Dear Fable

At 16-months, you're still not a consistent sleeper. You often wake in the night and require some attention before you'll go back to sleep. Or when I'm really tired, I just bring you to bed with us. Since you're always on the go when you're awake, I don't mind to sleep with you, quiet and still in my arms (on occasion).

And then there are nights when you sleep straight through, until 6:30 am! And even though you usually have to cry it out for a few minutes before you'll ever go to sleep in your crib, last night you only fussed a second, and tonight you didn't fuss AT ALL! Maybe you've finally learned to fall asleep on your own! JUST IN TIME FOR OUR TRIP THIS WEEKEND!

We're staying in a hotel, which means you'll spend half the night in your pack n play and half the night in bed with us. And we're driving and visiting with family, which means you'll nap in the car at odd hours. Which means that by the time we return home on Sunday, you'll be totally thrown off and back to crying it out and sleeping with us.

Oh well, we'll sleep again when we're old.

Fable Lately

She has Elmo-radar. If there is an Elmo, she will find it, "Ehl-mo! Ehl-mo! Ehl-mo!" She carries around her very own little Elmo everywhere, and he sleeps with her every night.

I sneeze and she says, "Wesh-shoe!" She sneezes and she says, "Wesh-shoe!"

She knows six animal sounds: dog, cat, cow, horse, sheep and snake.

She'll carry her dirty diaper to the trash can and throw it away. She turns around and claps, so pleased with herself.

She closes her eyes for a few seconds as we pray before dinner, and says, "Aaaa-men!"

She signs, more, please, thank you, all done and water. Her signs for water and thank you look an awful lot like blowing kisses.

She can identify eyes, nose, mouth, ears, feet and head.

She puts her fingers together and raises her arms when I sing The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.

She steals my lip balm and hides it behind her back. She swipes the stick over her lips like mama.

Every day she is changing. She says a new word, responds to me, mimics me. She learns something new, discovers something new, delights in something new.

Dear Fable

I'm sorry to say, your daddy started calling you "stinky" a long time ago, and it stuck. We call you "the stinkster" and many other names derived from "stinky." But of course we give you these pet names with all the love in our hearts, and it seemed only fitting to dress you as a skunk for Halloween! Not quite as "sweet" as last year, but so much fun.

We took you out in your costume three times. On Friday, we went with friends to a local shopping complex. On Sunday, we went to a Trunk or Treat at our church. Before we did any trick-or-treating ourselves, we passed out candy from our car. You loved giving candy to the other kiddos.

"One for you."

"One more for you."

"And one for you."

"Anyone else? Who wants candy?"

"Someone, please! Take this candy!"

On Monday we went around to a few houses in our neighborhood. You enjoyed carrying your candy bag and walking around the neighborhood. As the bag grew heavier, you took to dragging it along behind you.

You always said "Tank ooo!" and "Buh byeee!"

My polite little stinker.

Love you,

Mama