The Scarlett Letters: Imagination and Sparkle

My dear Scarlett,

I'm writing this while you take your little nap. You don't nap often, maybe three times each week for no more than an hour. You still sleep well overnight. I put you in the crib around 8pm on average. Sometimes you go right to sleep - mostly if you've missed your nap that day. Other times you will yap and yap and yap until sometimes ten o'clock! We love to listen to you tell stories to your friends (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Snoopy, Blanky, Bunny, Owl). You talk about things you did that day, you make up stories and scenarios and what cracks us up is that you actually use different voices! Hysterics!

Some of your favorite things lately:

Jewelry. You love your little bracelets and necklaces and have so many of them! You will wear them all at once or choose just a few. You like to put them and out of boxes, baskets and containers over and over.

Memory. Gee-Gee gave you this game in your Halloween treat bag and you just love it! Just like I did as a kid, it was my favorite! We have played it dozens of times already and you are so good at making pairs, your memory is just incredible.

Figures. You've had a fondness for little figures for quite a while now. You have a bunch of them - mostly Mickey Mouse Clubhouse "guys" as you call them. You also have some from the Tickety Toc gang and Team Umizoomi. I love listening to you play with them, setting up little scenes and such. That imagination is really wonderful.

Pearl Jam. Haha that's right. When their new album, Lightning Bolt, came out you were more than happy to listen to it several times a day for several days while Mama acquired her "fix." You even asked for it to be played a bunch of times. I'd look over and you'd be dancing all around the room or enthusiastically nodding in your high chair. When we were in the car the other day one of their old songs came on and you yelled, "IT'S PEARL JAM!!" Proud moment.

"Peanut Butter Cantaloupe" Over the past couple of months anytime we ask you what you want to eat the answer is the same - peanut butter cantaloupe. A peanut-butter and jelly sandwich with a side of melon. Time and time again. It has become a very popular lunch.

The blanket. Lately you can be found several times a day playing underneath a blanket. You choose a few toys, drape the blanket over your head and have a ball. I find it hilarious and adorable.

"Shoods" Because you can't pronounce your F's yet you say "Shoods" meaning Foods. We gave you a big bag of plastic foods for your birthday and you lovvvvvvvvvvve it. You, of course, have your favorites: The apple/tomato (I don't know what it is!), ice cream cone, cookie, banana, potato chips, orange, lettuce, lemon, egg, ketchup bottle etc. I remember vividly how much I loved my fake foods as a kid too. (smile).

Things have been really, really great with you. You are growing like a weed, super tall girl! You're long and lean, I can't keep your pants up! Trying to find you pajamas is pretty difficult. The shirts are all too short and the pants fall off of you. One-pieces are the new norm. You're wearing 18 mo or 24 mo pants and 3T shirts on average. Your shoe size is a 6/7 in case you were wondering. Haha.

Daddy and I are sooooooooooooo looking forward to Christmastime with you this year. I think you will really enjoy it all. Especially decorating the tree. I hope to watch all of our favorite Christmas specials with you so ... get on board! We are excited to start our own little family traditions, making wonderful memories to stay with you for a lifetime.

We love you so much, sweet girl.
xo

The Scarlett Letters: Scarlett turns two!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Scarlett June!!!

Well, let's see. You're not a baby anymore... and, as my final 'Mom 365' daily email informed me, you're not a toddler anymore. What does that mean? Are you already a "little kid" ??? Nope, not in my book, baby girl. 

Two years ago today I was lying in a stiff bed with flat pillows, falling in love with The Big Bang Theory and working on 48 hours worth of contractions. Eventually you were born via C-section at 8:09 pm. And it was at that moment that my life began. Along with my short-lived morphine drip.

You have made everyone so happy. You make us laugh every day. You amaze us with your vocabulary and ability to put sentences together. At your party on Saturday I heard you say to a friend, "Hi! Welcome to my home!" I have no idea where you got that from. The other day I put your shoes on and you said, "Hmm, Mama, those fit pretty good!" I know you heard that one from me but you used it perfectly. Another popular phrase is, "Mama, I can't find my -------- anywhere!" We are able to have conversations with you although every now and then there is a word that takes us a while to figure out. You have trouble with your F's and L's. And it's adorable.

You lovvvvvvvvve to play "outshiiiiiide." We let you use your water table in our gravel area and you get plenty filthy having a blast with that. You love your slide and your swing and getting Brody to run with you. You think he is just so funny! Now that the weather is cooler and drier (and less insect-pleasing) I can enjoy being out there with you. I still hold my breath when I turn your toys over, praying there aren't 'things' floating or webs spun. Baby steps. 

We took you for a photo session last week and you threw a pretty decent tantrum but eventually warmed up and we got great shots. You're so photogenic. That smile is infectious and so heartwarming. You say hi to everyone and not everyone says hi back. I explain to you daily that some people don't like to say hi. Then I grumble under my breath that those people are called assholes.

You are really into playing with little figures, like Mickey, Minnie and Pluto. You also enjoy using your new easel. You wipe it clean and say, "Good as new!" And when you've had enough you put your marker down and say, "Ok, I'm all done." For your birthday we gave you a cash register which you absolutely love - just as I did as a little girl. Although my cash register was my jewelry box... and it didn't have a scanner, or credit card slot and the only sound it made was when I wound up the ballerina but hey, I didn't know the difference. You also adore your basket of fake foods - which was one of my favorite things to play with as a kid. We had a picnic in the playroom the other day and I felt like I was four years old all over again. I almost fought you for the little strawberry.

You are amazing, Scarlett. You're so so so so smart. You are truly funny and silly and spunky. You're bold as brass, stubborn like your Mama and a roughneck through and through. You do stop to smell the flowers - even if they are in the pages of your book. You like to choose your clothes when given the option and you've refused to wear your Super-girl shirt for months. Humble too, perhaps? You can't get enough of peanut butter or cantaloupe. You have favorite songs like, "I Will Wait" by Mumford and Sons. You dance in your highchair and like us to dance with you... "and Mama too ... and Dada too... and Bro too!" I wish Brody could dance for you. You love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Team Umizoomi and Special Agent Oso. I feel good about letting you watch those shows. You are learning so much every day from your family, from being outside, from watching good television, from playing with your toys. I pray that you always have that blessed brain. 

Happy Birthday Dear Scarlett, Happy Birthday to you! 
(I've noticed you are sleeping in on your big day! It's 8:33 ... ooo I hear you murmuring ... ) 

We all love you SO MUCH!
xoxo
Mama