20 Months and My Mother's Day

I can't believe my baby, my first born, the one who made me a mama, is 20 months old today.  We have spent this rainy Monday quietly at home, working on potty training and doing our "at home" morning routine which includes a lot of cuddling, a lot of books, and eating breakfast while listening to the radio.  No t.v. this morning, no computer; just being present and enjoying each other's company.

It's so easy to do these days, this enjoying each other's company.  Sweet Pea is suddenly very much a little person, a person with tastes and choices and inside jokes.  She uses her potty chair regularly (not fully trained yet- I doubt her little bladder will be ready for that for awhile) and gets incredibly excited for her stickers when she goes.  She is still a stinker about eating.  She'll eat anything sweet all day long, and loves chili and chicken curry (go figure!) but she won't touch a chicken nugget and certainly not a piece of broccoli.  I used to think picky eaters were just spoiled kids, but now I know that there is a certain level of tenacity in the spirit of a kid who doesn't want to eat what you've given them.  My little girl?  She would rather hunger protest.  Thankfully, one of her favorite foods is a "moo-hee" (smoothie) and I can sneak lots of healthy stuff into those, even though her other favorite foods are "ICE-TREAM!" (always yelled) and "op-corn."  Last week we drove past a Target and she saw the bullseye and asked, "op-corn?" I guess she now associates Target with popcorn.  That's ok- I do too.

I love hearing her little voice.  It's so sweet and questioning, and she follows me around repeating everything I say.  Sometimes she will ask for something with a new word and I don't know what she's saying.  She'll look entreatingly into my eyes, saying her new word over and over with a question mark before I finally figure it out.  I'll repeat the word back, and her expression changes to complete self-satisfaction.  She'll say the word again, with finality, then toddle back to whatever she was doing.
 
She's singing along now with songs in the car.  She loves "Say Hey" by Michael Franti and "Shake Senora" by Henry Belafonte.  "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "I Love You, Lord," and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" are her requests at home.  The last two we sing every night at bedtime, like we have since she was born.

She is enamored with her friends.  Every time we get into the car it's, "Fr-hends?  Fr-hends?" because she's hoping we'll go play.  She is also enamored with her family, her favorites still being her cousin Bean and her Grampa.

I am loving that lately she sits still for so long while we read books.  I have precious memories of reading book after book with my own mama, so this is extra precious to me.

Not only does Sweet Pea try to take my laptop and say, "Pit-chures?  Pit-chures!" she will also pick up her toy lap top and announce the same thing.  Maybe soon I will be able to hire her to do some of my editing for me?

She looooves to me outside, which I think she gets from me.  She loves dolls, especially feeding them, and she adores animals.  Best of all, she is really into dress-up lately.  A couple of weeks ago we slipped on a new (to her) dress for church.  It was frilly and poofy.  She looked down in adoration, then ever so slowly started turning her hips back and forth to watch the pink skirt move.  Then, completely of her own volition she started spinning around and around.  I basically died.

A few weeks ago neither of us were feeling well.  She couldn't sleep at nap time, so I brought her in bed with me to cuddle and maybe fall asleep.  It didn't work.  She was all over the bed being a goofball.  So, I rolled over on my side thinking that if I turned away from her she would fall asleep.  She got quiet, so I thought things were working until I felt her warm breath on my neck.  Suddenly she was squirming her little body up and over my face until she was completely draped over my head.  Her little eyes were an inch from mine when she gave me a huge kiss and then cracked up.

It's so amazing to watch her little personality develop.  I think she is gifted with a quiet and gentle heart.   Sure, she can be loud and goofy and knows how to pitch a fit if she wants to- she's a toddler after all.  But she is generally just sweet.  She is also stubborn, smart and funny.

I know that Mothers' Day is supposed to be to honor mothers, but the truth is, I just feel honored to be a mother.  Her mother.  I can't believe that this is my life.  I can't believe I get to live this.

Yet my family still loves to honor all of us mamas, and yesterday we did so with a special lunch and a lovely Sunday walk in the woods.  I've said before that mothering has come pretty naturally to me, and I believe so fully that it is because of the blessing of getting to watch my incredible mother be a mother.  She sets the bar high.  I know there is no such thing as a perfect mother, but she comes about as close as you can.

We just has a special day with my parents, my mom's parents, my sister and her daughter, and my mother-in-law.  The weather was perfect and the food delicious.  I, of course, broke my Paleo diet for the day.  Worth it.

Now enjoy 22 pictures.  Sorry.

Trying on my glasses.  

She pointed to her drawing and announced, "I drew you a narwhale, Nana."  Oh, I see it now.

My sister made these.  

My sister also made this.  It's my Grandma's orange cake recipe, and a family favorite.  Gluten-free, of course.

I ate them both.  I had two pieces of cake. 

She ate them, too.

Bean made such a chocolate mess that my mom decided to make an ice-cream mess.

I just couldn't stop taking pictures of Bean!

She is just too pretty and too grown-up.

Loves Groovy and Groovy's necklaces.  

Spinning with Daddy.

The wild roses are in bloom already, and the fireflies are already out.  

We played in the woods.

It was perfect.

Have a happy week!

    

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