We've been having a very mild summer, not that I'm complaining, but this month it was finally hot enough to head over to Aunt Tam's house to see if you enjoyed the swimming pool. I should have known from your early days of bathing that it wasn't going to go well. You're just not fond of cold water. You were fine with donning the swim diaper and didn't protest too much while I wrangled you into your bathing suit, you were content to watch your cousin, Kailey out on the patio and you even put up with my thorough application of sunscreen. However, you were not amused when we got into the pool and you figured out that this was not a gigantic bathtub. The water was cold. You did not appreciate it. I guess there's always next year.
Your great-grandpa Sam eats primarily two things; beans and bananas. We were visiting and it was getting close to mealtime when he very generously offered you some of his banana. I split it into bite sized pieces for you and you ate about 1/4 of a banana. You also like bite sized pieces of peach and cantaloupe. Grandma Chris and I took you with us to a restaurant and you were eating pieces of banana and bread when you got thirsty and Grandma suggested that I give you a drink of water from the straw. This is your new favorite game. You've even learned how to drink from a straw all by yourself; you're discovering things and learning something new at an alarming pace.
As a way to gather as much information as possible you are taking advantage of every waking moment to point at seemingly random object and say "dat, dat" expecting us to tell you what the object is. I have it on good authority that your father had a similar curiosity about the world and his mother once described to him that the object he was inquiring about was a "black wrought iron fence." I strive to be as descriptive to you as she was to him. Your father is sometimes confused by this tendency of your since "dat, dat" often comes out sounding like "dada" and he worries that you think the coffee maker is your father.
One of your favorite places to be is on your Daddy's shoulders, I'm sure you have a great view from way up there and you used to have plenty of hair to hold onto for balance. No more! Your father shaved his head earlier this month. But don't worry, to make up for the lack of handholds, you just latch onto his ears instead! Speaking of hair, this month marks the first time I've but bows in your hair. You love to remove them and suck on them, but if I can distract you after placing the bow you usually forget that it's there and look absolutely adorable until it comes out.
You have given up crawling unless absolutely necessary. If anyone is around you much prefer to utilize their fingers to support you in a very determined walk. You will occasionally settle for pulling yourself up on the coffee table, a chair, my legs or some other apparatus but you usually demand the fingers. I've probably made a huge mistake in letting you do this, but one day we were playing downstairs and you decided to start crawling up the stairs. I stuck by you and you bot about half way up before you got tired, so I carried you back downstairs. But that wasn't where you wanted to be and a few minutes later you tried again and slowly made your way all the way to the top!
You're a very determined little girl and I hope you know that while I can't do it for you, I will be there supporting you every step of the way.Love,
Mama
