I look at you and see this amazing little person. You are not a baby anymore, not physically and not mentally. Your intuition is something else and I hope you never lose your drive to press ahead and to forge your own path.

You’ve always seemed to have your own pace and time table for stuff, your own little internal compass and time table.

At about 7 months old, even though we weren’t rushing to start solids, you began stealing my food from me. I remember the first time clearly. It was on a trip, for Mama’s birthday. We were eating takeout as a special treat. PF Changs, and you just reached out and stole some food off a fork for yourself. A noodle. From there your relationship with food began.

Once solid food became a regular thing, you gradually decreased your daytime breastfeeding sessions. Just before your first birthday you settled at only nursing before naps and before bed.

Then at 16 months you weaned yourself from breastfeeding completely! Mommy’s pregnancy probably had something to do with it but we were in no hurry to end that relationship prematurely… But when you felt ready you just tapered off and eventually stopped wanting to nurse. And you haven’t looked back, even now, with your baby sister nursing in front of you.

Shortly after self weaning you also took the plunge, literally, and began rejecting your crib. This set the stage for transitions to your toddler bed which you now rock like a grownup. We hardly ever have issues with you trying to come out of your room when it is sleeping time. It is crazy!

We are also still in utter amazement over your self-led potty training. You started out loving your nakedness and that in turn taught you about your bodily functions.

Before we knew it you were succeeding at using your potty chair during your awake-naked times. Then one day you just asked to sleep diaper free and that was that. You are even having public-outing-potty-success which seems crazy to me. There have been a few accidents along the way but your maturity and your understanding of things has made you this amazing little person, way earlier than we expected.

I feel like I got pregnant with your sister, I blinked and you just transformed from a baby to a little person. I missed the exact moment of transition and am still in awe when I look at you or when I see photos/ video of you as a baby. You are such a big, little girl now. So much growth, learning and maturing has taken place in such a short time.

I am so proud of and amazed by you but I also miss my cuddly little baby girl. It is bittersweet but proud amazement prevails. I am so excited to see what is next for you, my little preschooler.