Letter to My Baby: 18-21 Months

June 20, 2012

Dear Ryder,

You are growing to be such a fun little person to be around, although it is strange to me that, seemingly overnight, you have gone from being a baby to a little boy.  

Most mornings you call for daddy (“dada, dada”) to come get you out of bed.  You ask for food (“foo”), and greedily scarf down your eggs or french toast or oatmeal.  You love to steal Daddy’s shoes in the morning so he has to chase you around the house to get them back.  You wave “bye” when he goes to work.

Uncle Corban and Aunt Amanda came to visit us and we went to Disneyland.  While we were there you spoke your first sentence.  We had taken you on some of the children’s rides, and after we got off you pointed to the entrance and said “Beep Beep Mo?”  You were also very good about getting into your stroller so we could walk to the next ride.  I think you were finally starting to understand how this whole ride / Disney thing works.

You have so many words now, and you are getting better and better about using them.  You use the word “mo” (more) anytime you like something.  “pse tos” (please toast) and “mk pse” (milk please) are some of your other first sentences.  You are starting to understand what “please” means; or at least you understand that if you say please you are much more likely to get what you want.  When you climb stairs you count “1, 2” no matter how many stairs there actually are.  Quite often now you pop out a new word that takes both your daddy and I by surprise.  One night as we were walking home you pointed to the sky and said “moon.” 

You are starting to show us your preferences and that you remember little games that we play with you.  Daddy and I have been watching old Star Trek: Next Generation reruns.  When we turn on the show you say “Space” and you conduct the orchestral music through the credits.  You point all your fingers together and move your wrist around in a circle.  You expect us to conduct with you, watching expectantly until we start waving our arms too.  It makes Momma laugh when she thinks about how this would look if someone were peaking in our windows!

You love things that move.  You always point out the airplanes that fly by our house.  You are a fan of Thomas the Train, both the toys and the show, and you have many trains that you like to drive around on your track.  We took you to Fillmore, where they have an annual “Thomas the Train” ride on a real train.  You loved every minute.  

You like cars, and usually have at least a couple of cars with you at all times.  We decided to buy you a push car.  You loved helping Daddy build it and had to sit in it the whole time it was being put together.     

You are still quite the little artist, frequently asking Daddy to “draw” with you at his computer.  You also enjoy playing with colored puff balls, moving them between two bowls with a spoon.  Another favorite activity is helping daddy make cookies by dumping all the ingredients into the bowl, licking the spoon, and stealing chocolate chips.  Of course, you also love the finished product!  

Of course, being almost two is also quite hard at times.  We are starting to see more tantrums as you try to express your frustration when the world doesn’t work out how you want it to.  Fortunately, you quickly bounce back to your happy self.

I love you.

Momma