Yet again I’ve missed a month in writing to you, and my tendency toward self-guilt (thanks to my own Mom) have had me thinking about your letter and it’s missed’ness a lot. However, life goes on. Your father thinks I should cut back to quarterly letters – making me think of quarterly reports – and perhaps I will after your birthday. (3 months! You’ll be 4 years old, then!! I can’t even believe it.)
This past two months have been a lot easier, and you continue to become more agreeable, easier to live with, sweeter, smarter, more imaginative and more rational. Just this morning, after breakfast, you asked to play upstairs. You looked at me, completely seriously, and told me you “need to take care of my babies”. Completely matter-of-fact. You had babies and they were upstairs and needed to be cared for. Not in the overly dramatic way that imaginative children who’re playing pretend say things. No. This was fact and you had a job to do. I laughed and upstairs to play you went.
You’ve started to understand the concept of time more. Clocks, to be specific. We’ve used your absolute, undying love of Max & Ruby to teach you what “6 o’clock” is and what it looks like on the kitchen clock. You understand that you need to hurry up and eat so that you can watch it and it’s helped us to get you to eat marginally better.
On the topic of eating, however, things are still woefully sparse. In almost all situations and at all times you’d rather be doing anything but eat. I don’t even ask what you want most times anymore since you just say “no” to everything. Much of the time it’s a combination of you not being hungry and you being contrary since you’ll say ‘no’ to something and then ask for that very thing 30 seconds later.
One of the more amusing developments lately is your abiding love for the new love-seat we’ve bought. It is where you spend 9/10ths of your time when you’re watching tele, and at least half of your play time when you’re in the living room. Tonight, as a form of punishment for something you’d done, I banned you from sitting there. This greatly upset you, and proved your devotion to the love-seat. Goofball!
If there’s one thing I’d most like to say it’s that these days you’re the blush on my rose. Life being so busy and Victor entering his trouble-some phase, you are a light of laughter, cute, sweet and loving for me. Even now, you try to take care of me when you notice Mommy’s struggling. You worry when I show I’m upset. You’re quiet when I explain I’ve got a headache. You behave when I ask on days that I really need it.
Who you are is such a joy to love, and I hope you always remember that.
Love, Mommy.