16 Months Old

Dear Gwennie the Pooh,

At sixteen months you have decided that you are an individual. You are no longer my little Borg drone who will do whatever I say. Now you want to be held when you want, and you want down when you are done. I can no longer force you to hang on to me, you will fling yourself down. But you always come running back, and you always want my comforting milk when you get hurt.

Sometimes we go to the zoo, and you love to look at the carousel. You shiver with excitement when you see it. So I try to put you on it. You are fine, until it starts moving, then you clamber to get off. Your pudgy fingers grab me, and try to yank yourself into my arms. As soon as it stops, you are in my arms, and we exit the enclosure. Then you shiver with excitement once again, watching the brightly colored animals going in a circle, bouncing up and down.

On the tooth front, there are eleven, and the left top premolar is also pushing through. With just the teeth you have right now you gladly eat cashews that Daddy says he has been sneaking you for a month. I am quite cautious about food, because the other day you choked on a potato chip in Costco and vomited all over yourself. Then a few days later you did the same with a tortilla chip, only that time it was all over me that the vomit came to rest.

You still prattle without making a lot of sense. You will look at us while reciting poems of baby babble.

“Doi Eh? Doo Mamamamama.
Dow? Issss noww-oh?
Da daaaaa, sssssssssssss.
Keee Eeeeee. Uh Oh!
Ish iss ter.
OWWW! OWWW!”

I love to listen to it, trying to make some sense of the gibber. Another thing that you love to do is sing. Your first song was a rendition of the Fraggle Rock theme song. Lately Daddy has been working on helping you sing “Yo Ho Ho A pirate’s life for me.” But Rhayn doesn’t want Daddy to sing it because only “girl kids” can sing it. (Like on Pirates of the Caribbean; The Black Pearl.)

On the 26th I took you to the doctor, and you received seven, yes seven shots. Ouch! It was a traumatic experience. When we got home I changed your clothes and you saw your arms, all covered in bandages, you pointed at them, and looked distressed. I feel so badly for you. Mean mommy, letting them do that to you. Mean nurse. Its no wonder that you only like male doctors, they never poke you with sharp implements!


You have figured out how to push a chair up to something to get just that much higher. You are quite a climber, and its makes me nervous. So far you haven’t fallen off of too many things, but you get braver every moment, so it’s only a matter of time.

As time goes by, and you become more of a little girl, and less of a baby, I fall even deeper in love with you. Then there are instances of supreme bratiness, and I am reminded of what is to come. I know that you are going to give us different challenges from Rhayn, because you personality is so different from hers. You are much more needy and defiant. I am excited to watch you grow and change, and yet, I wish you could stay little just for a bit longer.

Love,
Your mama.