Month 11: My Sweet Toothy Hippo Girl

Lexi,

Let's talk. Let's talk about how you are such a fantastic communicator. Although your only words are still "Mama" and "Da", you are apt at using your hands, face, voice, and entire body to let us know what you need. You put your arms up for "up", you pull at your bib when you're done eating (not to mention throwing little fits at your high chair to let Mommy and Daddy know that YOU ARE DONE WITH ALL THE FOOD!), you pull yourself up in the tub when you're done your bath... and you cry, cry, cry to let us know that you're awake and you need someone to come get you out of your crib RIGHT NOW! Yes, you are the most insistent, stubborn little girl I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, and it's part of your charm. I look so forward to seeing how that plays out as you grow older.

Not only do you love communicating; you love interacting with others. Your face lights up when someone new shows up, especially if it's Daddy coming home from work, or Grandma and Papa coming by for a visit. You spent an afternoon with your cousin Link a few weeks ago, and you played so well together. You know your place in the hierarchy of age; if you're with older kids, you observe them and try to do what they're doing; if you're with kids younger than you, you're a little bit more confident (especially with the soother stealing - yeah, that's still a thing.) You definitely adore being around older kids, and it's amazing to watch how older kids step up to the plate when you're around - offering you toys, playing with you, trying to teach you things. There is, however, one interaction this March that left you quite unhappy: Shooter, the Brooks Bandits' hockey team's mascot. He scared you. He scared you so badly that you kept looking from Daddy to Mama and back, your lower lip trembling, until you burst out in tears. And Daddy and Mama just laughed and laughed and laughed. Is that mean? Who knows... it was hilarious in any case.

This month was an abnormally cold March, so although I was looking forward to spending some time outside with you, we were cooped up the entire month. Not that I mind; I've been able to get lots of Netflix time in, and you're usually pretty content to play with a variety of toys. You're especially fond of balls: you have a big blue one from Karli, a smaller purple one, and a smaller Finding Nemo ball. You also love your Baby Einstein piano, and this one cell phone toy with a barking dog and meowing kitty - and a really annoying song that I definitely can sing by heart. This particular cell phone, however, has dying batteries, so it sounds possessed most of the time. It's actually kind of scary.

Your personality is shining through more and more, and the way I see it, there are two distinct parts of you: the crying, whining, communicative side, and the social, happy, cute, flirty side. You know how to be absolutely adorable. I took you to Calgary at the beginning of the month because I had an appointment with a dermatologist, and you just crawled around that office, getting your hands on everything, looking around at all the other patients in the waiting room with a big, toothy, lopsided grin on your face. Oh, that toothy grin. I can't get enough of your little hippopotamus teeth (and I am thanking God that they are coming in straight so far! But where's that eighth tooth, the little one on the bottom right? We're still waiting for it!) You are adorable and so, so charming.

One of the best parts about this eleventh month has been your sleeping patterns: you've been sleeping through the night! I'm not counting how many times in a row because I don't want to jinx it, but girl, it's pretty amazing to be able to put you down to sleep at 9:00 pm and not worry about you until 6:30 in the morning! I'm feeling so well rested and grateful for those full nights. They make the teething nights (when you wake 3, 4, sometimes 7 times) a little bit more bearable.

But don't tell anyone I said that.

I love you so much, my sweet, toothy, hippo girl.

Love,

Mama