Letter to Lulu: 17 months old

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Dear Lulu,

Let me tell how you start your day. You wake anywhere between 4am and 6am. The closer to 6am, the happier I am and the more I love you. Kidding. I love you no matter what time you wake, but I sure do enjoy that little bit extra sleep in.

Some kids like to play in their cot, and talk to their toys when they wake up. We’ve learned that you are not those kids. You also don’t have a volume switch. You go from nothing to EVERYTHING. So much loud. When you wake, you stand upright and you yell, “MUM MUM MUM MUM MUM MUM MUM MUM MUM MUM MUM”.

And so our day begins.

I don’t know what I do differently to other kids, but I raise mama-girls. Girls that like to be able to see me at every possible time. If I dared close the door on the bathroom, cue major meltdown. I tried it once. It was like the world was ending.

Using the bathroom now is very much a spectator sport.

This morning we played in your bedroom. You made me a cup of tea in your tiny kitchen and ‘cheers’d’ me as you handed me my cup. You are so stinking cute, it kills me.

lulu-17months

Let me tell you all the things you love to do. You love to eat Weetbix. Well, only if you can feed yourself, which you do… but then you paint yourself and the house with it too and if it’s not cleaned within 3.45 seconds, then it turns to glue and it’s game over. You also love sushi, anything chocolate, fruit, sandwiches, avocado… You’ll pretty much eat anything that’s not moving. Let’s not talk about that time last month when you ate a dishwashing tablet.

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You also love to feed Bronte {Bonte! to you}. Each day we fill up the cup and you carry it outside. Bronte is the most excitable dog in the world, and you wince as she jumps near you. You try and tell her to stop, stay, sit but I don’t think she cares to listen to people smaller than her. Plus she can see the food you’re carrying.

Depending on the day, you’ll either walk over and dump the cup into her dish… or you’ll walk over and dump the cup… all over the ground… so Bronte can spend the rest of her day retrieving tiny little balls of liver-flavoured biscuits. On the very interesting days you’ll demand that you have to pick up EVERY SINGLE DROPPED BISCUIT and put it into her dish. Seventy-two hours later we go inside.

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Lulu, as I watched you this morning playing, I was reminded {as I am every day} at how quickly you grow. As much as I try and soak up every moment and store them, I know that I might not remember just how you looked at this age. How you spoke in that super cute way. How you were so needy, and easily-frustrated, but I might not have it any other way. I will remember how much I love you though, and how grateful I am to be your mama.

I’d love if you could just stay this teeny for a little bit longer…

I do love you so much Lulu.

Mama. xx

18 thoughts on “Letter to Lulu: 17 months old”

  1. Lulu is so cute. Raffy is all sorts of loud here too BUT he eats the dog biscuits. You sure make beautiful girls Telle

  2. She is gorgeous. My Ned who is the same age wants his breakfast desperately {usually yoghurt with berries} but only if he can feed it to himself. If, god forbid, I try and feed it to him it’s like the world is going to end and suddenly he isn’t hungry anymore. Gotta love kids!

  3. Someone should invent Weetbix that don’t turn into cement! V is the same and paints herself/the house every time. Lulu is just the sweetest and your pics are divine. X

  4. This is so beautiful Chantelle, it reminds me to keep writing little letters to my Ella (16 months) as I fear I will forget exactly how she is at this age, and I desperately do not want that!
    I also sympathise with the Weetbix situation, that stuff sets incredibly fast and rivals cement!

  5. Nell and her are so alike! Eat everything in sight and she has NEVER played in her cot after waking – EVER. I want to capture every moment in some kind of brain visual data bank and store forever – pulling down a moment from any age when I want.

  6. Gawd! That is sooooo good to have! You will read that when she’s a teenager, your heart will feel like she squeezed it with her 17 months old hands….but it will be worth it xxx

  7. These letters are fabulous and will be a treasure she will cherish one day. I see so many similarites between her and my own daughter, who’s 18 months. I wish I’d thought to record her progress like this – I guess it’s not too late to start! This si truly heartwarming and I can totally imagine her cheekily getting up to all these things. <3

  8. I lay in bed reading this as i watch Miss 14mths sleep beside me and i just know there is not video time on my phone to catch all her precious moments. Like you, i sometimes wish i could freeze here in time but i am so looking forward to watching her grow n become more of ‘herself’.

  9. This is so beautiful. Happy tears in my eyes. Must go and write my children letters! My eight year old reminded me yesterday that she used to call fringes chimneys! It was so funny. She would say “Mum today I played with the girl with the chimney” and we would laugh and never correct really correct her {because we were laughing} so it would happen again the next day 🙂 But I had forgotten, but now I remember, but I will forget again. I’ve GOT to write her a letter! Thank you for making me a better Mum xo

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