Dear Lyra,
Happy 18 month birthday!
This month we took a weeklong summer vacation in Leavenworth Washington with Nana, Grandad, Auntie Katie, Uncle Matt, and Cousins Faye and Theo. Leavenworth is a Bavarian-style village in the mountains a few hours outside of Seattle. It was hot and beautiful. We swam in the local pool and waded in the cold river. We visited beer gardens and ate many sausages, pretzels, and ice creams. We hiked up a steep mountain and once at the top, some of us marveled at the views, while others were more interested in playing in the dirt.
The highlight of the trip for you was playing with your cousins. You had dance parties, read books with Nana, and made lots of drawings. You played in the hot tub, bounced on beds, and blew and chased bubbles. There were a lot of giggles, hugs, and kisses. Watching you three was the highlight for me.
You spent a number of afternoons playing in a little pool on the deck. You are such a water baby! Each day you’d point to the deck and say, “Wah-wah? Wah-wah?” And most days we’d let you sit out there in a few inches of water, pouring it from one cup to another and occasionally taking a drink (ick!). I could only coax you out of the water with promises of nursing or blowing bubbles.
One night we went out to eat at a German-themed restaurant which featured an accordion player. He enchanted us with bouncy melodies while we danced and clapped and sang. We barely remembered to eat our dinners!
We had such a good time on the trip that you and I both came home with a bad cold. Despite feeling really rotten, you’ve been such a good sport. You continue to sleep through the night (hallelujah!) and you even let us wipe your snotty nose without too much of a fuss. (For the record, I have been a much poorer sport about being sick, as Dada can testify.)
Your vocabulary continues to explode. I think you’re up to about 50 words now, although your favorite is “NO!” You are confidently running, climbing, and exploring everything, but it’s your fine motor coordination that I find most impressive. You love putting tiny things in tiny containers and coloring with pens and crayons. One day your Dada showed you how to hold a pen “properly” and since then, that is the only way you hold them. No one corrects you or even encourages you to do it that way; it’s as though you just realized that it’s the most effective way to scribble. I wonder if you’ll turn out to be an artist like your Cousin Emma? I am so excited to buy you art supplies!
A few days ago I finally quit pumping. It’s a little crazy that I kept up so long. I still really enjoy nursing and I don’t feel any reason to stop, but pumping is a whole different thing. It’s not fun and there is a lot of equipment to clean every day. Without any planning, I just decided to stop doing it one day. You are old enough to not need breast milk while I’m at work so once you’ve finished my freezer-stash you’ll only get breast milk from the source. I think the hardest part of quitting the pump was admitting that you are growing up and that in this very small way you don’t really need me anymore. Also, I can’t lie, I have enjoyed the extra calories I get to eat.
Love,
Mama
