Letters to Maddie Bear: December, 2011

***I wrote this back on Friday, December 14, but then I heard about Newton almost immediately after writing it, and I never posted it.  Thought I'd update now.  The picture is from yesterday, however.  Good gracious, she looks soooo grown-up in that picture. ***

Dear Madeline,


You are much too young to know who Dave Chappelle is, and I wouldn’t want you exposed to such language anyhow, but living with you recently is a bit like living with his version of Lil Jon. For example:

Madeline: What you doin’ Mumma?
Me: Washing my hands.
Madeline: What?!
Me: I’m washing my hands.
Madeline: What?!
Me: I’m washing my hands.
Madeline: What?!
Me: I am washing m...
Madeline: What?!
Me: (Sigh) I’m getting my hands clean, Madeline.
Madeline: What dat mean?

At first I was worried you were experiencing hearing loss. Then I thought you were simply asking us to clarify things you didn’t understand. But washing my hands? You know what that is. You beg to do it every time you enter the kitchen. I don’t know, Maddie Bear. I just don’t know.

This year is the first year you’ve started to understand the concept of Christmas, so we’ve been getting lots of “What?!”s as we start to decorate the house with unfamiliar things.

We took out your Little People manger this week. You keep asking me the names of everyone, but I don’t know who the wise men are. I’ve dubbed them Larry, Moe, and Curly. (I’m sorry, God. Don’t smite me.)

Last year, you were so petrified by our antique Baby Jesus that you wouldn’t even enter the room. Now, you love him. You saw him on the shelf the other day and begged, “I want the Jesus Baby! She my favorite.” I keep reminding you that it’s a HIM, but you haven’t quite accepted that yet. Maybe it’s the long robe?

Meanwhile, when we went Christmas tree hunting last week, you were very bored by the whole process. Every time I asked you if you liked a tree you simply said, “No” before wandering on to the next one. When we finally picked out the one we were going to buy you said, “No, I want Christmas.” I think you were thrown off by the fact that the trees were not pre-decorated. Who wants a boring old pine tree, Mumma?!

Yet once we got it home and put the lights on it, you squealed, “Yay! We have Christmas!!!” We had to remind you to be a gentle a few times, but you mostly stayed out of our way while we decorated the tree.

You’re becoming increasingly independent. It’s getting harder to convince you to hold hands when we’re in public because you want to walk by yourself. We often hear the frustrated grunts of you trying to get your shoes or socks on by yourself. You still have very little patience, my dear. I fear it is genetic.

You’re also very silly. You love to make us laugh, and you ham up the cute-factor to work to your advantage whenever possible. Every morning after I get you dressed, you state, “I look beautiful!” Last night, while trying to wrestle you into your crib, Dada sighed, “Oh, Madeline why is everything you say so adorable?” It’s hard to stay stern when you’re cracking us up.

We were buzzing along with potty training, but you had a major setback after an accident on the floor traumatized you. You haven’t wanted to use the potty since. That’s okay. We’re taking a break again until you feel ready. You’re still little, and we’ll get there soon enough.

I love you, Maddie Bear. I can’t wait to see your face on Christmas morning after Santa comes to our house. You’re filling the holiday season with magic in our house once more.

Love You Always and a Day,
Mumma