Monday, September 15, 2008

Dear Elise, you're 10 months old...

Dear Elise,

You’re 10 months old today, and your father and I decided last night that you need to sleep through the night. For our sanity and your health. You weren’t convinced, as evidenced by the two-hour screaming marathon in the middle of the night. Oh, you were so mad at us when instead of picking you up to bring you into our bed and give you a middle-of-the-night snack, we laid you back down and patted your back. However, after two long hours, you gave up and went back to sleep. Can we just skip the marathon tonight and go straight for sleep? Daddy said he’d buy you a pony some day if you do!

My first ice cream cone


Other than your sleep habits, you are such an amazing child (and yes, even with your bad sleep habits, you are amazing). You are pretty much walking and have been for several weeks. You still fall occasionally, but the thing that amazes your father and me is how rough and tumble you are. You can take the nastiest of spills and just pop right back up without missing a beat.

This carries over into the rest of you life as well. You are not gentle; nope, if something is in your way, you just power over it, through it, around it, whatever it takes to get it out of your way. It might be knocking it over, throwing it, even kicking it, but it’s never with a soft touch. You know what you want, and nothing is going to stand in your way. I am both proud and frightened of this, proud because I know you will accomplish anything you want to, and frightened because you will accomplish anything you want to, even if we say NO!

So sleepy


One of my absolute favorite things you’ve started doing is playing peek-a-boo. It’s entirely too cute for words, but in the interest of preserving your infancy and childhood in words, I’ll try. You hold a blanket up over your face and wait for someone to say “Where’s Elise?” You wait a few seconds as to impy that we have to look really hard to find you, and then you whip it down, all the time grinning from ear to ear. We often get you giggling as you play it over and over and over. I'm sure other games will get old, but every time your big smile appears from beneath that blanket, it takes my breath away with its innocence and joy. I could play peek-a-boo with you forever.

As your personality develops and shines, I fall more in love with you every day. You are at such a fun age, and I wish I could freeze time - every day makes me thankful for the gift that is you. At the same time, I don't want to freeze time, because watching you become a toddler is a gift as well. I have no doubt that as you grow, I'll feel this way forever - treasuring today and anticipating tomorrow. Watching you grow up is the best gift I've ever been given. I love you, Mommy

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