Dear Cricket,
Oh my littlest sidekick! With everyday you’re growing bigger and bigger, and I want it to stop immediately! I can’t handle you becoming a big girl so fast. Cut it out, okay? ;)
I can’t believe it’s been ELEVEN months already. Seriously?!? My mind can’t quite grasp how so much time has passed in such little time, if that makes any sense. These days you’re becoming more and more like a toddler, but I’m still clutching to your baby-ness with everything I’ve got in me. It helps that you hate to be alone and demand to be literally carried everywhere with me, especially when we’re hanging out at home. As much as having you bawl the second I try to put you down drives me crazy, it’s also so endearing that I really can’t complain. I’ve become quite accomplished in completing household tasks with only one hand, haha! Sometimes I have no choice but to set you down, and in those moments when you give me your loudest little lamb cry, I just look at you and remind you, “Mommy’s here. Mommy never leaves.” Of course this logic doesn’t work on you, no matter how sing-songy I say it. So, for now, most of the time I just carry you around with me, which makes you happy as can be, which makes me as happy as can be.
This month you’ve really gotten steady standing all on your own, and every day I swear you’ll take your first steps. However, typically by the time you’d want to take a step forward, you’ve noticed your big sister across the room, and, not wanting to miss out, you plop down and crawl over to her. I can’t blame you, though, because you can crawl faster than any baby I’ve ever seen, and everyone’s always surprised when they see you unexpectedly zoom across the floor on your hands and knees. I’m half happy that you’re not walking yet (because I want you to be a baby forever), and half confused. Clearly you have the ability to walk because you’ve been practicing for months; you just prefer to keep up with E.V. over progressing to the next stage of mobility. I’m not worried, though, so take your time, little one.
Although you haven’t been much of a walker yet, Crickie, you certainly are a climber! The other day I looked over at the full-sized chair in our living room, and there you were, sitting on the top edge like the queen of the mountain. You had used two different toys and a lot of gumption to get yourself up there, and you sure were a proud baby in that moment. (I had to laugh for a moment before I rescued you because it was so astonishing and shocking!) You love to play with Emma Vance, who is also a climber, so it doesn’t surprise me much. In fact, the first climbing you ever did was imitating her as she scrambled up into your play sink to sit. It wasn’t long until you figured out how to join her! And now you like to crawl up onto the fireplace hearth to lean over the side of her art desk as she colors. (You also love to eat crayons, so there’s that, haha!) Your favorite toys right now are princess dolls and anything that’s easy to chew on, i.e. hard and rubbery. You’ve got four teeth, two top and two bottom. Those top teeth are HUGE and have a big gap between them, and thus we refer to them as your “walrus teeth.” You are obsessed with books, which is the best way I’ve found for you to entertain yourself. Oh, and of course there’s always bath toys, which you love mostly because you love baths and water, especially the infinity pool at our gym. We’ve been going, you, me and E.V., to the indoor pool to keep ourselves occupied this winter, and you are happy and fearless in the water (which is good and bad in a way).
These days you are still our little Cricket Compactor, eating everything in sight (including stickers, ahem). There isn’t anything we’ve found that you don’t like, but you LOVE broccoli cheddar soup, tortellini, yogurt, carrots, turkey, cheese, strawberries, bananas and prunes. We’ve pretty much eliminated all purees; it’s so strange that we barely even used traditional baby food with you! I suppose that’s what happens with second kids, because if your sister has something to eat and you don’t get the same thing, you will throw a hissy fit. ;) Oh, and you hate sitting in your high chair, little miss. We spent so many meals telling you to sit down that eventually we reconnected the straps to tie you down. (That did the trick!) E.V. never had the itch to stand up in the high chair much, but she also didn’t have a big sister sitting at the big table to imitate.
You are a pretty good sleeper, Kit. Since E.V. only takes one nap a day, we’re pretty close to having you on the exact same schedules. Right now you sometimes take a short morning nap around 10, and then sleep a good two or three hours from noon to 3 p.m. each day while E.V. does too. You both wake up around 7 a.m. and are passed out at 8 p.m. each night. I’m working on weaning you (which you are not happy about), so those bedtime routines are changing a bit as we speak, but they still contain copious amounts of snuggling and rocking. I hate that it’s time for you to grow up in any way, but I believe you’ll be just as happy on the other side of weaning…when we get there. ;)
Cricket, you are such a happy, lively baby. You’re beginning to speak, which is CRAZY, point and wave, and all the while you have a grin on your face. I love that we’re finally beginning to see what you really want when you point to an object, that you love the dogs and show us by petting them gently, that you wave and say, “Hey Dad!!!” every morning to wake up Daddy. Your vocabulary is off the charts and you pick up and repeat words with ease these days. It’s funny, though, because your sister talked a lot too, but she said less words more clearly, while you say more words more mumble-y. It’s like you don’t want to move your lips, you silly ventriloquist! ;) But of course Mama, Dad, Emma and dog are all very distinct, so that’s what counts. You have unexpectedly said some crazy phrase already, though, like “Curious George” and “Hey guys!” Now those took us by surprise!
Oh, my sweet little Cricket. You really are such a joy to us. I can’t wait to see what you become in life because you are so beautiful, intelligent, happy and determined. I don’t doubt that whatever you put your mind to, you’ll do. I pray that whatever you choose, it will be noble and fulfilling. I don’t want you to grow up, but when you do, I’ll cherish these small moments always, the moments where you’re still a crawler, still in diapers, still nursing, still in need of me. You are my pride and my world, and we wouldn’t be a complete family without you.
We love you more than you know.
Love,
Me (and Dad and E.V.)