Fourteen Months

Oh, My Sweet Nugget!

You are so much fun.  Summer has started, and you absolutely love to be outside.  Every morning, you look out the window and start barking like a dog, looking for Shelby next door.  Your bark sounds more like a monkey, "Ooo, ooo!" But we all know it's a bark, because you do it every time you see a furry, four legged creature.  Like when you're watching your favorite show - the horse racing channel!  You can't really tell the difference between dogs and horses yet, so when you see all those lovely "dogs" running around the track, your sweet little heart just can't take it, and you "ooo! ooo!" yourself all over the living room.  It's pretty adorable.  It might not be so adorable if you turn into a racetrack junkie, but whatever.  We'll deal.

After you wake up from your morning nap, we go straight outside and play in the yard.  Or, as you see it, THE MAGICAL GREEN WONDERLAND!  Every blade of grass...every rock, stick, and leaf...every chunk of blacktop...goes straight into your mouth.  I have to stay two steps behind you at all times so I can fish out whatever trinket you've decided to explore with your tongue.  Your daily morning tour includes a few times up and down the back steps, a lap around the yard in the wagon (actually, you prefer to push the wagon instead of ride in it), a quick check of the vegetable garden so you can trample on the green bean plants, a visit to your rose bush, and a jaunt in the white rocks on the back patio, which you love to taste and then toss into the air.  After you've approved every area, we usually break out the bubbles while you shriek and dance around like it's DJ night at The Dame circa 2005.  Trust me, you have a blast.

You are getting so fearless.  You will climb up and down steps without thinking twice.  You will shove your head into any stream of water that gets close to you, you'll dip your face into your bath and dump a cup of water right onto your head, you'll toss yourself backward in my arms until you're swinging upside down and side to side!  You have no inhibitions whatsoever when it comes to daredevil one-year-old antics.  And most of the time, when you fall down or bump your head, you get right back up and smile at us as if to say, "Ha!  Did you see that?!"  Just this evening you were helping Papa sort the mail, and you started walking away, holding an envelope up to your face, and you ran RIGHT INTO THE WALL!  I was worried for a second, but when you bounced off the wall and stabilized yourself, you went right on down the hallway like nothing happened.  I laughed my butt off!

Sometimes, though, you still need us.  You get scared when new people are around, or if there are loud noises, or if you really get hurt.  And when you do, you stretch out your arms, grab hold of my neck, nestle your head next to mine, and let out a little whimper that begs me not to let go of you.  Other times, you just want to snuggle, not afraid or scared, just loving and sweet.  You pull your face back and look right at me, then you touch my nose or my hair or my eyes and we both smile.  You open your mouth wide and slobber all over my cheek, squeezing my neck tight.  You did this tonight before I put you to bed and I just didn't want to let go.

You are my whirly twirly dizzy wizzy girl, sweet Sylvia.  I just can't believe how much you've grown since last year.  You are not a baby.  You are a full fledged, on-the-go toddler.  You are funny.  You are sweet.  And we love you!

 

Love, 

Mama