Dear Lyra,
Happy 16 month birthday!
Now that you are walking confidently and sleeping dependably our world has opened up a bit and we’ve been having more weekend adventures.
Early this month we took you to a strawberry patch to pick berries with katherine and tony. You love strawberries and, as anticipated, you loved munching warm juicy vine ripened strawberries. But the real epiphany happened when you realized you could pick them yourself. By the time we headed home you were soaked in sticky strawberry juice and dirt, and I was Googling “what happens if my toddler eats too many strawberries”. Luckily your digestive system held up to the challenge and our only injury was that you got a spider bite on your thigh that was pretty swollen for a couple days. That was about twice as long as the four pounds of berries that we brought home lasted.
A few days later we flew with you to Seattle. It had been about 6 months since the last time you flew! We anticipated the challenge and this time we bought you your own seat. We hoped you’d take a little nap in your car seat (it’s just like the car!) but there were just far too many interesting things to see and investigate so you didn’t sleep even a wink. It wasn’t the easiest flight we’ve ever taken but it also wasn’t the hardest. I bought you a brand new penguin stuffed animal with 5 buckles across his tummy as a surprise airplane present because you’ve been very interested in the buckles on your high chair, car seat, and stroller. Unfortunately the buckles were a little too difficult so it was more of a source of frustration than distraction. (But now two weeks later, you love it and you’ve mastered 4 of the 5 buckles!) We basically just had a 3 minute rotation of all the toys and snacks and phones and seatback screens and neighboring passengers. It was exhausting but it was only a two hour flight.
The reason for this trip was Brad and Kate’s wedding in Seattle and we spent nearly a week beforehand at Nana and Grandad’s house visiting friends and family. We saw your cousins Faye and Theo (and Auntie Katie and Uncle Matt) almost every day we were there. You adore your cousin Faye. She’s three so she’s really bouncy and just the right size for hugs. So many hugs. We also saw Auntie Karen and Uncle Ian and enjoyed lots of treats like ice cream. Nana and Grandad have a play kitchen with lots of utensils that you played with for hours and hours, mixing and pouring and scooping imaginary food. On the night of the wedding, Nana and Grandad and Auntie Karen watched you while your Dada and I went out. From all the photos they sent, it looked like you had a really good time and when you started to get sleepy Nana cuddled and rocked you and after not too long you fell asleep. What a relief! High fives all around!
Near the end of the month your Grandma and Grandpa came to visit. One night I asked you if you wanted to give them hugs good night and you toddled over and gave them each a big squeeze (Grandpa may have gotten two). It was very sweet. I’m really happy that we can ask you because then I don’t feel like we are forcing affection on you. Sometimes you decline, but most of the time you are really happy to give and receive hugs. You usually include some pats on the back which is super cute.
You have been really working on speaking this month. Your pronunciation isn’t always very clear — flower, dog (ruff-ruff), and rock are all “rah-rah” — but you are getting very good at communicating. Signing and gesturing definitely help! We are only beginning to realize how much you observe and understand about the world. You are very good at letting us know what you want to eat (puffs, eggs, toast, banana, berries, oatmeal, tomatoes, hummus), pointing out parts of people’s bodies (eyes, noses, ears, knees, toes, boobs), and articles of clothing (shoes, socks, hats, sunglasses). One day while we walked home from my work, you kept pointing at the blue sky and saying, “Moooo, moooo!” It took me a few minutes to realize, “Yes! The moon is in the sky!” I can hardly wait until we can show you the Lyra constellation!
Love,
Mama
