/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 2015/ May

Dear Jonah,

Oh my guy... you must be the cutest, sweetest little wrecking ball that ever was. If it can be dumped out, poured out, crushed, mashed, or deconstructed in any way, you'll find a way to do it - with a huge smile on your face, of course.

Eating with you lately is particularly entertaining. You've become very opinionated about what you want, and even more so about what you don't want. Meals are a contact sport full of charm, equal parts laughing and yelling, and big messes.

But for all your Bam Bam ways, you still melt my heart every single day with that sweet smile, your huge hugs, and fierce love. You are adamant about the family all being together, Rocco included. If someone's not there, you say their name Stanley Kowalski-style until they appear (or you get distracted by food). Emma has become your partner in crime, your biggest annoyance, and very best friend. And Daddy? Daddy's your superhero, rockstar, apple of your eye, center of your universe, best dad in the history of all dads. There is no one on the planet you adore more than him, and getting to watch you two together is one of the great joys of my life.

Here's to a summer filled with grand adventures, long weekends, less Super Glue, more patience all around, and lots of snuggles and sloppy kisses. I love you to pieces and pieces and pieces, my JoJo.

Love,

Mama

Please head over to Melissa’s blog to read her letter, then continue around the circle until you land back here!

/Letters to My Children/ March 2015

Dear Jonah,

What an awesome couple of months it's been since I last wrote to you! You are becoming a little boy right before our eyes, cute as can be and keeping us on our toes. You are eating constantly and have recently discovered how to get into the pantry. We have to be super diligent about putting the child lock on so as not to find you arm deep in a container of puffs and about to move on to the raisins. (Not that that happened or anything.)

Your curiosity knows no limits these days, and you're rapidly discovering all the new places you can reach, things you can turn on and off, doors you can open and close. Daddy and I are trying to pacify this desire by putting more Jonah-friendly things within reach, but that stuff is apparently quite boring compared to everything else just out of reach.

What I love most about this stage with you is how much you're talking and how excited you get when you can say a new word. You've put a great priority on learning all the food words (shocker), but you've also started saying "love you!" which is the best thing ever to hear at the end of a long work day. Just this week you finally got a handle on "Emma" (you used to call her Mama, which was rather confusing for all of us), and have been saying her name constantly for the past several days. You two have your sibling moments, but I know she so loves hearing you saying her name and asking for her.

When all is said and done - or eaten in your case - you're still our ever sweet little Jo... a snuggle bug who gives the best sloppy kisses and has one of the world's truly great smiles. We love you so much and can't wait to see what the next couple of months have in store for you.

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!

/Jonah Month by Month/ 7 Months

{Jonah Month by Month} 4 Months

\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.

{Jonah Month by Month} 3 Months

{Jonah Month by Month} 1 month