Dear Moe (33 Months)

My dear boy, this letter is 10 days late, and I’m sorry. It’s been quite a ride.

Let’s start with what a brave little guy you are. You had your ear surgery at CHEO this past month, and you were a total trooper. It was a long morning of fasting in a waiting room while wearing scratchy stripey pajamas. You were amazing. The surgery itself went really well, and it was such a relief to see you sitting up on the gurney as they wheeled you back to us. We had a long wait, as you took advantage of the opportunity to nap. You were a little fragile upon waking, and you really just wanted to go home. You tolerated the twice daily ear drops very well – you let us do them, even though you cried every time. There were some complications after the surgery – one of your ears bled a lot more than it should have, and it was so alarming to come into your room and find blood all over the pillow. It alarmed you, too. At one point you pointed to the blood and asked, “’Zat my fault?” and we were quick to reassure you that it wasn’t anybody’s fault and that nobody was mad about it. Following the surgery were more doctor’s appointments, another trip to CHEO to follow up on the bloody ear, and you handled them all with patience and good spirits. We are so very proud of you and have tried to really get across how brave you have been.

You haven’t had any ear infections since the surgery, but we have both been quite sick. The doctor thinks it’s been three different colds, and one of them included a doozy of a viral throat infection. I’m really hoping that December is better for us, health wise. Through it all, though, it has been a relief that none of the colds have gone to your ears.

You enjoyed Halloween and trick or treating very much. Your dinosaur costume, made with love by Grandma, was fantastic. Grandma took you to see Great Nan and you happily modeled the costume for her. You and I had a very nice time at the Members’ Halloween Party at the Agriculture Museum. Although you did find things a bit overwhelming, you loved the crafts. You can always be counted on to love the crafts. Aunt Janine and Uncle Mark came with us to go trick or treating, and you did really well. You said “thank you” and got quite confident walking up people’s lanes. We did a few houses on our street, walked to Grandmas, and then walked home. By the time we got back to our house, you were ready to come inside.

You still enjoy a visit to Grandpa Reg’s, but since he has moved to the Perley, it isn’t quite the same. Our walk is now indoors instead of outside, and you miss the fish tank at Alta Vista Manor. I enjoyed that routine with you, so this new one will take some adjustment. It’s wonderful to see your relationship with Reg, though. You happily give him hugs, and love to bring him toys to show him. One thing that warmed my heart was that when Reg was choosing a few photos to bring with him for his first night at the Perley, he chose one of you.

I don’t know if it is as a result of your surgery, but your speech has improved drastically in the last month. You express yourself so very well, in full, complex sentences. You often get “I” and “me” mixed up, with adorable results. (“Pick I up, Mummy.”) You have some great expressions. I love your recent use of the word “actually”. You’re a big fan of saying, “Not yet.” And we often hear, “I just do something” and “I don’t think so.” For a while, your pronunciation was taking on a  definite Texas twang, which was odd. You would ask to get “day-own” instead of down. You would talk about your “bay-ath”. It’s getting better, which is good, because it’s hard to explain!

You also incorporate talk in your play a lot more. We often hear conversations between cars or stuffies, and you like bringing us a stuffie and asking us to “talk him”. You love cuddling your animals. For portability, you love Little Lambie. For big cuddles, nothing compares to Buster. 

You are still making great progress on the potty. We rarely have accidents these days. You still have great reluctance about pooping on the potty, and you often cry when you poop. We’ve taken to offering you a special reward: a Lego mini figure. Things are coming along, but we’re not expecting miracles. We know it sometimes takes a while before this second part of potty training really clicks.

I had a bit of a dilemma this year for Remembrance Day. I am eager for you to attend a ceremony so I can explain it to you, but you are just too young. I went to the Perley to attend the ceremony with Reg and Joan, and considered bringing you, but you’re just too young and it isn’t appropriate. I hope we’ll have a chance in coming years to have you experience a ceremony with Reg. In the meantime, you can identify a “poppy flower”.

You have a great ability to focus for a long time on certain tasks, like crafts or baking. You can spend a long time in the bath just watching how water pours over a car. You like to wrap things in a Kleenex or a wash cloth and tell us it’s a present. You enjoy lining your cars up in what you call a parking lot. In the bath, when we put the wash cloth over the side of the tub, you arrange your cars on it for a “picnic”. It is very important that everyone be included in the picnic and that we find room for all the cars.

I’ve started taking you to the library again, and we’re both enjoying it. You love books and are so excited when we bring new ones home from the library or, even better, when Daddy brings you your own new books from his store.

It’s a pleasure to give you things, as you are genuinely grateful. You are so polite and say “thank you” mostly unprompted, and we’ve had great success this month with “please” (although that one comes and goes). You are so good at asking permission to do things or play with things (“Please, Mummy, I play with that?”) and you are generally a pleasure to be around. Your laugh lights up the house, much like your dimple lights up your face. Between your dimple and your eyebrows, your face is super expressive and it can be hilarious.

We are really looking forward to Christmas. This year will be a quiet Christmas, as Grandma and Granny will both be away. As much as we’ll miss them, though, I’m kind of looking forward to it being just the three of us for the first time. There are lots of surprises and celebrations coming in the next month, Pookie, and I hope you enjoy all of them. It’s such a joy to get you excited for Santa Claus and Christmas.

Lately, I find myself almost overwhelmed by waves of love for you. Your new abilities to express yourself mean that we’re really getting to know who you are and what you are thinking. And you’re fantastic. You are sweet and generous and funny and loving and more fun than I could ever have imagined. I love you so much, my darling boy. You bring so much wonder to our lives.