Newsletter 2.2

Dear Rory,

Okay, let's be honest. For once in my life, I'm having a terrible case of writer's block. I've been trying to write your latest newsletter for three days and I just can't seem to do it. There's a lot that I could talk about this month, but unfortunately, I'm not feeling very clever or witty - I'm just feeling wrung out and tired. Some of that is due to all the hours I've been working lately, but most of it is because I have a fiercely defiant two year old living in my house that seems to thrive off testing my patience. If we want you to take a bath, you scream that you don't want to, then once you're in the bath, we can't get you to come out. You refuse to get your clothes on in the morning, then later you won't take them off. You don't want to have your diaper changed, your teeth brushed, or your socks put on, and you most certainly don't want to sit down to eat dinner. You won't go upstairs, you won't come downstairs, you want soy milk, then you want apple juice instead. You can be perfectly content playing and then suddenly you're frustrated and in tears. And ALL of this can happen within the span of FIVE MINUTES. You're wearing me out, kid.

There's also so much you're DOING lately - everyday there's something new that I want to remember to write down, but this list is getting so long that I couldn't possibly put it all in this blog. So how do I choose what to write about? Do I talk about how you've suddenly started jumping off EVERYTHING, just because you can? Or how when you ask us questions, you listen to the answer and then nod and say "Oh!", like you totally understand our explanation? Or how you've taken to crossing your arms in front of you when you're thinking because you saw your papa doing it? And how could I not mention your tendency to throw a tantrum whenever I try to do something that doesn't put you at the utmost center of my attention? Oh, how the list could go on and on.



Or perhaps I should just talk about your amazing vocabulary that continues to multiply by the minute. Sometimes it actually freaks me out that you can not only say phrases, but use them in the correct context, like when you say, "Duck your head, Mama" as I try and cram myself into your playhouse, or how you like to yell, "Thank you!" to cars when they stop to let us cross the street. Or like yesterday when you asked where your friend Mikey was, and when I answered that he wasn't home, you shrugged your shoulders and told me, "Yeah, he's probably at preschool." I mean, we're practically having coherent CONVERSATIONS, for goodness sake! Of course, that also means that you're getting good at trying to manipulate us, like when we're trying to get you to do something you don't want to, and you suddenly tell us that you "have to go to potty now" because you know we'll drop everything to rush you to the nearest toilet. Works every time, too, you sneaky little devil.

Although we've got our hands full with just you alone, we've also had plenty of other things going on around here. This month's activities kicked off with a visit from your great-grandfather. Your "GG Pop," as you call him, is still able to travel by himself all the way from Florida, even though he's 95 years old, which is pretty damn impressive. Unfortunately, he broke his hearing aide right before he came to visit, which made communicating a wee bit difficult for everyone, but somehow the two of you managed to get along just fine. You loved how loud he was, and he couldn't hear how loud you were, so it worked out perfectly. And I know it meant a lot to your Papa to see the two of you laughing together.





Another big thing that we did this month was go to the Santa Barbara Zoo on the train with both your grandparents and your best buddies, the twins Yash and Neil from across the street. You had all of your favorite people in one place AND you got to ride a train - talk about Nirvana for a two year old! And there was no doubt that you loved every minute of it. Your smile was so big when that train pulled into the station - it made watching the "Polar Express" movie 5 trillion times totally worth it. It was definitely one of our best Saturdays ever.





Probably one of the only things better than seeing you smile is hearing you laugh. Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE your laugh? That sound is one of the best sounds in the whole world. It's so cool to watch as your developing your own sense of humor, and I get a big kick out of seeing what makes you laugh. The most random things on a TV commercial or in an episode of Dora can leave you rolling on the floor in a fit of giggles and I almost want to cry sometimes because it makes me so darn happy. It's moments like those that I can forget about all the whining, the tantrums, and the tears, and I just revel in how amazing you are. And I actually start thinking that maybe, just maybe, you might like a little brother or a sister to laugh with you...

Love,
Mama