Letters to Rini - 28 Months

Occasionally I will post letters that I have written to my daughter Rini. Usually they are a summary of the current things she is saying and doing and my thoughts about that particular stage of her development.

Dear Rini,

It has been a loooong time since I've done one of these letters. Life has a way of getting busy and Mama forgets to document things. I'll try to do better from now on! 

What can I say about 28 months? It is HARD, man. Really hard. You are very strong willed and very determined to do things your way. You don't have full on tantrums very regularly but when you do it is EPIC. A few weeks ago you had the mother of all tantrums in Walmart, while Mama was alone with you (of course!) You had woken up from a short car nap and you were not happy about it. You screamed pretty much from the time we walked in the store until the time we got home. There was kicking and crying and climbing out of the cart. I had to start laughing before I totally lost my mind and had a breakdown. I'm pretty sure the people in the parking lot thought I was trying to kidnap you. And trying to buckle you in the carseat?  It was like a WWE match. You did not want to sit back and let me strap you in. Let's just say I'm glad these tantrums are pretty few and far between because I might be selling you on the black market if they were an every day occurrence. 

It's not all bad though, not by a long shot. You have a new found love of singing and I know I'm biased but it is pretty much the most adorable thing I have ever heard. You are learning new songs everyday and will come up with your own little toddler rendition. Your favorites are The ABCs, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "You are My Sunshine" and my personal favorite "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley. We have been playing reggae for you since before you were born and it looks like the brainwashing has finally worked!

Dora the Explorer has become a full on obsession. You love watching Dora and Boots on all their adventures and have been picking up a ton of Spanish words. You can even count to six in Spanish (and 14 in English!) Pretend play is another one of your new found loves. You love to "cook", have tea parties, take care of your baby and boss your stuffed animals around. 

As always I feel blessed to be able to spend each day with you. Some days are easy and some days are hard but it is always so worth it. It is amazing to me how quickly you have become your own little person with very strong opinions, feelings, likes and dislikes. I look forward to all the days to come. Life with you is never boring, Catarina Maeve. I love you to the moon and back!

Love,

Mama

Letters to Rini: 19 Months (written 3/13/12)

Occasionally I will post letters that I have written to my daughter Rini. Usually they are a summary of the current things she is saying and doing and my thoughts about that particular stage of her development.

Rini,

19 months is officially the age of the cranky toddler. Most days find us in a battle of wills. You want what you want and you want it NOW. To say that my patience is tested on an hourly basis is a severe understatement.

Today the wrong sippy cup was the cause of much angst and woe. The new Tommee Tippee cup we bought (you know the one the one that DOESN'T spew milk everywhere?) was apparently inhabited by goblins or some such beasts because you didn't want anything to do with it. One 10 minute meltdown later and Mama finally gave in and got you the Nuby cup that leaves a path of liquid in it's wake. Sometimes you just have to choose your battles.

When you aren't being a short tempered little terrorist you are actually really fun to be around. Your newest obsessions are Elmo and planes. Anytime Elmo comes on Sesame Street or we see Elmo in the store you start yelling "Em-mo, Em-mo, Em-mo!" You have the furry red monster fever bad. Same thing anytime you hear a plane fly over our house (which is quite often since we live in a flight path). You ask me "Pane?" and run to the window to try and look.

Another new trick you've mastered in the last few days is doing a headstand. You will bend over and put your head on the ground between your legs and have a big grin on your face. It's super cute especially since you are so proud of yourself when doing it.

While the past few weeks have been difficult I know they are just normal growing pains in every toddler/mom relationship. I'm trying to enjoy every moment even when it isn't easy.

I love you Catarina Maeve, to the moon and back

Love,

Mama

Letters to Rini: 15 Months (written 11/11/11)

Occasionally I will post letters that I have written to my daughter Rini. Usually they are a summary of the current things she is saying and doing and my thoughts about that particular stage of her development.

Dear Rini,

You are 15 months old and growing smarter everyday. You are proving to be quite the strong headed little girl. You know what you want and when you want it. Life with you right now is funny, entertaining, awe inspiring and joyous. It is also frustrating and extremely tiring. You are beginning to talk, but can't always express yourself clearly which in turn makes you very frustrated. I know that once you are better able to communicate with mommy you will be back to your eternally happy self.

As of this moment your favorite word is "sit" which comes out sounding like an unmentionable 4 letter word. In some small way I think you know you are swearing because you will say "sit" over and over again all day long.

Your favorite foods right now are pasta and rice. And as always you are obsessed with milk. You can drink a whole half gallon of soy milk in less than 2 days!

You are growing more and more interested in books and you will bring me different books throughout the day so we can "read". You like to feel the books that have different textures. Another favorite activity of yours is music. You love any toy that plays a song and you like to have dance parties with mommy while listening to slacker radio. Some other favorite toys are your baby "Peggy Sue", Violet, building blocks and of course your puppies Tigre and Sirius.

At 15 months you can say:

Sit

Hi (while waving)
Bye (again, while waving)

More

Milk

Please

Cheese

Siri

Tiggy

Mama

Dada

Diaper (Didy)

Wow

Kitty

Hot

Oh

You can:

Give High Five

Do "Touch-Down"

Give kisses

Give Hugs

Catarina Maeve I am so proud to call myself your mom. You are truly the light inside my heart. Everyday with you is a blessing and a gift. Even though there are days I am frustrated beyond belief, your smile and laugh are enough to turn my whole mood around. I love you to the moon and back.

Love,

Mama