Six months

In six months, our lives have changed.  You have changed.  We're nearing Christmas again, my dear, and I'm struck by what a different six months, a year can make.

First, our lives.  We're three months settled into our new home in Washington, DC, and we're all learning how to live life in the city.  We have a beautiful home within walking distance of parks, playgrounds, restaurants, my office, and your school.  We live close to your Aunt Kathy, Uncle Rick, and cousin Susanna, as well as your Aunt Sharon, and lots of friends.  You started school several months ago, and you seem to be enjoying it - you like your teachers, your new friends, and all the stimulation that each day provides.

Still, we miss North Carolina and all our family there.  In particular, you've missed getting to spend your days with Pop Pop and Bebe.  While we've been talking to them a lot over Facetime, we all recognize that it's not quite the same.  You and I flew to Charlotte at the beginning of November to visit, and the three of you were over the moon to see each other.  I admit to feeling pangs of regret, watching you fly around their house as you remembered your favorite nooks and toys.  I'm sorry to have taken you away from them.  I continue to wonder whether it was the right decision.

In addition to all our external moves and changes and transitions, YOU continue to change hugely, week by week.  You are so lively, opinionated, and starting to become super chatty.  Though we're still struggling to interpret all your words, your vocabulary is increasing daily, and you are enjoying the process of practicing your words.  You're such a physical little being, and you spent so long focusing on running and climbing, that we worried you would never start talking.  But the past few months have seen an explosion in your language, and for that we are excited and grateful.

Just before leaving to go to Ohio for Thanksgiving, you learned to jump, and it's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

My dear girl, I am still so thrilled to be your mama, and so awed by the blessing and the responsibility.  As you approach your second birthday, you are starting to challenge rules and push against boundaries, and I'm finding the setting of limits, boundaries, and saying "no" to be a daily challenge.  After all, why does it matter whether we read two books before bed (the rule) or seven (your preference)?  And yet, I'm learning that being a parent involves self-renunciation in more ways than I expected.  You don't understand any of this now, but one day you will.

Here are some photos from the last months (in no chronological order).  I can't believe how much you've grown.