April
11, 2014
Dear Adlee,
My
Sweet Girl, you are taking a nap on the couch as I start this letter. That’s
where you take naps now. You nap on the couch, and you sleep at night with
Daddy and I. We take you upstairs with us when we go to bed, and you take a
baby-doll. You cuddle, snuggle, and kiss for 5-20 minutes before you fall
asleep.
You’re
extra tired today because we just went on our first trip to the zoo. You love
animals. Your favorite animal at the zoo was probably the lions, but you liked
looking at the giraffes and monkeys, too. Your absolute favorite animals are
chickens. You love to go outside to see our chickens. You love to look at
pictures of chickens on the computer. You love to find them in your board
books.
You
are very good at animal sounds. You can say, “Bok, bok.” You say it often. You
can also say, “Woof, Woof,” “Moooo,” and “Rawr.” You also say “vroom, vroom”
for cars, trucks, tractors, and trains.
Those
animal sounds aren’t the only thing you say. You can say: Mama, Dad, dog, this,
that, eye, hi, bye, tickle (ticka), chicken, and tree. You can recognize and point
at most things I name. You communicate with a few signs, too. You sign “more,” “thank
you,” and “please,” and you shake your head “no.”
Your
motor skills are improving, too. You walk very well. You climb stairs, onto the
couch (by pulling yourself up holding onto me), onto chairs, and onto the table
from the chairs (which is naughty). You try to jump. Sometimes, you stomp. You
dance by crouching down and bouncing and then turning in circles. You are good
at using your hands. You hold silverware and use it to feed yourself very well.
You like to draw, and sometimes, you hold the pens and pencils the right way.
You are very good at clapping and giving fives. You wave by holding your hand
to the side of your face and opening and shutting it. When you blow kisses, you
finally started using your hands; you used to just kiss and blow with no hands
at all.
Your
favorite foods are yogurt, cheese, canned mandarin oranges, and sweet, sugary
snacks (which we try to limit). For meals, you like eating refried beans and
taco meat, ham and bean soup, and chicken casseroles.
Lately,
you have been waking up around 7:30 or 8 a.m. You eat breakfast (canned
mandarin oranges and oatmeal or scrambled eggs) and shower with me. Sometimes,
we watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. You
like to dance to the songs. We go to the post office a few days a week. Sometimes,
we play outside in the morning or right after lunch. Around nap time, we hang
out in the living room, and you cuddle on my lap when you are ready to nap.
When you wake up, we go outside and do the chicken chores, and you swing. You
love swinging. You shake your head “no” when I try to take you out of the
swing. You get excited when Daddy comes home. You run to the door or, if we’re
outside, to the watch his car pull in. You get a big smile on your face when
you see him.
Sometimes,
you help me out by throwing away your dirty disposable diapers, putting your
dirty cloth diapers in the bin, or putting your clothes in the dirty clothes
pile. You need a little guidance to do this, and you are very proud of your
accomplishments. You say, “yay!” and clap.
You
have three teeth now: two lower and one upper. It popped through on March 20.
The other front upper tooth is close. You enjoy brushing your teeth when Daddy
and I brush ours.
You
love mimicking us and doing what we do. You put your hand over your mouth and
make a raspberry sound after we blow our noses or sneeze. You make raspberry
sounds into clean toilet paper or facial tissues when you get a hold of them.
You hold up our phones (and remotes and calculators) to your ear and say, “Hiiiiiii.”
You want to type on the computer keyboard, eat the way we do, and write with
the pens we write with. You take my brushes from my drawer and brush your hair.
You
just woke up, and I’m going to spend some time with you. I love you so much.
Love,
“Mom-Mom”
