21 Months... and Then Some!

Oh sweet Charlotte,

How can I even begin to sum up the last three months of your life? Your personality and imagination continue to blossom, and you are beginning to taste the freedom of independence as you enter the "do it myself" stage. It is such a joy to see you embrace who you are becoming...a little strong-willed, joyful, humorous blend of both your parents ; )

Personality in full bloom 

You LOVE learning. You continue to choose books over toys any day, and you ask to read the same book "again" until you literally have it memorized.  Now, we can ask you to "read" to us, and you pretty accurately tell us the story by narrating the pictures and imitating the version we always tell (in your own simple words). You love singing the alphabet and have a recent obsession with identifying letters on street signs, labels, and any other item with a word on it. You love the letter "double" (W) the most and excitedly point it out wherever you go. Your Mimi recently started teaching you the names of U.S. Presidents, and it's a little scary to know that our toddler can identify most of them (in pictures) better than we can...John Adams vs. John Quincy Adams, anyone?!? Yes, you are going to keep us on our toes for sure.

A rare moment of stillness...or is it?! The blurry foot gives it away.

Little Miss Independent, you have started clarifying "self" when you want us to back off and let you do something on your own, and you don't want to be held or snuggled nearly as much...which is bittersweet for this momma.  You want to "chase," "go go go," and "come get me" all the time... so instead of running to give me a hug when I get home from work, you now turn and run from me, giggling as you insist that I come get you. 

"Just like Daddy"

Our little adventurer...you love finding rocks, sticks, and other "treasures" on our nature walks...

...but still our girly girl, who loves to pose for pictures and loves choosing to wear "piggies," "pony," or a "bun"

Your language has really taken off, and you sometimes say the funniest things...

"Okay baby," or "thank you baby," spoken to your parents, as you pat us on the back or leg.

"Ohhh boy! / Ohhhh Goodness!" are some of your most expressive phrases. 

"Bless you!" to anyone who so much as coughs, clears their throat, or sneezes

"AMEN!" as you remind us to pray before every meal (and sometimes multiple times during too)

Sweetest profile

As we knew from the beginning, you LOVE people! You recently hugged a homeless woman whose eyes sparkled as she told us about her own children who had been taken away - you knew she needed some love. You held hands with another baby, who you didn't know, while waiting on a table at a restaurant. Birthday parties ("party party party!!!") and mornings at the library with Tiffany are your jam; although, you did experience your first bully interaction at the library, and you also learned the consequences of what happens when you are the one taking toys from someone else your size (she screamed at you and scratched you on the face...). Live and learn, and be kind to everyone, my child.

You love others so well, even strangers!

Christmas jammies in May? Why not?! Your first "mini-sleepover" with friends.

Celebrating friends' birthdays, you love a good party!

More friends and birthdays!

"Sweet Baby"... you are fascinated with infants, and you love giving them kisses.

You miss your cousins (in Thailand) a whole lot, but we get to FaceTime with them as often as possible --- We have no doubt that all of you are going to be world changers!

Over the past three months, you also learned about a new role that you will soon be taking on, and you finally have a BIG announcement to make...

We are so blessed to be growing our family, and this November, you will help us welcome a new baby! You are already a great big sister. You ask daily to see momma's belly so that you can talk to the baby. You already "kiss it," "hug it," and wave to it! You have such astounding intuition; you told us that the baby is "swimmin" in Momma's belly... before we had told anyone else who could've possibly given you that analogy!  We can't wait to become a family of four and to see you step into the role of big sister to your new best friend!

We love you so much, big girl!

- Momma and Daddy
(aka "Eee" and "JJ"... Please feel free to stop calling us by our first names... we aren't quite ready for that! ; )

Our little family...and growing!