Gage: 19 & 20 Months Letter

Dear Little Acorn,
We have had a whirlwind past couple of months. I've been adjusting to a new job. You've been totally awesome. You now have all your teeth in. Even your cute little canines. It's weird to see you running around like a toddler now. And, it seems like every month I always talk about how you're NOT A BABY ANYMORE. But, I think it's true now. You are starting to use almost complete sentences. You sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" pretty clearly. You're ridiculously smart. I'm not the only one who thinks that either. You genuinely surprise me with the things you know or say.

You can finally say "school bus" correctly. But, you're new non-sensical word is yogurt. You pronounce it to something that sounds like "wee day". You were saying it one afternoon and your dad had no idea what you were asking for. And, then we went to the store the next day and as I was unpacking the groceries, you said "wee day!" and pointed to the yogurt. Mystery solved!
You tell us when you're tired. You say "hungry" and climb into your high chair. You love to get on our bed and roll around and have us throw you onto it.

You've been staying the night with your Uncle Scott & Aunt Miranda after she keeps you on Fridays during the day. You're always pissed when you come home. I think it's because they let you have your own bag of chips and don't make you go to bed at 7. They are crazy about you and they were both sad to see you leave this morning after a long TWO night stay. Yep, you stayed from Thursday morning to Saturday morning this week. It was kinda hard on me, but you're always in good hands and I know you have a blast over there.

On Monday, you'll be starting at a new in home daycare that's on the way to my work. Meaning, I get to see you in the mornings a little more and drop you off at the babysitter every day. They use the Little Acorn curriculum, hence you're my little acorn this letter. There are some 4 yr olds and two kids around your age there. I think you'll have a blast with all the new friends. You're very social and didn't waste any time running around their house checking out all the toys and stuff when we went there to interview. I'm just trusting that you'll do well like you always seem to.

You're drinking out of an open cup well. You can feed yourself "wee day" without TOO much mess. Of course, I still strip you if I let you feed yourself. And, I very rarely feed you anymore. You're too dang independent for that! You like to sit on the potty and then get in the bathtub and pee. At least you're aware of the process. Heck, I pee in the shower too. All that warm water...

You're wearing 2T clothes now. They're a little big, but 18 months look a little silly on you sometimes. You growl and show us your muscles. You are doing well with animal sounds and recognition. You pretend to count, and if I say ONE, you'll say TWO. Even when I am giving you a countdown to a spanking. Which brings me to...yes we spank you. Trust me, kid, you need it sometimes. You LOVE to say NO. You love to be your own little independent self. And, I DO love that about you. I don't think I can deal with a whiny, needy kid. That sounds horrible, right? It's called being real, kiddo. I'm going to teach you to be that way too.

I miss you when I'm at work. I really do. But, there's a lot of good that can come from it too. It's just a phase of life that we'll get through. You're an incredible little person. I am always so proud of you...except for when you pick your nose at the grocery store. I find that rather embarrassing.

I love you to the moon and back, sweet baby boy!
Love, Mommy