Dear Leila,
It’s taken me a couple of weeks to get around to writing this because I am slack. This is not good. A letter to a girl for her first birthday should happen close to, if not on, that birthday. You can tell your therapist all about it when you’re a big girl.
You are one year old. It’s very trite, but true, to say that it’s hard to imagine the little squished up girl who opened one eye, looked at Dad and I and then shut it fast as the same happy little girl who is crawling around our house getting into everything. It doesn’t make it any less wonderful though.
A week after your birthday we had a party for you with most of your family and friends to help you celebrate. That was late too. You didn’t notice at all. You had a great time with people who love you, lots of presents to play with and cup cakes to eat. The cup cakes, with pink icing and heart-shaped sprinkles, were made by Dad by the way and he did a fantastic job.
In terms of milestones you’re crawling, pulling yourself up on the furniture, saying a couple of words (’no’ and ‘ta’), eating like a champion (while still keeping your supermodel figure) and doing almost all the things the typical one year old does. The stuff you’re not doing is of no consequence - it’ll happen in its own sweet time.
I took you to see the Maternal & Child Health Nurse the other day for your 12 month check up. My main reason for going was to get you weighed and measured, since everybody tells me how petite you are and I don’t notice. It turns out that, while you’re reasonably long for your age (on the 75th percentile), you’re rather skinny (25th percentile) - hence your supermodel figure. I thought perhaps I’d been under feeding you, but I was reassured by checking Finn’s 12 month measurements and finding that, although you are smaller than he was, a similar differential existed between his length and weight. So you are both tall, skinny kids - fine with me. That’s what I was and I’m pretty sure your dad was too. We are a family of tall, skinny kids (Dad and I are still skinny kids on the inside).
Now’s the point at which I tell you just how much you light up our lives. Seeing you and Finn together is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. Perhaps especially so when he’s bouncing toys off your head and you’re sitting there laughing about it … until it hurts. Then he gives you a kiss and an awkward hug and the fun begins again. This is everything I could want for both of you. A sibling you can laugh and play with, have a cry and a cuddle with and then go on together. This is my family and you complete that picture.
Happy 1st Birthday my Princess,
Love Mum
Little Miss Leila is now quite good at standing. She doesn’t even need to cling on quite so desperately with two hands while she stands. All she needs is one firm hand and to be on carpet.
The kitchen presents something of a challenge especially when she has socks one. All the same I am sure she’ll be up and walking in no time.
Dear Leila,
Your party went well which is good since we are as excited as can be about your birthday and you generally. I will leave it to your mum to detail all that you can do. Suffice to say you are a charming and lovely little kid.
Lots and lots of love
Dad
Leila is now standing for a minute or so at a time. It won’t be long now until the is walking then talking then driving.
March 20, 2008 , 9:50 pm by mark
I was very happy to spend my evening doing the best thing I can imagine a dad doing for his one-year-old girl and that was making cupcakes with pink icing and star shaped biscuits for my baby girl’s first birthday.
As you might imagine the ideas and the shopping came from Nicky but I was delighted to do my bit for our lovely little princess.
I got home from camp the day after Little Miss turned one. I was amazed how much she’d changed in five nights. She didn’t do anything new but she just looked more alert and a wee bit more clever.
So happy birthday Little Princess. We are all very lucky to have you here making our life a bit more interested, noisy and fun.
March 1, 2008 , 7:36 pm by nicky
Yesterday we headed down to Queenscliff for an overnight camping trip. It was, without any exaggeration, the worst night we have ever had with Leila. She quite simply wouldn’t sleep.
She might have been cold. She might not have liked using her Kinderkot. She might have been too aware of the audience sitting close by. Whatever it was, it was enough for us to decide that there are no more camping trips for The Little Princess until next summer.
By then she will be big enough to be told to go to bed. She still might not like it, but she’ll be better able to communicate what it is she doesn’t like. And we can tell her to ’shut up’ and she will have some idea of what we mean.
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