Letter to Greta: 29 Months

Dear Anna,

You, of course, have been christened Anna as part of the Frozen mania you and Lucia have succumbed to lately. Though you don't yet have the ability to sing the songs in their entirety, you do your best--you pipe in with words here and there, and whenever you catch a glimpse of anything Frozen-related, you exclaim excitedly "Zen! Zen!" Your favorite companies are your "zen dolls"--Elsa and Anna dolls. You know the movie well enough to recreate scenes with Lucia (under her bossy direction--"Greta, say this. Greta, now say this."). Today at dinner you looked at me and said "You sing 'Go.'" I, too, welcome any chance to belt out "Let It Go" and obliged.

We've seen changes to your speech the past few weeks--now and then you'll get two syllables in, and you're stringing words together more and more. Your speech therapist has observed that your vocabulary and grammar are developing normally, despite the delay in your articulation. This is good to hear.

One of your new favorite activities is instructing me to "cry." You'll pretend to offer me a Cheerio or whatever you're snacking on, only to then pull it away and say, "No. Mine." Then you say, "Cry." That's my prompt to let out some dramatic fake crying, which you cure by offering me your Bibi and Lambie. It's very cute. If any character in a book is crying, you offer your pa-pa.

You've adopted some new bedtime rituals. You insist on picking out your own pajamas now. Besides the pa-pa you have in your mouth, you also want your other three pa-pas (which you won't actually put in your mouth) in the corner of your crib. You always give your mushroom night light a kiss and a hug. You need to give me one more kiss and hug once you're lying in your crib.

You've been more cuddly, whiny, and babyish lately, frequently appearing out of the blue in full baby-Greta mode with pa-pa, Bibi, and Lambie, snuggling and mewling in a high, tiny voice. I've started to make a joke of it with you, saying in the same high, tiny voice, "Greta has a tiny voice!" This usually makes you laugh, and you'll say "No" in your normal register. Daddy and I both tend to indulge your babyness. You ARE the baby. You seem to know this. You do not, however, like to be called a baby. If I snuggle you and say, "My little baby," you'll pull back and say "No! Big girl! BIG!"

You are still napping for about two hours, and sleeping until 6:45-7am. You are still hit or miss with dinner most nights. Yesterday you screamed in horror at the sight of Swedish meatballs and egg noodles; tonight you eagerly ate a bowl and a half of lentil soup. It's totally unpredictable.

You get cuter and cuter all the time. Some of your resistance to coat and socks and shoes has lessened, some of the time, and our days have been more peaceful lately. I am very eager for your language to catch up with your verve and dash, though I'm sure we'll look back at your peculiar little phrases--such as "Ki hu Di!" ("Kiss and hug Daddy!"), or "Hey So Whi go?" ("Hey, where'd Snow White go?")--with fondness. You are truly a joy, with your funny dances and quick-footed little run. When you're not being frustrating and stubborn, you are a perfect specimen of two-year-old adorableness.

Favorite toys/activities: Frozen dolls, Magiclip princesses, Snow White bath toy, chalk, binoculars

Favorite books: Zoe Gets Ready, Zoe's Room, Grumpy Bird, Knuffle Bunny books, Spot the Dot (David Carter pop-up), Little Quack, Pajama Time, A Color of His Own