A letter to my second daughter: 18 month unbirthday

My little Aleesia -

What an adventurous, crazy, first 18 months to life this has been for you (and for all of us!). Between hospital visits, big smiles, a few extra doctors appointments, extra snuggles, you sure have learned a lot more than just to eat your toes!

This is one of my favorite ages – the beginning of toddler silliness with a side of snuggly baby. And  you my little love are no exception.

You LOVE to eat – I know I’ve said this before, but it still amazes me and makes me laugh at the same time. You went from being a small and scrawny baby nearly falling off of the growth chart to a complete 180 in that department!

Your pink blanket and elephant wubanub are your security items, or as we refer to them, your supplies. You aren’t seen much these days without these two things close behind. I can’t believe I don’t have a good picture of you with them, I’ll need to fix that.

And speaking of pictures, while there might not be as many pictures of you as there are of Gianna as your aunts like to point out, I still managed to get a few adorable ones.

You are talking a lot now – mama, dada, hi, bye, more, please, dog, papa, aunt jacqui (no, really!), baby, nigh-nigh, high five, Mickey and Minnie! and I know so many more things that I am forgetting right now. One of my favorite things is the way you say hello – it’s more like “ellooooo” so funny! You know exactly who Gianna is but for some reason you still call her “daddy”!

Speaking of Minnie and Mickey, you have discovered this crazy Disney sing a long that we have and you love it – you’ll just bring us everything that looks like a TV remote saying “Mickey?” until we turn it on!

We started coloring with Gianna, which  you also like. Swimming is a favorite still. And you have started playing with toys some too – it’s fun to see you interacting with Gianna and starting to do some imaginative play. Babies dolls have recently made a big entrance into your life – you hug them, rock them, put them nigh-nigh, throw them on their head, etc.

We see a little sibling rivalry sometimes, but mostly you just want to be doing whatever Gianna is doing and stick close to her. Generally you two will snuggle in the morning. And you are sharing a room now, which is going pretty well. You are a night owl compared to your big sister and usually think she is playing hide and seek with you once she falls asleep!!

We’ve traveled a bit the past six months and you had quite an adventure in Washington DC! We are gearing up for your first airplane ride to Florida though, it should be a great trip.

It amazes me how similar yet how different you are from your sister, I am constantly reminded that you are truly unique people and I love it! You love to dance, have picked up the skills of tantrum-throwing from Gianna, and are truly perfecting the pouty lip (you’re a sensitive sole).

I realize this doesn’t mean much to you right now, but you are a lucky girl. You have one big sister to learn all about life from and you will soon have a little sister to teach all of the life lessons you learn from Gianna.  She’s lucky to have both of you, but I have a sneaking suspicion the two of you are going to have something special.

My little snuggle bug, you have such a unique personality and your big smile truly lights up any room you are in. I can’t wait to see your personality bloom even more,you have so much to share with us!

We love you peanut,

Mommy