Tiny Twos!

Dear Little Elephant,

Way back when you were one month old, there were a few things I could count on. One of them was that after I fed you, you would be a milk drunk baby who would happily curl up in the arms of anyone nearby to sleep. Now that you are in your twos (two months) you are fiercely resisting the milk drunk baby state. You want to stay awake and are curious about everything in your surroundings. You have made Mama and Papa work much harder to get you to sleep as you fight it, fight it, crankily fight it and then you are out. It is beyond adorable. The fight it stage also usually only lasts 5 to 20 minutes and you give in when your father or I sing to you (your father sings folk songs in Spanish and I sing Broadway show tunes).

This month you continued to make visitors ooh and ahh at you with your full head of hair, happy-go-lucky attitude, and willingness to snuggle with near strangers also known as friends and family.  You met Kelsey (from DC), Auntie Elaine (from St. Paul), Andy (from New York and also known Tio Calvo), Liza (lives here in town), Meghan (from St. Louis), and your Aunt Erin, Uncle Kevin, and cousins, Mc and D (from DC).  Moreover, Grandpa and Nana had a party at their house from friends, family and people from the condo to see you.  Not surprisingly to your completely un-biased Mama, everyone thought you were beautiful, wonderful, and super strong.

One of the most wonderful things this month was your learning to smile, not just at pooping any more, but also at people.  You interact, smile, make faces and insist that everyone watches you and plays with you.  The control you have over your head is amazing and you like to “stand”.  All we have to do now is keep you balanced, you actually do all the work yourself.  When not standing or sleeping, you like to walk around and look at art.  You particularly like the arpillera at Grandpa and Nanas, the rented modern art in our apartment, and anything with big contrasts in color.   We took you to the Art Museum in Chicago— but there you mostly slept and when you were awake you mostly stared at the ceiling.

Harley is still interested in you, but less so. You have yet to notice her.  She does, however, like to defend you from any strangers in the elevator who want to look at you or people on the bike path who want to admire your full head of hair.  Mama hopes that you two will continue to get along.

The end of this month came with a huge change— in temperature.  At exactly 8 weeks old, you boarded a plane and flew to Chile to meet the other side of your family and experience your first winter!  You flex like a champ; not crying on the whole trip.  You sat on Mama’s lap most of the way from Milwaukee to Atlanta.  Luckily, on the flight to Chile there was an empty seat and we could install your car seat.

Arriving in the airport, Papa’s Mom walked right past him because she only had eyes for her first grandchild.  Your Chilean Grandpa and Uncle and cousins are just as in love as everyone else.  People keep offering to keep you when Mama and Papa return to Kazakhstan! As if we could ever part with you!!  You also have gotten to meet your Great-Grandma, Mama’s host family and a handful of amigos down here.

At Chilean Grandpa and Grandma’s house, you have slept in two rooms as we searched for the warmest place for you.  You have worn socks and slippers for the first time.  You are adorable in your multiple layers, hats, jackets and wrapped warm in blankets. Despite Papa telling you how much he misses Chilean food and how wonderful it is, you find your diet to be exactly the same as back in the states.  Overall, you like Chile too.

Anyway, my dear little girl, I hear you calling, ready for another meal.  I will end this letter by telling you that Mama and Papa love you more this month than last which is almost impossible since last month we thought are hearts were going to explode.

Clare