Last weekend was the first really warm weather we've enjoyed this year - t-shirt weather - and it felt great. We went back to the park I used to go to almost every day with Charlotte last summer, and it was such a contrast to see how much she's developed in the intervening months. Last summer she wasn't walking, and I spent a lot of time "walking" her around clutching my fingers. Now she can roam around on her own, climb the stairs on the play structure by herself (holding on to the railings), and play in the sand without eating any!
The biggest change in Charlotte since I last blogged is her speech. Our neighbours tell me they hear her chattering away when they walk down the hall past our door (although she clams up when we see them face to face). She talks in short sentences and articulates most of her words really well. There's the odd exception: she has a book called "Opposites", and every time she talks about it I'm sure she's saying "applesauce". But mostly she makes herself understood well. She's even started telling me about her day at daycare, or things she's done with James when I'm not around, although I'm not always sure if it's true or not!
One of my favourite things is when Charlotte plays make-belief. It's just basic stuff at this stage, but still entertaining. She talks to her stuffed animals, or her milk cup, often mimicking things we say to her. For instance, she'll drop her bear - my old bear Vincent is her favourite - and say, "Oh no! Bincent fall down! You okay, Bincent? Poor Bincent."
Charlotte is almost 21 months, and at this point is a pretty loving, sweet kid who thinks James and I are the best... I'm sure that will change! But for now we're enjoying it. We picked up take-out across the street from us tonight, and while Charlotte and I were waiting for the order, James went into the grocery store next door for some milk. Charlotte was looking out the window, and when she saw James coming back across the parking lot she got really excited and yelled, "Daddy!" so loud that the group of customers waiting to be seated all laughed. As James put it the other day, practically speaking parenting is a net loss, but emotionally speaking, it's a net gain.
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| Charlotte loves Thomas the Train (and the red train, James, too - "That's Daddy's name!") |
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| Rain boots - especially fun in puddles, but not bad inside either. |
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| Trying on hats. |
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| James playing along. |
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| At the park with Grandma. |
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| Papa is hilarious! |
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| Freedom - sort of. |
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| Yum. |
