twenty... ONE

Is that right? Am I losing count already? Well, at any rate, welcome to a new year. Everyone's hoping this one will be only better than last year. Well, baby, you can take that hope and laugh in its face. Last year was awesome for you. If I could have a whole lifetime of watching you grow into a little girl, I'd take it, Groundhog Day style. I'm sure this year won't be entirely peaches and cream for you after you have to start sharing mommy, but I can only hope this one will be half as good as last year.

This month Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Craig came to visit again. It was wonderful. Let me just say one more time that I wish we'd gone there so you could have at least seen snow this year, but then I'll stop, because we had a great time. Aquariums, parties at Ann's, street parties, and building blocks galore! Who could ask for a better Christmas?

You've done quite a bit of growing again this month, and thankfully you've put back on the weight you lost while I was sick. And it's no thanks to me this time! We're down to one nursing a day. One! You barely ever ask for it anymore, and lately you've had too much attitude to accept it even after you've asked. I never thought that you'd willingly give up nursing, but you are a strong-willed child, and you want to do things your way or no way. Hmmm, sounds vaguely familiar...

This month the midwife had to let you take my blood pressure, you'd have it no other way. I still can't get you to say "up" instead of your general "wantwantwantwant" when you're whining to get up on my lap. And the hardest of all, I cannot for the life of me get you to ask for help when you are frustrated or stuck on anything. Not the word, not the sign. You just cry and scream and if I suggest you say, Help, mama! You either escalate into a tantrum or you pout and stomp off, only to return to the same problem moments later. All things in good time, I guess. The potty regression we went through when we moved here is now over and you happily bring the potty wherever you want it and get on it yourself. So you do find solutions with out me, regardless.

Your mouth turns on when you wake up and doesn't shut off until you go to sleep. You either sing or chatter away in Bella speak, which I adore, by the way. You take the exact cadence of whatever we say during the day and fill it with your own words. Like how we would say, Uhoh, the water spilled. You declare, Uhoh, blarguufiedodo, and drop your voice in the same way. You also curse a lot with Doggonit! which is funny, since we don't say that at all. My favorite thing is that you hop up on the couch with B Bear and push him off the side in slow-mo, using that squeaky slow-mo Ohhhhh noooooo! that you picked up from wrestling with Daddy.

We started watching signing videos this month. Mostly you sit and watch them, but surprisingly in just a few weeks you have added several ASL and verbal words to your vocab, things you would never say before. Now you sign coat and socks and you say shoes and ball as well as signing them. When the train passes by, we open the windows and you sing, Chooooo choooooo! It's fun to watch you pick up new words (that actually exist) and realize that we actually respond to them. You are currently walking around with only your shoes on because ever since you picked up that word, you must either have shoes on your hands or feet at all times. You actually took them to bed with you last night....

This is a long letter, I know. But it's been more than a month since I last wrote what you were up to, and you're growing so fast. It's so wonderful to be back in the land of the living, getting to enjoy your every little antic. I came down with chicken pox last week, so now we're just waiting to see whether or not you get them. So far 2010 has been one for the record books. Let's see just how monumental it can be.

Love,
mama