Quarterly Report: Y1Q2

Teagan,

My baby girl is 1 ½. My how you have changed in the last three months. As I write this, you are busily transferring your 120 blocks from the bag that they came in to the laundry basket, one at a time. One word to describe you accurately is indeed ‘busy’.

You are very, very active and keep Mommy and Daddy on their toes every day! You are into climbing, whether it’s on the couch, the chair, the table and chairs, Mommy and Daddy’s bed, the bench on the porch, or in and out of Mommy’s car when she’s trying to unload groceries. You love to climb and seem impressed by your continuing ability to do so. This of course, has resulted in a few falls, including a few that have made Mommy’s heart stop. You still love to empty things, be it the laundry basket, the dishwasher, your dresser drawers, any one of your many toy boxes, or your diaper bag. You love to empty things, and you are so good about picking things up and putting them back.

You had your first Thanksgiving where you actually got to enjoy the food, and boy, did you!!! On Thanksgiving Day, we, along with Uncle Casey, had lunch at Grammy and Grampy’s with Reecy, Aunt Sissy, and Aunt Bicki. It was delicious! You had your first taste of Grampy’s deep-fried turkey and you loved it! We left there and came home to Nana and Aunt Crystal cooking dinner at our house. We got to eat all over again, and we did! You loved Nana’s chicken and dressing! And of course, all of the desserts were fantastic! The next day we went out to Mima and Grandpa’s and had another wonderful meal! I think we all gained 10 lbs in those two days. It was by far the best Thanksgiving Mommy has ever had!

I mentioned in the last report that you have been having a hard time with ear infections. You had an appointment for December 11th to go see the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor. Well, that didn’t exactly happen. We had a pretty bad ice storm that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, including ours, and the ENT’s office. We stayed with Nana for four days and Mommy stayed home from work, so you and I spend some time together! I rescheduled your doctor appointment and will actually take you next week. Hopefully your ears stay healthy until then!

We managed to lose the binky!!! This was a very big step, more so for Mommy than for you. I have really been struggling with your lack of baby-ness, and seeing you with your binky was one of the last baby-ish things Mommy was holding on to. I went to rock you to sleep one Friday night and asked Daddy to find your binky for me, which you always had to have for bed time. Daddy then informed me that Aunt Betty hadn’t let you have it the entire day. So, we ran with it. You went to sleep just fine without it that first night. The next day at naptime, you definitely noticed something was missing, but we managed okay. That night was a different story. You were completely aware that something was missing and totally hip to what that something was! After rocking you and trying to convince you that you didn’t need it for about an hour and a half, Mommy resorted to taking a little drive. Not the best idea or habit to begin, I know, but Mommy was getting pretty desperate at this point. You went to sleep in the car, stayed asleep as Mommy transferred you from the car seat to your crib, and slept fairly soundly all night. There was never another word about the binky there after.

Mommy was so proud of you for being able to let go of your binky so easily. Just knowing that it was something that you had relied on your entire life for comfort and seeing you overcome it so easily was a complete inspiration to Mommy. It actually inspired me to quit smoking! (Eleven weeks and counting, Monkey, thanks to you!)

Then came Christmas!!! You were totally into the Christmas spirit this year! Daddy bought you a big girl stocking, complete with a singing Elmo which of course, stole your heart! You loved that stocking and reminded us of that fact about every ten minutes for about two weeks. Daddy and I were both a little happy to see it go into the attic. You were in awe of the Christmas tree and although it took a few days to teach you to leave the ‘pretty balls’ on the tree, you eventually admired it without rearranging it. It was also a little difficult to teach you that the gifts were not stepping stones or building blocks or stools or benches. Wrapping gifts in your presence also took an act of Congress that Mommy eventually resorted to attempting only after you were good and asleep. But, all in all, Christmas and the days leading up to it were some of the best days of Mommy’s life. Because Thanksgiving was so tiring and stressful, Mommy refused to go anywhere for Christmas. So, we had everyone over to our house! Grammy and Grampy came down Christmas Eve. They brought you so many gifts! You got a karaoke Elmo, another karaoke machine, a preschool center that has a keyboard, and a drum set and also an easel for coloring and drawing, and of course lots of books! And Uncle Casey bought you a wagon full of blocks! We had so much fun with Grammy, Grampy, and Uncle Casey! On Christmas morning, Daddy and I woke you up early to open gifts before Mima, Grandpa, and Aunt Nikke came over. Daddy got you a cool farm set which you just love! Mommy got you some books, some shoes, some pajamas, and some finger paints. And Santa Claus got you a fish tank and 5 fish. You love your fish!!! Then Mima, Grandpa, and Aunt Nikke came over for lunch. They got you a Chicken Dance Elmo, which is just so much fun, and a Guitar Elmo and a huge bag of blocks! We had a great time hanging out with them! Finally, Christmas evening, Nana, Papa, Aunt Crystal, and Audrey came over. Nana and Papa got you a Play and Learn Kitchen that is so much fun! It makes all kinds of noises and offers a lot of learning. You got so many toys, in fact, that Mommy and Daddy ended up cleaning out the spare bedroom to make you a play room! All the new toys just would not fit in your bedroom.

The excitement in your eyes as you tore into your gifts was some of the best stuff I’ve ever laid eyes on. You were thrilled and excited and appreciative and in such a great mood all day, both days. You were a complete joy for me and everyone else too. Of course, Mommy had two weeks off for Christmas and New Year’s, and Uncle Casey was down nearly the whole time, so Mommy was actually on Cloud Nine for quite a few days!

You have learned how to frown and you love doing it! You have learned how to make several different faces, in fact, and love to smile, frown, and give a mean look where you wrinkle up your eyebrows and frown. You are a character and you love to make people laugh. You dance, you laugh, you race, you roll around, and you kick and jump, just to try to get a reaction out of whoever is watching. You are an entertainer and I love to be entertained by you!

Mommy took you to your 18-month check up, where you weighed 24 pounds and grew to 35 inches tall. You are now at 45% in weight and 100% in height, so you continue to be a tall and skinny girl!

You also continue to love to eat and have begun feeding yourself with a spoon and a fork. You are surprisingly good at it for a beginner, but often get frustrated, pitch the utensil and resort to the palm-to-mouth technique. You also have begun to refuse to allow Mommy or Daddy feed you. You protest by pointing at the food and then pointing at your tray, as if to say, “Put it here.” You continue to love any type of pasta, chicken, bananas, cheese, and hamburger. You still are not a huge fan of snack foods, such as cookies and crackers, or anything sweet for that matter. This is just fine with us, of course, but it does get a little difficult to feed you when we’re on the go. Your friend Mariah P. introduced you to the world of hot dogs and you are occasionally a fan of those.

Oh yeah, Daddy introduced you to chocolate milk around 2 months ago and I honestly don’t think you’ve agreed to white milk since. You’ve had it since then, but only after Mommy or Daddy pretends to put chocolate in it—you often scream and holler and point at the chocolate syrup in the door until one of us does. It gets a little frustrating but you make it all okay by replying “tank to” (thank you).

Teagan, I could go on and on and on with little bits and pieces of what you’ve done in the last three months. You are fabulous, amazing, gratifying, and tantalizing in every way. You amaze me with your sincerity, your love, your thoughtfulness, your humor, your patience, your attitude, your forgiveness, your stubbornness, and your independence. Thanks for the ride.

Love,
Mommy