Callie, 22 months

My funny little baby. How sweet. How loving. How smart.

You talk all the time now, not just words here and there but sentences. We can almost always understand what you want and need now! It's incredible the vocabulary you have. You have always had amazing communication skills. From the time you could take steps, you've grabbed our fingers and walked us to what you needed. But now you use hand gestures, words and objects and we are able to have actually little conversations with you!

It's been far too long since I've written here, so I'll try to recap some events of your last few months:

• Sometime back in the fall you began letting me rock you before bed. Before then, you wanted no part of it, just wanting to head straight to your bed. Now, I get to rock you for a bit first. I kiss on you and whisper sweet things to you and just snuggle with you for as long as I can. Usually after about 10 minutes you're ready for your bed, but those 10 minutes are one of the best parts of my day.
• We had a great Thanksgiving with our families. You played all day with Mia and Mollie, then with Cara and Ramsey at Aunt Pat's. That night after you were asleep, however, you started coughing. When daddy and I went in to check on you, you were having trouble breathing. I handed you to daddy and took off running to the bedroom, quickly throwing on clothes and shoes. I grabbed you from daddy and put you in the car. We went to the Emergency Room and you were given an emergency breathing treatment. You struggled for awhile. Mamaw ended up coming to the house around midnight so daddy could join us at the hospital. They talked about admitting you, but finally around 1 am you started breathing better. You were fine after that, even the next day. It was very scary for us.
• You were scared of "Ca Cause". You saw him several times and never warmed up to him. You had a wonderful Christmas though.
• Your favorite character by far is Minnie Mouse. I'm not sure how it happened. You noticed her and then started talking about her all the time. You have several Minnie Mouse books, several dolls, a Minnie Mouse high chair and potty, and will likely have a Minnie Mouse themed birthday party. Sometimes you walk up to the TV, point and say "Minnie Mouse", so I've recorded several episodes to have on stand-by for you. You also like Elmo, but not nearly as much.
• You LOVE bathtime!!! All of a sudden. You used to absolutely hate it. Now as soon as dinner is over (or "breakfast" as you call every meal) you start saying, "bath, bath, bath, bath..." Once in there you play with your toys, dump water over your head, lay on your belly and put your face in, etc. You especially love when Mia gets in with you. You guys are pure chaos in there together, but you have a blast!
• One of my favorite moments of the holiday season was when we had the Robbins family Christmas at our house. We were playing with Aunt Kelly and Aunt Ashley, putting a ball under our chins. You thought it was so funny! All of a sudden, you hugged me, pulled my mouth to you and kissed me, and said, "I yuv you." Amazing moment in my life.
• The other night you pointed at me and said, "back". So I rolled onto my stomach, expecting you to hop on my back. Instead, you pulled up my shirt and began scratching my back. Then you leaned down and kissed my head. xoxoxo
• We've had terrible weather this week and you girls have been home all week. You played out in the snow for the first time. You and Mia made snow angels, but you spent more time rolled onto your belly, face down, eating the snow. :-)
• You LOVE your grandparents, and if one of their names is mentioned, you automatically say the other's name. Right now the cutest is when I say Granny and you say, "Mumpy."
• You also love to count. You almost always count to 9, and then skip to 11, 12, 13. You count stairs every time you go up and down.
• Mia remains your idol. You are completely in love with your big sister and always want to know where she is and what she's doing. You two love on each other, read together, play together, sing together, laugh together. It's amazing to watch the two of you and the love you share. I hope you have that with each other always.
• You went to Build a Bear with your cousins a couple weeks ago. Aunt Kelly got you all gift cards for Christmas. You got a pink monkey. You are just learning your colors. When I asked you what you wanted to name your pink monkey you replied, "Purple". Purple she is. :-)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Seven Years Old

My big baby girl is seven. How did that happen already?? It's overwhelming how quickly it goes by. I look at her now, so tall, with her big girl teeth and her sassy little outfits and I think "too fast!" Although I do treasure every day and I reflect every night on the day we've had and appreciate all the little moments, I'm acutely aware that they won't last forever. So I still hold her - a lot! - and carry her and read with her and play games and probably baby her a little too much sometimes. But she's not a baby anymore.

As I typed that I began sobbing. Because I've struggled with Mia this year. A lot. I am suddenly very unsure of myself when it comes to parenting her. She doesn't react to situations like I do. She's sensitive, but doesn't like to be cuddled when she's feeling sensitive. She's stubborn and doesn't listen to reason in those moments. She's very jealous and reassurances don't seem to get through to her. She's very smart and beautiful, but doubts and criticizes herself. She's very silly, but gets self-conscious when other kids laugh at the things she does, thinking they're mocking her. So I worry all the time about how to get her to see herself for the amazing person she is, and how to get her to grow more confident.

The funny thing is that most people would not know she questions herself or doubts herself because she's so outgoing. She's an amazing big sister, so generous and loving with Callie. She's very friendly and loves to make people laugh. She likes to be the center of attention. She loves fashion and isn't afraid to take risks, so she gives off a confident air when she's bold with her choices. She's a great athlete and plays volleyball, soccer, basketball, gymnastics and swims. She even recently attended her first dance camp. She never has trouble interacting with new kids and quickly plays with others in new situations.

Maybe I'm overreacting. Mike says I baby her and am too lenient with her. I just worry about the sensitive side of her and the side that doubts herself. I hate to see that because she is such a smart, funny, sweet girl. I will continue to love her and encourage her and help her develop her strengths and hope that before long she sees in herself the amazing girl we've seen all along.

Happy birthday to my little love, Mia Marie.