Kate's 2 Year Letter

Dear Katybug,

Well, you're able to say how old you're turning tomorrow!  You're also able to tell us what kind of birthday party you'd like to have...."minn mouse." The expansion in your vocabulary is just one of the many changes that we've witnessed in the past several months.  You're able to comunicate pretty effectively, although some of your words are not extremely clear.  Your favorite words are eat, yesssssshh, no, bath, "juische," milk, snack, and MINE!  You also love to say "bubba," probably because he brings you so much joy.  You and Ian are two peas in a pod, and he makes sure he includes you in everything.  You LOVE to mimic everything he does, and you laugh at it all!

You almost have a full mouth of teeth now and likely just have a few more to go.  Meal time is the best time to practice using those teeth, and you definitely don't have any concerns about over-using them.  As nanny would say, "You love your groceries!"  You love yogurt, chicken nuggets, raisins, goldfish, animal crackers, green beans, broccoli, and cheese (one of your definite favs).  You also love milk and juice. 

I'm so excited that you are "all girl!"  You love to be a little mama to your baby dolls, wear your jewelry, and anything that is PINK.  You also like to wear bows (temporarily) and cute shoes.  It's so sweet when you give your babies stroller rides (you say you're "going on a walk"), then you take them to your baby crib and cover them up with a blankie. Your favorite stuffed animal is your pig named "Peppa" (after the cartoon).  You are also addicted to your caterpillar paci, and the sight of it can calm nearly every breakdown.  Unfortunately, the site of it when we won't let you have it will cause a temper tantrum.  It does help calm you down, so we let you use it primarily while sleeping.

Rearranging the clothes in your drawers is a big hobby of yours!  For some reason, you really like to try to wear bloomers (especially ruffly ones), and I wonder if this means your ready for big girl undies?  You tell us every time you go "poo poo," and sometimes tell us if you go "pee pee."  Considering you've done this for a while already, and you're just now turning two, I'm hoping that means you'll be easy to potty-train.  You love bath time, and you try to help mama by "washing" bubba.  It's so cute, even though mommy has to go back and do it again, anyway.

When mommy and daddy are at work, you go to Miss Lori's house (Wed, Thurs, Fri from 10-5).  You love Miss Lori, as well as your friends at her house.  I think that you have some competition there because you have developed one sassy attitude when you don't get your way!  Lori said that's how all of you little girls act.  I think we may have our work cut out for us with you, sissy!

You still have the biggest, brightest blue eyes, and people comment on them all of the time.  You have straight blonde hair that, unfortunately, grows much faster in the back than in the front. Grandpa Dick says that it's exactly like how mommy's hair was as a little girl.  You're still petite, which is surprising, and you're currently wearing mostly 18 month clothes and size 5-6 shoes.

Thank you so much for all of the joy you've brought us over the past 2 years!  We can't wait to see you grow into a beautiful young lady! (But...not too quick...slow down).  Happy Birthday!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Ian's 4 Year Letter

Dear Ian,

You're 4!!  This is the first time you were super-excited about your birthday. You asked numerous times how old you were, and you loved knowing that you were becoming a "big boy." We celebrated the "big day" with a Ninja Turtle-themed birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.  You are definitely in to Ninja Turtles right now, which it kind of neat given Uncle Alan and Uncle Grant used to love them when they were young.  You love to dress up in all of your ninja gear and act out all of your moves. :)  You love to role play and always want daddy and I to decide which turtle we would like to be...so cute.

Your vocab has exploded, and you use your words to ask all kinds of inquisitive questions. You always want to know what different things mean and why we do certain things.  It really keeps us on our toes!  You are learning sounds of various letters, counting up to 100, and you know how to make new colors by mixing two (thanks to colored bath tablets :).  The other day in the car, we practiced simple addition.  I am so impressed at how fast you learn!  One of your newest activities is AWANAs.  We started it this Fall at Crossroads Baptist Church at Central and Greenwich.  You are in the "Cubbies" group, and you are learning so much!!  A "sponge" describes you perfectly, as you are excellent at memorizing bible verses.  You commit them to your long term memory and can even remember the "Week 1" verse, 10 weeks later!

You are an amazing big brother!  Your sister, Kate, things you are the BEST thing in the universe!  She absolutely loves her "bubba."  She laughs at nearly everything you do, and she wants to mimic all of your actions (good and bad).  She always asks about you if you're missing, and she is so excited to see you return.  Most of the the time, you're very sharing and inclusive with her.  If you upset her, however, she will stand her ground and let you know about it!

Your diet has not expanded much since the last entry, and you are still picky.  Your favorites are pizza (pepperoni -- like the ninja turtles), Spaghettios, goldfish crackers, turkey/cheese, hot dogs, and Ninja Turtle Gogurt.  Dinner times are such a chore.  Daddy and Mommy generally spend a majority of our mealtime trying to get you to eat your food.  You are fully potty-trained now, so that has been nice.  You still wear a diaper at night, and I can't imagine we will stop this anytime soon.  You're wearing size 4T clothes, although you're still almost too thin for the 4T pants.  You're already taller than many of your friends, so I have no doubt that you're going to surpass mommy and daddy.

It's no question that your favorite toys are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  As mentioned earlier, that was the theme of your birthday party, and pretty much every gift was related to TMNT.  You still love Disney Cars, Planes, and Chuggington Trains.  You also like to build with your Lego Duplos, play with your tools, and play with Playdoh.  You love to role play, and you're very inclusive with mommy, daddy, Kate, and your friends.

You had the honor of being a ring bearer this year in Uncle Grant and Aunt Abbey's wedding in Kansas City.  You looked adorable in your little suit and tie.  You got a little shy when it was time to walk down the aisle, but you sure opened up on the dance floor.  :)  Aside from Kansas City, we've taken trips to Red River, NM for skiing and summer fun, as well as San Antonio for Chelci and Jeremy's wedding.

This Fall, you started preschool at Eastminster Preschool.  You're in a class of 10 kids, and your teacher is named, Mrs. Lisa.  You seem to enjoy school, but often bring up your "old school" (Discovery Place).  I think this is mainly because you miss your friends.  It's been an adjustment, but you've been doing really well.  Daddy and I can already tell how much you're learning.  You still go to Ms. Lori's house when mommy and daddy are at work.  You love Ms. Lori and your friends there.

Ian, we are so proud of you!  You have such a sweet heart and a fun spirit.  We love that you have a deep interest in the Lord, and we pray that it will flourish.  Happy 4th Birthday!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy