Pigtails, potty training and PRESCHOOL

Dear Pea, 

At 2.75, you have morphed into a complete and totally independent person. You essentially potty trained yourself and now only wear diapers when sleeping.  Which blows my mind. Whoa, that chapter of our lives is DONE!?? Crazy. Now if you would only start sleeping through the night we'd feel a little less zombie like in our every day lives.

We finished a perfect summer. The weather was rarely unbearable, we still saw some friends, we got out and enjoyed a TON of what NYC has to offer.

 Coney Island-your first rides!

 The Prospect Park Zoo-you thought the lily pads were kale

 Scooting is the essential locomotion preference for the Brooklyn under 10 set

We went apple picking in the Hudson River Valley

You've developed a real interest in arts & crafts and cooking. Your latest specialty is macaroni & cheese (from a box) but you really do a lot of the preparation.

We no longer travel with a carrier-you ride the subway like a bit kid: ducking under the turnstile, climbing the stairs, reading on the train. Here you are getting ready to head to the UWS with Daddy

AND!!  You started an organized playgroup, which is really an anti-school as it's all about play, exploration, nurturing and socializing. The woman who runs it believes that play is the base of children's culture. It's a magical, calm, loving space and we all feel so good when we're there. You like the other 6 or so kids, you like Lele, you come home with new songs and new stories and new skills. You have a life away from me and are learning more than I could teach you. It's so wonderful to be setting you out into the world on a path of your own discovery. We gave you this life, Sweetest Pea. It's yours to live, to discover and own. You're already starting to show your own passions (dance, music, bossing everyone around) and I know soon you'll begin dreaming your life dreams. It's a magical time. 

your first day of "school."

I'm sad because our friends are leaving

Dear Pea,
It's been the summer of mass Brooklyn Exodus. One by one, our friends are departing for more space, cheaper rents (or mortages) and better gigs. Yesterday we lost our BFFs to California, the most heartbreaking move to date. Everyone else has at least been visitable. But Harper is en route to the West Coast and we'll be doing most of our playing over Facetime.

 Several "Farewell to Harper" event this past week 

Unrelated, or maybe not, you have been on a Difficult to Parent streak. You ignore instructions, you totally meltdown at the slightest perceived injustice ("I don't want it to be Monday!!"), you throw your toys, you argue, you tell me that I'm not being nice. This morning, after the 800 millionth tantrum in 2 weeks, I spoke to you very shortly. I had lost my patience and was trying my best not to yell, so I just looked at you with what I thought was a disapproving look. You stared back evenly, concerned. "Mama, are you sad about Jeanmarie moving away?" After that, the day got much better. 

In other news, you've uttered your first swear. It was an F-bomb! Amazing! You were pretending to nurse your doll and after you had switched sides, you looked down at her and told me that your baby is so fucking cute. 

Champion nurser!

This weekend will be a bit of a reunion of sorts and I'm very excited. Friday we're going to visit a friend who moved north and Sunday other friends are coming back to Brooklyn to celebrate their 2nd kiddo's first birthday. It will be so wonderful to have much of the gang together. 

Summer Fun!

Dear Pea,
Your two most common phrases these days are "Remember yesterday?..." and "Let me show you a trick!"

Yesterday is anything that happened in the past. It could have been an hour ago, a week ago or last year. But you really like to tell stories about what happened. They are always accurate and often random (as in, what could have made you think of that?!). Sometimes we have to hear a lot of the story before we know what you're talking about, but most of the time we can figure it out. I read something somewhere that said that children remember early childhood well until about age 4. Once they're 4, most of the early memories fade and the lasting memories start around 4. In any case, you remember a lot of your life so far.

You also love doing "tricks." Tricks are really anything that you're doing. "Let me show you this trick!" basically means, watch me do whatever I'm doing right now. Sometimes it's a somersault, other times it's eating your breakfast. In any case, it's pretty funny.

So far this summer we have traveled to Cincinnati to see dear friends, been to the beach, taken lots of boat rides in the East River, had wonderful special play dates and been to a number of parks. NYC in the summer really is pretty amazing.

 Your first amusement park, Rye Playland! You went on two rides then wanted to go home

Long Beach!

  Cincinnati Pirate Cruise

 Cincinnati fun with friends!!!

 boating along the East River

 giant playground play dates

 your first popsicle, at a concert in Madison Square Park with some friends

 Coney Island

2 and a half!

Dear Pea, 

You are two and a half years old. Hard to believe that I have spent some point of every day of the last two and a half years touching you, carrying you, kissing you, nursing you, helping you sleep and delighting in your company.

As you can see, you've had the same smile your whole life. When I look at these pictures, taken at 6 months, 18 months and at 2.5, I see a silly, joyous, mischievous person. I hope you always have this sparkle

Vermont

Dear Pea, 

We went on a BIG vacation with 8 of our buddies and their families. It was INSANITY! There were 9 toddlers, 2 babies, one teenager and 16 adults in one house for three days. We had a great time. YOU had a great time. You loved waking up each morning knowing that your friends were right there. Though you occasionally asked to go to a playground, you overall had a blast. 

HIKING

HANGING AT THE AMAZING HOUSE

 giant bubbles were a highlight!

soaking up the jacuzzi tub

about to be bedtime...

one of you little stinkers pulled the fire alarm shortly after this shot was taken. Unclear who exactly, maybe a team effort...

THE BEACH

 Oh, and that beach park did indeed have a playground, so our last day there proved perfect for you

 farmer's market our first day, Mama heaven

Unintentional mind games

Dear Pea,
Your language skills are so honed that sometimes I forget that you don't know what certain things mean or that idioms and turns of phrase may be over your head. This afternoon after singing a silly pop song to myself and to you all day, I finally said "I have a song stuck in my head!" You were perplexed. "Why?" "Well, it's catchy. I like it and I want to listen to it and sing it. It's just stuck in my head." More confusion. "Can I see it?"
Me:"Umm, no, not really, it's inside my head."
You: "Can I get it for you, Mama?"
Me:"No, thank you, I know it's confusing. It just means I'm thinking about it."
You: "Where is the song?"
Me: "I'll play it for you" So I play it for you
You, pulling on a strand of your hair: "Here's the song, Mama, it's in my head now"

Yikes. We finally had to go to the playground to end the conversation.  And I still have that song in my head.

Unrelated, just freaking adorable:

Locomotion

Dear Pea, 

Your third spring has sprung and you are on the move!  You will consent to ride in your stroller occasionally, but you really prefer to walk. And by walk, I mean run (complete with pumping arms), jump, stop, whine, walk, walk on my shadow, run again, whine again, stop, run and jump. And if there's a cellar door, it is almost always used as a trampoline. Walking down our street is an adventure. About 10 blocks up, there is a yard with a fish pond. You love to stop and talk to the fish, telling them about your day, telling me about the fish and overall just convening with "nature"

showing the fish your Kermit band-aid

a particularly awesome section of our street: ramp, step and cellar

You love to jump up and down the curb, you saunter with your hands on your hips ("Look what I'm doing, Mommy! THIS!"), you know to wait for the walking green man before crossing the street. You are sort of working on scooting, but really prefer to ride a bike. Daddy and I are debating the best kind to get for you and I'm super excited about the prospect of all riding our own bikes on adventures. You're really so far away from babyhood now that we're able to see kidland ahead. It's so exciting!

WHY?

Dear Pea,
We have arrived. This past week saw the beginning of the ever famous toddler WHY? phase. It's actually been kind of fun for me and Daddy to go all esoteric and I'm sure we'll be coming up with some more awesome answers, but here are our top 2 for now:
Daddy: Time to go to bed, it's night time
Pea: Why?
Daddy: Because the day is ending
Pea: Why?
repeat about 7 times and get to:
Daddy: because the earth rotates around the sun and spins on an access and...

Mama: Bye bye, I'm going to work now
Pea: Why?
Mama: Because I need to work
Pea: Why?
repeat about 7 times and get to:
Mama: Well, work is important for a number of reasons, it's important to have money so we can pay rent and buy clothes and food, but it's also fulfilling for me emotionally and...

Oh, yeah, this is going to be fun (and tiresome).

Adventurer!

Dear Pea, 

All of a sudden, you are quite the adventurer! Today at the playground you attempted to climb up a stacked chain link climbing challenge and YOU DID IT! I spotted you, but you did it all by yourself. It was a little bit crazy, it was a structure that was definitely designed for a much older kid. As I have just finished a big book about praise and functional communication, all I said to you was "You're at the top now!" with a huge grin, but inside I was jumping up and down screaming "you did it! I'm so proud of you!"

Here's a glimpse into some of your other athletic achievements of late:

UP the slide for the first time! I love that when you get to the top, you say "I did it!"

climbing up the cellar doors at our friend's house, then rolling the balls down the ramp

 

Your first climbing wall!  I can't wait to take you to a climbing gym. And then up a mountain!

You have also become quite the eater, devouring yogurt with berries or eggs and spinach (with ketchup, of course) for breakfast with me and usually 3/4 of a bagel with butter on the weekends with Daddy. Our favorite lunch is a bowl of salmon or chicken salad made with avocado instead of mayo and flavored up with relish that we share by dipping celery, bell peppers, cucumber and carrots into. This is the only way you will eat avocado for some reason, even guacamole appears to be on the outs lately! And sometimes you don't want to share the bell pepper with me, it appears to be your favorite.

"get your own bell pepper, Mama!" (and yes, that's a direct quote)

You love to share Chinese food dinners with Daddy, eating more than half of his shrimp, spare ribs and rice. You'll also happily put up with my cooking: baked chicken tenders, roasted drumsticks, turkey sausage. And steak, oh boy, do you love steak. 

You have also started showing an interest in artistic endeavors. We have 4 little bottles of non-toxic nail polish and one rainy day you gave us both pedicures. 

And you were very happy to join in on a watercolor mess making project with some of your buddies. We have an easel that's also a chalk board and you have zero interest in that, but apparently when the prospects are extremely messy, you're totally all in.