22 Months

February 29, 2012

Dear Riggins,

Only one month left until you become a big brother and only two months left until you turn two!  Time is flying by, and you are becoming a little boy before my eyes.  Every day you surprise us with a new word, a new phrase, a new ability or skill, a new attitude or opinion, a new aspect of comprehending the world around you.  It is such a joy to watch you interact with this world and with other people, finding your place and your voice.  You continue to exhibit greater levels of independence and a strong will, and yet the majority of the time you are very laid back, content, and happy.  Basically, you show evidence of both your laid back yet stubborn and driven daddy and your positive, social, yet slightly sassy mommy!  Learning how to parent you in a way that maximizes those strengths and minimizes those liabilities is a challenge that fuels constant prayer in me each day!

Spring has sprung early in Memphis, so you and I have spent lots of time outside in the backyard and at the zoo.  I am learning that it is true what they say about little boys: you desperately need your time outdoors.  The days when I make vigorous outside play a priority, you take better naps and are better behaved in general for the rest of the day.  You constantly ask to go "owside," and most of the time I am happy to oblige!  I've told your daddy that one of my requirements for our future home is a backyard that is visible to me from inside the house so that I can just let you outside whenever you want!

Your other great love is reading.  We probably spend an hour total each day just reading books out loud, and I have been surprised that some of your favorite books are longer ones with lots of words, not just the touch-and-feel board books you used to love.  Dr. Suess became a favorite this month, and you love to read "Ham"and "Cat Hat."  You also discovered "One Morning in Maine" by Robert McCloskey this month, and ask for "Maine" all the time.  This shocks me since it is totally in black and white and is long!  A few months ago I made a commitment to myself that if what I was doing was not urgent, I would always stop to read to you when you asked; I think that commitment is starting to pay off!  The other plus is that it guarantees lots of lap-sitting and snuggles for me!

At 22 months, you wear size 24 month clothing and a size 5 diaper.  You sleep from around 7:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. and nap from about 1-3 p.m.  You have started to be more vocal about your choices with foods and often request waffles, veggie straws, kiwi, bananas, animal crackers, "cookies" (Kashi cereal bars...I'm a sneaky mom like that!), cheese sticks, and juice.  You have started to dislike diaper changes and changing your clothes (another show of independence), and hitting and screaming continue to be your biggest disciplinary struggles.  You still love motor vehicles of any kind, animals of any kind, the alphabet, puzzles and blocks, and stuffed animals.  This month your imagination has really begun to factor into your play time, and it is so fun to watch you make your animals move and your airplanes fly!

We are soaking up this sweet time with you before your little brother arrives.  I know that he is going to add so much to our family and that we won't be able to imagine life without him, but I hope you know that at this point in my mind, these past two years at home with you have been the best of my life.

Love you, buddy.
Momma