Click here for the letter with pictures.

Dear Rosemary,

Today you are 3. When you went to bed last night, you were very excited that you would wake up a whole new number. After you fell asleep, I told your daddy what a big deal 3 seems like.

At 1 and 2 you didn’t really care about your birthday, didn’t care about cake or presents, didn’t care that a loud, boisterous song was being sung to you. At 1 and 2 you were still a terrible sleeper and I was still going through life in a big haze of exhaustion. At 3 presents and cake are huge, and I just got an even 8 hours of sleep.

In the last year, we have experienced so much change and you have been such a good sport through it all. Your daddy and I have both gone through job changes, you and I have lived apart from your daddy, we’ve moved far away from all your friends and family; and through it all you have been a very stable, mature little girl.

These days you and I are together a lot, and we’re having fun. In some ways you are my best friend in this strange new town and strange new house where we know very few other people. We play together, giggle together, shop and drink coffee together (you drink water and pretend it’s coffee) – you are good company, Rosemary. I mean that.

You make good conversation. I have to control my doting parent desires here, but I sincerely believe your verbal skills are advanced. You speak surprisingly complete sentences. At times, your grammar is more correct than my own. You are funny, you tell good jokes, and you make me laugh. You also realize when something stops being funny and generally give up on the matter.

This, I believe, is why your coordination is a little lacking. A kid can only grow in so many ways at one time. You still waste a lot of energy when you run. You enjoy riding your bike, but generally end up turning in circles because you’re so busy looking to your left and your right.

Music is a big deal to you these days. The weather has been warmer and you have been asking for the car windows to be down and the music to be loud, which is so funny to me. I’m happy to oblige, but not really certain how you know to like that sort of thing. I do not blast music, you didn’t learn this from me. You are a big fan of the banjo, violin, trumpet, and drums. Those are the instruments you pretend to play and you can even pick their sounds out of songs.

You are also really learning to play by yourself and with other kids. Your imagination is growing by leaps and bounds. You make trains drive through tunnels, your Little People and Polly Pockets have extensive conversations together, you play hide and seek (if not a little awkwardly and always giving your spot away).

You do all those things that little kids do. And that’s the thing that gets me. Somehow you stopped being a baby. Entirely. Sometimes you ask me to hold you like a baby and I can barely fit you in my arms. You are Rosemary June, 3-years-old, and not turning back. And I’m okay with that. This life we’re living is a good one and I feel incredibly blessed to have you along for the ride.

I love you to the moon and back.
Mommy

No monthly letter this month. When I started doing it, I planned to only do it for the first year and I think I should stick with that plan since I will do this for future kids and I’m sure it gets harder and harder to find time to do with each kid. I am still going to do a monthly post, because she is growing by leaps and bounds and I don’t want to forget all this. It doesn’t seem totally right to stop keeping track of her development while she’s still developing so much! So, here is this month’s list:

Rosemary at 13 months.
• You took your first steps on mothers day. 4 steps to be exact, and later in the day you took 6 steps. Just a little over two weeks later, walking is your preferred method of transportation. It’s fascinating to watch you concentrate so deeply. You put a lot of thought into each little step and, as a result, you rarely fall down. You are extremely careful.

• Your favorite word is, “Joel!” I called to your daddy from the other end of the aisle in a grocery store and you have been calling it ever since. When you wake up in the morning, you usually call, ”Joel! Joel! Joel!” Other words you can say are (besides, “bye,” which was your first word) “duck,” “quack,” “hi,” “uh-oh,” “thank you.” In reality you are getting very good at repeating words we can say. However, whenever I ask you to say “mommy,” you usually say “dadadada” or “nananana.” Hrmph.

• You know and do the signs for “more,” and “doggy.” I think you recognize signs for “milk,” “eat,” and “bird.”

• You love ducks. Your blanky is a duck and you love the ducks in books and pictures.

• You are a big girl! At your one year doctor appointment, you weighed 25 1/2 lbs and were 32 3/4 inches long. To quote Dr. Aronson, “You’re off the off the charts.”

• You started drinking whole milk and you LOVE it. I’m really surprised at how easily the transition from soy formula to whole milk went. You still don’t eat a whole lot. But you do like chewing on pickles.

• You had your first two plane rides this month and you did amazing!

• You still throw up a lot. You have figured out how to make yourself throw up and you try to do it when you get really upset. We’ve been doing a better job of not making a big deal out of it and you have been doing it less and less.

• Last month you grew your first tooth, you have spent this entire month teething. You have a total of 4 teeth and you are cutting at least 3 or 4 more. Your teeth have grown in an odd pattern. 1st a bottom front tooth, then the top tooth to the side of the front teeth, then your other bottom front tooth, and then the top tooth to the other side of the front teeth. Your top front teeth haven’t come in yet and as a result, your smile is pretty goofy. Actually, it’s a little creepy, to be honest. :-)

• You love crossing the threshold from the front porch to the living room. You go back and forth and back and forth.

• You still adore Baby Signing Time.