Dear Phoebe,
You're growing quickly right before our eyes and your personality has really come in. It is as others have prophesied - you are full of joy and may I add, cheek. It's incredible how much you understand, even when you were far littler, despite your limited spoken vocabulary. Papa finds it amusing that you seem to say "No" with an Australian accent though it just sounds like a cute baby way of talking to me. I had you in the carrier the other evening and you tugged hard on my ponytail. With a gentle and firm voice, I asked, "Phoebe, do you want to go into the playpen by yourself?" and a sweet little voice answered, "No". "Well, then don't pull on Mama's hair." You promptly let go and patted me on the shoulders instead.
I love your affection and could easily enjoy a day in bed cuddling up to you if you would allow it. Sometimes when I lie beside you at your nap time or when you're settling down for the night, you tuck your right arm under my head and pull me in. If I happen to shift my head away, you pull me right back, which warms my heart. At times you pat the pillow before I've joined you on the bed as a way of gesturing for me to lie down and draw close. You're the most adorable pillow sharer and you make a great bed warmer in the colder months.
Papa and I never intended to co-sleep with you but it ended up being easier than the hours spent in the middle of the night persuading you to return to your cot. I don't recall when it started exactly but as you became more alert and were able to sit up, what was once a seasonal occurrence of you waking every two or three hours became a nightly event that wore Papa and I out. At some point, I eventually succumbed to the tiredness and started bringing you into our room when Papa got up to get ready for work. You probably grew accustomed to that as it wasn't long before you refused to sleep in your cot at all. You would appear to be in deep slumber in our arms but would jump up and demand to be carried the second we put you down. This would go on long enough for us to declare you the winner. We tried letting you scream it out as advised by sleep training material and a friend who works as a childcare teacher, but you would turn hysterical within five minutes and throw up from being upset. I couldn't bear the screaming and Papa didn't know what to do to help the situation. We initially felt sheepish confessing to others that we had relented and let you sleep with us but now we tell others how much we enjoy having you there. We know this time won't last forever. Thankfully you haven't been kicking or taking up as much space as you did before.
We haven't quite curbed your habit of pulling hair yet but your teacher is making the effort to shadow you more and intervene when she sees you reaching out. Prior to her putting certain strategies in place, you would swiftly yank out a small clump of hair and present it to her. She had to keep you apart from your classmates once as you had scared a few of the other kids. You seem to get along well with them in spite of this though and have even gained a good friend named Ivy. Recently, if you've fought me when I've tried to place you in the car seat to leave for daycare, I've been able to convince you to cooperate by saying we're on the way to see Ivy at school. Ivy's mum is also pleased her daughter has made a friend. She's already invited you to Ivy's birthday party next January.
Although it's been a while since I've written an update, the hiatus has left me a little blank in terms of what to record here. It's a good thing there isn't a shortage of photographs and short videos of you on my mobile phone but I had better make a copy of them on our laptop and create a backup copy so I don't lose any of these precious memories. A recent favourite is a little video of you saying "Hooray!". You are seriously the cutest little cutie pie in my world. It will feel like a punch in the guts when you are too old for stories in my lap with you babbling along as I read your chosen book aloud but I will celebrate each milestone at the same time. I hope you never feel too embarrassed to let me drop you off at school and hug me goodbye. I hope we become the best of friends. It will be such a blessing if you never lose the joy of spending quality time with me. Something tells me quality time might be your love language, that and touch.
I'll end here for now but will post more about you soon.
Love, Mama
Love, Mama
