Dear Campbell: 26 Months

Oh boy is Mommy late with this month's letter!  And while I'm apologizing for this month I'll go ahead and apologize for next month because I'll be late then, too.  In fact, I won't even see you on your month birthday in September because I'll be gone to Tolls - a thought that makes me very sad!

You continue to grow like a weed.  We have discovered that you have rather large feet as this has been the month of musical sparkly shoes.  I was at Target one day and grabbed a pair of adorable light pink glittery shoes.  As I knew you would, you loved them. Only they wouldn't even pretend to go on your feet.  So I ended up checking the other Target to find a larger size and brought home a hot pink pair and a silver pair.  The hot pink ones do not fit but the silver ones are fine as long as you wear socks. In giving Lexi your too small pairs I have learned that you are a size 6-6.5 compared to Lexi's 5-5.5 - and you guys are the same height. So either you are going to end up tall or you have inherited the Rineharts' fat, wide, square feet for which I am sorry!

During this month in your young life you have truly begun to embrace the joy of imagination and make-believe.  One of your favorite new games is to line up the chairs from your little table in the middle of your bedroom floor and pretend they are a school bus (you are obsessed with school buses and one day riding one).  We then sit in the chairs and repeatedly travel from park to park or farm to farm or store to store depending on what scenario you have chosen. You still desperately want a "kitty my own" and fairly regularly you walk around with your hands cupped "papping" imaginary kittens and giving them as presents to your friends and family.  You are also starting to embrace the art of story telling.  After learning that Aunt Quinny's house was struck by lightning, you went around recounting the adventure to everyone for nearly a week.  It went a little something like this: "Quinn in bed and storm and BSHSHSHSHSH! and woke up and TV dead, she got new one - Can you believe that?"

 

This month we - i.e. Mommy, Dotdot, Peepaw and Campbell - took a road trip to Grandma-Grandma's house. We started the trip off with a bang as Dotdot gave you a third baby to carry around - so we now have DollyCocoViolet. You were very excited about staying in a hotel coming and going and about getting to bunk with Mommy in the "big girl bed."  While in Pennsylvania we spent a lot of time counting horse-drawn buggies and exploring the area playgrounds. We've been trying to encourage you to go potty more often and, of course, you chose a road trip to decide to go poopoo in the big girl potty for the first time in weeks and so your reward was a new Diego toy which you love!  While at the Kettle Kitchen you experienced really good, fresh kettle korn for the first time.  You also learned about feeding the birds when you drop a piece.

Finally, this month you made your racing debut.  You come from a long line of runners and on your month birthday you competed in the Fastest Kid in Town race in Lexington.  You didn't win - it appears you have inherited my starting reflexes, or lack thereof - so we'll have to work on starts.  But you gain serious points for style as you are very reminiscent of Usain Bolt.  He is a good person to emulate since it also appears you will follow in Mommy's footsteps and be a sprinter and not a distance runner like Daddy.  The other night you and Annie were running laps around the patio at dinner and Annie could have gone on forever but after every turn there was a distinct pause on your part and a flash on your face as you visibly saw her keep running and thought "Really, kid, we can stop now, it's okay."  After a few laps you made the turn and both hands went to your side as you experienced your first side stitches.  Yeah, short bursts of speed definitely appear to be your style.  We'll start adding in obstacles to hurdle in a few weeks!

All my love to my little racer -
Mommy

Comments

[GrannyDots]

Have you ever seen a kid have so much fun running? Actually, Campbell is able to make almost anything fun . . . including housework!

[Evie]

I remember when Jonathan's imagination really began to soar - it was the summer we were in Montreal. "The Price is Right" came on in the late afternoons and Jonathan adored Bob Barker. It didn't take long for him to start playing "The Price is Right" with anyone who would indulge him (and who could resist doing so?). There were few things cuter than his little shout, "Come on down!"

It's a little harder to track when the same thing happened for Joshua, possibly because he had an older brother's lead to follow. It may have been when they had a Disney tunes record (yes - a RECORD! - one that played on a turntable!) that they listened to all the time. The last song on the record was "When the Saint Go Marching In." Every time that song came on, Joshua and Jonathan marched round and round - in a knees-lifted-high gait - in a little parade that passed through the living room, dining room and kitchen throughout the entire song.