Dear Olivia (9 months old)

While playing today, you made a game to entertain yourself. You would "fly" your water bottle, making a "weeweewee" sound, then crash it into your toy drum, and then act surprised at the crashing sound. You did this over and over again! It struck me that you, my tiny baby, are growing into a big baby, and we are indeed seeing toddlerhood fast approaching.

You've been crawling for a little over a month. You started off  like a reptile, dragging yourself from room to room. I was so glad when you started crawling on your knees and hands, but it seems that when you can't get to your destination fast enough, you revert back to your gecko style crawl! Well, at least you've been keeping our floors nice and clean, the proof being in your dirty, dusty, stained clothes.

You are also quite an explorer. You love playing, especially with anything that you are not supposed to touch or go near. Cables and wires seem to be your favourite thing since you started crawling. I wish you could tell me what is more interesting about a white telephone cable than your multicoloured, multifunctional and even multilingual piano! According to the manufacturer of this magnificent toy you are supposed to love the colours, sounds and textures, and it even promises hours of interactive fun. If anything were to even come close (meaning seconds or minutes of fun) to fulfilling this promise, it would rather be the TV remote or bucket filled with plastic kitchenware!

And while your exploring ways are fun to watch, they are a bit scary as well. It's as if you crawl around with a magnifying glass and a mouth wide open, ready for any "treasures" you inevitably find on the floor. These are some of the interesting objects we've had to pull out of your mouth thus far: a plastic straw, earrings, chunks of toilet paper, rubber bands... and I have no doubt that other things have made it to your stomach and hopefully out the other end! You find it so funny and hilarious when we anxiously try to pull stuff out of your mouth, with no idea how anxious it actually is for mama and daddy. We try to be so careful, yet it seems like everyday, without fail, you always manage to get some foreign object into that pretty little mouth of yours!

Eating is still your favourite activity. I have never seen anyone who enjoys food quite like you do. It is an absolute joy watching you enjoy a meal, snack or drink, and the look of immeasurable pleasure and enjoyment in your eyes is just priceless! The other day we were sitting in line at the clinic and a baby next to us was having a banana. You screamed for her snack, even almost grabbed it out of her hand. Lucky for you her mother gave you one for yourself, and you gobbled it down within a few minutes. Oh my dear, everyone around us must have thought you were starving! And with almost eight teeth now, you are a pro at biting and chewing. Now and again, you still like to practise your biting skills on me when I'm feeding you. Ouch!

One of our biggest breakthroughs in the past three months is that we finally found the right nanny for you, after a physically draining and  emotionally stressful search. She's been with us now for just over a month and she is such a blessing to our family. I am not worried about you when I'm work, as I can be confident that you are happy and in good care. When I come home from work in the early afternoon, I usually find the two of you playing outside on the grass. You drop whatever toy you have in your hand and give me the biggest, most adorable grin. It's funny though, as sometimes you'll just burst into tears when I walk in, as if you are suddenly coming to the realisation that I've been gone. I can't help but laugh!

I can tell you are more aware now of who you know and who you don't. You will not easily go to a stranger anymore. You still surprise me sometimes however - Like the other day when I was wheeling you in your pram at the grocery store and a random man came and started chatting to you, pulling your cheeks. He even proceeded to take you out of your pram and carried you (he asked for mama's permission first). You looked him straight in the face and started pulling his sunglasses, with no fear whatsoever! He was pretty chuffed with himself, boasting to everyone nearby, "You see, babies just love me!". Well done sweetheart, maybe he needed that self esteem boost, and you helped him feel special!

Everyday with you is filled with sweet adventures. I love doing life with you and learning from you. You continually teach me to be patient, to be vulnerable, to be strong and persevere, to see the best in people, to love unconditionally, and to enjoy the simple things in life. Being a mama is not without challenges - health, time, relationships and social life challenges all come with the package of parenthood - but none of these can ever outweigh the sweet joy. 

I love you my sweet Caramel. You make my life so rich and beautiful!

Mama