Hellobee

A wonderful reminder to all the beautiful, tired, sacrificial mama’s out there.

She still searches for my guiding hand, even as she learns to find her own little place in the world…

Here’s what Little HH’s been up to:

• Everytime we leave an activity, she will say “bye bye” to it.  For example, if we’re done at the park she’ll say, “bye bye sand!!” and wave profusely at it.
• She likes to say “bye bye” and blow a kiss at the same time.
• She initiates pray-time before bed!  It’s the last thing we do before we put her down.  She will close her eyes and clasp her hands tightly until a prayer is over.
• She knows the words to certain songs, like “Old MacDonald” (mostly the E-I-E-I-O part), “Row Row Row your Boat”, and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”
• She knows how to “chill” – when we say, “let’s chill” she’ll plop down on the bed or couch and let herself lounge.  It’s so funny!  Kids pick up on everything.
• She can count to eight.
• She knows all her primary and secondary colors now.  She can’t always pronounce the names of certain colors, but if we ask her to “give me the yellow ball” or “give me the red ball” among a bunch of other colored balls she will get it to us with 99% accuracy.
• She likes to pick out her own outfits when we let her.  She likes to put on her own pants, shirt, and shoes now.  She’s usually putting it on wrong, but she makes a good effort.
• She is better at handling a fork and spoon, and she is getting the hang of drinking from a regular cup though there are still dribbles here and there.
• She loves to help me throw away bits and pieces of trash.  Now to teach her how to clean up after she’s done playing with toys…
• She’s always laughing and smiling now (at least with family)!  She is a super silly and playful girl, and her personality is really starting to develop more and more.

I have no idea if these milestones are “on track” for a girl her age, but either way, I’m still a proud mama!  People often talk about “pride” in such a negative way, but the pride I’m experiencing as a parent feels so different.  I don’t know how else to explain it but to say that it’s like a light that permeates through your whole body and deep into your soul.  This isn’t about comparing her to anyone else – I’m proud simply because she’s mine.  I love watching her grow and learn.

She’ll be entering preschool in less than a month!  Her first day will be September 5th, the Wednesday after Labor Day.  She’ll start a day before she turns 20-months.  The way she learns makes me feel like she’ll be just fine there.  I’m mostly nervous that she will have a breakdown when I leave her with a bunch of strangers because she’s so used to being around family. We’ve never put her in daycare or had anyone babysit that wasn’t someone in the immediate family, but I guess we all have to begin somewhere!

We talk a lot about how our children learn, but parenting is one learning experience after another too.  One thing I’ve been learning came from my boss.  She is this amazing woman with 6 kids, including one with special needs. I confided to her that sometimes I worry I will spoil my girl by giving into all her needs, and that I struggle to find the right balance sometimes.  She encouraged me by saying that our kids will follow us more by what we do, than by what we say.  That gave me so much comfort and peace.  And as vague as it sounds, these days I am just trying to follow my maternal instincts, not overthink it, and let the rest fall into place as it should.