Rebecca,

Just earlier this week I was sitting and holding you, marveling at how long your legs have gotten and how big your hands are.  I think very soon I'll be needing to move you up to the 18-24 month clothes.  It's amazing how fast you have grown, or maybe it's just become more evident to me, since you have been away.

You are very loving, and go to almost anyone, but still seem to be a bit of a Momma's girl.  You did well, with your first time away from me.  You spent about 2.5 week with Grumps and Ahna, before I came down, then we spent another 2 weeks with Memaw and Mister.  You seemed to go with the flow, and adjusted well, being out of routine.  I was worried with all the rocking you to sleep to music that we would have trouble getting you to bed when we got home, but we didn't. You love the attention you get from everyone at Church, and were especially animated to see Bro. Jonathan when we got home.


You also have a jealous streak, you don't share well, particularly with other girls.  You seem to get easily aggravated with things that Ruth does in play.  You shove her away if she wants to sit with me, and just get very flustered with her.  I hope it is temporary.  You see I wanted a sister my whole life and never got one, and I hope you and Ruth can be close and loving.  You don't seem to mind to share with Britt so much.  When we were in Florida I noticed you were kinda that way with all of the other girls.  No one else could sit with which ever aunt you were with at the time.


You are developing preferences and telling us about them.  You love necklaces and randomly dig them out of the dress up drawer to wear, like this morning.  You like to be read to so long as it is speed reading.  You also, like to sit and "read" to yourself as you mutter, nod, and turn pages.  Your favorite thing to play with is your baby doll, a cup and a spoon.  You rock and feed her and like to put her to bed.  You are also still a big thumb sucker and want taggie when you get ready to go to bed.


We have been a little too lax on you with something not demanding of you what we did of Britt.  It is hard to forget that you can do better, when you aren't very verbal.  It tricks me into thinking that you are more of a baby than you are.  We are working on that.  We have been working with you a while on sitting quiet and still in Church.  I feel like you are to a pretty good level with that for your age, and we aren't having to take you out so much now, once in the last four Sundays.  I'm really working with you on screaming "No" at me in a hateful tone when you don't get your way.


You are a little more talkative now than you were.  You say can say "bye," "hi," "meow" (for every animal under the sun), some times you will "ruff-ruff" for a dog, and are attempting to make a quacking sound for duck. "No" and "Ma-ma" are still your clearest words, in the last week I've picked up the fact that you say a short "Dae" like an old English pronunciation for Daddy. You are saying "Dat" for that and there, to help us figure out what you are wanting, and when you are finished or giving us something back.  You nod very enthusiastically saying "yah ma" for yes ma'am, say "ease" for please, and "day 'ou" for thank you.  Sometimes you say something that sounds like ah-oh, when you drop things.  I guess that puts you up to 11 "words" now.


I continue to be amazed, despite your limited vocabulary just how much you understand.  I can ask you to do so many things and you hop right to it.  You pick up toys, with your siblings.  If I ask if you are finished eating, and if you are you will nod, "yah ma", and pass me your plate.  You wipe your face and hands if I tell you that you have a messy mouth.    If you are getting fussy and I ask you if you want to take a nap you will go and get taggie and come to be rocked.  Starting on Sunday night, we told you it was bedtime, and you started giving out squeeze and grunts, a few kisses, and after several passes, started up the stairs and got in to bed, where you waited for Daddy to change your diaper before rolling over to go to sleep.  You run up and down stairs like a pro, and even carry things with you sometimes now.