Little Raindrops

My little Rhino,

I’m so sorry I’ve let three months go by without writing to you. Plenty has happened worth writing about, but we’ve been keeping very busy!

Since my last letter to you, you received your first haircut (and it’s probably time for another one now!) You were sporting quite the mullet before, so it was definitely time to chop it off. You immediately looked so much older, our little big boy.

You still aren’t talking a whole lot, but your vocabulary has expanded in the last few months. You say: mama/mommy, dada/daddy, baby, no, uh oh, wow, oww/owwie, kite, bee, apple, Blues Clues (“boo boos”), ball, two, and bye/bye-bye. All your animal sounds are still growls, but we’re working on oinks and woofs! About a month ago we introduced a little bit of sign language to you and you picked up on it very quickly. You tell us: drink, food, eat, more, thank you, and ball. You use it all the time and always appropriately (“Please, food! More, more, more, more, more! Thank you.”) Sometimes you just go into the fridge, get the juice and grab your cup, and bring them both to me signing “please” over and over.

You were able to visit with your Grammy last month. She and Uncle Ron came out to visit for a little over a week. We met them in Tokyo and did all sorts of fun things down there. You went to Tokyo when you were 12 months old, but you seemed to enjoy it a little more this time around. You rode the trains and subways, walked through town, saw temples and shrines, played with toys and read books in the hotel, ate lots of rice, and slept in bed with Daddy. Then we brought Grammy and Uncle Ron up to our house in Misawa where they played with you a lot. We went to playgrounds, ate out at all your favorite places where you eat a lot of rice and fruit, saw more temples, they went with you to playgroup, and showed Grammy all your toys. It was a wonderful time and you really liked being around your Grammy and Uncle Ron.

When we first moved to Japan and you were just a few months old, we started going to playgroups on base with other little babies. You didn’t seem to care much about them and I got busy, so we stopped going. Then when I was pregnant with your brother, I didn’t feel like going. We recently started going again to two different groups, one on Wednesday that does a variety of different activities, and one on Thursday that meets in a play room. You really like it when the Wednesday group goes to playgrounds around our area. Sometimes they do craft projects that are a little too advanced for you and you don’t really have the attention span for right now, so we haven’t been going as much lately. There are a few little boys that are right around your age in the group that you like to run around with. The Thursday group has a bunch of boys your age and we all meet in a big room with lots of toys, mats, tunnels, swings, toy tools, and a ball pit. You love throwing all the balls out of the pit, screwing and hammering various things around the room, and snuggling up inside the net swing and flying back and forth. We also occasionally go to the Weasel’s Den, where you go wild with all the space, slides, toy houses, big soft blocks, and ride-on cars. Now that it is getting colder, we will probably do more things like this for now. We used to spend more time inside, but over the last few months you seem to get cooped up at home and definitely need to get out and run around a lot. You have so much energy!

Speaking of your wild side, you do get a little crazy sometimes! I’m having a harder time keeping up with you, especially while tending to your baby brother. You seem to know the perfect times to act up, when I have my hands full with a cranky or feeding baby! You’re a smart boy and understand and dislike the consequences of your misbehaving, but sometimes it seems that you weigh your options and chose to be naughty in spite of a spanking. Some people have described you as strong-willed. I think it’s been hardest lately because you might be a little bit jealous of your brother. You still love on him, like to hold him and give him toys and kisses, but sometimes you are a little mean to him. When you are angry at me, you will hit Heron or while he’s sleeping you’ll spit on him (where did you learn that?!) I know right now he doesn’t do much with you, but soon he will be a friend for you to play with all the time! I know you’ll enjoy him more then. You seem to still be adjusting to the idea that you can’t have all of my attention all the time, that sometimes I need to hold Heron or want to play with him. He’s still new and I know you will get used to it soon. Most of the time you are such a good big brother!

You haven’t been to the doctor in a while, so I’m not sure what they’d have to say about your weight or height, but you appear to be a very healthy little boy! You love to eat all the time! I made a chicken spinach curry casserole a little while ago that Daddy and I really thought was gross, but you had three bowls full! You also eat the same amount of lasagna as I do. You don’t care a lot for chunks of meat, so we’ve been eating more beans lately. You like the Mexican casserole I make with beans, rice, tomatoes, cheese, and tortillas and eat a huge portion! You still love bananas and mandarin oranges (actually, you love every fruit we’ve had.) You do eat sweets more often than I’d like, but not really too much. Whenever you hear a wrapper, you know that we’re opening up the yummiest food, though! You beg and beg for chips, candy, and ice cream. We usually give you a little bit, depending on what it is. You know that when I’m in the kitchen cooking, that there will be food soon. Whenever the oven timer beeps, you run into the kitchen squealing and grab the oven mitts! You are such a piggy little guy! You are getting awesome at feeding yourself now, too. You use a fork and spoon and usually get most of your meal in your mouth. You use sippy cups throughout the day, but during meals you often use a real cup without a lid, usually with great success! For some meals, you sit in your own tiny chair at your own short little table. You always “pray” before you eat (by holding your hands together over your head), even a little snack, which I think is so adorable.

We haven’t had you watch much TV in the past, but we’ve had a few shows on for you lately. I don’t like to have the TV babysit you, but sometimes it is just easiest (like now) to have you entertained. You don’t get a lot, but you do love Sesame Street (especially Elmo) and go crazy over Blues Clues. Blues Clues is definitely your favorite show. You dance to all the songs and do all the hand motions. You even start dancing with anticipation whenever Daddy or I says “Blues Clues.” You point and laugh and wave bye-bye to Steve at the end. We love watching you enjoy Blues Clues! You do read a lot more now, too. The bottom two shelves on our bookshelf are all books for you, and throughout the day you pick a few out and bring them to me to read. Sometimes you just sit on the floor and flip through them on your own. You’re finally sitting all the way through the book now rather than getting to the second page and running off. Many of our Usborne books have a little duck hiding somewhere in each picture, and as soon as I turn the page you seek out that duck and keep your finger on him. You also have favorites that you always find on the shelf and bring to me. Daddy reads two books to you before bed every night now too and he might have to increase that because you don’t seem to get enough! I love that you are starting to enjoy books (more than just eating the corners or drawing on the pages) and am so excited for the day when you will be enjoying the stories and reading books on your own!

I have been having so much fun getting to know you more and more each month. You are such a sweet, fun toddler and I feel so blessed that you are in my life! Thank you for making me laugh, teaching me patience, keeping me running around, snuggling with me, and always offering kisses and hugs. I love you so much, Rhino!

Love,
Mommy