You are incredible. I don't know how else to start this but to say that. You are so incredible. Tomorrow, you turn three. I'm shocked at that! I probably shouldn't be; remembering how shocked I was when you turned one, and then two, I've been preparing myself for your third birthday for a while. But as I sit here holding your baby brother as he sleeps, I flash back to when you were this age, teaching me how to be a mom (and boy did you teach me a lot!), and I cannot fathom where the time has gone! It seems that just yesterday you were this tiny baby in my arms and I would hold you as you
- You had your first trip to the ER this year, and hopefully that will also be your last! You did fine with the nebulizer because you liked the "smoke", but you really didn't like the chest x-ray, especially since I had to stay behind the glass. You calmed down immediately afterward, though, and we sat and cuddled and sang "Yellow Submarine" (and by the way, you insist on changing the color of the submarine every time we sing it) as we waited for the results to come back. You had croup and pneumonia! You love taking medicine, though, and every day you reminded me to give it to you, so you got better pretty quickly and were back to your normal, sweet self after a week!
- You got to know your Grandma Han this year, as she came to live with us for a little bit. You loved having her here and liked the noises she made when she played trains and helicopters with you and she made you laugh so hard with them! And now when she comes over to visit, you get excited and exclaim "That's my grandma!" She loves you so much, and you love her, too.
- You got a new cousin this year! You didn't bat an eye when we brought you to the hospital and put Luke in your arms and told you that "NJ came out of Auntie Mimi's tummy and he is this sweet little baby! Oh and by the way, his name is Luke and not NJ!" It was like you understood all along! You loved Luke right away; we put him in your arms and you held him and kissed him and declared "That's my cousin!" And any time we saw him after that, you immediately ran up to him and smothered him with kisses, and you still love to give him hugs and kisses and declare "I love my cousin!"
- You absorb knowledge so fast, and I am constantly amazed at the things you remember! You often say things that I didn't even know that you knew, like counting backwards! Ever since you surprised me by counting in Spanish I have been teaching you some Spanish vocabulary, and I think that you may have an ear for languages, as you've retained and repeated even when I haven't asked you!. You've even retained bits of Chinese, thanks to Ni-Hao Kai-Lan!
- You surprised me and daddy both when you made such a smooth transition to your big boy bed! We were so sure that our very particular boy who has to have things just so would freak out at such a big change, but you love having a big boy bed! And you're such a good boy that you stay in it and wait for mommy and/or daddy to come and tell you when it's okay to get out of it.
- You hardly ever nap anymore, but rest time is very important to you. It's rare these days, but if you do sleep, you sleep for around 2 hours. Mostly, though, you just lay in your bed and entertain yourself during rest time. You entertain me, too, as I can hear you in there, flipping and flopping around on your bed, singing songs and having such interesting conversations with yourself! Even though you rarely sleep anymore, you definitely need your rest time, as it helps you wind down and relax in the middle of a busy day- if you don't get your rest you are very wound up by dinner time!
- You no longer are a long-haired-hippie-surfer-dude (your daddy's words), as the texture of your hair has changed this year. Your soft, wispy curls have turned into coarse, straight, uncontrolable hair that stands straight up! I finally decided that there was no point trying to tame that hair and took you to the barber, and now you sport a mohawk (okay, it's actually a faux-hawk since I couldn't bring myself to actually let them shave the sides!)!
- You are so funny! You make me laugh constantly, and I often wish that I could record you 24 hours a day so that I can document everything you do and say! I want to remember everything!
- You didn't go through the terrible twos! You definitely had your moments, and you may possible go through this rough period when you're three, but we are so deeply proud of our well-behaved little boy! You are a people-pleaser by nature, and you always want to make me proud of you. You tell me "when I'm a naughty boy, that makes momma sad. But when I'm a good boy, that makes momma happy!" and multiple times a day you remind me "I'm a good boy!"
- You know all the sounds that letters make, and we are working on sounding out words! We're still working on remembering to look at the letters before we guess at what something says, though, as you usually use other cues to help you guess what the word says. For example, when we were visiting Daddy's fire station you saw the letters on the side of one of the rigs and said "Look mommy, A-M-B-U-L-A-N-C-E! That spells firetruck!"
- You are still such a big boy! You are 40 pounds and 41 inches tall and are still completely off the growth charts! You look older than your three years, and your looks in combination with the way you talk have caused many people to ask me if you were four or five, even when you were just barely two!
- You are such a loving kid and you have such a big heart! You are concerned when others are sad, and you try to figure out what upset them and what would make them happy again. You are so smart that you know when to tell me that you are sad and you tell me when you need hugs from mommy to make you happy again! You love to get and give hugs and kisses from your favorite people, and my favorite time of day is your bedtime because I get to cuddle and rock you before bed. And as I'm leaving your room, you always beg for one more hug and I always give in! Neither of us can resist giving and getting one last hug!
- You are a big brother now! And you are the best big brother ever! Sammy is 7 weeks old now, and you loved him before he was even born! When I was pregnant with Sam, you'd always put your hand on my tummy and ask if you could feel him kick, and you'd get so excited when you felt him kick! You would kiss and hug my tummy and say "That's my baby brother Samuel!" Even before he was born, you loved going in his room just because you knew that it was your baby brother's room! You'd get so excited telling me about how he was going to use his crib, how he was going to wear his clothes, how he would swing in his swing, and you'd read me his name on the wall "S-A-M-U-3-L spells Samuel! That's my baby brother's name!" (the E looked like a backwards 3, and you insisted that I was wrong when I told you it was an E!). When we brought Samuel home, you were so thrilled when you got to hold him! You kept saying "Samuel came out of mommy's tummy and he turned into a baby! He's my baby brother!" Every day you ask to hold him, and you are always kissing and hugging him! You give me a play-by-play of what Sam is doing all day long, and multiple times a day you tell me "I love my baby brother Samuel!" You've shared your trains with him, your helicopters, your cars, and my heart swelled with pride when you insisted that Samuel needed to hold your special duckie that you love so much and can't sleep without! I absolutely love watching you with him, and I am so humbled that I could do this for you both- give you to him, and him to you. I can see such a bond being formed, and I know that you will grow to be the best of friends!
Love Forever and Ever,
Mommy
What a beautiful letter documenting Jack's year! Happy Birthday Jack!!
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