Dear sweet Christian,
You are really giving me run for my money these few months – maybe that’s why there hasn’t been a letter to you in a while – I hardly have a moment to sit in front of the computer. You’ve become a fast runner and capable stair-climber. You love the slide at the park, but you still refuse to swing.
You are charming, despotic, and still very, very communicative. According to Bella (Sister! you will shout at any mention of her – while making the sign for “sister” at the same time. Even funnier is when you yell up for her from the bottom of the stairs, like you’ve seen me do, BELLA! pause BELLA! and so on and so on…), her psych textbook says that babies go from one word, to two words, and then jump directly into complete sentences.
That’s what’s happening right now and it’s fascinating. You do have a large arsenal of two-word phrases at your disposal (openit! holdya? sitdown! downstairs!), but now you are starting to string words together to make meaning. The other night you saw a picture of your friend Anna sleeping and you said slowly, Anna… sleeping… too.
Of course this major developmental leap is wreaking havoc with your emotional and physical capabilities – the old “one step forward, two steps back” business. Suddenly, you’re stumbling and hitting the pavement on a regular basis – EVERY DAY you go to bed with a new lump on your forehead or a new skinned patch on your knees. I know this will pass, but it’s alarming to watch you tumble so often – I mean, it must be a boy thing, because I don’t remember Bella having goose eggs or black eyes – ever.
Emotionally too, you are more aware of what you want, and frustrated that we can’t understand all that you say. The sign language bridge only works to a certain extent – and honestly, I think that you have so many burgeoning emotions and desires that sometimes you don’t know what you want, so there’s nothing I can help you with, except to hold and comfort you until the storm has passed.
The pottying is going well. Last time we went to LA for the day, we used guess how many diapers?
ZERO! You were dry from the previous night, until we got back from LA – which means that you went pee in public bathrooms SEVEN times that day (and pooped in his potty before we had left the house). That was quite a day. Of course, we missed a bunch of pees when we got home. I’ve got to remember to offer you the potty more regularly. You don’t want to miss anything, not a second, so you don’t let me know about pees until after you’ve soaked your diaper sometimes. Although we seem to have more success when you run around without a diaper than with one. Yesterday you were diaper-free (not even training pants) and you took yourself to the potty three times. A fourth time you came back holding your potty, saying LOOKIT! POOPOO! Sure enough. You’d pooped a second time. I’m just glad you didn’t drop it.
Enough potty talk. You’re sleeping and I need to work on the taxes. I love you buddy. You bring smiles to my face all day long.
Love,
Mama
P.S. Both pictures of Christian taken by Sierra three days ago at the Huntington Gardens. New camera!
P.P. S. Mud stomping at the last week’s Waldorf in the Woods playgroup – shortly after this video footage was shot – you fell, the older boys kept stompin’ and splashing’, and you got COMPLETELY covered in mud and speedy action had to be taken to get the mud out of your mouth and ears.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAUrL8i8SxM]