Superhero Birthday Party: Superhero Invites

From Purple Possum.

Dear Em,
Up until now, I've made all of our party invitations (here, here, & here), but when I saw how cute some of the Etsy invites were last year I decided to go an easier route this time around. I went online to Etsy, typed in "Superhero birthday invites" in the search bar, & found so many cute and affordable options.

I ended up going with an invite from Purple Possum. The invites were more cute than specific to actual vintage SuperHeros, which is more your style. It was less than $10 for them to design your invite & email me the file. I liked that because emailing the file is quicker than waiting for invites to be mailed to us & this way we could print as many as we needed for the same price. Emily at Purple Possum was so great! She changed the color, wording, & formatting options. Plus, she created the invite file super quick. In less than a week, I had the file sent to me & could print & send out your invites.

So easy, so cute, so original. It's my favorite when that happens. I will definitely be using Etsy for my invite needs in the future.

I love you so,
Mommy

Crafting Made Fun & Easy

Dear Em,
One of my very favorite things is to create fun & unique crafts with you. There's just a few things about  it that are not my favorite.

1) I can only find/come up with a few unique & original crafts a year. I get super excited about them, but after that I get burnt out. It's really stressful to try to come up with fun things all the time. I can't keep up. It's kind of like writers block. I will refer to it as "fantastic idea block." I'm basically going to blame "fantastic idea block" for the fact we pretty much just bought Daddy beer for Father's Day (which was OK later on when we needed a tent anyway). At some point during the year I'm spent, & we resort to crayons, markers, & play dough.

2) Putting together a fun craft typically requires shopping. I remember a day when I kinda enjoyed shopping. Now, it's just feels time consuming & stressful. Things will be out of stock, & I almost always come back with things I didn't originally plan on buying. I would be happy to do all my shopping via the Internet, from the comfort of my own bed or couch.

3) Fun crafts & activities typically involve a hodgepodge of materials. It's sometimes difficult to buy just what you need for the activity & we end up with a number left over items that clutter up our home & don't always work for other activities. Plus, what if I forget something we need? Then it's back to the store to find more materials.

Sigh. Being a crafty is a lot harder for me than it looks.

But then I found the answer to my "fantastic idea block," aversion to shopping, cluttering & overall laziness issues: Kiwi Crate. We signed up for a monthly subscription (although you can order just one or they even have birthday party favors). We have a little crate delivered to us each month with crafts & projects that we can do together. I don't have to think of ideas myself, the crates come right to our doorsetp without having to step into a store, & each one comes with all the items we need & only the items we need.

I look forward to finding our little crate in our mailbox each month. Last month was our very first month. I opened the crate to find all of the materials we would need for two different activities, step-by-step instructions on how to complete the activities, & guidelines on how much involvement might be required by the adult. There are also suggested talking points as you work together on the project.

Last month, on a cloudy & rainy day, we made a lantern. You were so excited to punch stars into colored wax paper & use glow-in-the-dark stickers to put the lantern together. We talked about how before there was electricity, people used candles to see in the dark. We talked about how when we lost electricity during Superstorm Sandy, we used candles & an LED lantern to see in the dark. Then we talked about how lanterns were created to see in the dark outside & protect the candles from being blown out by the wind.

After we completed your lantern, you tried it out. Your face glowed with excitement & pride as you walked around with a lantern you & I had created together. Your daddy looked at our crate & looked at what we had made & said, "Activities sent to you in the mail, that's a really great idea. I'm surprised you didn't come up with something like that." You know, I'm surprised I didn't come up with that too. It must have been "fantastic idea block" striking again.

Luckily, someone else did think of it, & now I'm wicked excited about the crafty year ahead of us. Now crafting with you can be my favorite again. Although, I'm sure there will still be room for markers, crayons, & play dough.

I love you so,
Mommy

Nap Weaning

Dear Em,
You've always been a good sleeper, at night & nap time. For the longest time, you napped for three hour stretches. It was kinda nice for Daddy & I. We used your nap time as down time for ourselves, time to get cleaning or projects done, & just time to enjoy peace & quiet. I'm not going to lie. We both have come to enjoy nap time.

Over the past six months, nap time has been a little more difficult. Your naps have grown shorter, & sometimes when we put you down to sleep you don't nap at all. Typically, this is followed by you being super, super cranky. As much as we've enjoyed nap time, it's also become difficult to plan around your nap time. It seems like every activity outside of our home happens to be scheduled right in the middle of your nap time. As much as we value the quiet time your naps provide at home, it's really tough to plan outside activities around it.

So I began to wonder, is it time to start weaning you of naps? On the one hand, your unwillingness to nap made it seem like maybe you didn't need your naps anymore. On the other hand, you almost always turned into a cranky terrorist on the evenings after you refused to nap. Like most milestone moments, your daddy & I were scared about not knowing what to do & unsure of how to proceed.

Your nonnie was not scared. On the weekend Daddy & I traveled to Maine, Nonnie declared it was vacation at our house. You didn't have to take naps, & even got late bedtimes at night. When Nonnie told us, I feared the worst. I wondered how much screaming & crying Nonnie had to endure, but she said you were doing great. We returned home to more than great. You were in a wonderful mood, you were sleeping in each morning until 8am instead of waking up at dawn. It was fantastic.

Once Daddy & I were onboard, we did institute quiet time. You don't have to nap, but you do have to spend quiet time in your room. You can play quietly on your own (& for those people who feel bad for you, you have more than enough toys & books to keep you occupied). Daddy & I still need that quiet time, & I think you do too.

You know what the funny thing is? You've ended up napping during most of the quiet times. You start off playing & talking & singing with your Lamby, & then all of a sudden you're sleeping. When you wake up, you tell me Lamby wasn't tired & wanted to play, but you told Lamby you needed a rest.

So, I guess you still do need your naps, but at least you do OK on the days when you don't get naps too. I guess the whole thing wasn't so scary afterall...until we talk about eliminating quiet time. That truly would be very scary.

I love you so,
Mommy

Superhero Birthday Party: DIY Superhero Capes

Dear Em,
I had convinced you to go with the Superhero theme for your birthday, but if I was going to be able to pull it off, we needed Nonnie's help. You see, I don't sew...except for buttons & a little hand sewing. I had tried to learn once when I was younger, but it didn't go very well. Your nonnie basically ended up sewing the dress I had set out to sew. Your nonnie is such a talented seamstress. She's even sewed a gorgeous wedding dress. We definitely needed her & her talent. If I tried to do it on my own, it wasn't going to be very pretty.

We were in luck that Nonnie agreed to help. I can't tell you how thankful I am that she did. She took me to a great fabric store. We picked out all different types of fun tie dye fabric that was on sale & bought enough for twenty capes. I found a free online Cape Pattern & Tutorial over at Craft Buds. I printed out the downloadable pattern, & Nonnie & I started cutting out the fabric. For someone who has absolutely no sewing experience, it seemed pretty easy, & I think it would have been if we were making one cape. It probably would've taken about an hour. However, we were making twenty capes, & that takes a long time- like twenty hours long. Nonnie worked on them so often, Daddy started calling our dining room "Julie's sweat shop." If we had to do it all over again, I don't know if I would have decided to do it. Nevermind, scratch that. I totally would (hopefully Nonnie would too), because the results were amazing.

Of course we also needed Superhero masks.

Here are the materials we used:
- A mask pattern (you can download or create your own)
- Felt (I bought 1 square of black & one square of color for each mask)
- 2 circle patterns (I traced them: one was 1 1/4 inches in diameter & one was 3/4 inches in diameter)
- scrap material leftover after making the capes
- pins to pin the patterns to the fabric
- zig-zag scissors & regular fabric scissors
- Fabric Glue
- Fun Buttons
- black elastic
- a sewing machine
- needle & thread

I looked online for ideas. I found some free templates online, & then free handed a pattern on a piece of paper that was more of the shape I wanted. I purchased felt from the fabric store in multiple colors that would match the tie dye material (we used purple & pink for girls & blue & green for boys, with black for the backs) & used the pattern to cut them out. We used two pieces of felt for each mask to make them sturdier & used fabric glue to keep them together. Your nonnie sewed elastic bands on the sides of each mask (we used your head to estimate how much elastic was needed). I cut circles out of scraps of the tie dyed fabric. Then I used my amazing button sewing skills to sew a star button & two circles of fabric on the left side of each girl mask (giving it a kind of flower effect). I loved how they came out.

After Nonnie had finished sewing the Superhero capes, I used gold glitter fabric paint & these stencils to paint the first initial of each child on the back of their Superhero cape (I did this last so that we would have all the RSVPs by then & would know which children were coming). It gave each cape a little extra special touch.

Once the painted letters were dry, we put the masks & capes into colorful gift bags with tissue paper so that we could give them out as favors after your birthday party. I had taken you outside for a little photo shoot, & used the pictures to make a "thank you for saving the day" note. We used sparkly ribbon to attach the notes to the bags.

On the day of the party, your best friend was dropped off at our house before the party. You two couldn't wait to put your Superhero outfits on (or maybe I just couldn't wait for you to put them on). You were seriously the cutest Superheros I had ever seen as you "zoomed" across our yard. It made my heart happy when you didn't want to take them off, not even to put your shoes on or get into the car.

I didn't have the heart to ask you to take them off once we got to the party, & we couldn't very well give them to you & not the rest of the kids. So, we changed up our plans a little. Instead of giving out the Superhero capes at the end of the party, we handed them to each child as they walked in & gave them the option of wearing them during the party or waiting until later. Some kids didn't want to wear them, some kids did, & some kids never wanted to take them off.

It made all the work more than worth it seeing you all jump around & play & zoom. You were the most adorable group of Superheros I have ever seen. Preparing it all was a labor of love (more labor for Nonnie than for me), & it was all worth it to see you smiling ear to ear as you ran around with your little friends.

I love you so,

Mommy

Rainbow Writing (Part Two)

Dear Em,
I felt like we were a little behind when it came to your writing, & then I heard about rainbow writing. Remember how excited I was to work on a different letter each week? I think it is safe to say that I was way more excited about it than you. In fact, we got to the B's & you were so frustrated with it that we kinda just stopped there.

Since you probably need to know how to write more than just the letter A & B to one day be a functioning person in society (& make it past kindergarten), I wracked my brain as to how we were going to move forward with your writing. Why did you hate it so much? Was it the whole sitting down while you work thing? Were you frustrated because you didn't get it immediately. Were you just irritable because you had ear infection after ear infection & you didn't want to do anything? We took a break for a few months, & I tried to think of a different approach.

I realized that writing the same letter over & over was boring to you. You didn't understand the point. So, I suggested we write some words, & told you that you could pick whatever work you wanted. Of course you chose the word "PRINCESS." You were excited to learn to write one of your very favorite words (& your current career goal). So, I wrote the word in all capitals & then all lower case. We sounded out each letter as I wrote it in yellow. Then you went to work tracing each letter in multiple colors.

I couldn't believe how excited you were to write. It's so funny how changing the task just a little made a big difference for you. You couldn't wait to learn to write all of your favorite words. The next word you chose was your best friend's name, & you were ecstatic to give her the finished paper afterwards. You beamed with pride. I think I beamed with pride too.

Now we're working on a new word each day. We're going through the alphabet, asking you to choose a word that starts with a different letter. So far, you've written APPLE, BEAUTIFUL, & CRAYON. After you trace each letter in multiple colors, you try to write the word on your own underneath. A big smile covers your face as you show your daddy the finished piece.

You're learning & growing so very fast, my little one. Too soon you'll be writing letters & reading books, & I'm going to smiling thinking back to your very first rainbow letters.

I love you so,
Mommy

Family Barbie Photo Shoot

Dear Em,
As much as many things have changed since I was your age, it's fun to see you enjoying some of the things I enjoyed when I was young. I remember playing Barbies for hours with my sister, & you love playing Barbies now too. It makes my heart so happy watching you play & seeing your imagination at work.

A couple weeks ago, I walked in to find that you & Nonnie had created our whole family to play with. The girls were all dressed in in the favorite colors of our family members, & the boys...well, you mostly had Disney Prince clothing for the boys so they were interesting looking. It was fun to see our family together as Barbies, & we decided to have a little family Barbie photo shoot to commemorate it all.

On my side of the family we have...
Front Row: (left to right) Nonnie, Papi, Uncle Nick, Aunt Jennie, Daddy, Mommy & Emma
Back Row: (left to right) Uncle Greg, Aunt Gina, & Uncle Jared

On Daddy's side of the family...

(left to right) Papa, Grandma, Mommy, Emma, Daddy, (soon to be Uncle) Lowell, & Aunt Andrea

You had so much fun with it, you wanted to do a photo shoot with your three best girlfriends too.

While wardrobe was a bit of a challenge (Daddy said he especially loved his flowered shirt & pink tie, because that's totally him), the photo shoot went a lot easier than most of our family photo shoots (like this one, these, & especially this one). Maybe we can send out Christmas cards with our Barbie-selves this year? I feel like we're on to something.

I love you so,

Mommy

Happy Birthday America 2013

Dear Em,
Happy Independence Day! I've lived all around this country, & I can't tell you how blessed I feel to be living & bringing you up in the USA, especially living in our little Rhode Island community. I know our country isn't perfect (or our state for that matter), but we've had the most amazing adventures & have seen so much beauty here. Plus, I can tell you that you can be anything you want when you grow up & know that it's true.

Last night we celebrated our country with what is becoming my favorite Independence Day tradition: dinner at Monahans in Narragansett, fun at the beach, ice cream at Nana's, a performance by you at the Narragansett Gazebo, & fireworks at the Wall (remember the fun we had last year?). Unfortunately the clouds were so low that we didn't really get to see any fireworks. We just got to see the clouds turning different colors.

You were bummed. "These aren't real fireworks. Fireworks are supposed to sparkle in the sky." Luckily, we saw a few flying into the air as we drove home. While you were OK with that, we will still be on the hunt for fireworks during the rest of the weekend. Perhaps a fireworks display in our own back yard?

Today our day will be spent with a parade, BBQ, friends, & family. It makes my heart so happy that I can be spending the day with you & Daddy. There are so many military families across the country that can't be altogether, & I can't tell you how thankful I am for their sacrifice. I'm going to hug you a little tighter today & enjoy watching you run & jump & laugh & play today...& thank God that we live in America.

I love you so,
Mommy

Superhero Birthday Party: The Theme

Dear Em,
This past weekend we celebrated your 3.5 birthday party, & for the next few Wednesdays I'll be writing about your party.

Why a half birthday celebration? I swore I would never have a baby in the middle of the holiday season. It's just not fair to have to share your celebrations with turkey, menorahs, Santa, Jesus, & the NYC New Year's countdown. Little did I know, my ability to control everything went out the window the day I found out I was pregnant (the day before a beer festival & two weeks before our trip to Ireland). Your birthday is sandwiched in between Christmas & New Years, an impossible time to plan a party with friends (especially since we're typically traveling during this time). So, to make sure your birthday is extra special, we celebrate your birthday with family on your birthday & then throw you a birthday bash with your friends on your half birthday. So far it has worked out great, except for a few eye rolls we get from people & the fact that you basically think it's your birthday all year long.

This year's birthday theme started with a blogpost I read three years ago & this photo:

I'm sorry that I'm unable to credit the photo. I had copied only the photo & not the link back when I saw it. Is this your photo? I adore it!

I love, love, loved the idea of a Superhero party. How much stinkin' fun would that be?! How stinkin' adorable would you & all your friends look in Superhero capes & masks? I was so giddy about the idea, I couldn't wait to throw you your very own Superhero party.

The first year you were a little too small to pull it off. Most of your little friends were still crawling or toddling around. A superhero cape would have been more dangerous than cute. So, we went with a Garden Party theme & I waited. By age 2.5 you were a full fledged girly-girl, with no interest in Superheros. Even your love of Super Why wouldn't sway you, so we went with a Luau Party theme. Still, I had hope for the future.

Your 3.5 birthday was just around the corner, & I was dying to finally use my Superhero theme. You said no. You just weren't interested in Superheros. I talked to you about some of your superhero costumes, & promised you could be a pink Superhero. I revisited the idea that Super Why & his friends (Princess P being your favorite) were Superheros. Nonnie read you books about Superheros. Finally you agreed to the theme...with one condition. You would be a Superhero Ballerina.

A Superhero Ballerina? I could make that work.

That is how we finally landed on a Superhero theme for your 3.5 birthday party. Now, I just had to get Nonnie to agree to help (I don't sew at all & I was going to need a lot of help). Next week I'll talk about all the things she helped me with (Daddy called it "Julie's Sweat Shop").

I love you so,
Mommy

Acadia

Dear Em,
Your daddy & I recently made a bucket list of all the places we want to travel to, & I was surprised by the number of National Parks that filled that list. When a couple of our friends suggested we go camping at Acadia National Park, I couldn't wait to experience one of the things on our bucket list. I was excited to share the experience with friends. Everyone pitched in with the planning, & we headed to Maine with some great ideas of things to see & do.

It is a six hour drive from our house to Bar Harbor, Maine. We could've spent most of a day driving up, but we wanted to spend two full days exploring. So we drove up after work, arrived late, & stayed in a motel the first night. This gave us the chance to take one last real shower & spend the next morning touring the adorable & quaint town of Bar Harbor before heading to our camp ground.

The town is right on the coast, with beautiful views & adorable shops galore. There was truly something for everyone. I couldn't stop myself from picking up multiple souvenirs for you. My favorite find was a bag recycled from sailboat sails. It has a little crab claw & Bar Harbor written across it. It's durable & perfect for the shell collecting you love to do at the beach.

After grabbing breakfast & doing a little shopping, we headed to Acadia to do a little exploring before we checked into our campground. I was in awe of how massive Acadia is. Park Loop Road, a scenic & mostly one-way route goes around the park. There are multiple areas to stop your car, get out, & explore. Walking around the rocky shoreline was a beautiful way to first introduce ourselves to Acadia.

We checked into our campground, & I have to say I was a little underwhelmed. I was picturing large campsites made private with lush trees. Most of the campsites were right on top of each other, giving you little privacy from your neighbors. Luckily, we were able to do a little campsite shopping & found a site slightly more secluded than the one first offered to us. 

As we settled in, your daddy & I realized we were missing the poles to our tent. I wracked my brain trying to figure out a way we could still use it to sleep in. There was no way. So, we headed back into downtown Bar Harbor to buy a tent. All I could think of is how lucky we were that this National Park is located so conveniently near a town with amenities. We are used to camping in the middle of nowhere & we would've been in big trouble without a working tent.

Once we bought our new tent (we're calling it a late father's day present for Daddy), & finished setting up our site, we decided to head into town for some fun. First we visited Atlantic Brewing Company for a brewery tour & tasting. We headed into the downtown area for dinner & drinks & noticed the tide was low. During low tide, a sandbar appears off the coast of Bar Harbor, connecting it to the next island over. I loved exploring the sandbar & all of the barnacles that covered the rocks & shells. I put my feet into what I thought was going to be freezing Maine water, but- probably because of the shallow depth of the water- it felt amazing. If I had a swimsuit with me, I would have been in the water in a heartbeat.

There are so many restaurant choices in Bar Harbor, it was hard for us to decide. We ended up heading into a restaurant that had Happy Hour specials & ordered a mix of appetizers to share. The mussels, shrimp cocktail & steamers were amazing. We got some drinks at an outdoor place & enjoyed the coastal scenery & sunset before heading back to our campsite for a campfire.

The next day we planned to hike up Cadillac Mountain. It's the tallest peak in Acadia & boasts to be the first place to see the sun rise on the East Coast. We camped on the first day of summer, aka the longest day of the year, & were not early enough risers to check that out. The hike up was open, with beautiful views of the ocean, town, & park. We underestimated how long the hike up would be, & thought we had reached the peak many times before actually reaching the peak. When we reached the top (it took us about an hour and a half), I felt exhilarated. I felt blessed that my body was able to hike a mountain & that I was able to experience it all. 

I was also a little frustrated. The top of Cadillac Mountain is also accessible by car, & it was crowded with tourists. My panoramic view was interrupted by people wearing cute clothing & shoes. I looked like a sweaty mess. I kinda felt like everyone should have earned the summit like we did. I quickly dismissed my frustration by realizing some of the best views & moments we experienced as were on the journey to the top. I felt accomplished for completing the hike, even if we could have gotten there by car.

We spent a half hour at the top before hiking a different trail back down. This trail was somehow steeper & much rockier. Rather than being wide open, the trail was surrounded by mossy trees & tall rocks. The rocky trail did a number on the bottom of my feet, & when we spotted a waterfall I couldn't wait to take my shoes off & put them in the icy water.

After hiking for over three hours, somehow we still found the strength to go kayaking (we were excited to bring our kayaks with us on our Maine adventure, & laughed at ourselves a little by how rugged we must look with our kayaks on top of our Subaru). It ended up being the perfect way to spend our afternoon. Long Pond was mostly quiet & serene. We looked for bald eagles to the sound of a waterfall in a quaint, little cove.

We headed back to our campsite that evening feeling pretty exhausted, but not too exhausted to grill hotdogs & hamburgers & play board games. I slept incredibly soundly that night. We woke up the next morning, packed up our campsite & car, & headed into Bar Harbor for one last breakfast. On recommendation, we went to Cafe This Way. It was an adorable & fun breakfast spot, with local art filling the walls & little nooks of books to read. I had the most amazing scrambled eggs of my life there. Seriously, I feel like I could drive the six hours to Bar Harbor just to eat there again.

On the way home, we stopped over the New Hampshire boarder for lunch & a visit with an old friend. Just off I-95 is Red Hook Brewery, a perfect spot for the last meal of our trip. We even got to check out the hops growing in the back.

It felt so good to come home to you & shower you with Maine souvenirs (a couple books, PJs, & your sea shell bag). You had an amazing "vacation" at home with Nonnie (no naps & late bedtimes), but we're hoping to include you on our next camping adventure. I think we'll start with an overnight camp-out in our back yard to see how you do sleeping in a tent before we try a campground. I hope you'll love camping & hiking & the smell of the campfire & the beauty of nature & using baby wipes to shower as much as your daddy & I do.

I love you so,

Mommy

The Big Three Point Five

Dear Em,
Yesterday we celebrated your three and a half birthday (as a woman at the library said, that half is really important at your age). It was an amazing day filled with all your favorites in food, family, friends, & fun. We celebrated with a 3.5 SuperHero Birthday Party (I'll be writing more about that in the upcoming weeks), lunched at Newport Creamery, played at Grandma & Papa's pool, & then headed home to unwrap gifts & play with your very best friend. It was the perfect day, but the day ended in tears. It actually ended in loud sobs. It's hard to say goodbye to your best friend & the perfect day. You couldn't bear for it to end.

I know that I've come to sound like a broken record, but I just can't believe you are three and a half. I feel like it was yesterday that we brought your teeny, tiny, squishy body back from the hospital. The good days, the bad days, the great days- it's all gone by in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, you're this feisty & smart & boisterous & active & amazing little girl. Things move so fast, sometimes it's hard to really take it in, but I truly want to take it in right now. To me, you are the most amazing little 3.5 year old, & I wish I could bottle you up- the way you are at this very moment- & save for always.

So, here is a little about you & your 3.5ness...

Favorite food: cupcakes

Favorite thing to do: play with Mommy & Daddy

Favorite thing to play: Barbies with Nonnie

Outside or inside: outside

Favorite thing to do outside: play on the swing set

What do you want to be when you grow up? a Princess

Favorite book: anything Fancy Nancy

Favorite song: Sweet Caroline

Favorite color: pink & purple

Favorite TV show: Sofia the First

Favorite movies: Lilo & Stitch & Wreck It Ralph

You are a bouncing ball of energy. I get tired just looking at you. You literally don't stop until we put you to bed- & sometimes not even then. We worry a little about you being able to sit still at school, but hope it will come in time. For now, you're a swirling dervish. Your favorite is to run & jump & swing & swim outside. You get a little frustrated when you can't do things perfectly the first time- like trying to hula hoop or do jumping jacks. You say "I'm not very good at this" & want to quit. We're working on learning that there will be a lot of things that you won't be able to do perfectly the first time. The important thing is that you keep trying & little by little you will get better.

You are a little learning sponge. I love hearing about the new things you've learned each day. You know all your numbers, all your letters, & almost all of their sounds. We work on math through playing at word problems (which you think are jokes). Right now you're working on writing & reading your first words. You get so excited to show me what you can do, & it makes my heart so happy. You've always loved to be read to. You have a ton of books filling your shelves, & now you & Nonnie come home with a pile of books from the library.  I hope that you & books will always have a special relationship, especially as you begin to read the books on your own.

You're such a sweet & loving girl. The best thing we heard from your teachers during our last parent-teacher conference is that you don't discriminate. At such a young age, clicks are already starting to develop, but you play with everyone. You walk right up to kids & say, "hi, my name is Emma. Want to play with me?" You are devastated when one of your friends is devastated, & you want to help in whatever way you can. You love to give out hugs. We've worked on asking people if they want a hug before tackling them with your love. I can't tell you how proud I am of you for your caring heart. That's not to say you're not very much an only child. Sharing can be a real challenge for you. In your world, everything is yours. We're working on that.

When it comes to our family, you're such a little love bug. You often leave what your doing to run to one of us & tell us you love us. Yesterday, out of the blue, you told Grandma she was so beautiful. She beamed. I can definitely say for all of us, you are such a ray of sunshine. Your compliments are never in short supply, & your hugs & kisses are more valuable to me than anything else in the world.

You're funny. Sometimes you're funny on purpose, but mostly you make us laugh completely by accident. The things you come up with bring so many smiles to my face & laughter to our home (although, sometimes we're laughing in secret). Yesterday you walked over to Daddy with a severely aggravated look on your face. Your hands were on your hips. "Do you see my face?! Do I look happy right now," you asked him sternly. I know you were trying to be gravely serious, but we couldn't help but giggle. Where do you come up with these things?

You're such a warrior. The past six months have been tough. You've battled ear infection after ear infection, & we've battled some behavioral issues through it all. We understood that you felt off health-wsie for six months, & it was hard for you to express that, but that didn't really make things any easier. There were days where I felt so overwhelmed by the tantrums & disciplining you that I cried after tucking you in at night. I questioned if I was a good parent & if we were raising you right. I wondered why everyone talked about the terrible twos when the twos were a breeze compared to the threes. Luckily, I think we've seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Since your surgery, we've seen fewer tantrums. No, you're behavior isn't perfect, but you're three. It isn't supposed to be.

Fashion is very important to you, maybe a little too important. You've begun to dress yourself over the past couple months, & that has lead to you wanting to choose your own clothes which has lead to multiple outfit changes in the same day. You are very particular. You will study your outfits in the mirror, & sometimes declare "this doesn't look very good."You would prefer to only wear dresses & only wear the colors pink & purple. That has become a little bit of a battle between the two of us, considering you have a entire closet of multi-colored shirts & shorts that I prefer we didn't waste. What can I say, there are some days where we battle it out, & there are some days where I just don't have the energy & you wear your Easter dress while you roll around in the grass & dirt outside.

We try to minimize it & you actually don't watch all that much but, you are obsessed with TV. Offering to let you watch an hour of TV is the biggest treat to you. When you're behavior is becoming a problem, the worst threat we can give you is no TV for a week or the weekend. We use it as a last resort, but when we use it your eyes get really wide & you rethink your actions pretty quickly. When you do get to watch TV, we try to stay with shows & movies that have some type of educational value. I feel like in the kids TV realm Strawberry Shortcake & My Little Pony can be equated to trashy TV talk shows, but you love them. There are days when we embrace being awful parents & let you watch it anyway. We sometimes pay for it. You're a little parrot, & you'll innocently repeat things without realizing that it can be hurtful to say to people outside of the witty banter of TV world.

The iPad is also something you've quickly picked up on. We gave you my old iPhone, & you'll also use that to play games & watch Netflix. You know right where to go to find your games & videos. Out laptop is a different story. You touch your finger to the screen repeatedly wondering why the computer isn't working. Watching you with technology is both fascinating & terrifying to me, because it is so different than when I grew up. We just try to limit & monitor it & pray for the best in the future.

You're our little buddy, & I'm relishing every moment of it. I know that it won't always be this way, & I love that you're favorite thing to do is play with Daddy & I. It almost doesn't matter what we're doing as long as we're together. With that said, it can be tough to play Barbies for the millionth time that week (especially for Daddy), & we're glad that sometimes you'll play on your own or snuggle up with us & watch a show on HDTV.

The past 3.5 years have been the fastest & most amazing of my life. I don't know how, but my heart grows a little each day as I find myself impossibly loving you more each day than I did the next. You are our greatest challenge & our greatest blessing, & I don't know how our lives could have felt complete before there was you. Each day is a new adventure, & I can't wait to what are moments will be like six months from now (gasp, how is it possible that I will have a four year old in six months?!). On the other hand, I can totally wait.

I love you so,
Mommy