10 Years

 

Three

At Three Years Old You Can:

Spell your name
Count to "twentyteen"
Ride your scooter
Snuggle with your sister
Annoy your sister
Refuse to be potty trained
Play with your best friends Zach, Carter and Liam
Jump like Superman into the pool
Watch endless hours of "Peep and the Big Wide World"
Be brave when you get a cast on your arm
Cry when they take the cast off
Sleep in a crib
Exist on only hot dogs and fries
Almost sit through a whole movie in a movie theater
Refuse to nap
Refuse to go to sleep at night
Love your cat
Love your "Meemo" fish
Love "Racecar"

Love everyone.

Happy Birthday to our love!

The End

8 Years

It's amazing to me. Being the mother of an 8 year old. Such a funny age.

For your birthday we went to the zoo. It was 15 kids and family and it was a lot of fun. But I am glad I am not the parent of 15 kids. Keeping that herd together was a little nerve racking.

As a special surprise your favorite person in the whole world (other than your Dad, maybe) flew in from LA to celebrate your birthday.

I think your reaction to her leaving a few days later perfectly sums up your age. You were really very sad, until you realized she had left you a dollar to get a snack at the local Speedway (you really love to do that...who knows why). Then it was all "so, can we go to Speedway after school today?" You are up and down in the blink of an eye. Gee, can't wait for those magical teenage years.

We bought you a new bike since you learned (finally!) to ride a two wheeler this summer. Apparently your legs grew a thousand inches and the bike you were riding was like one of those little clown bikes, your knees up to your elbows. You picked this bike out...due to its "cool" factor.

You are happily 44 pounds now. Only 5th percentile. But in another 12 inches you will be as tall as your Mom. Sometimes I still take off your Dad's wedding ring and peer at that little round opening...remembering how your whole hand once fit inside.

This year will be amazing. You will start Brownies soon, you are still dancing and will start piano lessons. You will make your First Communion and probably do a million other things.

We are proud of you and excited for you and love you. Lucky us.

2 Years

I don't even know where to begin. How did 2 years go by so quickly? To say I am in denial is an understatement.

July 21, 2008

We are so lucky to have you. So happy you are our second miracle. You complete our family.

July 21, 2009

We love you. And even though I am a little sad that you are growing up so fast, we can't wait to see what you do next!

July 21, 2010

23 Months

Well, here we are, on the verge of two.

I am hopeful, so hopeful, that we can enjoy your twos much like we did with your sister. They were not at all terrible. I think they are really the Terrible Sevens. I think this because I just got served a whole lot of attitude from one Seven Year Old who is now in bed early.

But I digress.

Summer is upon us, which means a lot of time outside. You are so amazingly active and fearless that I am not sure I will survive the summer in one piece.

We went to the pool again yesterday, and while there was no way I could get your sister to go down the baby slide, you were all too willing to take it on. Trying to explain to you that there is a little thing called "knowing how to swim" standing in your way did not go over well. Each time we took you over to the big pool and went in, you would plaintively whine "sliiiiddddeeee pleeeeeese" so we had to distract you and swim away.

In most ways you are becoming more and more of a joy. You are starting to use small sentences and sing more. You have learned how to jump and when you run really fast you wiggle your whole body.

You have lately been laughing to hear yourself laugh and then you actually crack yourself up. It's infectious. If someone does something you like, you laugh and laugh and then say "Do again, please" over and over. We usually do.

Your favorite thing when I drive past any fast food establishment is to yell "CHICKEL FRIZES" and while we think this is funny, it makes me worry that you know what Wendy's is before the age of two.

You are endlessly polite. You say "Please" and "Sank You" and "Scuse Me" and "Welcome" and you love to hand us things when we ask for them and say "Here you go." You even know how to turn off the TV when we ask. Of course, that also means you know how to turn the TV on.

I am leaving this week to visit your Aunt in California. I haven't been away from you for this long and I will miss you and your sister.

I'm sure everything will be fine. Just don't learn anything new while I'm gone. Sank you.

22 Months

I took you for a much needed haircut this week. When I took this picture of you the next day, I was a little shocked at how BIG you looked. Like a kid. Not a baby.

Seeing you grow up sooooo fast is making me, to tell the truth, a little sad.

I don't remember it going by so fast with your sister. I would love to freeze this time, this age, right now.

You are a little charmer. A world class heartbreaker. I gotta say: when I hand you something and you say "Sank you Mommy" my heart does little flips and if you work it right, you could probably get anything you want. Especially when you point and say "Peeeeze" and bat those long eyelashes. *Side note. Why do boys get such long, beautiful eyelashes? Share the wealth, would ya?

You are getting way more verbal. You sing along to the all the kid CDs in the car. Your favorite things to point out to everyone are stars, hearts (which you still call "happies"), flags, cars, planes, traffic lights, and cats. You are still all about goldfish crackers, hot dogs, cheerios, pizza and, of course, "like its", although you now call them loyipops. You LOVE to be out of the house...forever asking to go "Owside" and play "Bassetcall" and go down the slide.

You are much stronger than we think you are...still doing things a little too quick and reckless for our liking. You can open doors and climb and run. When we call you "danger boy" we are not kidding.

Still. When you give your mother that grin...I can hardly tell you "no" with a straight face.

In two short months you will be two years old.

I promise to try and not think about that too much. I promise just to try and enjoy the now, and your awesome headstands.

21 Months

How to sum up a month of constant danger and endless activity?

A video.

Please note. You give me a mini-heart-attack every time I watch you do this. Your sister NEVER went down a slide, let alone barrel up open rung stairs to get to one (and you have barrelled up those stairs with a sippy cup in your hand, and, according to another source, with a piece of sidewalk chalk in each hand).

If I had to sum up the fundamental difference between you and your sister, this is it.

I have a feeling this summer is going to be VERY busy.

20 Months

Baby Boy.

As I type this, you are standing on our kitchen chair. You have managed to get on the chair, even though I have carefully pushed all the chairs in toward the table to prevent you from doing this.

Your new nickname has become Danger Boy.

The lovely weather we have been having gets us outside more and more these days, and you are showing us your amazing Danger abilities all the time.

There is not a piece of playground equipment anywhere that is immune to your powers.

Six foot drop offs?

Big slides?

Open rung ladders?

No problem.

You climb all over the furniture, you climb up and down stairs, you throw and kick and launch yourself with wild abandon.

Of course, you are still retaining the powers of your alter ego: Captain Cutie. It is very hard to yell at you and tell you no when you flash your powerful Cutie Grin.

Your vocabulary is growing by the day. You are still singing and counting. You are almost always a happy little guy.

Except when we are stopping you from being Danger Boy. But it's only because we love you.

19 Months

Baby Boy.

Today you are 19 months old.

In honor of this special day, here is a list of a few of your favorite things:

Lollipops (otherwise known as "like-its")

Doors (which provide endless opportunity for you to practice "open/coshe")

Climbing (especially if there are snacks involved)

Outside

Balls

Baths (I have never seen a kid get so excited about taking a bath)

Counting. You really, really love to count. We don't know how you figured it out, probably from hearing your sister count (or, maybe, just your inherited genius coming through).

Here's a little video of you and your counting skills at work.

Just so you know...you are one of our favorite things.

18 Months

A year and a half.

With your sister, I could not WAIT for her to get older. Every passing month was another hurdle cleared. Another indication that she was healthy, that her early birth was not going to hold her back in any way.

With you, Baby Boy, I am silently mourning each passing month. You are changing too fast, getting too big, barreling toward toddler land. Of course I love all the milestones you are conquering, the ways you are just like your big sister, and the many, many ways you are different.

The climbing and running and yelling and grabbing! The singing (Dinkle Dinkle diddle Dar) and rambling gibberish and the giggling!

But, oh, T*W*O is coming upon us. Promise me you won't stop snuggling and giving smooches and being Mommy's Baby. At least for a little while...

17 Months

You are changing so fast now that I am afraid to blink.

Like a little parrot, you love to repeat our words...'side (outside) 'ungry (hungry) choo choo (train) sisi (sister).

You know way too many cartoon characters. Dora, Elmo, Olivia (and when you sing the theme song to that show you are so cute I can't stand it).

You are still all boy...your love for cars and trucks and running and climbing and food never ceases to amaze us. If you think you could potentially drive something you will try...

Still, you are developing some habits that remind us of your sister...playing the piano, singing, looking at books.

When Santa came to visit you and your sister on his Firetruck this week, I was not sure how you would react. I don't think you knew what was more thrilling: Santa in your house, or a giant truck parked outside.

We are so excited for Christmas morning. Last year you were just 5 months old and slept through most of the excitement. This year you have embraced everything about this time of year with such an exuberance it has made us all a little more aware of how awesome Christmas is for a child.

Thank you for teaching us to look for the joy...in everything.