A letter for you

Baby,

This letter has been bubbling away in my mind for a while now. Every day I keep meaning to write it, amazed at what you've learned in the space of a few hours. The evenings get away from me and before I know it, a new day is upon us and you've achieved another half-dozen new feats! It's as if someone's pressed the fast forward button on your growth and ability. In the space of a couple of months, you have truly gone from baby to toddler.

I love you more with each tousled-haired morning, with each new word that comes out of your mouth, with every new expression that you etch on that beautiful little face of yours.

You are saying "Mummy" and "Maman" (french) so incredibly clearly now. You have also taken to calling me "Mami-ma". I love it to the depths of my heart. Best nick-name I've every had.

You are SO tall for your age, with a Herculean strength that amazes me daily. You climb and squat and bend and stretch and balance on your tippy-toes now. Your run is gaining speed with each new sunrise, and your dancing moves would make even hardened men break into a giggle.

Your favourite music at the moment seems to be techno-type dance music (??) and heavier-rock, in particular the Billy Idol song, 'More, more, more'....because you can sing along to it! Can I just say, that blew my mind when I heard you in the back of the car. You are so smart! You also seem to have developed quite the appreciation for Andre Rieu. I find it hilarious. Whenever one of his concerts is on tv, we pull your high chair up to it and you sit there, waving your arms like a conductor. Just like your mummy, you like your classical stuff too. I'm so proud.

Your nightly after-bath ritual is what we call 'The Nudie Run'. Your papa and I release your warm, damp body from the fluffy towel and shout out "NUDIE RUNNNN!!!" and you tear out of the bathroom like a Greyhound out of it's gate. Down the hall, around the corner, two perfect little buns bouncing out to greet Pop and Grandma who are calling out to you, saying, "I can see your bum bum bum bum bum".....It's one of my favourite parts of the day.

Since we've been back in Australia, living with Pop and Grandma while our house gets renovated, you have developed quite a few 'traditions' with each of your grandparents. We call you 'Pop's shadow'. When Pop is home, you're right there beside him, or up in his arms. First thing in the morning? Pop takes you out to pick cherry tomatoes off the bush. You eat at least 3. You are also becoming quite the bird connoisseur, feeding the kookaburras and magpies every afternoon. Pop has shown you how to expertly throw the mince to your feathered friends as they sing you a lovely song in thanks.

With Grandma, you are baking! Apricot and muesli loaves are your specialty, as is licking the batter off the big spoon! Grandma is also the best hide & seek player, isn't she? You pester her several times a day for a game of chasey and tickles. She also takes you to see the cuckoo clock in the kitchen, nearly every hour on the hour. You say, 'Tu-too' when the birdy comes out of his house. 'Tu-too, tu-too'. And we all melt.

Papa has bought a new 4x4. It's actually a very old, vintage one and it's called 'Shumba', meaning 'lion' in south african. You and Shumba are best mates. Every day, you say 'Ba, ba', and your papa lets you play at the wheel, with the gear stick, with the radio. It's your father/son bonding time. He is so proud of you and is already teaching you everything he knows about garages, hardware stores and tool kits.

You are still attending swimming lessons with Pop. You have your very own swimming bag and apparently you are half-boy, half-fish! Even when you're at home, you'll sometimes lay on your belly and start kicking your legs. Practice makes perfect baby!

Your cuddles and kisses and spontaneous displays of affection are just divine. You give me kisses on the mouth, at any given time, for any given reason. Those are the moments when anyone in the same room as me would be able to tell just how madly, deeply in LOVE with you I am!

Your language skills are mind-blowing right now. In fact, you are a veritable little parrot. Each day you mimic a new word that we say, be it in french or in english. You'll give anything a try. It may not be perfect, but it's damn near close! So far, we have counted approximately 30 words in your bubba-repertoire. Here are just a few:

Bumpy
Please (outstanding manners!)
Ta
Bubble
Bye bye
Uh oh (used frequently)
Beep beep (in Shumba)
Baby - both in english and french
Nose - both in english and french
Puppy
Buster
Copter - (anything in the sky)
More (overused at the moment...)
Num num num - when you are hungry or something is reeeaallly good
Ca ca - (poo in french)
Circle
Two - (you've skipped 1 and gone straight to 2)
Cheese - you're french, what can I say?
Apui - this means 'press' in french
Par terre - this means 'floor' in french and is exclaimed after you've thrown half your lunch down there!
Bleu - blue, in french
Chapeau - hat, in french
NO - I'm going to be honest, I'm a little over that one right now!
Cold - with a chilly little sound effect to go with it...'Toldddd....'

You are the most gorgeous little bilingual sponge!

You are confident and cheeky and funny and daring and defiant! Oh, how defiant you can be! You already know how to push my buttons, testing me all the time, checking to see if my reaction to something naughty will always be the same. You approach the oven, finger out, taking tiny tentative steps towards it. I will say 'No! Hot'  and you will clap and say 'No!', reprimanding yourself, yet you continue to inch your way forward, millimetres away from it, with a smile on your face. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. You do this with EVERYTHING, all the time!

You are determined and clever and persevering and curious. You love to know how things work. And you've got such a wicked little sense of humour. You are a clown and you make us laugh too many times a day to keep count!

We love you like fireworks,

Maman et Papa