– Today is our wedding anniversary! 8 years and still going strong. No flowers, because he knows I don’t like getting flowers on the days that you’re “supposed” to give them. He gets them for me randomly and it’s way better.

– Nodding yes! She has figured out how to nod. It’s a little wobbly but she’s definitely getting the hang of it.

– Ready to talk. Whether she’s saying “buh bow” when I ask her to say “elbow” or “buh boos” when blowing bubbles, she’s definitely starting to really push harder to say words. The other night she was trying to get me to do something by pointing (I have no idea what she was pointing at or what she wanted) and she got pretty frustrated. I pulled her into my lap and gave her a hug and told her I was ready for her to start talking. I asked if she was ready to start talking too, and she looked up at me and nodded her head very seriously. I definitely believe she understood what I asked and responded.

– Helpfulness. I know I’ve mentioned before how she likes to be helpful. I assume that this is pretty much a trait that all toddlers have. And even though at her age, the “help” is often extra work for me, it’s so worth it to me to let her help. Now time for a brag. Last night as I was folding towels, J came over and started picking up the folded towels. Of course they came unfolded in her arms, and when she put them back down it was a jumbled mess. I am proud to say that I handled the situation absolutely right. I asked her if she wanted to help me fold towels, and when she nodded I had her hold one end of each towel and kind of folded it around her. She was watching me intently the whole time and I described to her how to fold towels as we did it. Then I had her put it in a stack. When we were done folding all the towels, I gave her one to carry and carried the rest of the drooping, falling apart stack over to the linen closet. As we were walking towards the closet, I glanced back to make sure she was following me. She was holding her towel and looking up at me as we walked. The look of excitement, pride, and joy shining in her eyes is one I won’t soon forget. I’m so glad that I took the time to treat folding towels as an opportunity to enjoy time with my daughter rather than worrying about how imperfectly our towels are now folded. I had been planning to refold them later, but after looking at her face and the pride she took in them, I think I won’t. I think that instead, I will remember that look as I reach for each towel until this stack is gone. The towels went so well I also had her help me fold a sheet, and that I let her put in the linen closet all by herself. *Proud (of both of us) mama moment*