16 Month Newsletter

Dear Rory -
Well, I know that I'm a little overdo with this newsletter, but I've had a hard time figuring out what to say. Honestly, it's been a rough month for me, kid. You've been going through this new phase where the only person you want is your Daddy, and if he even steps out of your sight for a nano-second, you launch yourself into a full blown fit, complete with endless wailing and a river of tears. Apparently, I, your mother, the woman who carried you for nine long months in her belly, the one who comforts you when you wake up in the middle of the night and makes sure that you are well taken care of in every way... well, I just don't really count for much in your eyes right now. And that kinda hurts. I know this is just a phase, but it's still a bit hard to take sometimes. I'm really hoping that you move through this quickly and start being "my" little boy again soon.

But even though you've been throwing a lot of Daddy-oriented tantrums lately, you're still finding plenty of time to learn new things. You've got quite the handful of new words and signs this month, including:

• On
• Off (pronounced AWWWFFFFF)
• Tree
• Dog (pronounced DAAWG)
• Elmo
• Please (pronounced PEEEZ)
• Cheese (accompanied but an exaggerated smile and squished-up face for the camera that totally ruins the picture!)
• Water (pronounced WAWA)
• Yuck (pronounced ACHHHHH with a good phlem sound in the back of your throat - it almost like you're speaking Hebrew!)
• Sun (signed)
• Book (signed)
• Open and Close (signed)
• And of course, LALA and POE from the Teletubbies (which you are totally obsessed with and we watch at least 10 times a day! But look how much you love it!)

You've also started to learn the parts of the body, ( a total surprise to me because I don't remember ever teaching them to you!), and you love it when I ask you to point to something, like your belly or your nose - you point with such glee and then you are SO darn proud of yourself. And I have to admit that I like to show off your new basic anatomy knowledge when we're out and about because I just can't get over how smart you are. Hey, a mom's allowed to brag a little, right?

And how can I possibly write this month's newsletter without mentioning your obesession with water? If you even hear water running somewhere, you won't rest until you've found out where it is and then of course you must play with it! You love to work the faucet handles and turn the water on and off over and over again. We made the mistake of letting you play in the kitchen sink the other night while we got dinner ready, and then when it came time to get you out - WHOA! The screams of your displeasure could be heard around the block and you were inconsolable for at least a half hour.

But lucky for us, your neighborhood harem of girls came by and distracted you. On any given night, we'll have at least two or three little girls knocking on our door to come and play with you, which you LOVE (and what boy wouldn't love a whole gaggle of girls cooing over him?). Anytime you hear our doorbell ring, you get a big smile on your face and then you rush your way over to the door to see which of your "girlfriends" will be there to visit you. And thank goodness for them! It's like having a bunch of little babysitters-in-training!

I know I probably write this all the time, but every month, it never fails to amaze me how much you grow and change. I was folding some of your laundry tonight and I realized how big your shirts have gotten and how you're so beyond being a baby now - and it made me a little sad to think of how quickly you are growing up right before my eyes. Now I understand why my father always used to say that he wanted to bottle me up in a hermetically sealed mayonaise jar and keep me his little girl forever...

Happy 15 months to my favorite tempermental butterball,

Love,

Mama