Dear Gabriel,
You are 18 months old! The past three months have been a
time of great development for you. You are asserting your personality and
teaching us who you are. You crave independence and control. You know exactly
what you want and when you want it, and when things don’t go exactly as you
like, you are quick to total frustration. We’re working on communicating your
needs without shooting straight to the full-blown fit. You can point to what
you want and shake your head no when the item offered isn’t what you want. You
still wave your arms across your body to mean no, also.
Though there does seem to be a lot of whining lately, you
are also a playful little boy who loves to laugh. You laugh so hard sometimes
that you get hiccups. Still. You’ve been doing this since you were a baby. The
way your face lights up makes me so happy. To see that joy in your face makes
me feel like bringing you into the world was so absolutely right.
You are mama’s little helper by taking things to the
trashcan or the sink. In the morning, you usually go to both sides of mama and
daddy’s bed, get the cups we have in there, and take them to the sink for me.
You also help us unload the dishwasher, though it does end up taking longer
with your help.
Though language development has been a bit of a concern for
me, you have recently picked up several new words. I may be the only one who
understands you, but you are definitely using words to communicate. You say up,
help, juice, cheese, yes, mama, dada, papa (food), car, hat, eyes, hi, quack,
and make a monkey sound. One time I swear you repeated goldfish when I asked if
you wanted the crackers. You say mama and dada, but you haven’t completely
assigned one name to each of us. Dada seems to mean daddy most of the time, but
sometimes means me. And mama seems to mostly mean that you want something.
We’ll keep working on that.
You feed yourself very well with your fingers, but using a
spoon or fork is a pretty messy and inefficient way to get food into your
mouth. Sometimes you stuff WAY too much in your mouth, which leads to gagging
and spitting it all out. For a while, if we asked you what was in your mouth,
you would open your mouth and push it out. I’ve caught lots of chewed up junk
in my hand. But that’s ok, it’s one of my jobs.
You are growing and growing. You’re running around and
chasing the cat or your daddy. You have been practicing jumping, but your feet
don’t leave the ground. It is incredibly adorably the way you crouch and swing
your arms and then look so proud of what you just accomplished. I’m sure you’ll
take flight soon. You have no sense of danger at this point. You love to climb
on anything that sits still long enough. All of this activity means you get
tons of bruises. I keep noticing how my little baby is slipping away as you
become a kid.
Of course, you still hate having your hair washed at bath
time. You throw a screaming fit about water being poured over your head. You
basically hate getting your head and face wet at all. After bath time, we put
on pajamas, and you suddenly turn back into my baby. After we read books, you curl
up on my shoulder while we sing a couple songs. I love how you snuggle up and
throw your arms around my neck. Holding you there against me fills up the hole
that I often feel inside me.
Watching you explore and learn new things everyday is so
completely amazing. Watching how you problem solve makes me so proud. Watching
you grow up is both happy and a little bit sad. But no matter what, you are the
best thing I ever did.
I love you,
mama
