Dear Avery at 14 months:

Dear Avery,

I like to think of you as my little good time girl.  You really do just love to have a good time.  It could be as simple as starting to move in circles and clucking with glee as you move across a cement circle patio at a park in Tahoe.  Somehow the space suddenly felt like a dance floor or a new sort of space to move about in. 

Or, it is when you and Zealand are on a bed together.  You flop backwards and roll around in the covers being “silly kids” as we like to call it.  It is as if you were born a tiny performer personifying fun.  You love to move about and you are really into to sensory experiences, whether it is pillows, couch cushions, sand, or water. 

On a particularly hot day in Walnut Creek not so long ago we took you and Zealand to Dillon beach in Marin County.  It was after an afternoon at the Discovery Museum and a dinner on the coast.  It was later afternoon, still bright, and the sand was still warm from a hot day.  The sand was particularly fine and I believe this was your first real beach experience as a one year old.  You were absolutely hilarious. 

Your first instinct was to roll around in the sand like a pig in the mud.  You rolled on your back, on your stomach, and had dark grey sand splotches all over your face.  Sand lined the crevices under your eyes, and there was even a sand tear running down your cheek.  You were in absolute heaven.   Rolling around like nobody’s business.  All of this accompanied by squeals of delight and sandy smiles.

I love watching you.  You get so much delight from moving your body and feeling the world with all of your senses -  mouth, skin, eyes, and ears.   There is little interference from caution, fear, or self-consciousness.  You are a wonder to behold.

This month you also began saying “mama” with a clear sense that I am indeed your mama.  You call out for me and I respond in kind – so delighted that you do in fact know who I am.  Other words: “ball,” “Dada,” “Papa,” “Moo” (for moon), “Chee” (for cheese), and “Jen” (for my good friend Jen who stayed with us for a week in Tahoe).  I am sure there are more.  Frankly, I am not so concerned with which words.  Overall you are very expressive and vocal about your needs, which, I think is more important than words.  They will come, I know.  In fact, I have a feeling that in a month or so they will all start coming out like coins in a jackpot.  You have been listening and I know very soon we will start hearing all of the words you have been collecting.

Have I mentioned yet what a mischievous and willful little girl you are?  You are very playful and understand what it means to exercise your own will.  When I see you with a fistful of sand heading toward your mouth I will say “No Avy.”  You look at me knowingly and throw the sand in your mouth and then rapidly scoop up another load of sand for your mouth.  And then, you smile.

You love to be chased and tickled.  And, you love the game where you hand an object over and then at the last minute pull it away toward you.

Mostly, you prefer to be on the move.  You aren’t one for the lap.  And, you aren’t content to watch the world.  You want to move and interact. 

Except when you don’t.  Sometimes you are the most cuddly, sweet, and soft thing out there.  You want to be held.  You take your thumb and lean your head against my chest and just cuddle.  It is as if your battery is recharging.  It is the sweetest thing. 

I love this yin/yang to your personality.  There is a nice balance.  You are reckless, wild, active, silly, adventurous, curious and then when it all becomes too much you take your thumb, cuddle, and zone out.   You know your limits.

In the past two weeks you have really filled out and steadied your walk.  You are now pretty fast and confident on two feet.  Already I can see the outlines of toddlerhood.  You seem so proud of yourself for finally having the ability to truly be in the mix – walking, climbing, chattering along with the rest of us.  I can’t wait for what is next.  I know it is going to be good. 

We all love you baby Wavy.

-Mama