DEAR EVERLEIGH (23 MONTHS!)

Dear Everleigh,

This month you are 23 months old, which means you are almost 2!  This month you made some huge strides towards becoming an official big girl, and I couldn't be more proud. As your second birthday approaches, I see your baby-ness (a word I may or may not have just created) slipping away and revealing the cutest, sweetest toddler I could have ever hoped to know. Here's what you've been up to this month.

Miss Independent: this month you have decided that you can do it ALL "by myself". Everything from dressing yourself to feeding yourself to wanting to swim by yourself (which, by the way you cannot yet do). You are overly sure of yourself sometimes, which is pretty scary for us, but it also makes us so proud. You're such a big girl Ev!

Imaginative Play: you've started playing more by yourself, having your dolls talk, and flexing your make-believe skills. It's super cute to watch you do this by the way. Sometimes you use your little toy phone and say things like "Oh nothing. Hanging with Mommy and Daddy" and we MELT.

Night Weaning: this has been a big one for us. I never in a million years pictured nursing this long, but you really were not interested in stopping and it was a really nice way for us to connect after a long day apart. Now, the time has come and we've been working on weaning, which has been slow and frustrating for both of us. But it's just another way to celebrate you being a big girl.

First Night Away: you spent last Friday night with Grandma and Papa which was your first night away from Mommy and Daddy ever. According to Grandma (who may have fudged the details in an effort to make me feel better) you did awesome, and only brought up Mommy and milk a few times. She told me that you only woke up crying one time where you couldn't re-settle yourself and needed some Grandma love. I was admittedly a bit nervous about leaving you, but I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping ALL NIGHT in my own bed. That overnight was a practice run for later this month when Mommy and Daddy go out of town for a whole weekend to celebrate Mommy's birthday...but I feel confident that you can handle it.

Repeating and Baby Talk: lately you've been getting a kick out of imitating other kids when you hear them in public--especially babies. If a kid yells out "ba bah!" you yell back "ba bah!" It's super cute and kind of funny, but it also can be frustrating when you take it home with you and start talking baby talk there. We just keep encouraging you to use your words and talk like a big girl, with mixed results. It is pretty cute though to see you interact with little kiddos everywhere and try to speak their language :)

Cute Things: some of the things you say crack me up on a daily basis. For instance, lately you've said a few times out of the blue "I forgot to run-run!" and then taken off running. Or you've tooted and said "toot Magoot Mommy". You're a very classy kid, Ev.

I'm Not Done, I'm Finished: somewhere along the line you've gotten done and finished mixed up as being opposites, and when I ask, "are you done with that?" you'll say, "no, I'm finished". To you, this means you're still working on it. I explained this to you, and yesterday you said "I'm done. Done means finished". You're getting it. Maybe. Or not.

ABC's and 123's: You can now sing your ABC's all the way through and count to 10 by yourself. This blows me away. Rock star. You love to sing and frequently hum, even in your sleep.

Little Friends: this month you've really come into your own socially, and are interested in interacting with friends. There's nothing so sweet as watching you play with other kids, laugh with them, share with them. I never get sick of it.

Everleigh, I can't begin to tell you the ways you've changed my life for the good. I'm so happy to see you blossoming into this independent toddler. Stay cool!

Love always,

Mommy