You are such a wonderful boy! You are learning more independence and more confidence. You have plenty of will and pride but you still love to give cuddles and to please. You love your sister and want to protect her, and make her laugh. You don’t understand why she needs so many naps and why she can’t hold into things properly and why she doesn’t understand your words. But you do understand her smiles and her reaching hands. You know what to do when she spits up: without any prompting you go grab a tissue and wipe her mouth and the floor, and put it away in the rubbish bin. You’ll pick up toys she drop, and give her her special Thomas train. And she loves you, so happy to sit by and watch you, listen to your crazy noise-making, and want to play with whatever you are holding.
Riley, you can be grumpy and whiny and very frustrating. But you are also so sweet and generous and clever and gentle. You are a little man and you are so full of bright happy energy. I love watching you learn, surprises at what you absorb and reflect back onto the world. Your small compact body is so lovely to hug and carry. I love kissing your cheeks and little lips, and love to snuggle together on the couch pretending to be asleep. When it’s time to read books you like to plonk down right besides me so that our sides are touching, and I can put my arms around you.
