You turned 15 months on Saturday. It has been a busy month. We started with a trip to Missouri to visit your Dad's family. Then we went to our first cookout of the season, at Jody and Mary's house. (You had fun pushing your "car" up and down their driveway and eating your first hot dog. Their dog Scrappy spent some time licking all over your face, until you figured out that if you held your had up, he would lick your hand instead.) We went to Dairy Queen one day after doing yard work. We celebrated Mother's Day by taking Grandma Lam out for breakfast. We went to a birthday party, and I even let you have some cake. Yesterday, we went to a softball and grilling party at Wyndom Park in NE. And the night before that, Mom and Dad actually went out at night together! Crazy!
For Mother's Day, Grandma and Grandpa Lam gave me a great present--portraits of you. They even framed one for us, and we hung it up that same day. We all marveled that the photographer got you to smile for her, but you did, and the pictures are great.
It's definitely turned into summer this month. We had some rainy days, but now it's hot and humid. The afternoon that we were doing yard work, Grandma Lam filled up a Tupperware storage bin with water for you to wade in. You waded for about 30 seconds before you sat right down in it, shorts, diaper and all. After you were done playing in the water, Grandma got you all cleaned up, but when she started using the same bin to wash off some lawn chairs, you climbed right back in it, this time with your shoes on, too! I guess that's what we get for putting you in swimming lessons so young.
You have four teeth now, two on the top and two on the bottom (all in front) and you've discovered that Cheerios are crunchy. You've started wanting to use a spoon to feed yourself, which you might imagine sometimes results in you eating and sometimes results in the dogs having a treat. It also sometimes results in a good immune system, since I also caught you eating dirt off of the trowel the other day, as if it were just a big spoon.
That's just part of the independence that you want to exercise. You like to do whatever it is we're doing, which is fun. You help me pick up your toys. You help me sweep up the kitchen floor. You want your own napkin to wipe your own mouth. But along with this goes your temper, and when we hold you back from doing something you let us hear your frustration. Being stubborn is nothing new in this family, though, and you were born in the year of the Ox, so you definitely come by it honestly. Luckily, you're still easy to distract, and at heart you're still very easy-going. Besides, when you're insisting that you'd rather read books than play with something else, it's pretty hard to disagree with that.
Love,
Mom
