/Letters to My Children 2015/ September

Dear Jonah,

In 2 more days you will be TWO years old! And what a difference a year makes... you went from bald crawling baby to a walking talking little boy. Full of energy, curiosity, sweetness and stubbornness. At some point this year you discovered that if you're going to have a mischievous streak, it's quite helpful to also be very charming. We both know that sweet smile of yours makes it awfully hard to stay mad at you.

This year also brought some big changes... right after your 1st birthday, we moved into our new house. And just last month you started Montessori preschool. It's been a tough transition at times, but your teachers adore you and you love having Emma right across the hall. The teachers asked me if you guys ever fight because you seem to have such a strong and loving bond. I had to laugh at that one. While the strong and loving bond part is certainly true, you definitely know how to push each others' buttons. But I promise you no one will be there for you like your sister, and vice versa. I'm excited to see how your relationship continues to grow as you get older and can do more things together... you want nothing more right now than to be able to keep up with your big sister!

Daddy and I love you like crazy and feel pretty darn lucky we get to be your parents... we can't wait to see what the next year brings for you! Here's to another year of adventure, snuggles, and endless smiles.

Love,

Mama

I'm joined in this project by some brilliant photographers... please head over to Melissa's blog to read her letter, then follow the links around until you end up back here. 

/Letters to My Children/ February 2015

Dear Emma,

I've been so drawn to taking portraits of you lately... You're growing into your personality more every day and I so love capturing all the many sides of you. You're oh so silly, and astoundingly smart, and most of all incredibly sweet and thoughtful. You're also emerging as a bit of an introvert, which isn't surprising since you hail from a looooong line of introverts. We're working on helping you be more social around people you don't know, but daddy and I are so proud of your maturity and independence. Even when you're in a new situation where you don't know the other kids, you happily find your own way.

In school news, you've been making awesome progress with your moveable alphabet, and just this week started writing words! With no help from me, you sounded out and spelled "hat" all by yourself. You were so proud and excited. "Mama! I spelled a real word!!"  It's like it all clicked for you and after that you wanted to write every three letter word you know. Dad, cat, bat... You were on fire and it was truly awesome to watch. Not too shabby for three and a half. (Thanks, Montessori!)

We love you so much, bubba, and are so proud to be your parents. 

Love, 

Mama 

Please head over to my very sweet friend Ally’s blog to read her letter, then continue around the circle until you land back here!

/Letters to My Children/ January 2015

My sweet Jonah,

What a wild ride this month has been with you! Injuries, illnesses, and your newfound desire to get into everything that isn't nailed down. There's no taking our eyes off of you right now, that's for sure. But for as mischievous as you've become, you're also getting sweeter - and smarter - by the day. You're at this awesome stage right now where every day you have a new word or a new trick and everything is starting to come together for you. As a parent, it's a pretty incredible thing to witness. I can see the baby in you diminishing by the day, so I'm trying to enjoy every single  "wovey," "nnnack!," "tank you," and "buppy." I know all too soon they'll turn into "lovey," "snack," "thank you," and "up" and that bittersweet feeling of my baby turning into a toddler will wash over me. Not too fast, my sweet boy... not too fast.

Love,

Mama

Please head over to my immensely talented friend Ally's blog to read her letter, then continue around the circle until you land back here!

\Letters to My Children\ February

I’m continuing my “Letters” project this year with a new group of my very dearest photography friends. Each month I’ll write a letter to one of my babies.  This month it’s Emma’s turn…

Well, you are officially two and a half. With. A. Bang. I was naive enough to think we'd somehow, miraculously skip over the terrible twos. But it turns out you're a normal kid with big feelings and you're having a tough time managing them. Daddy and I are trying our best to help you figure out how to express yourself, but sometimes you just need to scream and cry and let it all out. It breaks my heart, but I always tell you that it's okay to be sad and frustrated and angry. I feel that way sometimes, too. We work on taking deep breaths and always talk through things once you've calmed down. Sometimes neither of us handles these meltdowns very well, but we always learn and that's the best we can do. Anyway, enough with the tough stuff... let's get to the good stuff!

Your ability to communicate beyond your years continues to blow us away, and I love seeing the wheels turning as you work something out or make up something silly. You're becoming more and more curious about the world around you and have started asking questions about everything... "Is it Saturday? Yes or No?"... "Is this a boy or a girl?"... "Can I have 2 books or 3?"... "What are these kids doing?" And just today you read The Little Blue Truck to me and Daddy, and I was a big old sap and started crying halfway through. I know you were just reciting it from memory, but it was a glimpse into a day, not too far from now, when you are really reading to us. I felt so proud of you, and so excited for what's to come as you get a little older.

Lately, you've gotten really into playing with your Legos and I just love watching you build your "circus," as you call it. You'll build a tower as tall as you can reach, and then gleefully knock it down so that you can build it up again.

I think my favorite thing about you at this age is how sweet, cuddly, and generous you are. You always have a million moochies (kisses) for me and Daddy and Jonah, and you love to cook for us in your kitchen and share your loveys with your little brother. It makes you so happy to make us feel loved and cared for... it's one of your many qualities that I hope never goes away.

I love you so much, boo boo.

I encourage you to head over to my lovely friend Gwen’s blog to read her letter to her children.

\Letters to My Children 2014\ January

I’m continuing my "Letters" project this year with a new group of my very dearest photography friends. Each month I’ll write a letter to one of my babies.  This month it's Jonah's turn… Oh my baby boy, what a rough month it's been for you! At only 3 months old, you had surgery to repair the hernia you were born with, and then a couple of weeks later you caught your first real sickness from your big sister. All that, on top of starting daycare, and yet you've handled it all with your usual ease and sweetness.

I'm so glad you're feeling better, and crossing my fingers that the worst is behind us. I feel like we lost a whole month and I'm ready for life to slow down a little so I can get back to savoring all your sweet goodness. It sounds so cliche, but you really are growing so fast! There's so much I want to remember... all your little chunky bits, those cheeks, your huge blue eyes, the way your head smells like pure heaven.

I know I can't pause time, but I can take a zillion photos of you, and that's almost the same thing. I've also made a promise to myself to take photos with you, so here are a couple more... I hope one day you can look back on these and see how very much I love you.

I encourage you to head over to my friend Ashleigh’s blog to read her beautiful letter to her daughter.