16 months old and no longer seeming like a baby to me

Dear Daughter:

Can I even call you that? I look at you and your long wet curls dangling past your shoulders in the bath tub and wonder who this big girl is in front of me.

Who is this big girl, who on her own, pointed up to a tree she heard a bird singing from and said "Bir... Bir"?

I know you're my little girl but I can't believe you're already a little girl.

The way you maneuver around the house knowing where everything is, deciding which toys you feel like playing with, and where things go, puts me in awe.

Dress from Adelaide's Boutique; Bow from Lil' Hiccups Boutique

The way you grab Snoop's food scoop, trying to feed him yourself the way we do--And the way you grab the play oven mitt to take food out of the play oven at school (as your teachers tell me) amazes me.

The way you took it upon yourself to turn, lean in, and kiss me goodnight while I swayed you back and forth before bed blew my mind. It's as if you had turned and said "I love you mom" but didn't have a way of really showing me before.

My heart melted to bits, as I'm sure it will again when those words finally come from your mouth.

You are so inquisitive. Who knew how much you were absorbing from just watching your daddy and I. Who knew how smart you'd turn out to be already? You copy little tasks I do and repeat words after me.

Speaking of your daddy, you are so well behaved around him. If he asks you to hand him something you don't want to give me, you do it. If he tries to feed you an unfamiliar food, you'll eat it. With me, you stomp your foot, throw yourself to the ground, or shake your head in my direction. I didn't think this attitude was suppose to start for another year or so but I guess your strong personality is just shining through.

You sometimes get jealous of me giving attention to other children. I'm not sure how much you'll like someday not being the only child. But don't worry, you won't need to worry about that for a while.

I've never been more excited for holidays in my life... Or at least not since I was a little girl myself. It's so fun seeing things through your eyes now, and I'm sure it will only get more fun as you get older. Every day spent with you gets more and more entertaining. Part of me wishes I could freeze time and preserve you as you are, but every new development seems to get better.