RUS 17-18 Months

Dear RUS,

You are learning to communicate in all kinds of amazing new ways. Since you moved up to the toddler room at day care you have had so much more interest in trying to verbalize words, although you are very much comfortable with signing and sign a lot more words than you speak. And even those words you do say aloud you tend to sign as well. Your day care teachers are picking up quickly on your signs. It's not uncommon for us to hear from them that you repeated a particular hand movement over and over and over again, and often it's a sign that you use regularly at home--bird, cat, bear, R, train, or helicopter, to name a few of your favorites.

Of these, however, your absolute favorite sign is--to no one's surprise--R's name. You look for her everywhere you go, and if she leaves the room you immediately start signing her name. You are very carefully attuned to what she is doing, to the point that we really have to be vigilant lest you try to steal what she's playing with, destroy whatever she's making, or otherwise be involved in her activity. You two have started playing together more although Daddy and I still have to be very, very vigilant!

You look up to R in a lot of ways and she clearly influences a lot of what you do. For example: you love to have headbands or bows put in your hair and sometimes even ask for them when we're playing in R's room. Here you are rocking a headband and bow just the other day!
Another thing I think you've picked up on from R is that you, too, love princesses. R has a box set of princess board books and you love them. Your favorite is Princess Perfect, the pink one, and you will specifically (and forcefully!) request this book as one of your choices when we send you to the bookshelf to find books you want to read. It's not in your bedroom, so it's not one of your bedtime favorites--at night we've been reading a lot of Time for Bed; Mama, Where Are You?, Hippos Go Berserk; Llama Llama Red Pajama; The Line Up Book; and Yankee Doodle. It's so funny to me because you are so decided about which books you want to read--I literally have to hold up the book for your approval before I can start reading it!

You're still a very cuddly little boy and you love to have one of us hold you while you rest your head on our shoulder. I cherish those moments since I know they'll pass by far too quickly.

Love,
Mama