Malia is 18 Months Old

Dear Malia,


I find myself telling people all of the time “She’s hilarious” when describing you. As I’m writing this I’m watching you trying to put your dress back on. You need to put it back on because you turned it into a strapless dress before taking it off completely. Even though you are nowhere close to getting it on, you are calm and determined.

Watching you put on the dress really highlights who you are. You are fiercely determined at everything you do, and calm and funny throughout. Not only do you make me laugh every day, you make me laugh every hour. I love being around you and watching your silly, mischievous personality.

You are very content to play by yourself, but you love playing with your sister. My favorite sound in the world is the two of you giggling together. You adore Hadley and want to do everything she does. You follow her around the house, color when she does, plays with dolls with her and will even fall down if she does. Even though you two are so different, you are definitely sisters.

You love to cuddle and we can spend hours on the couch cuddling and reading books. I love our one on one time. You give hugs and kisses, but only when you want to. No amount of asking or saying please can get a kiss if you’re not in the mood.

I can already tell that you are going to be a leader. You are very assertive and not shy at expressing your feelings. You care about others, but will not let anyone push you around.

While you are calm and laid-back, the monster known as toddlerhood has reared its scary, loud head. Tantrums are still rare and don’t last very long, but you know how you want things and are not easily dissuaded. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this will be a brief period and not very bad. Hey, a Mom can hope right?

I’m having so much fun being your Mommy. I love everything about you. I promise to keep laughing with you and to enjoy all of the little moments as it all goes by so quickly. Love you always.