Dear Guinevere

Dear Guinevere,
Darling, I can't keep up with you.  The things you say and do just crack me up, and it is both amazing to see what a funny little girl you are growing into, and sad to realize that you are definitely not a baby anymore.  Everything is flying by, and I want to capture some of the things you do and say -

One night, you woke up a little after midnight.  Which you never do.  You were wide awake, and in a fantastic mood, and begged, "Downstairs?  Yo Gabba Gabba?"  I kept trying to convince you to go back to bed, but you were wired.  So we went into our bedroom where you tucked Daddy in (he always does this to you while saying "tuck tuck tuck tuck!" and you did it for him - um, ADORABLE) and kissed him goodnight.  And we went downstairs, where you immediately requested waffles.  At 1am.  I tried to offer other foods, but you insisted on waffles and so I made them, with maple syrup.  You ate every last bite, we wiped your sticky fingers, and you went back to bed.  Where you proceeded to tell me you loved me, voluntarily, for the first time ever.  My heart melted into a sticky sweet mess all over the floor.  Since then, you've been very generous with hugs and telling Daddy and I that you love us.  Oh man - I hadn't realized how long I'd been waiting for you to understand those words, and not just repeat them.

You are very VERY opinionated and have no problem telling us "No" when you don't want something.  Or saying, "Go away, mommy" (which ALWAYS hurts my feelings!)  Now, your new thing is to tell me "I don't want to!"  I asked you to open the back door to let the dogs outside (one of your "chores") and you sassily responded "I don't want to" and walked over to your playroom to color.  I was so blindsided by the response that I didn't react.  Thank goodness - my reaction probably would have been to laugh, and that wouldn't really help either of us.  You also recently announced, "I hit you, Mommy" and then did - so we're now spending lots of times talking about feelings, and how Mommy and Daddy can help fix things when you tell us you are angry.  You are quick to pick up on happy and sad - but angry isn't quite there yet.

I always used to joke that I'd support you in any of your dreams or hobbies, except for the drums.  But over the weekend you were pretending to drum after watching a character on TV do it, so I grabbed a bunch of pots and pans and spoons, and you've been jamming all weekend ever since.  

Impromptu Johnson family jam session. vine.co/v/bvZLqiJT3nh
— Kelly (@Mrs_In_Training) February 9, 2013

New favorite toy, hands down.  And I'm a sucker, because now I'm debating buying you a set of kid's drums on Amazon.  

One day, you insisted on a banana after your nap, and I cut up pieces while you sat on the kitchen counter, my hip firmly between your legs so you wouldn't fall.  Daddy and I sat there chatting as you efficiently shoveled banana in your mouth, and our dog Holly began to whine and beg for some food.  You looked down at her and were so firm "QUIET!" and then again "HUSH, shhhh".  Daddy and I almost stroked out, we were laughing so hard, and then you looked at me, "Mommy sad?  Crying?"  haha, yes, I had tears streaming down my face, but I wasn't sad.  You're getting pretty bossy with the dogs, though.  You get furious when they lay on your blankie (that you leave EVERYWHERE) and yell "bad dog!" and smack them.  The smacks earn you time outs, but I am now trying to make sure I don't say things like "bad dog" in front of you so that you don't repeat them.  The worst was when you BIT THE DOG because she was on your blankie.  Worst of all, its the dog that really doesn't like you (Holly).  I still can't believe she let you get away with it - that was the first I'd ever heard of a toddler biting a dog.  

You still love to pretend to talk on the phone.  You usually call Daddy, but sometimes Grammie/Grandma.  I think you get your grandparents confused so I'm never sure which person you mean.  I have no idea where you got this, but you now answer the phone, "Hello?  Oh, good day!"  So polite and formal!

You gush over anything little or cute.  "Awwwwww!" in a precious little voice.  Babies, puppies, the most random things.  

You are starting to get the concept of family.  You found some of my old Calico Critters bunnies (did anyone else have these back in the 90s??) and immediately dubbed them "Daddy Bunny, Mommy Bunny and Guinevere Bunny".  You also get the idea of other people's families.  Daddy and I were chatting about your teacher, and her daughter (whom you love) and we asked you what Ms XYZ's daughter's name was.  You immediately responded with a name, and we laughed, but I later discovered on Facebook that what we thought we heard was almost identical.  (Think: Molly vs Polly).  It was neat that you knew what we meant, and immediately got the relationship between your teacher and her daughter/your "friend".

Speaking of which, you call yourself Guinevere.  Which I LOVE.  So many people call you Gwen or Gwennie, which drives me nuts - but since Daddy calls you both, I feel like I can't ask others to use Guinevere if your own Daddy uses a nickname.  So it thrills me that while you respond to nicknames, you (so far) only identify yourself as Guinevere.  We are now teaching you to say your full name, and it is SO SO CUTE to hear you say it.  I just scoop you up in my arms and smother kisses all over you.  (You hate that.)

You are VERY dramatic.  Time for bed and you don't want to go?  You'll walk as slow as humanly possible, or pretend that you can't walk.  Once when I put you in time out for hitting the dogs, you threw your head back, closed your eyes, and pretended to sleep.  Complete with fake snoring.  You do that fairly often now.

Your comedic timing is stellar.  I rarely think you actually understand, but you chime in with the best answers.  Daddy and I were giving you a bath, and discussing the NATO alphabet - you know, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.  We then got stuck on "P" and were thinking out loud "P, p, what does P stand for?" And you look up at us from the bathtub and announce "Pink!"  You can't possibly know that Pink begins with P, but it was awesome, awesome timing.  You seem to have a knack for that, and do it often.

You love to count, and always get up to 16 - but last night you counted backwards from 4.  That was a surprise, since we've never practiced that with you.  I'm assuming you heard it on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse HA.  You also know the whole ABC song, as well as several others - Twinkle Twinkle, EIEIO, Row Your Boat, Patty Cake...you LOVE to sing, and we sing together as we stroll up and down the aisles at Target.  People probably think we are weird, but I love it.

You LOVE when Daddy swings you around, bounces you on his knee, etc, and you hate when he stops.  So you always ask him to continue by using the silly word he used.  So if he is swinging you and saying "Whee!" you then go "More whee?  Please, please, more whee?"  Or if its a bouncing game and he was saying "buhbuhbuh" or something similar you ask "More buhbuhbuh?  Please?"  You also ALWAYS sign "more" when you say it.  I wonder if you think you have to sign with that word - I've never heard you say it without the sign.

You dislike sharing - which has always been one of my biggest fears since you will be an only child.  So I constantly emphasize how fun and nice it is to share.  "Oh look, Mommy is sharing with Daddy!" or "Would you like to share this with me?".  Recently, I was drinking a Diet Coke, and you said, "Diet Coke, please!"  I said no, and you started begging, "Please, Diet Coke, PLEASE!  Sip sip sip!"  After I again told you that Diet Coke is only for grown ups, you melted down and demanded, "SHARE, Mommy."  So what was I going to do?  Tyler walks up, and we let you have a sip, while goading you, "Diet Coke is SO yucky, isn't it?  Yuck yuck yuck."  And you looked at us with a big grin and responded, "Yummy...Diet Coke!  More please!"  ....so now we pour our cans into cups so you aren't tormented.  Ha.

You are crazy OCD.  Doors must be shut.  Coats are taken off immediately when home, and things should always be in their place.  It drives you nuts when I'm putting away groceries or dishes and have the fridge or washer open - I usually distract you with TV so you aren't frantically trying to shut the fridge and washer doors.  You also constantly demand to wash your hands, and can easily spend 10 minutes lathering up, rinsing off, and repeating.  You get so upset with anything sticky or "gross, yucky, ew,  Mommy!" on your hands, and so the second you're done eating you demand to "wash hands!" so they are "all clean!" and then you want down.

Frankly, it amazes me how much you talk.  We have legitimate conversations, and you are mostly speaking in short sentences - "Shut door, Daddy" or "Where Mommy go?" Sometimes I think you might think multiple words are one - such as "Carry me" or "diaper change", but it is usually in the correct context, so it works for me.  Lets us pretend you are extra smart ;)

You are, so simply, my very best friend.  When you take my face in your hands and kiss me, or climb up next to me and lay your head on my arm, or tell me, "I wuv ew, Mommy"...well, my heart just melts into a huge gooey mess. 

You will always be the greatest thing I ever did, and I will always love you more than you could ever know.

Forever,
Mommy