Potty, Ponies, and More Pictures

Hi Luthien,

I am really going to try to make this short, just focus on a few recent pictures of you. You and I had a good day today. I'm sorry mommy feels sick so much and my patience wears thin. The baby seems to be taking a lot out of me lately (more than I remember with you), but you are such a trooper about it. There have been a few moments where I've cried, and you always shower me with kisses. Although, in these moments you always get really worried and say "it's okay" a lot. I feel really bad about upsetting you but I know these are good emotions to learn about.

Okay, on to pictures...

I'll start with these great potty training shots:

Around our house, I keep you naked a lot. I have been trying to get you to learn the whole going potty in the toilet vs. diaper/floor for some time now. I guess I haven't done anything super consistent, but mostly because I've been trying to feel out if you were ready or not. Conclusion: don't let the first picture fool you- you're not really ready and I don't think I should force it. Although I would love to have you trained by the time we have a new baby, I think we're going to stay in the stage we're at and not push it too much. You really have never actually let your potty out on the toilet yet, even though whenever I ask you, you excitedly run there. So, we will continue to be naked and talk about this whole potty business as much as possible. I know you will love the naked part.

P.S. Notice the super girly necklace you are wearing. This was given to you by a friend and of course with all the pink, purple, and shininess you LOVE it. I must confess that I sometimes hide it so you won't ask to wear it. I also have to mention that last week you insisted on walking around the entire neighborhood wearing only your necklace and shoes. I was able to get baby legs on you only by repeatedly explaining that you would get an owie if you didn't put something over your knees.

Next, here is a gem from the Phoenix Zoo. You loved this Komodo Dragon and we were able to get really close. You kept calling him a snake because he sticks his tongue out like one, but when we came home we practiced the difference between them (and lizards, since you confuse them too!). One of your favorite activities is to have mom draw animals, so we did this for a long time and wrote out their names and talked about them. I think I've mentioned that I am a terrible artist, but getting better since you force me to practice every day!

And here are a few pictures that show your very first "pony," as we call it. I have been unsure what to do with your hair now that the mullet is back. Dad always wants to keep it long, and this time I sort of agreed with him, although I have to trim your bangs somewhat. We have refrained from styling your hair at all, so your first pony was a big deal. We can't believe how grown up you look!

After a couple of failed ponies (single, that is, and when I say that I just mean that they fell out after about 5 minutes), we attempted two ponies, which we sometimes call piggies, depending on our particular mood. This is all kind of a big deal for mom also, because she's really not good at styling hair. Of course, you can see that the end result is nowhere near perfect, but suitable enough for a 1 year-old I think (especially since they still end up falling out- piggies have a life span of a few hours max we've discovered).

And here is one more picture with mom, 7 1/2 months pregnant. Don't let the front view trick you- this baby (and you, for that matter) only shows from the side. We tried to get another view of the double ponies/piggies but you were moving too much, so this is the best we got!

Recently we got to visit your Grandpa Ed and meet your new "Grandma" Sue. You warmed up to Sue really fast (as did we) and loved all her toys, and especially her turtle, Petey. You had so much fun that you cried when it was time to leave! You can't wait to meet her two other turtles who were still hibernating when we visited.

And lastly, two shots from our painting fun today. You were really loving getting your hands messy today, which was fun for a change. You can see your camera smile in the first picture, and in the second picture, how intent you were on your painting.

I realized I left out a lot of new words and phrases last time, but I decided they are getting too numerous to mention. So from here on out I'll just make note of major language milestones and/or some really classic things you say.

Love you,

Mom

I was your silver lining... but now I'm gold

Dear Luthien,

So, it's now been a month of me being home with you full-time, and I must say that our bond has really changed. I am finally learning to appreciate each moment I have with you instead of worrying about what skill I should be practicing with you, what needs to be cleaned, or what food needs to be prepared. We usually eat breakfast and lunch together (and often dinner now that dad started working again), just you and I. This used to be stressful for me because I'm always worried about what you're eating, but at the same time I'm starving and I've always been a person who likes to savor my food very slowly, either over a long chat with another person or in total silence by myself (I know, my roommates used to think I was totally weird for this). But now I can say that you and I have our little eating routine down. You sit in your high chair for a good 25 minutes just talking and laughing with me while we eat, slowly- just how I like it. I'm usually still not done after that time so I let you down to play while I finish. We're still working on getting your nap routine down since you're trying to figure out if you're ready for only one nap or not yet. I promise, if only you'd sleep in just a little later in the morning you could go the entire morning without getting so tired...please consider this!!

It has been a bittersweet transition for dad and I, this whole switching of roles. Dad misses you, and misses the fact that you no longer need him for certain activities. In fact, this week you have wanted only me for everything, which I'm not used to, and which again, is bittersweet. I just hope with how busy dad is getting and how much you're getting used to me being around, you can keep up the bond you had developed with him, and I know he does too.

I just wanted to add a few pictures and update you with a couple of things. I can't remember if I've said this already but somehow you have totally taken a liking to the girliest of all colors- pink and purple are definitely your favorites, which is so strange because we tried to expose you to every other color since we're not the biggest fans of these. Below is a picture of how you walk around the house with these particular crayons. And no, it is definitely not a coincidence:

As further evidence, you have a "fishing" puzzle that you do at least once a day. Oh, on a side note you are a puzzle master. I can tell already that your memorization skills are like your dad's. The fish puzzle does not have pictures underneath but somehow you put all the fish pieces back in under a minute, just by memory of where each of the colors of fish go- it's definitely better than I can do! Anyhow, for awhile you would "go fishing" for all the puzzle pieces and then put all of the fishies back EXCEPT the pink and purple ones. Those you would insist on holding onto for a good part of the day. You haven't been doing this as much lately, but I have been meaning to tell you about it. Sorry, but I didn't capture a very good picture of this habit- you'll just have to trust me on this one.

Also as of recently you started doing the cheesy camera smile. This one isn't as cheesy as they come, but you can see that you are certainly posing for the camera:

And one more picture, just for fun. A month or so ago we took pictures holding some ornaments we purchased using an Anthropologie gift card my boss gave us for Christmas. I love your football player pose here, and of course you are wearing the pink beads you were obsessed with at the time:

Luthien, I have much more to tell but it will have to wait. Just know that I love laughing with you, and I love feeling needed by you. If I really think about it, I can't think of a better feeling in the world. I'm especially glad I decided to take these couple months to be with you 14 hours of the day, every day, so that I really get to know you and appreciate all of you before the baby comes.

A few new words and phrases before I go: alligator, monkey, "oh my!" "all clean," gray, white, black, brown, hot, elevator, pancake, "thank you," "it's okay." You've also been saying "dog uh-oh" every time we pull up to our house because Roofus has been knocking over the garbage and spreading it all over the house every time we forget to put it outside before we leave. We're still working on saying Roofus, instead of dog. I think you still get too frustrated that you don't say the /r/ just right, so it usually just comes out as jargon. Another new word/concept you've learned is "me." You first said it when grandad and nana brought you a toy when they came to babysit. You grabbed the box and said "me!"

I love you,

Mama

P.S. Thanks to our good friend Allie for bringing new music to my life. It's been totally refreshing and you and I love to dance to it. Dad tends to deprive us of female artists (unknowingly), so it's been awhile :)