Worse than waiting for your boyfriend to say it back
(First, a brief word to the gastrointestinal demons unleashed by PreNate Elite: You suck, and I will be throwing out the rest of the pills that serve as your cocoons of destruction. Turning my system inside out cannot possibly be good for the baby in my tummy, and it’s also keeping me away from the computer, which is simply unacceptable.)
CJ’s speech therapy is progressing admirably. She’s only had three sessions, and I’m amazed by how well she is stringing words together. I’m even more impressed by how well she concentrates during each session. She doesn’t notice me watching attentively from the sofa, and she doesn’t notice Tacy watching through the railing overhead. Focusing on specific activities for 45 minutes straight is hard for anyone, let alone a two year-old, but she does it surprisingly well.
I love that she asks for help when she needs it (instead of merely shrieking), that she asks for more milk when she wants it (instead of merely shrieking), and that she is generally happier and more cheerful than before (still some shrieking, but greatly reduced).
But what I ache for is to hear her say “I love you” back to me. Or Kyle. Or Tacy. I’m not picky.
Okay, so I’d really like for her to say it to me.
I know she loves us. Unlike teenage boys who say “I want to SHOW you how much I love you”, she really does show it. It’s easy to see that we’re her three favorite people in the world. The way she leaps into my lap, hugging me as she sighs “Mommy!” The way she runs to the door to greet Kyle when he arrives home from work, repeating “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” over and over. The way she comforts Tacy with hugs and kisses when Tacy is upset: “Sah-ee Tacy, sah-ee.”
She tries my patience, it’s true. By the end of the day, I have great difficulty summoning up the will to decipher whatever it is she wants NOW, because by then she’s at the end of her rope too.
But most of the time, she provides nonstop entertainment. She jumps, she climbs, she asserts her independence by slamming the sippy cup back onto the counter and picking it up herself. She runs the circuit while I chase her playfully with a clean diaper, and then she comes back after me, with her arms outstretched and growling – pretending to be a monster. She sits calmly on my lap to watch episodes of Curious George (“Watch Jowge peez!”) for as long as I’ll let her. She hands me her empty cup while rocking before bed and turns around to hug me as I carry her to her crib. I know she loves me, maybe even close to as much as I love her.
Still, oh how I wish she would say it out loud.
I’m a mess, but I’ll bet I can make you smile.
August 16th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
So cute! And I love her shirt.
It looks like she has little bitty braids in her hair…does she?
August 16th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
I Love You… Soon. It’ll come soon. And you’ll treasure it all the more.
August 16th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
I had forgotten what it was like many years ago, the first time I had a “conversation” with my son. Probably only a few sentences back and forth, but it was a “normal” exchange.
Like I said .. I had forgotten. I don’t think I was conscious of waiting for that, but was SO elated when it happened.
Don’t worry, she will say it. It’s the waiting thats hard.
August 16th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
I feel your pain on the waiting (I waited 9 years!)I have a feeling it is going to be very soon for you. Very soon. I’m hoping.
August 17th, 2007 at 2:31 am
Beautiful post. And beautiful girl!
August 17th, 2007 at 5:28 am
I understand that need to hear it. It took Cordy forever to finally say mama, and I was thrilled when she finally did.
She says I love you now, but only parroting it back to us after we say it. It’ll be nice when she says it independently.
August 17th, 2007 at 7:11 am
I know exactly how you feel. I have two kids with speech delays and i can’t wait to hear them tell me they love me…
August 17th, 2007 at 7:39 am
Aw. She will, she will.
August 17th, 2007 at 8:46 am
She’s learning sign language isn’t she? Even a few words? Could you teach her to
sign it?
August 17th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Wonderbaby has her own sign for ‘I love you’ – one fist pounded against the heart, twice. I’ll be happy with that for forever, I think. (But if she does work her way up to those three little words, I want them first.)
August 17th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Also? FEEL BETTER. Ginger tea.
August 17th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
The Mayor said it to me on his own tonight. (A rarity.) I nearly fell over.
August 17th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
But when she does it, it will be over-the-moon awesome.
August 17th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
It is lovely when they say it, and then they hit the phase where they say things like “I don’t love you! I only love Daddy!” Sigh. My MQ is getting OUT of that phase now, thankfully. I just used those times to explain my unconditional love. But you’re right, at least she still SHOWED me that she loved me!
August 18th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
When those words come to Bumper, I hope I’m the recipient. I hope the same for you.
August 20th, 2007 at 6:30 am
Oh. Oh. Do I (and we) hear you. Josh and I have been lamenting his lack of desire to say this sentence to either of us for awhile now. I knew, as soon as I saw the title of your post, what it was going to be about. We get hugs. And kisses. And cuddles. And loves. And everything else. But no words to describe it yet.
And I’m betting that Husband of mine will be the initial recipient. And I’ll be crushed… sigh.
August 20th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Oh… I do so hope it’s coming soon. Brace yourself that she might say it to SpongeBob first though.
So sorry you’ve been sick!