Months Fifteen and Sixteen

December 19, 2016

Noah,

The world is officially no longer safe from you. You’re hitting it all these past two months, from walking to talking to interacting more and more with everything around you. That pretty much encompasses everything in the house below waist level, unless it’s near something on which you can climb. If that’s the case, you’re going vertical as well. You haven’t managed to defeat the cabinet locks yet, but no doubt that’s only a matter of time. It’s so much fun to watch you explore and learn and grow every day.

You’ve gone from the tentative little steps to running all over the house, chasing your brother, the dog, and being chased in turn. With all of us chasing around the house, it’s a good thing you turn around to go down the stairs. Also, up and over, from the ottoman to the kitchen chairs, to Grandpa and Grandma’s coffee table. Your adventures brought a pair of chipped teeth, and more than one bump and bruise, but it’s so worth it to watch you learn and grow.

You have all your strong little opinions about books, about meals, and about exactly what you want. We can’t count the times we’ve read “One Little Penguin”, so much so that the book is falling apart. We tell you “no, no” and get a look, a nod, and a “yeah!”. Oh dear, we’ll have to work on listening, I guess. You’re the second child, and I wish I could say we know how to strike that exact balance between freedom and guidance, but maybe we’ll get it right in another three or four siblings (kidding, babe, kidding).

You’ve quite realized that everything we do is something you want to do, too, from painting to the slide, to pretty much anything Seth does. Following instructions is a valuable little addition to the family, from bringing over your empty bottle to getting your shoes and socks. You’ll even bring over the diaper bin for a change if you’re in the right mood.

Last but not least, we cherish the little things you do. When you’re focused on doing something or getting something to work, you purse your lips just a little bit, and get so intense. You’re much more interested in bedtime, even going so far as to walk right over the gate and start blowing kisses to everyone. Speaking of kisses, you still don’t give them out much, but if we suggest it, you’ll drop your chin right down so we can kiss you on top of your little head. We got a little extra blessing with a visit from your great-Oma this month, which was lots of fun.

I’d say we’d trade in chasing you around the house and cleaning up the same toys 124829304 times every day, but we wouldn’t trade that for the world. For 16 months we’ve been calling you”little bear”. You’re not such a little bear right now, and you keep on growing, so fast. We love you so much, “bear”. Keeping on being you.

Love,

Daddy and Mommy