuggly stage of life.  I know you'll grow out of it, but I'm glad for it right now.

Love,

Daddy

Sophie, you're crawling now!  You started crawling just a few days after my last letter, and now you're easily going from crawling to sitting and sitting to crawling, and pulling yourself up on things.  Just today you pulled yourself up to standing on the hearth (and sat down, overbalanced backwards and smacked your head on the floor too).  And just yesterday you crawled up the steps from the front walk to the porch by yourself.  When you crawled up the first step you started laughing like, "Look what I just did!"  You have this excited little shriek when you start crawling towards something you really want, it's SO cute.  You're really getting around!  And poor Jonah has learned how to hoard "his stuff" and keep it away from you.  It's quite funny to watch him coax you out of his room ("Come here, Sophie!" in the sweetest voice he can manage), and then close the door behind you.  Then he reports, "I don't want Sophie to get in there."  Poor kid has a lot to learn about getting along well with others.  I'm sure you'll be a good teacher. 

You have the cutest little two-toothed smile in the world.  We keep waiting for more teeth to appear, but apparently we still have some waiting to do.  And your hair is just phenomenal.  We've adopted your mother's easy-do style of hair management, which usually means just a headband, but when we do spend some effort on your hair, it's amazingly cute.  You look so much older than 10 months.  That effect is only heightened by the intelligence in your eyes.  I've said a lot about your eyes, and I'm sure I could say a lot more.  Nothing can take the place of the feeling I get when you're sitting in my lap, snuggled into the gap between my arm and my body, and you tilt your head back to look up at me with your blue, blue eyes, like you're saying, "Are you there, Daddy?"  I'm amazed at the bond we're forming.  It's beautiful.  It thrills me. 

Often, when I'm watching you play with Jonah, I wonder what kind of girl you'll grow up to be.  All parents want their kids to have it better than they did, and I'm no different.  I was a skinny, geeky, socially backwards oddball.  I fervently hope you're more socially stable than I was.  But at the same time, I realize it's incredibly hard to be that way when the world is continually increasing its obsession with looks and petty, trivial things.  It's a tough time to be growing up.  While I don't want to shield you from all of life's hardships, I do want to see you find your own happiness and balance.  I hope as parents your mother and I will be good enough at guiding you toward that balance. 

I love you, little girl.  This has been one of those landmark months, with crawling.  It makes a world of difference in how we interact with you.  You're growing up, and I'm very excited for it. 

Love,

Daddy