22 months

Dear Julianna,

Hey Doodlebug!

I’ve so enjoyed all the hugs and pats on the back you’ve given me this month! You’ll come up close to me and press your check up against mine and say, “Hey!” I’ll stop and hug you tight and say, “I love you” and you’ll pat my arm and say, “I wuv you, Mama. Jules’ Mama.” You used to only sign it, but now you’ve found the (adorable) words.

And Oh My Goodness have you found the words! Since I last wrote a letter to you you’ve learned not just nouns, but you’ve learned verbs and pronouns. You’re speaking regularly in four, five, and six word sentences! You say, “Sess gave it to me,” and “Jules help Mommy,” and “Get a cookie a-Nanna’s house.” It’s amazing how much you actually sound like an adult now and not a toddler anymore. I’m so impressed still with how quickly you learn.


You have been learning names this month. You can say your name and I believe it is perhaps the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. You sing, “Jesus Loves Me” and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” all the way through with no help from anyone. You say the whole alphabet (with the exception of J and N) and my personal favorite letters are Q and W, pronounced “ko” and “double.”

A few of us have asked you about your birthday and you tell us that you’ll be two and that you want a “monkey cake.” I can’t wait to party with you!

We’ve battled quite a bit of sickness over the past few months, but this last one was the worst. Because you had a 105 degree temperature and were a pitiful acting little girl, we took you to the doctor for a lengthy round of tests followed by a shot of strong antibiotics and another office visit the next day to check lab results as well as your progress. You got a second shot of antibiotics and since your body was responding well to that we went home happy and able to sleep for the first night in a while. I can’t explain how sick with worry it made me to see you so ill. I told the doctor that I didn’t care how many tests she had to do to get you well, I was just tired of bringing a sick baby to their office every two weeks (you see, we’d just been there the day before Christmas Eve as well). Anyway, through all of her testing she determined you didn’t have the flu, didn’t have a UTI, didn’t have RSV, bronchitis, pneumonia, or a number of other things. When I got strep throat two days later and the first round of antibiotics didn’t clear it up, we were pretty sure that’s what had made you so sick. I had to go back and get a shot too. Hopefully the sickness will stay away from us for a while now. It’s awful having a sick Doodlebug.

We’ve been working so hard on your potty training lately. You’ve been happily wearing your “monkey panties” and “hoppy toads” each day and will go several days (even a week) at a time without getting a drop of pee where it shouldn’t be. But then for one or two days in a row you’ll have an accident or two or three. It’s ok though. I really feel like you’re almost fully there and because a lot of times you’ll start in your underwear but then wait for the main event to happen on the potty, I know you’re trying hard. I’m super proud of you.

You haven’t been sleeping as great lately as you always have. Your daddy gets up with you usually once a night and just tucks you back into your big girl bed and you go right back to sleep, but it baffles us what causes this because you’ve never been this way. It’s been taking you quite a bit longer to fall asleep for naptime and I know it’s because you just want to stay awake and play, but still, it’s different and we’re all having to adjust to you growing up.


You’ve begged and begged to go swimming this month. We finally got in the car one weekend recently and took you to the beach although we had to explain how you wouldn’t be able to swim because of the cold. We promise to take you back when it gets warm, Jules. And we know it’ll be lots of fun.

Because while sometimes I long for time without you, Doodle, everything I do with you is cherished.

Love,
Mama