Dear Little Girl,
Ten months!
At your nine month appointment, one of the items on the checklist was “saying mama/dada” which you weren’t doing. You really weren’t even babbling that much. Now? You are. There is screeching and yelping and giggling all day long. And the other day when you decided you did NOT want to take a nap, you stood against the side of your crib and between cries, you called out “dadadadadadada.” I’m sure you don’t know what it means, but your dad stood outside your door and just about died from the sadness and the cuteness.
A week or so ago, I came in to get you out of bed in the morning and you had discovered your tongue. You kept touching it with your fingers and popping it in and out. Now you’ll stick it out on demand and if we stick our tongues back out at you, you are delighted.
We’ve started dropping by the little playroom at our apartment complex most days when we go to get the mail and you are entranced by the little ride-on zebra and the wooden puzzles. It’s a nice little change of scenery, and I read for a bit while you enjoy some different toys.
When you started getting more active, you lost your previous interest in books. Now, though, you are back to being enthralled. If I tell you to pick a book off your shelf, you carefully pull one off and then drag it over so I can read it to you. We have read Quack, Quack approximately forty thousand times this month.
Also, those glorious Matthew Van Fleet books? They are a constant source of happiness to you. Except that you desperately want to pull apart all the moving parts – on Sunday while we were getting ready for church, the poor Hippo lost his head. And the Elephant lost both ears in a tragic accident. You are not to be trusted.
And when I put the books up high after reading them so you can’t pull them down yourself, your face falls and you burst into hysterical tears as if you’ve just lost your best friend.
Constant talking? Love of books? Continued obsession with food? Check, check, check. You are clearly my daughter.
Tonight, I’m leaving you for four days to go to New York. I am looking forward to this trip immensely, but I also cannot even stand to think about leaving you.
Who will tell your dad about the way I gave you a wipe to keep you occupied for a moment and how you carried it around, clamped in your mouth, for the next thirty minutes? Who will toss you in a pile of pillows and make you laugh like a loon? Who will read you books with no plot ten or fifteen times a day?
I don’t want to miss a minute of your life. Remember me when I come back on Saturday, okay?
Love,
Mama
You're living the dream.
Leaving is always so hard. But have fun in New York, even if she can't fit in your carry-on! And the school librarian at my son's school told me that no one enjoys story time better than the children of librarians 🙂
Gah, she's so cute! I think I can safely say Ella is the cutest baby on the interwebs!
xox
So sweet! She'll love reading this one day. Poor, poor hippo. 😉
Peter Rabbit is the book that has suffered the most damage at our house…I think there is one page that left that has all the pop-ups still intact.
Can't wait to see her in just a week!
Ohhh cute little Ella! How do you stand it all day? I would just melt if I saw that face every minute! Can you believe she is only 2 months away from celebrating her 1st birthday?!? Happy 10 months to all three of you!! She is darling!
happy ten, little one!
Anyone else getting an error message when trying to leave a comment?
Ella is so cute. I cannot believe that July is almost here again.
Anyway, safe travels. Enjoy your break from home.
Adorable! I love these letters – Ella will certainly cherish them when she's older.
Have a wonderful time at BEA! Looking forward to your recap when you get back. 🙂
I love hearing about your sweet little girl. Good luck on your trip!
Leaving is so hard but I promise she will love you even more when you return. Have a great time at BEA. I adore reading your posts, blathering on about your beautiful baby.
I have our Matthew V.F. books-tucked away (missing parts and all) for our grandchildren of the future.
I guess I just haven't spent much time around kids in a while, but I'm amazed that such little people can have such strong ideas and opinions about things.
Oh man – that is the cutest picture. I love the giggling reference. That really is one of the best things about babies.
I love how you tell her to remember you. I feel that way when I have to go to work.
I can't way to hear about your trip!