Dear Teo,
ALL WHO WANDER ARE NOT LOST - This evening, you and I went for a walk (you rode your tricycle). We went about a half mile, and during the course of our excursion, your bike changed from a fire truck to a riding lawn mower to a motorcycle. We forgot your real helmet, so I put an imaginary helmet on you, and every couple blocks you'd ask me to change your helmet to a different color. We stopped to look at a pear tree, a green muscle car, and a house that you said was "not mine house" but "I live there someday." We talked the entire time. I love you. I love hearing your thoughts and sharing time with you this way. It truly fills my heart.
Wonder
SHOW ME THE BEE-BOO! So . . . you've started this thing where whenever you nurse, you put your finger in my belly button (bee-boo) . . . a tangible symbol of our connection. One day, when you were playing in the sprinkler, you got sprayed in the face. You said, with some urgency, "Mama! Open up!" "Open what, Teo?" I asked. "See bee-boo!" you hollered, I think because you needed just a bit of comfort.
Relaxing
"COME HOME MOMMY" - One day when you were having a tough time waiting for me to get home from work, Grammy came up with the ingenious idea of singing a "Come Home, Mommy" song. You and she made it up together, and it really comforts you.
Friendship
Play
Investigating
Interesting discovery - One day, out of the blue, you commented, "Mommy, I not have dog bone in mine foot." I was #1 amazed by the length of your sentence, and #2 totally boggled as to how you came up with that conclusion. I didn't even know you knew what a bone was!
Independence
Getting Bigger - Grammy always tells you that you get bigger when you sleep. So, occasionally you'll crawl into bed and tell me "Go sleep, mommy. Get bigger." This is about the easiest way to put a kid to bed I can imagine (of course we read about a hundred books every night, so it does take a long time to actually reach the point of sleep, but I'm not complaining!).
Exploration
Favorite Saying: When I say "Jeeze Louise" you giggle like nothing else, and then say "Again, Mommy" over and over.
Connection
Galloper - One of the special things that you and Papa do together is a weekly bike excursion to Bounce gymnastics. When you get home, you always have a lot to say about the things you see on the bike ride. Sometimes he takes you to see some horses in a nearby field, and feed them carrots and apples. After one of these outings, Papa drew a horse on your chalkboard and called it Galloper. Now you love to gallop around the house singing "Galloper, Galloper, Galloper!"
Curiosity
GIVING THANKS - We've started singing a new song as a way of expressing thanks for what makes us happy. "Give thanks to the Mother Earth. Give thanks to the Father Sun. Give thanks to the plants in the garden where the Mother and the Father are one. Give thanks, give thanks, for all good things give thanks." You've caught onto this idea and now say "thanks" for so many things. "Thanks coming home, Mommy." "Thanks cooking fish, Papa." "Thanks home. Thanks river. Thanks train." You offer a great reminder to me to stay in touch with my own gratitude.
Pure joy!
