Dear Livia,
You learned to love singing this year. You can sing most of the alphabet song, which you learned from Marshall, but your favorite song is probably “Old McDonald.” You also like to sing bits of songs that you learned from your vovó. They have lyrics like “I love you just the way you are” and “Let’s talk about the things you do.”
You also started making up your own songs. One day you sang, “I like to dance in the bathroom all day long.” Then you danced to different areas of the room, singing, “And over here. And over here.” But the funniest song you sang was the one that went like this: “I’m a girl. I don’t have a peanut!”
You are fascinated with the idea of being a girl, and you insist on being called a girl. If I call you a pumpkin pie, for example, you’ll say, “I’m not a pumpkin pie. I’m a girl!” You also like being a princess, but not just any old princess. You are a Princess Bee when you’re wearing your bee jammies, a Princess Butterfly when you’re wearing your sparkly wings, and a Princess Mermaid when you’re in the bath.
Speaking of bee jammies, you were so jealous of Marshall’s that you used to cry every time he wore them. I finally broke down and bought some for you. They’re not quite the same as his, but you don’t seem to mind. You just needed those black-and-yellow stripes on the bottoms so that you could sting everyone. Unlike Marshall, who stings with his butt, you sting with your knee.
You’re still adventurous. During the summer you rode your little pink car down the driveway like a maniac. We had to keep a constant eye on you. You also loved riding down the roller coaster toy. You learned to climb the rock wall and rope ladder on your playground set, and also how to climb up to the observation post. That’s all pretty amazing for a kid under three!
You used to refuse to eat pasta, but then one day I offered you “sketti worms.” Those you loved!
A memory from 10/19: Today Livia was a duck sitting on an egg (soccer ball) in a nest (pile of leaves). We fed her the prettiest leaves in all the forest (maple leaves).
You love playing with art supplies, but you can’t be trusted with them. Somehow marker and crayon marks always end up where they’re not supposed to, like the tabletop or the wall. And you always draw on your hands with markers (Livia the Tattooed Girl!). You adore stickers, and though I’ve explained to you that they should only go on paper, you stick them everywhere, sometimes even on our backs. I often fail to notice them when I’m doing laundry and then I have to scrape off the remains after the clothes comes out of the wash.
You sure keep us on our toes. You are always getting into things, and you are, I sometimes think, too smart for us. What will you do with so much daring, intelligence, and joie de vivre in the upcoming year? I’m excited (and a little nervous) to see!
Love,
Mom