Dear Rachel,
Today, you turned twenty five months old.
It has been an extremely busy month for all of us. We've traveled quite a bit, and you've gotten to see Nana and Dodd a lot this month. You've also had the chance to meet a lot of new people.
Let's start with the talking. Holy cow, girl, your vocabulary has just exploded. We are having conversations all the time about everything under the sun. Your big thing this month has been this:
"Hi!"
"Hi Rachel."
"How you?"
"I'm fine, how are you?"
"I good."
Over and over and over again. Of course, your other big thing in the past couple of weeks has been
learning how to say your name and age. Last week, we even taught you how to respond to the question "¿Como te llamas?" and when we ask "¿Cuantos años tienes?" you tell us "DOS." You're getting really good at repeating what we say, although your brain will mix up the beginning and ending of words sometimes. You've been trying to say "diaper" this week and it keeps coming out "pie-der." But you're also very good about listening to corrections and trying them on your own, so as long as we have the patience to keep repeating the words for you, you keep trying to say them correctly.
Speaking of on your own, another new thing this month is, "No, no...my turn." When we're counting (especially in Spanish) or singing or whatever, at some point, you'll stop us from leading and say "My turn" and become very upset if we don't let you take over.
The traveling. You and I had a "first" together this month. It was the first time either of us had ever been to New York. I'll admit, I wasn't all the excited about going. I figured the second we got off the plane my wallet would be gone, I'd be fitted for concrete shoes, and the mafia would sell you off as child labor. But I was pleasantly surprised. The mafia didn't sell you off. OK, so my impression of New York was completely wrong. The people were very friendly, and except for our car service, things weren't all that expensive.
You were quite the trooper in New York. I think the only day you got a regular nap was the day Aunt Sarah and Uncle Britton (Say-ah and Bit-on) got married, which was the whole reason for the trip in the first place. Ever other day, we were so busy doing touristy things, you just zonked out when ever you reached your limit, no matter where you were. One day in was in your stroller, then on my shoulder while we were fighting our way through the crowds at Coney Island. You slept through all of that commotion, but the second I gave you to Mommy on the subway (sub-bay tain!) you were wide awake. Hot, sweaty, people yelling and pushing - sleep. Comfortable, air conditioning, quiet - awake. Another time, we were taking a tour bus (ride red buth!) through Manhattan, and you knocked out on Nana's lap. You did really well for having your entire schedule messed up, and even when our flight was delayed over 3 hours coming home, you were still pretty good. I think we might actually have to go back to New York sometime when you're a little older, so you can enjoy it as much as we did.
The weekend after New York, we took a road trip up to Fort Worth to see a friend of our family get married. It was very interesting to see all of these people who knew me as a child see me now with a child of my own.
By the way, on both of our trips, you were quite the hit. Perfect strangers would talk to us and you, and tell us how beautiful you were. I don't know how many pictures were taken of you (excluding those taken by you mother and me) but I'm betting it was in the hundreds. Two weekends in a row you got to see Nana and Dodd and dance the night away. Quite the lucky girl, I tell you.
We started potty training late this month, and it has been less than successful. You are telling us when you have to go "poo-poo," but you're afraid to actually do it in the potty. The two times we've gotten you to actually go, you cried the whole time. We are being patient with you, though, and trying to teach you that this is what big girls do because Mommy needs a raise, and when you get out of diapers, she gets to stop spending money on them.
We are loving this part of your life because we're learning so much more about you now that you communicate with us. We can't wait to see what the next months will bring as you continue to grow and learn.
We love you very much.
Love,
Dada
