Dear Scarlette | @ 18 Months

Dear Scarlette,
I still have to finish your letter from last month, that’s how busy you’ve been keeping me. You’ve learned to say “go” and that is what you do all day long. I’m pretty sure most kids say “go” as in “let’s go somewhere” but you say “go go go go go!” and take off running, looking over your shoulder to see if one of us has acquiesced to chase you. Sometimes you run smack into a wall. Often times, actually. You probably get that from your mama.

Eighteen months has us venturing out more. You especially love going to the play gym. The second I turn you loose you take off running, shrieking in delight. And that doesn’t stop until I put you in the car to take you home. We had a play date there and your Aunt N confessed to me that she thought I was exaggerating your play gym intensity until she saw you in action. You’re like a tiny little Tasmanian Devil in that place.

You also love to go to the library. Which basically involves mommy walking behind you replacing all of the board books that you pull off the shelves. It reminds me of my senior year of high school, when I worked at the library after school shelving books. I like to let you choose the books we check out. So far your MO is to carefully walk down the row pulling out random books. If you don’t like the cover, you’re all “I took it and THREW IT ON THE GROUND! I’M NOT A PART OF YOUR SYSTEM!” and I quickly pick it up and re-shelve it before we are no longer welcome at the library.  If you like the cover, you sit on the floor and “read” it out loud to yourself. If you happen to pull out a book with Elmo on the cover, you raise it above your head and run to me squealing with joy.

Puzzles are a hit right now too so after you’ve done your damage in the baby book section we pick out a few puzzles and sit on the circle rug with them. You’re actually fairly quiet during puzzle time while you purse your little lips and furrow your brow in concentration.

You love to accompany me on shopping trips because you think riding in the front of the buggy is the MOST FUN THING EVER. It’s hard to get you in to the seat because you start bouncing up and down in my arms and clapping as soon as you see the buggies. You chatter your entire way through the store while mommy searches frantically for whatever thing she’s lost on this shopping trip. We’ve yet to make it through one entire shopping trip successfully because of your mommy’s inability to not lose important things like her car keys or her wallet. But you know what I always like to say “If at first you don’t succeed dust yourself off and try again, you can dust it off and try again.” Oh wait, that wasn’t me. That was Aaliyah.

You are starting to talk more, even if your daddy and I are the only ones who can understand you well. You say “Mama, Dada, Go, Ball and Jesus” and if you fall down you say “Go Boom!” You also say “Go Boom!” when you launch toys off the back porch. Or pacifiers out of your crib. Or when mommy slips and falls on the floor she just mopped.

When we tell you that you’re a good girl you’ll smile, clap your hands and say “Goo Gur”" and then I’m all “OH MY GOSH YOU ARE THE CUTEST BABY EVER!” Your speech/feeding therapist tells me that signs count as words so you also say sign “Eat, More, Doggie, Bubble, Hurt, Milk, All Done, Bye and Jesus”

Your favorite book right now is called “Brush Mona Lisa’s Hair” which your great-grandmother sent to you. Your cousin McKeehan passed his ball pit on to you and when you are not flinging yourself into it with great glee, we will find you curled up in it happily reading “Brush Mona Lisa’s Hair.” It looks incredibly uncomfortable to me but you love dragging books and toys into the ball pit to play with. Whenever you want to play in the ball pit you’ll point at it and say “ball ball ball ball ball!” because I don’t think you’ve mastered the concept of “plural” yet.

Oh Scarlette, I could write a thousand letters about all of the new things you are doing and how sweet you are and how much I love you. But I actually really do want to finish my Project Life page for this week so I’ll end this one now while you’re still sleeping and you can read all about your first finger painting experience there.

Love,
Mommy

(Scarlette’s shirt was a gift from my friend Amy of Amy Tangerine – isn’t it the cutest thing ever?)