Dear Zealand, Your momma only half way finished your 17 month letter and then missed 18, and 19 months. No excuse really. As all parents know, there is never enough time only the choice to prioritize. I used a lot of my writing time toward a creative writing class that I took in Oakland. Poetry and short stories. You and I would hop on the bus and then BART to meet your da da on the BART platform. I would hand you off and then disappear behind the train doors. This was an especially tiring adventure for me because of the fact that most of the class took place during the first trimester, yawn, of my pregnancy with your sister! She is due to be born right around your birthday. This year we will celebrate the big TWO a few weeks early to ensure that you get the celebration you most certainly deserve.
I have to say I have enjoyed these past few months with you more than any other. It feels like there are three more exclamation points after all of the things we love about you. The personality, enthusiasm, and excitement over just being alive are in full force. And, all of the new words and skills to color it all.
You love books, laughter, and the exceptional. By the last one I mean you notice if something is amiss - a torn page in a book, a train off its' tracks, a spill, etc. You love to say "Oh No." Silly things also are big stand outs for you. Characters in your books with funny expressions or who have fallen in the water, etc. Richard Scary books are a perfect match for you since so much of the content is about silly spills and falls. You love to go through these books any chance you have. At this point we are reading about 10-15 books a day. Surprisingly you enjoy books with lots of words. There is a Little Bear series that we somehow inherited that never tires even though there are more words than pictures. Same with a few Babar books that we have and most recently an Amelia Bedilia book that drives your momma crazy but that you insist on reading over and over.
I can't say much more without mentioning your ongoing love affair with trains, or "woo woos." It started around 14 months or so and hasn't waned a bit. The highlight of your Christmas was a train set that we bought along with a good sized collection of trains for you. An important part of the train love is tunnels and bridges that your woo woos go over and through.
Now that we have entered train world it seems that train tables are everywhere we go. The Discovery Museum has a fabulous one in their gift store that you love to play with and the Randall Museum has a train table as well. Woo woos, it seems, are everywhere. This past weekend we all went to Tilden Park and rode their steam train through the redwoods. You enjoyed the anticipation more than the actual ride. After a few minutes of the loud whistle and steam you asked to go to the "e, i, o" - translation: farm. It is still a little too much for you. But, we hugged you tight and you braved your way through it.
In the past two months you have also added playing in the sand to your ever growing repertoire of favorite activities at the park. You like to carefully fill buckets with your shovels and add piles of sand to the bottom of slides and other such places.
These days you start your day running. Maybe three months ago or so your father would retrieve you from your crib in the early morning and bring you in bed with me for at least twenty minutes of quiet time. Now you begin the day by calling for da da or momma and then asking for your ba (pacifier) and lamb. You run into our room and say "momma up" and then say "oatmeal." Lately you and your da da have been making oatmeal together while I get a few more minutes of rest. You then run excitedly into the living room for oatmeal. You, by the way, rarely walk. Instead you run everywhere. As has been the case for awhile now, you are incredibly active and move through a room full of toys like a hurricane. Really, the only time you sit for long periods is for books - thank god for books! It is as if someone whispered into your ear that you only have a week to live and you are trying to cram in as much as possible. It is exhilarating and exhausting, at times, to behold.
There is so much I am leaving out, I know. But, it is impossible to cram even three months of your life onto a page. I have been very much aware that our time with only you is running out. In fact, we have only four months left of our family of three. I am trying to appreciate every last moment. These days the two of us spends lots of time in parks, at "school" two times a week, and a gym class on Fridays with SF Park and Rec. This pre - preschool time really is precious. I love that I am able to spend it with you and feel and experience the nuances of your personality, your essence, developing slowly over hours, days, and weeks.
Well, Zealand, words cannot express how much we love you and how often you put a smile on our faces every single day. You are such a lively, funny, and loving spitfire of a boy. You continue to amaze us in every way.
Love,
Momma.
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