Kate's 3 Year Letter

Dear Kate,

This letter is a little late, as we were in WALT DISNEY WORLD on your 3^rd birthday!!!  There was no better way to spend your 3^rd birthday than getting a princess-ed up in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  Aunt Carrie and Uncle Alan treated you to this special occasion, and after much debate, you decided to be “Rapunzel.”  You picked out a Rapunzel dress and the Rapunzel hair (i.e. poofy, long, blonde hairpiece).  You loved getting your nails painted, your makeup done, and glitter sprinkled all over.  Once you were finished, you waltzed around the park on your way to lunch at “Be Our Guest” restaurant.  There, you celebrated with a special PINK (of course) cupcake.  You really enjoyed everyone singing “Happy Birthday” to you.  Although you may not remember this monumental occasion, it will be well-documented in pictures!  To celebrate your birthday at home, we had a little “Pink Princess Part” at our house, including a Princess cake, pink lemonade, and pink ice cream.

Over the past 6 months, we’ve moved to Oklahoma City, and we are pretty much all settled in!  Even though we’ve been here for several months, you still refer to our house as “our new house.”  You have a new room with a white toddler bed, and TONS of girly toys.  You love to play with your baby dolls, princesses, hair accessories, jewelry, and any other little trinkets.  Your favorite color is still pink, so there is a  lot of pink in your room.  It’s obvious that you’re a girly girl because you only want to wear dresses, princess nightgowns, and you always want your hair “braided like Elsa.” 

You love your groceries! At your recent doctor’s appointment, they said you were 90^th percentile in weight and around 65^th percentile in height.  You are finally growing taller!  I knew that you would eventually catch up.  You love mac and cheese, Spaghettios, cheeseburgers, French fries, chicken nuggets, goldfish, graham crackers, yogurt, and anything sweet!!  Ever since we’ve moved, you have been getting up really early in the morning….generally between 5:30 and 6am.  This has been hard on mommy!  Also, you frequently come and wake us up in the middle of the night so we can “come lay with [you].”  You love your blankie, your pillow, and your baby dolls.  Each morning, if we’re lucky, you will peacefully go “watch a movie” (i.e. TV show) and have “choc milk and a nack.”  On other mornings, you will display quite the protest about getting up.

Since September, you have attended Little Bronco’s Kids Club in Mustang.  It seemed to take a while to warm up to the staff, especially since you were used to Miss Lori, but now you really like Ms. Ashley, Ms. Stephanie, and Ms. Mel.  You are learning a lot at “school” because you come home and sing songs, tell stories, and tell us some of the things you talked about that day.  We also started dance lessons at Dance Authority (called “First Steps” class).  You were an adorable ballerina and loved the idea of taking dance, but once you realized that mommy couldn’t stay with you in the class, you started  not wanting to go.  After 2-3 months, we let you stop for a while.  Maybe you will want to do it again in the future!  You keep talking about taking gymnastics, so maybe we will try that next.

You love spending time with your family.  “Bubba” is your best friend…sometimes…in fact, you will let EVERYONE know if he/she is your best friend, or not.  Generally, it depends on the circumstances.  Most frequently, your best friends are Bubba, Daddy, Mommy, Grandma Donna, Nana, and Nanny.  One of your favorite activities is coloring, drawing, and looking at books.  You also love to play outside, and you could swing for hours!  That is definitely your favorite activity when outside.  You had your first trip to a beach while in Florida, and you loved running around in your swimsuit and playing in the sand.  You also enjoyed exploring at Lake Texoma over Thanksgiving.

Nearly every day, someone comments on how absolutely BEAUTIFUL you are!  Mommy and daddy couldn’t agree more.  We pray for your heart to be filled with kindness, gratitude, and love. 

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Ian's 5 Year Letter

Dear Ian,

Wow...you're 5?  How can this be?  It seems like just yesterday that we
first saw your precious little face!  We've had so many exciting, new
things happen in the past year.

First and foremost, we made a HUGE transition by moving from Wichita to
Oklahoma City!  Although it was nice to move closer to grandparents, it
was sure hard to leave the first house daddy and I had when you were
born.  We have sooo many wonderful memories in that house!  I pray that
you'll be able to have some memories of your first room...even if
they're not detailed (mommy has LOTS of pics to help out).  You did
really well with the move and seem to like our new house.  You really
like your new room and your new "big boy bed."  Some of your favorite
things to do in our new house include playing in the backyard, running
in circles through the house, and taking a bath in mommy and daddy's
jacuzzi tub. 

This past Spring, you wrapped up a great year at Eastminster Preschool
in Wichita. You had some challenging times, mostly with your behavior,
but Mrs. Lisa was so impressed with your improvement throughout the
year.  This Fall, you started all-day Pre-K at Piedmont Primary School.
This worked out well for us since daddy is working at Piedmont
Intermediate.  Your teacher is named Mrs. Clark, and you have 22 kids in
your class.  When you're not at school, you're at home!  No more daycare
for you!  You really loved Ms. Lori in Wichita, and it was looking
difficult to find a good home daycare in OKC, so mommy and daddy were
thankful for all-day Pre-K.  Mrs. Clark said that you're so smart and
very compassionate towards the friends in your class!  We've had a few
behavior issues, but hopefully those are just new-school jitters. You
seem to like singing and know songs for the days of the week and months
of the year.

Since you really enjoyed Cubbies/AWANAs last year, you were willing to
do it again.  You've Cubbies at Covenant Community Church in Yukon,
while mommy participates in bible study.  You're also trying out soccer
for the first time, and you're a proud member of "Team Flash."  You're
starting to get the hang of playing soccer, although we're not sure
you'll play forever.  With a weekday practice and a weekend game, you
stay busy from week to week.  At home, you stay active with playing
outside, using your LeapPad, playing with toys (i.e. transformers, cars,
Paw Patrol, Octonauts, Lego Juniors, and Magnatiles), and watching
cartoons.

Your favorite playmate is your little sis, Kate.  She idolizes her big
brother and follows you everywhere!  You both like to play "Shark Boy
and Lava Girl."  It's based on a TV show of the same name that you both
like to watch.  If we are somewhere and Kate is not around, you want to
know what she is doing.  She does the same for you.

You are very tall for you age!  You finally landed in the 97th
percentile for your height.  You're still slender, and wearing size 6
clothes and size 11-11.5 shoes.  Your favorite foods are Spaghettios
(still), mac and cheese, chicken nuggets (especially McDonald's), and
pizza.  You also still love Goldfish, graham crackers, apples, and milk.


This November, we will be taking an exciting trip to Walt Disney World!!
Uncle Alan, Aunt Carrie, Cousin Wyatt (born in April of this year), and
Grandma Donna will be joining us!  You are very excited, and I can't
wait to see your face when you arrive.  Mommy and Daddy love you so very
much, sweet boy!  We thank God for you, and love you "to the moon and
back."

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Kate's 2 & 1/2 Year Letter

 Dear Kate,

Before I started typing this letter, I went back and read your 2 year letter.  My how you have grown and changed!  Yet, some things are still the same.  You continue to bring daddy and I so much laughter and joy.

The biggest two milestones that you've accomplished over the past 6 month...potty-trained and sleeping in a "big girl" bed!  You pretty much potty-trained yourself about 2 months ago.  I'm not sure if it's because you're around other kids that are potty-trained, or if it's because you're a girl, but we didn't have to do hardly anything!  You took an interest in sitting on the little potty chair in the bathroom, and once you figured out how to go, that was all it took!  You still have occasional accidents, but love to wear your panties, bloomers, etc.  You also like to change to a new pair after each bathroom trip...this makes for a lot of laundry! 

Last night was your first night in your "big girl" toddler bed! You were soooo excited, and you did great all night long!  You love your pink sheets, and have to snuggle with lots of "extras," including your blanket, bunny lovey, 2 pillows, and a water cup.  You also like to have your projector on...specifically, shining the purple monkey up on the ceiling.  You go to bed around 8:30-9pm and awake around 6:45am.  It's nearly impossible to get you to wear any other PJs besides your princess nightgowns.  You still take about a 2 hour nap each afternoon.

Besides the color pink, you LOVE snacks and princesses!  You always want to have a "nack," a drink, your blankie, and a princess movie turned on.  You love to sing, "Let It Go," and songs from "Sleeping Beauty," "Aladdin," "Little Mermaid," "Snow White," and "Cinderella."  You have a few princess costume dresses, and you always twirl every time you wear one of these outfits (acutally, you twirl with any skirt/dress).  You love to wear high heels, jewelry, and carry purses.  You're definitely ALL GIRL!! I'm so excited because by the time I write your next letter, we will be in Disney World! Aunt Carrie, Grandma Donna, and I have a lot of fun times in store for you!

Your favorite snacks are GoGurt, graham crackers, apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, strawberries, goldfish, and donuts.  At least you love fruit! ;) Each morning you request "choc milk" and "yogut." You pretty much have all of your teeth in, and you like to show them when flashing your precious smile or screaming at the top of your lungs when you don't get your way! 

Your vocabulary gets bigger each day!  Mommy and daddy are getting to where we can understand you more and more, but still you'll adamently tell us something, and we don't understand what you're saying.  If it's a request...watch out!  You will get frustrated quickly!

You love playing with "bubba," and you always want to know what your best buddy is doing.  Even though you're frequently playing together and laughing at bubba's silliness, we also hear, "bubba do it," a lot! This happens when you're trying to deflect the blame for something.  You like to tell us when "bubba mean," or "bubba hurt me," even though it's just gentle sibling rivalry.  Generally, after you get a few hugs from mommy and daddy, you're right back to playing peacefully.

You love to have mommy read books to you.  Your favorites include any picture/word books, "Goodnight, Moon," "Move Over, Rover," "A Potty for Me," and your Poke-A-Dot book.  We typically read about 4-5 books each night before bed.  You also love to play with baby dolls, your Little People princesses and castle set, your vanity, and your Minnie Mouse kitchen.  You love "doing your hair," and really enjoy it when mommy puts your hair in "pig tails."  We are trying to grow your bangs out now, so your hair is in a somewhat awkward stage.  Even though you like your hair "done," you don't leave any ties, bows, or clips in very long. You're still somewhat petite and wear 2T-3T clothes and size 7 shoes.

You continue to go to Miss Lori's house on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10am-5pm.  You have lots of friends over there, and you absolutely LOVE Miss Lori.  We recently had a scare when you choked on a small charm from Aggie's bracelet (Lori's daughter).  You were fine, thanks to Miss Lori, but we've been having lots of talks about NOT putting stuff in your mouth!!  You like to play with Lilly, Kenna, and Aggie.

You are definitely "Little Miss Independent" and don't hardly want help with ANYTHING!!" You say, "I do it!!" a lot!!  Especially, when putting on shoes, putting on clothes, brushing your teeth, getting in/out of the car, the bathtub, and going potty.  You won't even let us open a band-aid for a boo-boo without yelling, "I do it!" as soon as we get the band-aid box out of the cabinet!  Despite all of the independance, you are so very loving and you love to cuddle.  You'll always come over to mommy and daddy to collect hugs, snuggles, and laughs.  It melts our hearts when you put your sweet head on our chests.  I know nanny, papa, and Grandma Donna feel this way, too!

Some more big events that have occurred over the past 6 months include the birth of your cousin, Baby Wyatt Alan Hromas, and finding out that we're moving to Oklahoma City!  This move is bittersweet, but it sure will be nice to be back in Oklahoma and closer to family.  We can't wait to instill some of those Sooner traditions and values into you. :)  It will be sad to leave our home in Wichita, as we have so many special memories of you, here inside of these walls.  Fortunately, mommy likes to take an excessive amount of pictures. :)

Well, I supposed I'll wrap this up by saying how much we love you Katybug!!   We are so blessed to be your parents, and we look forward to watching you grow, each and every day.

With Love,
Mommy and Daddy