To Stella, 2.1

Dear Stella,

Now that we are no longer counting in months, I guess we have to count in decimal points. That's the way all the pre-schools seem to do it and, yes, we are embroiled in the insanity that is the New York City pre-school admissions process in which I toil for hours on end writing essays about your interests and strengths and pour over the thesaurus to find just the right words to describe your sparkling personality.

While there are many names we could assign this month, I think I shall declare it to be heretofore known as The Month of Compliments. A conversation with you might go something like this.

Stella: I like your dress!
Mommy: Thank you. I like your dress!
Stella: Thank you. I like your shoes!
Mommy: Thank you. I like your shoes!
Stella: Thank you. I like your eyes!
Mommy: Thank you. I like your eyes!
Stella: Thank you. I like your hair!
Mommy: Thank you. I like your hair!

One day last week we were lying in bed together in the wee hours of the morning. You still love hiding and were having a great time with me and Daddy hanging out/hiding in the tent that your father made out of our comforter when you looked at me lying there naked and said, "I like your body!"

Recently on the subway you were talking to a friendly lady and told her, "I like your teeth. Kind of like corn." Fortunately, when she asked you what color they were you said white. Phew. You love to point out things that are the same or kind of the same. For example, when we walk down the street you often say, "Kind of like Daddy" when we see a man or "Kind of like Grandpa Paul" when we see a man with white hair or "Kind of like Grandma Roz" when we see an old lady (sorry, Grandma).

You have decided that you only want to wear long dresses that go all the way to the floor which has made getting you dressed a bit of a challenge. You have two "party dresses" that you basically want to wear all the time and they are ratty and worn out and ridiculously stretched. It always feels like a bit of a victory when we convince you to wear something else.

I had no idea that at 2.1 you would already be such a fun companion. Spending time with you really is like having a little friend who is very talkative and observant and interesting and adorable. We have had a lot of fun adventures together as I know that I will be going into rehearsals relatively soon and I really want to have this special time together exploring different playgrounds, going to the Childrens Zoo and to the Bronx Zoo with Grandma Helaine and Clara. The Bronx Zoo was especially fun although we somehow didn't end up seeing too many animals. Grandma and I were hell-bent on at least getting you guys to feed the animals in the children's part of the zoo even though I think you were having tons of fun running around and picking out little toys in the gift shop and eating concession stand "pizza". Amazingly, we didn't get home until close to 2pm and, even though you normally nap around 12:30pm, you were cheerful until the very end when you expired in my arms in the subway station when we were about 10 minutes from home. I think your batteries just finally ran out and you simply couldn't go on. You went from loudly singing the alphabet to sound asleep in two seconds flat.

I also took you to the merry-go-round in Central Park but you were adamantly against going on a horse. Instead, you and I sat together on one of the couches even though you loudly protested and said you wanted to get off. I assured you that once it started moving you were going to like it though I did feel a little Mommie Dearest forcing you to stay on when you clearly didn't want to. However, I was right and once it started going around you laughed and loved it so much that when it stopped you immediately demanded, "Again!" I did try to convince you to give a horse a try but to no avail. And lest I go down in history as some pushy mother who forced you to do things against your will, know that I did NOT force you onto a horse, did not even try to persuade you to touch a horse or even look at one. I was more than happy to sit beside you on the couch and go around and around.

The big event of the month was starting pre-pre school at Poppyseed. Daddy and I were so excited I can just imagine what we are going to be like next year when you start real school. Your teacher, Lili made quite an impression on you and you talk about her a lot.

You are turning out to be a little girl I admire so much. One of the qualities I most marvel at is your resiliency and determination. We were recently out to dinner at the Chinatown Brasserie with a group of people. You wanted to sit on a booster seat rather than in a high chair and at one point you feel off your chair and landed on your head on the sidewalk. You cried for all of two minutes before you were totally fine again wanting to return to the booster seat. Whenever you run into trouble like that, you want to give it another shot. Your behavior consistently epitomizes that cliche about getting back on the horse. If you trip climbing up a particularly precarious flight of stairs, rather than getting discouraged, you insist on doing it again. Daddy and I always take the extra time to let you do just that even if it makes us nervous sometimes. Perhaps sensing my fear, you will often reassure me, "Don't be scared!" just as you perform a particularly daunting feat.

I've been having such a great time with you and I get excited when I hear your voice calling, "Mooooommmmmmy. Moooooommmmmmmy" when you wake up in the morning. I never thought that I would be happy to get up at 7am but you are so much fun that I really don't mind. When Daddy reads this he will probably volunteer to let me get up tomorrow in his place since I love it so much. I may not take him up on the offer but know that I really do love it just the same.

I love you.
Love,
Mommy