Dear Mike – Muddling Momma

Category: Dear Mike

18
Jun
2020

Dear Mike: Super Seven!

My Sweet Mikey Pie –

This is not how we pictured your big seventh birthday buddy. We were going to have friends and family to your favorite swim school to hang out, eat ice cream and swim. There would be Titanic decorations (that part I am not sad about – there are not many decorations celebrating the Titanic) and laughter.

Instead, we are limited thanks to a global pandemic. Daddy and I are going to try to make this birthday fun and we know you will take it in stride, like you always do, but man. It stinks. We hope you look forward to presents, ice cream birthday wishes over Zoom and, if the weather cooperates, a trip to Matapeake to get in the bay. You only turn 7 once!

It’s been an interesting year to say the least, Covid or not!

{Titanic} You spent a good part of the year obsessed with the Titanic. I think we’ve seen every documentary about it and read every book. For Christmas ‘you’ got a Lego Titanic and we didn’t realize it was teeny tiny Legos. Daddy painstakingly put it together, basically with tweezers, over the course of a week. Six months later we still threaten you within an inch of your life not to take it apart.

{Monster Jam} In March we went to your first Monster Jam. It was a little anxiety provoking at first because we were really high up and it was loud, but once the action started you were all in and frankly, never looked back. Ever since you have collected the diecast models, watched YouTube videos, ask everyone their favorite truck/stunt/driver, played the game for countless hours on your Nintendo Switch, and probably dreamed about it.

{School} We all absolutely loved your 1st grade teacher. She was so reassuring and helpful for everyone and really was patient with you. We were so lucky to have her during the e-learning experience. Speaking of … you did pretty well with that! It was a bit of a curve ball for everyone and we made it work. Your reading has come a LONG way, even if you say you don’t enjoy it. I firmly believe you just haven’t found the right book yet.

{Adventures} We had a bunch of adventures this year. We had a mini-beach vacation to Bethany Beach with our family – including Uncle Ken and Aunt Linda which was so much fun. We also explored Mommy’s old vacation spot Frontier Town. We loved seeing you hang out with your cousins on the sand like Daddy used to do with his cousins. We followed that trip by our family vacation to Ocean City for a week which was much needed. Grandma and Grandpa gifted you a ticket to the Polar Express in Baltimore and it was a really unique experience. Your first train ride AND it was to the North Pole!

{Hannah} Another little change was I spent much of your 7th year pregnant with your baby sister, Hannah! It’s been a journey and you’ve been there the whole way. You’ve asked great questions and seem really excited to FINALLY be a big brother. Just a few more weeks before you can put your superior baby holding skills into action.

{The Extras} You still aren’t much of a team sports guy, but you still managed to stay busy with extra activities, even if they were cut short with Covid. You continued swimming lessons and even though you told us many times, and spent lots of time stressing about it – you did NOT want to get your face under the water. But when it came time to do it, you didn’t hesitate. You also really enjoyed your art class with your friend and hip hop dance class.

Bug, you are a light and a joy. We love you so much and are so proud of you. Happy 7th birthday!

Love always,

Momma xoxo

05
Jun
2019

Dear Mike: Suddenly 6

categories: Dear Mike

Dear My Littlest Love –

You are suddenly 6! I think it goes without saying that as a 5-year-old you had an incredible year.

Kindergarten: Your biggest milestone was starting Kindergarten, and you didn’t just start it, kid, you OWNED it. Your first day, you said you were a little nervous but you walked in there with zero hesitation and every day after you proudly announced your love for your teacher, your friends, and your school.

You love riding the van from daycare to school and your favorite ‘center’ is the computer where you play PebbleGo. Every parent-teacher conference confirmed you are hilarious and kind and friends with everyone.

Reading was a bit of a struggle for you, but you worked hard at school AND home and you are ending the year knowing ALL your sight words AND on a reading level C (just 6 months ago you were struggling with an A level).

Interests: My littlest love, when you have an interest, you go all in. You started your year as a 5-year-old loving Ghostbusters, and while you proudly say you still like them, you have clearly moved on. You loved The Statue of Liberty, The Grinch, and spooky things. You are currently an expert in sharks (Basking sharks are your favorite) and ‘extreme weather’. Much like Daddy, you are into science and how things work.

You also took two fun classes this year – hip hop dance and music with Mr. Ari. You really enjoyed both and even participated in your recital where you killed it. I had to laugh – Daddy and I decided that if you changed your mind last minute and didn’t want to go on stage we wouldn’t push you. Performing in front of people is scary and HARD! But before your recital, we had to walk across the stage to the dressing room and you grabbed my hand and excited said ‘THIS.IS.AWESOME.’ I was not surprised – you ARE my kid.

You are still into technology and are an awesome artist. You also enjoy your scooter, swimming, and hanging out with us on the weekends gardening, hunting for worms, seeing movies and just being silly. SO SILLY.

Personality: Speaking of silly, your personality is just that. You thrive on making people laugh and when you get a chuckle you keep going. You are also incredibly sweet; always up for a ‘snuggle party’, a hug and holding someone’s hand.

I am in awe of your self confidence. You went to a birthday party and one of the activities was riding a horse. You wanted no part of that (and I don’t blame you) and simply said ‘no thank you’ and did something else. No questioning, drama or regret. I know adults who don’t handle things that well!

You make friends wherever you go and school has really fostered that. Daddy and I are always hearing from other parents and school employees that you are so ‘sweet’, ‘friendly’ and ‘polite’. Literally, everything we want for you.

My sweet love, as you turn 6 I hope you have the best year yet. There are so many good things coming and they are yours for the taking.

With unconditional love,

Momma xoxo

05
Jun
2018

Happy 5th Birthday Mikey!

categories: Dear Mike

My Littlest Love,

You are one whole hand! I remember going to the bank for a consolidation loan when you were just an itty bitty thing and hearing that our loan would be paid off in 5 years. I had to laugh because imagining you being 5 was such a surreal, unbelievable thought – yet here we are! (also, that loan was paid off early ;))

Your Daddy and I can’t believe who you have grown into. Besides having long legs and crazy bedhead all the time, you are a good kid. We hear from Miss Amy and Miss Jamie how you offer to help, show your manners and be kind when you don’t think anyone is watching. Out of everything we want for you, we want you to be kind. It sounds like you are on the right track.

As a 4 year old you had quite a few new experiences!

You took your first vacation to Ocean City and stayed in a ‘big house with lots of rooms’ (or a hotel as we called it).

You moved into a new home with a new space themed bedroom! It’s usually a mess with your treasures, but for now we can step over your Lego collections.

You REALLY got into Halloween this year. You were the cutest astronaut and spent weeks leading up to AND weeks following the holiday talking about skeletons, zombies and pumpkin picking. You even mastered how to draw a skeleton and came home with hundreds of skeleton drawings.

Your imagination and creativity really came out this year. You’ve enjoyed doing art projects and coloring in the evenings before bed. I have to admit, you are REALLY good at coloring. Recently you’ve take up singing and dancing and just being an all around performer. Your favorite song seems to be The Greatest Show from The Greatest Showman. But you aren’t picky. You love the Ghostbusters theme song too.

SPEAKING of Ghostbusters … That has consumed so much of our time and energy. Daddy and I aren’t real sure where it came from since the movie came out in the 80s, but you are obsessed. You love the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and Slimer the best. You know the difference between the ‘old’ Ecto-1 (from the original movie) and the ‘new’ Ecto-1 (from the Melissa McCarthy movie). We’ve indulged you a bit, but I am sure this obsession will quickly be replaced with something new.

You closed out your year 4 by playing your first team sport – t-ball! You didn’t love it, but you didn’t hate it either. Contact with the ball never really happened unless it was on a tee, and after a few swings you would make contact and it went FAR. We will see how you are feeling this time next year, but Daddy and I enjoyed sitting on the sidelines. You also passed level 1 swimming this year and are totally independent as long as you are wearing your puddle jumpers. We joined the pool this summer, so we are looking forward to seeing you advance.

My sweet love, your belly laugh and requests for ‘nuggles’ makes my heart soar. We are so proud of the boy you are becoming and look forward to you being one whole hand. Keep asking questions, keep looking for adventures and keep being kind.

With all my heart all the time, happy birthday,

Momma xoxo

05
Jun
2017

Dear Mike: My 4 Year Old!

categories: Dear Mike

Dearest Mikey,

You are 4. FOUR! I am not sure what surprises me more, that fact that you are 4 or I am the momma of a 4 year old. I have been thinking about this letter for a few weeks but didn’t start it until today because I am not sure how to sum up your year as a 3 year old in a short letter. But I will certainly try.

{Personality} You, my little love, have personality oozing out of your ears! You greet everyone you meet, stranger or animal or bug. You seem to be perfecting your physical comedy these days. When you do something and it gets a laugh you do it over and over (and over). I think Daddy and I are most proud of your manners. We work on instilling that and it seems to be working. You have your ‘moments’ like every 3 year old, but you bounce back pretty quickly. I get the impress you are a people pleaser. While you are pretty independent about doing things your way, you never shy away from getting into a lap or offering an unsolicited hug.

{Interests} When you are into something, you are INTO something. This year it has been mostly Halloween things (skeletons specifically), super heroes (Batman specifically) and Transformers Rescue Bots. More recently you have been interested in space and watch shuttle launches on YouTube with Daddy.

You still love reading and lately you have been asking Daddy or me to ‘say the words’ while you turn the pages. Miss Amy at school says sometimes she finds you sitting in the reading corner just flipping pages. Another thing that warms my heart is your love for music. Your playlist is always on in the car and I can hear you singing parts of ‘My Shot’ from Hamilton or ‘Take it All Back’ by Judah and the Lion. You are having the best time dancing, shaking your booty (as you say) and clapping (not quite to the beat). You always ask us to join in and we happily oblige.

You saw your first movie in the theater this year – Sing – and you LOVED it! Perhaps it was the popcorn and candy we fed you to keep you focused, but regardless, we look forward to more movie theater trips in the coming year.

{Daddy’s Surgery} Daddy had a big surgery this year that kept him in the hospital for over a week. You stayed home with Grandma and Charlie and you were SUCH a trooper. Your kindness and empathy were so obvious during his recovery time. You helped bring him things to drink and constantly wanted to kiss his boo boo. Even weeks later you were asking to see his scar and asked if it was all better. Perhaps you will be a doctor or a nurse!

{Preschool} I was a little nervous about you starting preschool – you will learn that changes is harder on Daddy and me than it is on you. But you walked right in with your dinosaur backpack and Batman lunchbox. Your teacher, Miss Amy, has been such a blessing for you (and us!). You even met your best friend, Ben, at preschool! You boys are so adorable together – everyone says you are little old men together. You are learning a ton, we can barely keep up with you. You can even say the Pledge of Allegiance, which I find really impressive.

{Milestones} I feel like I should make note of your milestones since I have 100% slacked on your baby book. There is actually a good chance I didn’t buy one. BUT … you are potty trained! I won’t go into the details that might embarrass future Mike, but it was a bit of a challenge for a few days, then it all worked out.

You now sleep in a big boy bed that you helped Daddy put together. You sneak out every few nights to come see what you are missing, but a few minutes with one of us in your bed does the trick. You also had your first trip to the dentist and you really did well and liked it. The second trip 6 months later was not as fun (not even close), but each trip resulted in a clean bill of dental health.

Well my love bug. You are 4! Practically an old man. I have a feeling this is going to be your best year yet. Daddy and I are so proud of you and the boy you are growing into. You have the best of both of us. Happy Birthday!

I’ll eat you up, I love you so,

Momma xoxo

20
Feb
2017

Dear Mikey: February 2017

categories: Dear Mike

Dear Mikey –

As I write this, you are laying next to me watching really annoying videos on YouTube kids on my iPad while I read and catch up on emails and Daddy and Charlie sleep. It is the perfect holiday weekend! Every so often you grab my attention and want to show me something and I am so impressed by what you know. And I’m not talking multiplication tables, but who characters are on shows you’ve never seen – like R2D2 from Star Wars. Granted, you call him Two-Two, but we get the idea. It’s clear you are building friendships at preschool and learning from your new friends.

I feel like I always start your blog posts with ‘it’s been a long time since I’ve written’ and this time is no different. But here are a few tidbits about you now, at 3 years and 8 months old.

{Opinions} Opinions – you have them. And not just about little things like TV shows and bed time. You had a hair cut yesterday and the stylist gave you a faux hawk and you were NOT happy. Of course you were polite until we got in the car and then you spent the rest of the morning asking me to fix it. And when we ask if you want a cheese stick for a snack you rarely say no – but immediately follow up with ‘not the spiky kind’ referring to the pepper jack cheese stick I accidentally packed you for lunch one day.

{Potty Time} I never want to embarrass you too much on social media or the internet since I am not sure what the internet will look like by the time you are an adult and you didn’t ask for a blogger mom, but I am thrilled to announce you are 100% daytime potty trained and have been for some time now. It was a relatively simple process and you were happy to pee for Reese Peanut Butter Cup (which you call cake) or go ‘big potty’ for a sticker or temporary tattoo. We are not really focusing on night time training, but happy we can leave the house without 100 diapers ‘just in case’.

{Manners} Daddy and I are a stickler for manners and you are picking up on that quickly. I love that when we sit down for dinner together you ask if you can start eating (I think school is teaching you that) and if you can be excused when you are done. You are quick to bless people after a sneeze and excuse yourself if you ‘toot’. I love that your days are filled with ‘yes pleases’ and ‘no thank yous’. (Now if we can get you to forget you know the word damn we would be in luck)

{Play} You are still super hero obsessed citing Batman and Ironman as your favorites. You also are a fan of gel clings which you like to use to decorate our car windows. You’ve been taking swimming lessons again, and even though you didn’t pass the county’s Parent and Me class this go-around, you had a hell of a lot of fun doing it. You saw your first movie in the theatre a few weeks ago and LOVED the experience. Sing was a great first movie. You like to randomly say, ‘today was a great day’ or ‘we had a fun day’!

{Bedtime} The biggest challenge for us as your parents is bedtime. Kid. You need to go to bed. I know you don’t want to the party to stop and you claim you aren’t tired, but you are and you need to go to bed. And more recently you’ve been getting in bed with me around 5am which I don’t mind. But bedtime should not take over an hour to happen. You are going to have a rude awakening (ha, pun intended) when we address this issue. I know in 10 years I won’t be able to get you OUT of bed!

{Hospital} We did have a quick trip to the ER when you had a really high fever. You charmed every nurse and perked up a bit when you got some medicine.

Well my lovie, we have a busy day hanging out with your cousin Mollie and feeding the ducks. We should probably get moving!

I’ll eat you up, I love you so,

Momma xoxo

18
Jan
2017

Dear Mike: Parent Teacher Conference

categories: Dear Mike

Dear Mikey –

Daddy and I were so worried about finding you a good preschool where you would make friends and start your educational journey. We knew right away that the school we chose would be a good fit for you and we weren’t wrong!

It took a little bit for you to share your day, but now you come home and share things about your day like what you learned (T-Rex dinosaurs eat meat!), what happened on the playground (someone threw sand in your eyes) and what your ‘job’ was (your current favorite is either Flag Holder or Line Leader). It has certainly made dinner time more interesting.

You’ve been there six months so Daddy and I were invited to our first PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE (dun, dun, dun). We have a pretty good relationship with your teachers so we knew there wasn’t going to be any surprises, but we liked hearing more about your day and interests. Here are the highlights of you at 3 and a half from your teacher:

You are a genuinely good kid who wants to do well. You never do anything out of malice – which makes Momma’s heart happy.

You love reading and often will bring a book to your teacher and ask her to read it. Most of the time she can, but when she can’t you happily read it to yourself or with your best friend, B.

You have a growing interest in science like your Daddy. You are very focused on the details, so that makes sense!

Speaking of details, you always seem to know when something in your classroom is different or if someone comes in. You are always the first one to welcome them with a good morning or good afternoon.

Bug, like I said, we are not surprised, but we are so proud of the kid you are becoming.

I’ll eat you up, I love you so,

Momma xoxo

08
Nov
2016

Dear Mike: Election Edition

categories: Dear Mike, Unrelated

Dear Mike –

You and I had an eventful morning! We headed over to our polling place to vote for the next President of the United States. We waited in line for over an hour and you were SO patient! I know at 3 years old you don’t have much of a clue what is going on, but this election is a really big deal. It’s the first time a female was on the ballot AND the first time a man with no political or military experience was on the ballot. I didn’t think it would bother me, but I told Geema today – I am just feeling out of sorts.

I am so happy I have been able to take you to vote since you were born, even the midterm elections! It’s our right as Americans and one I don’t ever want you to take for granted. I want you to grow up watching the debates, asking questions about the issues and making an informed decision even if it is different than my decision. But for now I am thankful you are only 3 and you didn’t have to witness the nastiness that went on for the past 20 months. BUT if you were old enough to see what is going on, I would use this opportunity to talk to you about some heavy issues Donald Trump has brought forward.

{Locker Room Talk} Baby, I have never been in a locker room full of men, but from what I hear – the ‘locker room talk’ excuse is crap. I know Daddy agrees. Real men do not about women as objects, they don’t call them names and they certainly don’t stand for anyone else to speak that way either. In our house BOYS WILL NOT BE BOYS. They will be kind people.

{Consent} Guess what? If someone, anyone, says stop – you stop. I don’t care if you are waving to them or engaging in intercourse. No means no all the time. You keep your hands to yourself. And we expect you to stand up for anyone who isn’t able to consent. This is going to be an ongoing conversation in our home.

{Bully Goat} We have been reading Llama Llama and the Bully Goat recently and that’s what Trump is – a bully goat. He likes to call people names, and make fun of them. He tells his supporters to do bad things to Clinton and wants to keep people out of our country because of the color of their skin. He says things about women that I can’t even bring myself to write, things that literally makes my mouth drop open. He is a bully goat. we don’t want you to EVER be a bully goat and we want to respect everyone regardless of their ethnicity, orientation or the color shoes they wear on Thursdays. We also hope you won’t stand to see other people being bully goats.

we-need-not-think-alike-to-love-alike

The polls aren’t closed yet Bug, but Daddy and I are going to stay up late and see who wins this election – who will be our leader for the next four years. We are hopeful we wake up tomorrow with a President we will be proud of. We don’t have to think alike to love alike. And just like generations before me have said about my generation, I hope your generation is the one to get it right.

I’ll eat you up, I love you so –

Momma xoxo

24
Oct
2016

Dear Mike: IOU

categories: Dear Mike

My dearest Mike –

I owe you a bunch of back letters don’t I? Things have been BUSY. I feel like I say that in every letter, but this time it’s for real. It’s BUSY. So this letter is going to be just a snapshot of you right now. My achingly sweet, compassionate, stubborn 3 year old.

{Preschool} Man. If you got superlatives in Preschool, you would be most likely to be a Cruise Director. I was able to go with you on your FIRST field trip – Papa John’s Pumpkin Farm. It was such a treat to see you interact with your friends and teachers. You serenaded everyone and basically talked non-stop. You had Miss Amy and Miss Theresa in stitches! Out of everything on that farm – animals, pumpkins, and gourds – you were most taken with the cotton plant. You carried that tuft of cotton around for days. You said it felt like magic! I didn’t have the heart to tell you I have a bag of 100 tufts of cotton in the linen closet.

But in all seriousness Bug, you are thriving in preschool. You really have taken to singing and music and according to your teachers you are sweet and polite.

{Polite} Speaking of manners – good grief. I am not sure we can take credit for it, but someone is raising you up right! You talk to strangers all the time telling them to ‘have a nice day’ and that is ‘nice to see them’. You invite people to sit down, ask how they are doing and are such a little gentleman. I am SO proud of you in public when you say please and thank you without prompting.

{Favorite Things} Right now you are obsessed with:

Halloween
Skeletons (you are going to be one for Halloween)
Cat in the Hat
Space
Peppa Pig
Riding your balance bike
Super Heroes (Batman specifically)
Watching videos on Momma’s iPad

{Compassion} I can’t think of a better word to describe you – COMPASSIONATE. Daddy had his heart surgery and you have been so gentle with him while his ‘boo boo’ heals. Even when it is covered up you ask if it is still there. If someone indicates they are hurt you are the first one to ask if they are okay and give them a kiss. You accidently poked me in the eye with a toy and I got kisses, face pats, side hugs and numerous apologies. There is no better quality for you to have and I will do what I have to do to make sure you keep your compassion for others.

Well my love, I write for days about how things have been going the past few months, but at the end of the day all you need to know about this time in your life is you are stubborn, independent, sweet and active. On those days when I can’t wait for you to go to bed I still love you so much my heart might burst.

I’ll eat you up I love you so,

Momma xoxo

07
Jun
2016

Dear Mikey: You at Three

categories: Dear Mike

Dearest Mikey –

In the words of my favorite Broadway musical ‘Hamilton’:

When you smile I come undone
My son
There is so much more inside me now
You outshine the morning sun
My son
When you smile, I fall apart
And I thought I was so smart

mike at 3

I can’t believe it’s been three years since you made your grand entrance into the world. It seems like you’ve been here so much longer and other days it seems like you should still be the wrinkly baby who resembled Benjamin Button. Here is a snapshot of you on your third birthday:

You legs are impossibly long. Each morning when I get you dressed it seems you grew another foot overnight. You are long and lanky for now. Your hair has a personality all it’s own. Geema keeps telling me to ‘train it’ – but I can’t. It picture lots of buzz cuts as you get older! Your eyelashes, OH those lashes. I have to keep my jealousy under control because they are so long. Though your toe nails are … strange, you fingers are so long – perhaps you will play the piano!

You are a comedian already. You love to use different voices and point to things while calling them ‘funny’. Daddy and I have learned quick if we laugh at you it is a promise you will keep doing it. Your laugh is infectious. You lose your eyes when you smile like me and you open your mouth wide even for a giggle.

You put a lot of thought into choices. Whether it’s your shirt, book or snack you tap your finger on your chin and say ‘hmmm’. We try to give you as many choices as possible or you would be eating hot dogs and Minion gummies while wearing the same Batman shirt everyday.

Ah Batman. Where did you learn about super heroes? It seems to have started with PJ Masks and your friend at daycare and now suddenly you MUST, AT ALL TIMES wear something Batman related.

You are impossibly sweet. The minute someone says ow, you are right there asking if they are okay, needing a band aid or, more importantly, a kiss. You had your first urgent care visit this year and handled it like a champ. You were dancing too hard (I find that hard to believe, but alas it’s a thing) and fell into the bookcase. You had a pretty nasty goose egg pop up quickly so while Momma silently freaked out, Daddy packed you up and away we went. Of course you were just fine.

You still are hopelessly addicted to your ‘bubbas’. You only get them at bedtime and nap time and most mornings you are very hesitant to put them back to bed. When you are very very very tired, you cry for them. That’s how we know it’s time for a nap!

Speaking of naps, you are starting to put up a fight at nap time. You are more than happy to jump in your crib and throw stuff around and sing for a couple hours, but when we realize you actually fell asleep? That is like finding a unicorn in the closet. You will regret your lack of napping when you are older kid.

You love anything with wheels – fire trucks (tucks), motorcycles (cycles), excavators (underwear), dump trucks (boom tuck), and even buses. You also love reading which makes me oh so happy! Plenty of evenings I glance over to see you lost in another adventure. You still like Llama Llama, but also Diggers Go and any that feature the alphabet. You’ve gotten pretty good at reminding us when we skip pages too.

You had to do speech therapy for a bit, but now you are a motor mouth. Asking why, what color everything is, what everyone is doing, where we are going, if I am tired (yes my love, very very tired) and for your favorite foods. Food like chocolate milk, pepperonis, gummies, jelly beans, rice, hot dogs, chicken and melon. All at once! Your tastes fluctuate often enough that I can’t think of anything that you don’t like!

My sweet, sweet boy. I am so proud of you and the gentleman you are becoming. Never ever lose your empathy for others and remember Momma and Daddy wanted you so much and love you twice as much. One day I will show you the receipts to prove how much we wanted you. Until then – stay you.

I’ll eat you up I love you so,

Momma xoxo

14
May
2016

Dear Mike: March & April 2016

categories: Dear Mike

Well hello lovey!

I would call you ‘mini-monster’ (with love), but when I call you that you always say, ‘No. Me Mikey!’, so lovey it is.

I am finally finding time to write because YOU ARE TAKING A NAP! I feel like we might have just witnessed a miracle. You have stopped napping and by 5PM you hate everyone. I don’t blame you of course, but I spend a good portion of the day sending good vibes to Rachel that you sleep at daycare. I can’t remember the last time you slept on a weekend! I am also finally writing because I decided that being done is better than being perfect.

{First overnight with Geema and Appa} Momma and Daddy decided it was high time we took a trip overnight alone! We packed your bag, met Geema at Wawa before the bridge and off you went! We knew it would be no big deal and we were right. We checked in a few times in those 24 hours, but the report was always good. You were happy and having a great time playing with Appa and Mollie. You might have given Geema a hard time at naptime, but you figured out pretty quick you were going to take a rest.

March

{Swimming} We signed up for another session at SwimFirst and you had such a great time. I took you a few times and Daddy did the rest. You loved playing ‘Hunty Hunty’ (or Humpty Dumpty) where you sit on the side of the pool and ‘fall’ into open arms. The very last class I passed you underwater to your instructor and he passed you back. It was so funny because he kept telling you to close your mouth and you would squeeze your eyes closed with your mouth wide open. You are quite the little fishy. I am excited for summertime in Appa’s pool!

{Dad Traveling} Daddy spent 2 weeks in May travelling for work, so it was a lot of Mommy time. You asked about him a lot (Daddy doin’?) but we made a point to video chat with him every night and call him in the morning. We even made ‘love bags’ and you had a great time decorating notes with stickers and scribbles. You are a BIG fan of tracing your hands and feet on just about anything these days.

{Saying Things Opposite} You are certainly speaking a lot more with sparingly cohesive thoughts and questions. However, you are still a little confused with opposites. It took quite a while for us to realize you don’t want to radio ON (when it already was), you want it UP (which I am happy to comply with!). Also seeing and hearing. We take a lot of opportunities to remind you you SEE the truck with your eyes and HEAR the truck with your ears.

{Kinderfarm} We ventured out one day when the weather cleared to Kinderfarm and you had a blast! It was pretty quiet, but you went from pen to pen talking to the animals. You were very interested in the chickens and wished them a happy, fun day. “Hi shick-kins. Bye shick-kins, have fun!”

{Easter} Kid, you are a jellybean eating machine. The Easter Bunny left you a trail of eggs from your crib to your basket and you popped each one open and shoved those jellybeans in your mouth like it was your job.

APR

{Drew’s birthday} You and I traveled back to Virginia to go to Drew’s 5^th birthday. You had a great time bouncing in the bounce house and watching Miss Miranda do a magic show. It was interesting for me to see you interact with kids who are a few years older AND you don’t know. You were so calm, cool and collected. One little girl yelled at you because you had 2 noisemakers and she wanted one. You looked a little shell shocked, like why is this chick yelling at me, and after taking a beat you nicely handed her a noisemaker. Clearly you have mastered picking your battles. Maybe not with Daddy and me, but everyone else.

{Mollie’s birthday} Mollie’s birthday party was so much fun for you because you adore your cousin. You hung out with her friends and played pin the shell on the mermaid. You showed no hesitation with new kids and sweet? I adore that. I know as an adult it’s hard to meet new people in a group setting, but I can see you assessing the situation and jumping right in.

Well my love, it’s time to start planning YOUR birthday party! The days are long (sometimes excruciatingly so) but trust me when I say the years are fast.

I’ll eat you up, I love you so

Momma xoxo