Twelve months and you have progressed from a wee, copper-haired, squeaky sleep and poop machine to a healthy, dancing, singing, talking, laughing, biting, walking, curly-haired copperhead.
You are emphatic in your words and intense in your actions. You hug with your entire body and soul, unapologetically. Your smile is infectious, you deftly light up any room you enter.
In the past when someone said "they grow up so quickly" I thought to myself Yeah- whatever, maybe you are just senile! After having you, I understand.
Yet there is a dichotomy to your existence... This year has flown by faster than any year in my life- however, I can no longer imagine life without you. I don't really remember what you dad and I did before you were born. If I think REALLY hard, I vaguely recall getting more sleep, and going to the movies on Sunday mornings...
Your father is convinced you are a genius (what parent isn't?!?)- We are especially impressed with your language. We just counted today (2 weeks after your birthday) and you say no fewer that 20 words and you KNOW WHAT THEY MEAN...
Mamma and Dadda of course, Cat and Duck (the old standbys), shoe, foot, ouch, uh oh, hi, bye bye, ball, book, baby, bath, apple, ba-boo (your word for milk jugs), bottle, cracker, belly (short for belly button), and Meme. You say more words than this, but these are the ones that you use correctly. For the most part... Though everything that has 4 legs is still a cat. Oh- and birds, birds are cats too.
You do a few signs, Hot being your favorite- I can say "boy it is hot outside" and you will blow out in short bursts (which is our "sign" for hot). No is popular as well. You wag your hand back and forth when you are doing something you know you should not do... Like when you dump cat food into the cat water, or dip your spoon into the cat water and then slurp. You also sign "more" but it looks more like you are trying to do the "roll" from the patty-cake rhyme. Still cute, and I love that I can understand some of the things you want.
We have recently introduced you to peanut butter and honey. You love both (the perfect combo of your father and me). When I gave you a small peanut butter sandwich you 'mmmed' and 'yummed' through each chew. Same thing happened with honey. I sweetened some yogurt with it and you up-ended the bowl into your mouth just to make sure you did not miss a single dollop- all the while umm-yumm-yummimg.
Tantrums are starting to pop up here and there. You SO love a challenge. You want to know test your limits (our limits) and you do so almost daily. It is still in the tolerable stages and has yet to happen on a grand scale. What is happening on a grand scale is SEPARATION ANXIETY. Bebedoll, you scream and shriek and flop on the floor when I leave the room. It breaks my heart. This is normal toddler behavior, you are trying to control your situation and thankfully, you are eventually distracted and cheer up, but this is the hardest part of being a parent so far. Hearing those desperate cries makes me want to curl into a ball and sob. I hope that makes me a good parent... Making the right decision even though it breaks my heart to do so. You will grow out of this and soon there will be myriad other tantrums to deal with, so I am steadying myself for the future.
One year seems like a giant milestone, and though you look less and less like a baby everyday, you are still my cherished little one. I get glimpses of your past and glimpses of your future every day. When you wrap your arms around me in a hug, take my hand in yours and lay it against your face, or gently stroke my belly while you nurse- I feel a little bit of the Divine. Somehow, we were lucky enough to be given a child that is part Earth, part Pixie, and part Deep Soul. I don't know what I did in this life to be so fortunate- but I am eternally grateful.
All of my love to you, my dolly~
Love,
Mamma
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