Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Happy 3rd Birthday to My Youngest


Every year, I write each of my boys a birthday letter and create a video recapping their year.  This is for my youngest, who will be three on the 18th.

My littlest man, you are three.  I’m sorry I always start your letters the same, but it’s because it’s true.  Time flies.  It feels like I JUST had you and now look at you, such a big boy!  You are such a blessing my precocious, sweet and funny boy.

What a year it has been.  You started preschool this year and Daddy and I were a little nervous, but you have adjusted wonderfully.  You did not cry a single tear, just waved goodbye and excitedly jumped right in.  You are definitely a “people person.”  You have never met a stranger and are always waving and saying hello to people you’ve never even met.  You remind me to do the same, to take the time to smile and say hello to others. 

You have learned so much in the past year.  I couldn’t believe it when you wrote your name all by yourself.  But, it’s not just the ABC’s and 1, 2, 3’s that surprise me.  My son, your dexterity amazes me.  Is there anything you can’t take apart and put back together?  You have figured out things that stump me!  What really makes my heart happy is how patient you are while learning and trying new things.  If you don’t get it right away, you just keep trying, without getting upset.  You did NOT get that from me.  I am learning from YOU, my precious son, how to be more patient.

You can be so mischievous and so loving all at the same time.  It is impossible to stay upset with you.  Like the time you snuck a piece of chocolate candy into your bed at nap time and fell asleep with it in your hand.  When I got you up from your nap, it looked like the Hershey factory exploded in your bed, on your walls and all over you.  You looked up at me and said, “Oh, Cawub, what did you do?  I’m so sorry Mommy, I’m a mess!”  Then you started singing the Laurie Berkner song, “I’m a mess.”  You approach things with a wonderful sense of humor.  I treasure that.  After we cleaned everything up, you hugged me and said, “Thank you Mommy, I WUV.”  I loved that you appreciated my helping you clean your mess and didn’t just pull out the cute, “I love you” at the beginning, when you thought it would help get you out of trouble.  You said it after everything was over.  I can always feel how much you mean what you say.  Your heart and your honesty amaze me.  I pray you never outgrow that honest heart.

Speaking of your heart, I am so thankful that you are already showing a love of the Lord.  You pray everyday and LOVE going to church.  All throughout the week, you ask if we can go to church and are so disappointed when I tell you during the week that we aren’t going until Sunday.  My prayer for you and your brother is that you take that love of the Lord with you throughout your life and share it with others.  Always trust in Him.  Faith can be so hard to have sometimes; those are the times when it’s most important to keep.  As the song goes, be strong in the Lord and never give up hope. 

My sweet baby (yes I know you are no longer a baby, but to me, you will always be my baby), you make our family complete.  I can not imagine life without you.  Every single day you make my heart feel like it will burst right out of my chest with love for you.  Every single day you challenge me.  Every single day I learn from you.  Daddy, your big brother and yes, even our doggy Maximus, loves you so very much.  We are proud of the little boy you are growing into and can’t wait to see what your future holds.

Always and forever,
Mommy

To see his year 3 birthday video, click here.  (Disclaimer, have tissues handy)

To see his year 2 video, click here.

And year 1 is here.







Quick Updates

My poor blog.  It has felt the effects of my over scheduling.  I used to at least post 2-3 times a month.  Now, I post every 2-3 months.  Well, sometimes once a month, but still, not nearly enough.

With that being said, here is my lazy post with quick updates glazing over what I should have blogged about, but didn't have time to:

1.  Thanksgiving was wonderful.  We had a house full of family and lots to be thankful for.

2.  Christmas was equally wonderful, but quiet.  We didn't see family until a few days after Christmas, it was actually nice to not have an overbooked, stressed out, travel filled Christmas.  To just have quiet time to focus on the true meaning of the season and enjoy much needed one on one time with my boys.  My oldest played the angel Gabriel in our Christmas play at church.  He was named after the angel Gabriel  and did a wonderful job, so as you can imagine, I cried.  Hubby and I sang in the Christmas cantata where he had a solo and did GREAT!  We also sang a duet of  "O Holy Night."  The youngest had his first recital at preschool that we really enjoyed. Especially the part where he did his best Al Bundy impression and shoved his hand down the front of his pants.  What can I say?  He's comfortable on stage.  Other than that though, he was a hit.  Our season was very full of giving and it felt wonderful.  Hubby built a playhouse that he donated to the oldest school's new outdoor classroom.  The oldest and I volunteered at a local food pantry, among other service projects we took on.  As I stated on my FB page, I share this not to boost or to get a pat on the back, but simply in the hopes of inspiring others to give back.  Take the time to help others and you will find, you are actually helping yourself even more.

3.  New Years Eve was awesome.  We went to a friends house that had a family friendly New Year's Eve.  There were lots of people, food, games, fellowship and the kids all had each other to play with as well.  A lot of fun was had by all.

4.  I joined the fire department.   Those of you who actually know me, know that I was a firefighter for 15+ years when I lived in Northern Virginia.  After 7 years of living in SWVA, I finally decided to go for round 2.  I am now a firefighter at my local fire department, because yes, I just don't have enough to do :-).

Please forgive the numerous typos and grammatical errors that I'm sure are in this post, maybe one day I'll have enough time to share a perfectly written post, but don't hold your breath.

Wishing you all a safe, happy and prosperous 2013!