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

Month 8: Lil Chomper

Lexi my sweets,

December is always a month full of ups and downs - there's the excitement and buildup to Christmas, treats, get-togethers, and beautiful lights, but the days keep getting shorter and a little bit of seasonal sadness always sets in with the lack of sunshine. Your eighth month in this world was full of ups and downs, too. Your smile keeps getting bigger (and toothier), and your abilities are growing exponentially, but so is your capacity for mood changes. You're certainly good at letting Mommy and Daddy know when you're not a happy camper.

A highlight of this month was the interest you took in food. Your manual dexterity keeps improving, and you're able to pick up tiny pieces of food with a pincer grip. No longer does the majority of your meal land to your sides (and on your shoulders), but now you're digesting enough food to make solid, real-people poops. Gross, I know. But it's true! Sidebar: you hate pooping. 

Your favourite foods? Sweet potato, banana, tomato, chicken, salmon, spaghetti squash and tomato sauce, avocado, carrots, eggs, meatballs, lettuce, lemons, limes... and broccoli! If there's chicken and broccoli in front of you, you have a difficult time deciding which one to pick first. You'll pick either, though, over any other food. The little broccoli sprouts manage to find their way into every possible skin fold near your hands - I've even found broccoli in your thigh creases. Yum!

You're even more talkative now, waking up early in the morning just cooing like crazy. Those mornings are beautiful - it's like you're singing us a wake up tune, and I couldn't think of a better alarm clock. Although, sweetie, 5 am wakeup calls are a little bit premature. I didn't mind so much the morning of December 14, when you perfected your "m" consonant and a singsong "mamamamama" came from your bassinet. It's not consistent, but you say it almost every day now and it melts my heart. 

Not only are you talkative, you're way more mobile. You've been working on crawling for a good month now, and although we kept saying you'd have it by Christmas, you're still trying to perfect your crawling rhythm. Right now, you're very capable of dragging your body across the floor if you have something to pull on, like carpet. Otherwise, you get up onto your hands and toes, do a sort of plank with your bum high up in the air, then let your hips sway from one side to the other. Sometimes you nose-dive into the ground; other times, you sit your bum down and find something to chew on. Once you get that knee bend in there, you'll be unstoppable!

You're really discovering cause and effect. Your daddy and I were given a couple of balloons last month - one from Kim for our two year anniversary, and one from your great auntie Norma to celebrate your six month birthday. Both balloons were tied to strings, and you were fascinated by the way the balloon bobbed towards you when you pulled the string towards your face. I was fascinated by your fascination... and secretly I kept waiting for a balloon to pop in your face. Mom of the year, I know. 

You also experienced a little bit of independence from Mommy this month. I had surgery on my gums at the beginning of December, and I left you with Grandma L for an entire day. I was so nervous, worried, and upset, but on the way to Calgary for the surgery, God gave me His assurance that all would be well - I saw the most beautiful sun dog in the sky. Whenever I see a rainbow, I know that God is promising me He is with me and those I love. That gave me so much peace, and the surgery went very well. When I returned home, I opened the door and called "hello!" Grandma L says that the moment you heard my voice, your eyes lit up, your ears perked up, and you immediately began scrambling up her, trying to climb over her so you could see me. That was one of the best feelings in the world: knowing that you had an amazing day with your grandma, but knowing that you missed me, too. I sure missed you a heck of a lot. 

December is a very exciting month for your daddy because he begins ice fishing. We've already taken you out a number of times, and you've gotten to witness both your mommy and daddy pull big Northern pike out of Jamieson lake. We love pulling you around on the ice in a little sled lent to us by a friend and enjoying the chilly December days together.  

Finally, the month of December was punctuated by a terrific first Christmas. I think you were more excited about the wrapping paper as Mommy wrapped presents than anything else, but it was a blessing for the rest of us to have a baby (well, two - your cousin, as well) to spoil. Some favourite gifts you received include a teddy bear that you're already gnawing on lovingly, a fantastic folding camping high chair, bath toys, and twelve pairs of pyjamas. Yes, twelve!

Little Loops, you keep learning and growing. I get frustrated and cranky with your inability to sleep longer than two hours, but somehow, my love for you keeps growing as you develop in so many different ways. I love you forever.

Love,

Mama