Dear Emmett:
You turned 17 months old yesterday, and I couldn’t help but think of your life’s very first moments, as I watched you running down the sidewalk–dragging a pumpkin on the ground–last night. As you tottered from house to house in your tooth costume, I was thinking about your big blue eyes and dark lashes, your tiny face, and your small hiccups. Where did the time go, my sweet baby? I looked away for just a moment, and you became a toddler!
I know we’ve neglected you on this blog, and even now, I’m writing this with just a few minutes between projects. It seems that we don’t have as much time for navel-gazing (though you sure have a cute belly button) as we once did. Even so, here are a few things I don’t want to forget about this time in your life:
1. You can now say “baby,” “bye-bye,” “car,” “squirrel,” “bubbles,” “bath,” “cracker,” “moon,” “star,” “bug,” “book,” and “tractor” (which you pronounce the same as “cracker”), along with the standard “mama” and “dada.”
2. You absolutely ADORE tractors, and the moment you wake up (in our bed) each morning, you jump out of bed and run for your two books about “crackers.” You love to point to their bumpy wheels, and you can differentiate between a combine and tractor when we ask you to show them to us.
3. You are fulfilling every boy stereotype by expressing a huge interest in cars, and you can spend a great amount of time playing with all the little cars, trucks, and tractors that our neighbor sent over for you.
4. You love it when I do the dishes. You run over to the sink, yelling, “bubbles,” and when I lift you up, you act scared of them, smiling and shaking your head. But you laugh when I put them on my nose, and you can’t wait to to jump into your bubble baths! In fact, just the other day, you tumbled into your bath headfirst, and your dad thought it was awfully cute (after he figured out you were okay).
5. You’re sensitive and loving. When your sister cries, which is often, you express concern, and you’ll often go over and give her a big hug. You still are nursing, and you often stroke my chest or cheek when I’m feeding you. Those moments are so tender and fleeting that they almost hurt my heart.
6. Every night, before bed, you and I look out the window and say “good night” to the world. The first thing you say, whenever I open the curtain, is “moon,” and we look at the sky together, whether the moon is out or not.
In short, Emmett, you are an irrepressibly curious and wonderful toddler. You get into everything, and you don’t sit still for long, but you are so happy and easygoing, and every minute of our life with you and your sister feels like a gift I don’t deserve.
I love you, my dark-lashed, blue-eyed, beautiful boy. I love you.