my darling Tabitha...

1 year and a little bit

Tabitha, my darling little girl. I love you so very much...

but...

• you may NOT have the power cables to chew on.
• those DVD's aren't there for you to pull out one by one and bang on the floor
• you do not have to take all your books out immediately after i put them away
• my very hot cup of coffee isn't the thing for you to try to grab
• please do not push over the TV
• i know if you climb up me while we're sitting on the chair you can get to your clothes and pull them out to throw on the floor, but please don't
• daddy actually likes cuddling us both in bed, you are only one year old, you do not need an entire half of the bed to yourself.
• when you are just in bed with mummy, please will you stop repeatedly kicking her in the stomach.
• pulling the keys off the laptop key board isn't a nice thing to do
• i know you are thirsty, and i know that you can feed yourself from a cup, why will you only drink if i hold the cup and otherwise tip out all the water on purpose?
• books are not chew toys, we provide you with chew toys that you then ignore
• no, you can't have my phone/the Xbox controller/the tv remote, you are surrounded by toys, can't you play with them?
• shampoo isn't for eating, and neither is conditioner.
• i know you want to crawl head first off the bed, but please don't, it will hurt and i will feel guilty.
• other peoples shoes are theirs, not yours.
• we put things out of your reach on purpose, pointing at them and crying won't make us give them to you.
• yes, you do need to brush your teeth every day
• yes i do need to cut your nails when they get scratchy.
• please can mummy have just one teddy bear that she doesn't have to share?
• when you have finished with your food you can just stop eating, it doesn't need to all go on the floor.
• crawling under your cot isn't sensible, you will get stuck and bang your head.
• when you are napping, can't mummy nap too instead of you lying on her in the most uncomfortable position possible?
• when i leave your line of sight, i am not vanishing forever, i'm just going to the toilet.
• we occasionally block off parts of the room from you on purpose, trying to squeeze through and getting stuck and crying isn't helping any of us.
• and lastly, when you have a very dirty nappy and your mummy is trying to change you, will you please not go crawling across the bed spreading poo wherever you go?

i love you from the bottom to the top of my heart, my crazy little thing.