Dear Charlie
Last week you turned 14 months old. It feels as though you have really turned a corner and are now a fully-fledged toddler. You walk, you run, you climb, you explore and you communicate - though not so much with fully-formed words as yet.
As usual with these huge developmental leaps, it has been so fascinating to see more of your personality emerge as you have learned all these new skills over the last two months. You have a very keen (cheeky) sense of humour and it is a lot of fun to see you use it to make yourself and others laugh. You still have a fantastic laugh!
You are really into music and rhythm. Lily has been keen on Mary Poppins lately and you started copying her 'tap dancing' to Step In Time. Now it is your thing. When you hear some groovy music, or even hear someone say 'Step In Time' you tend to launch into a full tap dancing routine. You do it with such intense concentration and your little legs move incredibly fast. It is almost unbearably cute. You also love to hear us sing and have recently discovered which books contain songs that when presented to adult will lead to singing. Last night you snuggled up on my lap and insisted that I read/sing a song book of about 20 songs to you four time in a row. I was only able to stop when you starting dropping off against my shoulder. You were captivated.
Papa had to go to Africa for work recently and your grandparents came down to stay with us for a while. When Grandma Meg was here and Lil was at preschool we walked around the corner with you to our local cafe. I let you walk the whole way since you clearly didn't want to be carried and it seemed to open up a world of possibility in your mind. Since then you have been on ready alert for the front gate to open. When it does you try to shoot out so that you can go for a stroll in the neighbourhood. I often let you and just follow along behind you. You like to stop and the pick flowers the grow out from under the fences and generally give the street a fairly close inspection. I can see why you are keen on it.
Another passion of yours is watering the plants (and the pavers, the trampoline, yourself...). As soon as we get outside (which you beg to do as soon as you get up) you trot over and grab a watering can. If it has rained the night before you then use it to collect water from the cover of your sandpit. Otherwise you bring it to me (or Papa), saying "More?" until we fill it up for you from the tap. You generally start out by watering the veggies, but within minutes you also manage to water yourself thoroughly. It has certainly increased the laundry pile a bit, but you enjoy it so much that I can't bring myself to refuse.
As always Charlie, it's been a pleasure hanging out with you. Your sunny, calm disposition brings a lovely balance to our household and it is so fun to watch you explore and learn so many new things every day.
love,
mama
xo
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