Month 14

Dear Desi,

You turned 14 months old two days ago, and I would have written your letter then, but you were sick, and so I finished all my errands as early as possible and spent all afternoon just lying with you in bed and hugging you to health. Honestly, aside from giving you medicine and praying for you, it was all I knew to make you feel better. On the night of your 14th month birthday you kept me up all night, because I guess you felt too sick to stay asleep, and you pooped a couple of times during the night. Something you haven't done since you were new born. Thankfully, with a little more cuddling yesterday, you felt better and today you are completely well. And so I can take some time to write your letter.



What a fantastic last two months it has been! (Aside from the sickness) It's as if you turned 1 and you decided, ok, it's time to do all the stuff Mommy has been eagerly anticipating for so long. I almost wrote you a 13th month letter, but I wanted to do the same with you as I did your Ate.

Soon after you turned 1, you started talking. Since you learned to say Ate, it was the only word you said. And you say it to mean your Ate Lia, but also to mean Ate Fe, your Yaya, and for some reason, me, your Mommy. But after your birthday you more than tripled, nay, quadrupled your vocabulary. There was one time, your Yaya Fe was on her vacation and you were left with Yaya Felma while I went out to run a few errands. When I got home, you were sitting just inside the front door, holding on to two of my rattan balls and yelling "Bo! Bo! Bo!" Over and over again. As if to say, I get it! Words mean things! And Yaya Felma told me you've been just sitting there yelling Ball for the past hour or so. Amazing! And I'm so glad I caught the tail end of it, because naturally I had to take a picture.



The other things you say are "Wa!" for when I ask you how old you are. And "Uh oh!" for when you drop something or something gets broken. You say it so sweetly, and in this adorable sing song way, it's impossible for you to get into trouble for the things you darling. You say "Oh?" when Lolo Art hands you his celphone and you put it to your ear. You also say "Dadai!" When you still slept with us, you yell this at your Daddy to wake him up everyday at 6AM sharp. Now that you sleep in the room you share with your sister, he misses his little alarm clock immensely. But, especially after a late night, not too much.



Also, in the last two weeks, you have mastered walking. and just last month, you practically refused to stay upright on two feet without support. Even if I knew you could already do it. Today you walk everywhere and you love it. As if the act is not a means to get from one place to another, but that walking in itself is great fun. The sight of you toddling around with your arms waving in the air just makes me ever more excited for the days you can already run, jump and dance with your sister. What fun we will all have!

Being the younger sister, it's practically unavoidable that you be compared to your older sister. I do my best to avoid doing this, but anyone who knows the two of you, even if only by your website and my blog, would immediately notice differences between the two of you. In looks, it is apparent, the two of you don't look very much alike. But also in the things you can and cannot do. It isn't fair to be compared to your Ate, because she set the bar very high by being so bright and developing so fast. And of course right now you don't know or care about these things, but if someday it frustrates you that your sister can do things way before you can, that you will surely eventually catch up with her, and maybe even do better than her in the future.



Take for example climbing up and down beds. You watch her climb on and off Mommy and Daddy's bed like it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But you know we had to teach her how to do this when she was almost two years old. You can do it already, and expertly without help, like it's no big deal. Now. Already. And you're not even that good at walking yet. I'm getting the feeling that you will grow up to be interested in different things than your Ate. You don't seem interested in repeating words I ask you to say, or telling me where your nose is. Oh, you know where your nose is. And you are capable of saying whatever you want. You just don't feel like doing things as I direct. No, you like taking my iPhone, turning it on, yes, at 14 months, you know how to press the home button and then slide the arrow to unlock. It took some figuring out on your part, and sometimes you don't get the arrow to the end all the way, but eventually, with no special help from me, you did it, and now you do it all the time. I try to keep you occupied with the baby games I keep in there. But the second I look away, you exit those games and attempt to send an email or check facebook, or buy more apps from the app store. Someday, I will boast to people that you learned to use my iPhone when you were barely a year old, and you'll be all, "Mom! Stiiiir!" And I will direct you to this link and you will know it's true.



My Desi, thank you for not growing up in such a hurry and being my little baby for as long as possible. I love your laid back, easy go lucky personality. How brave and calm you are in new and potentially stressful situations, how you're so patient and sweet to your Ate and to everyone around you, with your ready smile and tight hugs. I may complain about eyebags and sleepless nights, but I would endure all that and more because seeing you smile makes me so happy my heart could burst. Our family is in for a lot of changes in these coming months, but I have all the faith in you and your strength that you will manage beautifully.



You are my darling, and you are wonderfully brave, smart, beautiful and good. I love you more than I can say.


Love, Mommy