ChangesI have a moment to breathe.
I've finished the shopping and the cards. Still much to do, but at least time to take a breath.
Joss continues to be amazing and lovely and loving, and so perfect for us. I can't even put into words what I feel these days.
How many times in a day do I get a spontaneous hug and kiss?
How many times a day do I watch her give the same to her daddy. Or to her dogs (or rather, dog. Boris isn't so receptive, but Ariel always takes and then gives in return to Joss's eternal delight.)
She takes off her clothes for a bath and puts them in the hamper.
She helps me with cooking (loves to stir!).
If I'm not cooking but in the kitchen working, she pretends and stirs with her play cook set and always brings a taste for me, for John and then takes a taste herself with a loud "MMMMM!!!" She's big into pretend these days. She tells me she is "working."
If her hands are cold, she looks at me and says "neh?" (neck). She knows she can always put them on my neck to warm them. My most fervent wish is that I can always keep her warm.
But after her hands feel better, she pulls me in for a hug and a kiss. Ohhhhh .... I cry every time.
I saw last week how her right foot was so turned out as she walked. Almost out of her control as she toddled in that wide baby stance. And this week, her feet are facing almost forward as she masters walking a bit more each time she's on her feet.
She still falls a lot, but she gets up and keeps going.
She chased bubbles today. I couldn't hold a camera and still blow bubbles, so there are no magical photos. But it was so sweet.
Most magical is how Joss has changed her father. He told me years ago that he had a hard time relating to children under the age of two and so I knew going in that I would be the primary caretaker. But I see. He melts when she looks up at him. He picks her up. He kisses her and most astonishingly, he stops what he's working on on his computer if she comes in and asks to sit on his lap with a book. John picks her up and reads to her. Always. You've never seen such beauty.
At a party yesterday, she asked about Da. I asked if she could find him. The whole room watched as she walked around and looked up into the face of every man until she found her daddy. Joy on her part, tears on her daddy's.
She has a set of dolls and she loves the "Da" doll. She hasn't quite figured out a "Ma" doll yet and I'm not sure if it's because the dolls are all blond and definitely not Asian, or because she just isn't sure that she needs a Ma doll. For now, there is either no ma or the ma is a different doll each time - sometimes the blond babysitter doll, sometimes the baby, but often the fat, big-hipped and short-legged brother! Thanks a lot.
Today she was playing fairly quietly, and then yelled, "MA!" I looked down (she was sitting next to me) and she signed and said, "Da. Sleep." She had taken the little toyhouse bed and put the daddy doll into the bed. She knows when I get her out of her crib in the morning, Daddy is in bed and "sleeping." (No one could actually get any sleep with her loud voice chirping away.)
Spoons and forks have come into play. Sort of. A bowl also has to be part of the equation, but when it is, it's utensil-use rather than hands. Can chopsticks be far behind?
On frequent occasion though, the food still annoyingly jumps off the spoon ...
Joss sleeps with two bears, her bunny and a pig. This is her pulling her pig out of her crib.
Yes yes, the diaper looks kind of big. I thought she was ready for size 3 and she's not quite. It works though. She's been doing well on the potty training lately. Still a lot of misses but considering her age, she's doing well. We visit a lot of toilets in stores these days. Mostly because she has to go, but on the second visit, it's to test her voice out in a small space. She still loves that echo. She's definitely a terror sometimes.
She's eating better. For some odd reason, she's started spitting out food and milk again this week. But not as much as before. Mostly it's going in.
Holding fast at six teeth. I think tooth number seven has to be soon though judging by the drool.
Joss has a bit of earwax so the doctor told me to get some drops. I found some homeopathic drops and oh, you've never seen such excitement as when it's time for "doh?!!!" (drops). We do it before bed and she holds still like you wouldn't believe. Never mind if she sees a q-tip. For a child who is never at rest, she will lie down perfectly still if you will just clean her ears. (AI, she'll be a perfect candidate for your candles.)
Her hair has fully grown in and there is no bald spot. Yay. She doesn't pull at it. Much. I still see her on occasion, but it's very rare. Her hair is a perfect blend of my hair and John's. Thin and fine like mine but with a curl like her daddy. It's getting curlier and curlier and after a bath, there are fine ringlets at the base of her neck. You can see some of the curl here.
There are still the bad dreams. I wish I could say they had disappeared, but they haven't quite. She still needs to know she is loved.
I suppose we all do.
