Letters to Sylvie: December 2014

Dear Sylvie,

These last couple of months have been quite the wild ride. You've grown up so much it's almost hard to believe. I thought this time I'd just tell you about a few of the things you say and do that make me laugh and on the flip side, make me want to tear my hair out.

You are getting to be quite a chatterbox. You are progressively speaking more in sentences than in one or two word phrases. You have to know where everybody is at all times and what they're doing, especially when you first wake up. Usually the first words out of your mouth are:

"Where Mama/Daddy go?"  or "Mama/Daddy go work in black car?"

Wearing Daddy's head and wrist bands for his Halloween costume. It looked like you were ready to kick some butt at dodge ball!

You also constantly ask what we're doing and want to participate. I'm sure this is why you're so interested in tying flies as Daddy is always sitting at his fly tying bench. He set you up with your own little vice and giant hook to tie on and you're actually getting really good. You love to sit there and tie your own fly and dictate what you're doing – "wrap it, wrap it..." It's the cutest thing ever.

You have several things that you really love. One of them is your "Big Bear". He goes with you EVERYWHERE. He's constantly tucked under your arm, occasionally wearing one of your shirts, and is frequently squeezed with such vehemence as to emit a grunt out of you. You love him so much.

We finally turned your car seat to face forward and you LOVE it!

A rare day on which you let me do your hair.

I cannot believe how much you pick up on. We have to be careful not to give you too much leeway with things or you will exploit the hell out of whatever we do. For instance, if you happen upon something that has bought you more time before taking a nap, you'll invoke it each time before we put you to bed. You will always say you're hungry or want a "pouch" (fruit pouch you get for snacks). There are some times where I think you might be legitimately hungry and the mother in me just can't bear to put you to bed without a snack, just in case. Other times I know you're so full you're about ready to pop and I call your bluff. One time Daddy put you to bed and you played around for a quite a while so he figured you weren't quite tired enough yet. So, he took you downstairs to watch football (you call it "fatball") for a while. So, now you frequently ask if you can "Watch fatball with Daddy?" when he puts you down for a nap. Very clever. You already know so many of our weak spots.

You LOVE to paint!

While you are generally very well behaved, you have begun the tantrum stage. Usually the tantrums come and go. You'll be an angel for a week or two and then have a few days in a row where I could swear your soul has been replaced with one of the Devil's imps. You'll be just fine one minute and then BAM something (sometimes we have no idea what) will set you off into a blind fury of screaming and crying and general irrationality. No amount of calm reasoning or threats will dissuade you in the slightest and I think "WHERE HAS MY SWEET LITTLE GIRL GONE?"

For instance, one day you wanted some grapes I was cutting up. So I thought I'd be nice and cut up a few and put them in a bowl for you. BUT NO. This would not do. You had to have TWO grapes in your hand right that moment and would not calm down until I removed them from the bowl and handed them to you. Of course 2 minutes later you came back looking for more grapes and I handed you the bowl full of grapes you'd previously shunned without incident. There is no knowing what is happening in that little mind of yours.

You wanted me to take your picture with Big Bear in your hood and asked me when you saw it why I was in the picture. Turns out you're 15, not 2 1/2 like I thought.

You are all about playing outside. It's the first thing you want to do every morning when you get up. This is getting a little harder to do as it gets cold and dark outside, but you still enjoy it just as much as you did during the warmer months. We got you a pair of rain boots and a full-body slicker for our trip to Oregon in a month and you especially love your boots. You want to wear them ALL THE TIME.

One of your common phrases is, "Oh yeah, I do!" This doesn't always make complete sense as you will use it for questions such as "Did you eat all your breakfast today?" or "Did Daddy take you to the park?" Daddy and I have taken to using this phrase as well. It'll be a wonder if you are ever able to determine correct speech patterns.

A rare occasion on which you let me try something new with your hair. 

Just a short incident that happened one weekend – Daddy and I were sitting in your room with you and you were scuttling about playing with toys or whatnot. At one point you decided to leave the room for some purpose and as you opened the door to leave you said, "Don't worry, I'll be right back." Daddy and I just looked at each other and laughed in wonder at your grown-up sounding sentence. You really do listen to everything we say.

You LOVE to go get donuts and watch them being made.

 This year you are really loving the Christmas season. You LOVE Christmas lights and point them out wherever we go. We put our Christmas tree up just before Thanksgiving and it is your favorite thing. You call it your "Trismas Tree" and ask every morning if Christmas is still here. We also got a little nativity set for you to play with which you took to immediately. Not too long after it was out of the package, you sent "Baby Zeesus" on a bus ride to the park with the Angel. I have a feeling you are going to be very upset when we have to put Christmas away in another month.

Helping Daddy put the star on the Christmas tree.

Baby Jesus on a bus to the park.

As far as physical milestones go, you are very good at opening and closing doors. You also frequently lock doors, but have figured out with a small amount of coaching how to open them. You love to jump off of things and practice running as fast as you can. You are getting really good at going up and down stairs standing up, though we still try to hold your hand as you aren't super reliable yet. You're very good at drinking out of a regular cup and eating with a fork or spoon. Half of the time I forget to put a bib on you because you're such a clean eater. We have not tried potty training again yet, but I think we're going to try again after Christmas to see if you're ready. You love to flush the potty and you're getting much better at pulling down your pants/removing your clothing.

Here are just a few of your random likes/dislikes:

Likes

Movies (esp. Annie, Despicable Me ("Me"), Finding Nemo, and Toy Story)
Sugary Cereal (esp. Trix ("Balls" and Fruit Loops)
Candy (esp. suckers)
Rain Boots
Your pink phone (Mommy's old smartphone that you play songs on)
Wearing multiple shirts
Vegetables
Playgrounds/Parks
Scrambled Eggs (usually)
Licking the beaters
Helping mama cook/bake
Tying flies
Coloring & Painting
Pizza crust (you eat that end first when we get pizza)
Opening & Closing Doors
Jumping/playing on beds
Green yogurt (lime flavor)
Soda & Juice
Taking your vitamin ("man")
Shrimp

Eating your pizza crust-first.

Dislikes

Meat (you'll rarely eat it)
Potatoes (unless they're fries)
Getting your teeth or hair brushed
Putting on pants
Getting your diaper changed
Trying new foods

Turns out it was hard for me to think of things you don't like. You're generally so easy going and love to play and explore new things. It's a rare occasion you're sad or grumpy for any length of time. You're so fun and full of life and your Daddy and I just love watching you grow and experience things. We enjoy you more and more each day and are so happy to have you in our lives. You're our little ray of sunshine.

I love you Huggie Buggie!

Love, Mama