fifteen months new

You were growing up so fast and it was so bittersweet.

On one hand we were so excited seeing all the new things you were learning.

But we kept thinking back to the year before,

when we had been approaching your first Christmas,

and it seemed like that had been a different little girl entirely.

The first year you had simply looked around in wonder,

but for your second Christmas you were so tangibly excited.

You didn't really have any idea what was going on

but you knew it was exciting

and you knew that it meant twinkly lights

and the occasional chocolate treat

so you liked it.

You were getting really interested in certain toys now

and had a definite preference for your Jessie doll and your Tinkerbell.

It made us smile to see how you were clearly picking girlier toys

despite us never pushing them at you

and with all the different toys you had available to you.

Mostly though, you liked playing with things that weren't toys.

Shoes, bits of ribbon, spoons, sponges, remotes.

They were all big favourites

and you could go to great lengths to get your hands on them.

Now that you were so sturdy on your feet

you were beginning to get yourself into all sorts of trouble.

There was no stopping you now

and your nosey streak meant you were relishing your independence.

You had managed to pull the Christmas tree over

which Mummy had predicted would happen,

and had worked out how to open the DVD drawer

so could cause total devastation in no time at all.

But a big perk of your confident walking

was the way that play had changed

as you could truly play with your brother now.

The two of you would chase up and down the hallway,

teasing one another and screaming with laughter.

It was so so noisy, but such a joy to watch.