Letters to Ettie {16 months}

W ell my little peanut! You are 16 months old now! 16 months of perfect little you and what a little character you are growing up to be!!

Last week you pulled the spaghetti out of the cupboard and it spilled on the floor. I said ‘ot ooooh Ettie’ and looked down at the mess. You said ‘oooooh’ with your little shocked face, then toddled off to the cupboard and brought back the big red broom all on your own!! It was twice the size of you and I don’t know how you managed it! But it was so funny! Our super strong and clever little girl.

Your speech has developed so much over the last few weeks and you’re able to say all sorts of words like ‘bubbles’, ‘shoes’ and ‘drink’. You can even count to Six and know the sounds for a dog, a sheep a duck and a Dinosaur! Raaaaah! 😀

The beginning of the month was filled with the words ‘Mammy noooooooo!!!! It was the first time you’d managed to string two words together and you said it for everything.. ‘Ettie should we put your clothes on?,… ‘Mammy Noooooo’, Ettie should we have a bath? ‘Mammy Nooooo’ – you even knocked my phone out of my hand one day saying ‘Mammy Nooooo!!! with a little angry face! It was so funny but I tried not to laugh as very right you were to!! Recently you’ve started saying ‘Bye Daddy’ when Daddy leaves for work in the morning. It’s the cutest thing. You say it with such conviction, waving your hand as he leaves, it makes our hearts burst and he always has to come back to give you an extra cuddle, even if it makes him late!!

I upped my hours at work this month, something I never wanted to do and I’ve found it very hard being away from you. I miss our little daily routines of singing songs and going for walks with the trike, or having a cuddle to get you to sleep. I miss being able to have lunch with you and listen to the stories you tell me so animatedly in your own little language. I think of you all day long and hopefully it won’t be forever until we’re reunited, but until then at least I’m earning money so we can do exciting things!

At the start of the month we took you on your greatest adventure yet by boarding an aeroplane for the very first time and flying all the way to Stockholm in Sweden! It was so much fun and the perfect way to spend my birthday!

Mummy and Daddy booked an evening flight thinking would sleep the whole way there, but you were too excited and wanted to chat to everyone the whole journey! It was a little tiring as you didn’t have your own seat, but you were so funny saying ‘Hello’ to everyone as they walked past, it made the time so quickly. Then as the lights were turned off for landing, you fell asleep just like that and all the excitement was over. You’re such a tinker when it comes to bedtime.

Back at home bedtimes are still one of my favourite times as we have our own little routine now. I bath you and get you ready while Daddy makes us dinner, then I put the night light on and we snuggle down in your cot so I can read you a bedtime story while you have your bottle. I’ve given up trying to get you to fall asleep on your own because it works for us and it is our special time. Once you’ve finished your bottle, you hold it up high and say ‘all gone’!! Then you wriggle about under my arm until you find a comfy spot to fall asleep. After a hard day at work, it’s the best way to end the day and I absolutely love your cuddles. Sometimes I stay in there with you for ages, just snuggling in, smelling your hair and holding your tiny feet. You look so peaceful when you’re asleep, I often wonder what you’re dreaming about.

My second favourite time of the day is in the mornings, you’d still prefer not to spend a whole night in your own bed, and again it’s something else we’ve given up trying to achieve because we actually love the cuddles! Every night at around 1.30, you stir in your sleep and I can hear you wake up. Then you shout ‘Mamaaa’ so I walk in your room and scoop you up out of your cot to bring you in bed with us! Once you’re there you fall back to sleep instantly with your legs on Daddy and your head on my face– you’re not happy unless our faces are actually touching and whilst it means I probably haven’t had a full night’s sleep for about four months, I absolutely love it. I love having you so close and love how affectionate you are. I hope there never comes a day when you don’t need your Mummy.

In the morning if you wake up first you have three ways of waking me up! Sometimes you pinch my nose with your little fingers and say ‘nose’ or you pat me on be head saying ‘Mammy’ with a big giggle, or you sometimes pinch my tummy with your little fingers and say ‘tickle tickle’, it’s the best thing ever!! We sing our good morning song and look out at the dark sky which surprises you because the sun hasn’t come up yet, then we go downstairs to see Daddy who’s making breakfast! You’re always so happy to see him and run over to give him a big cuddle. You’re such a happy little bean, always smiling and chatting away or pulling funny faces! We really can’t believe how lucky we are to have made you!

One of your favourite things at the moment is pressing buttons. If Daddy brings you down to breakfast, then you have a little routine where you turn on the lights,then the fan, then radio. Your little fingers aren’t quite strong enough to press the light switches so Daddy has to help! You’ve discovered the doorbell and get really excited when you press it, saying ‘ding dong!!! If I’m working from home and you get dropped off before I’m finished, you run over and jump up on my lap to have a peek at whats going on! Can you imagine your excitement when you see all those little buttons to press!!! Naturally your favourite is the on/off switch because it changes what’s on the screen. I don’t mind you pressing it, but I always have to check everything is saved before you get started! We think you’re such a tinker because you’ve hidden Daddy’s Apple TV remote and we can’t find it anywhere. It was the perfect size for your little hands and we’ve searched the whole house but haven’t found it for weeks so now we can’t watch TV! Ooops!

I just can’t explain how happy you make us our little Ettiebear, we feel like the luckiest parents in the world to have you in our lives and you make us smile all day long. Our beautiful, cheeky, funny, happy, intelligent little girl. You fill our hearts in ways we never knew possible and I am so proud to be your Mummy xxxxxx

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