I want to remember

Dear Noah,

You are 4 years old now. No longer a baby, but not quite the big boy that you promise you are. You are amazing, and funny, social and loving. You are an amazing big brother to Juliana. You cry when she gets hurt and dont let her walk out into a parking lot without holding your hand. You love science, talk nonstop about the planets in the solar system and love to sing songs that you've learned at school. Your best friend doesnt talk. You dont care. You take care of him just like you take care of Juliana. You talk nonstop, enough for everyone. You literally fall asleep talking at night and wake up with so much to say. We often laugh about you filling every silence with your words. I remember a time when I wondered if you would ever learn to talk. You are a bundle of energy, full of terrible knock-knock jokes that you make up on the fly. You are so inquisitive, for everything we tell you, theres a "Why" that goes with it. Your imagination is phenomenal and your astound your teachers with the things you say. You know your alphabet, can write most of the letters and you are starting to put sounds with the letters. Its a work in progress. You write your name well, know your address, phone number, and what to do if approached by a stranger. My heart broke today when you came home from school and told me someone didnt want to play with you because you had a "boo-boo" on your face. You are so worthy. You are worthy of amazing friends that love you, that inspire you, that change your life. I cannot tell you this enough. I hope I do enough for you. I hope you remember me with fond thoughts, even when I lose my temper. Even when I yell and  react. Please have an open heart and remember the golden rule. Its okay not to fit in and not everyone is going to like you. Treat them well anyway. Remember that you are loved, that you are special and very much wanted.

Love always, Mommy.



Dear Juliana,

You are three years old, but I often see you as being much younger. I think you are okay with that. You tell me on an almost daily basis that you dont want to grow up. You love to be held, sleep in the bed with us, and are a super snuggler. You are a free spirit, love dresses and refuse to wear pants most days. You dont like wearing bows in your hair and almost always pull them out after we drop you off at school. You dont care for dolls, and its hard for me not to buy you dolls as I loved them as a child. You recently gave yourself quite a drastic haircut and now your hair is very short. You play with everyone but are not as social. You take longer to warm up and are known for "the face" when someone you arent familiar with speaks to you. Noah is your best friend, and you often tell me that Im your best friend as well. Of course, thats when Daddy isnt around. You love to take dance and "twirl like a ballerina" but I think you have your own agenda when you go. You love watching Hello Kitty, hate brushing your teeth, love spaghetti and any kind of meat. And your chocolate milk, we cant forget the chocolate milk. You are bossy and we often have to laugh at some of the sassy things you say to us, secretly of course. You can identify all the letters of the alphabet and recently learned how to write your name. That too, is a work in progress. I have my coworkers and patients asking me what the Juliana story of the day is. You have made sandwiches for yourself at the ripe old age of 2, cut your hair, glued school papers to the wall with a glue stick, drawn fantastic murals on the wall, thrown a dozen eggs out the shopping cart one by one when my back was turned, used finger nail polish to paint your body, dressed the cat up and put soap in the fish bowl (Thank goodness Howard has 9 lives). Sometimes when I come home in the morning from work, I scoop you up in my arms and just hold you while you sleep. I press my face into your warm neck and think of how lucky we are to have such a wonderful gift. What did we ever do to deserve you or your brother. Always remember that you are beautiful and you grow more and more beautiful every day. Never be afraid to be yourself. I will be your biggest fan. There will always be critics but you will always find love here.

With all my love, Mommy.

Noah at 4 1/2 years...

What is your favorite color? Blue and green. Both.

What is your favorite toy? My favorite toy is the one with Woody sitting in it. The one that makes a sound when I shake it. But it doesnt make a sound. Even when I turn it to on.

What is your favorite fruit? Watermelon. Watermelon is fruit. And tomatoes.

What is your favorite TV show? Spongebob Squarepants and Moose A. Moose- well, that kind. I like it so much I like to watch it all the time.

What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? My sandwich at school.

What is your favorite outfit? My skateboard shirt and my gray pants.

What is your favorite game? I like the copy game. Where you say something and the person copies what you say. Like I say "Blah" and Daddy says "Blah".

What is your favorite snack? Popcorn at school that my class brings me

What is your favorite animal? Lizards! I love them!

What is your favorite song? Fruit of the spearmints! (Fruit of the spirits) and Moves like Jagger.

What is your favorite book? My favorite book is the books at school. My favorite book is "No David!." you know, the one at school.

Who is your best friend? Christopher. I play with him a lot on the playground. So much.

What is your favorite cereal? Lucky charms.

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Go out and play with my scooter and my bike.

What is your favorite drink? The chocolate milk that we got with Kayla.

What is your favorite holiday? Halloween. Because you get candy.

What do you like to take with you to bed at night? My dragon and my smurf and Alvin but Alvin's clothes fell off. Remember, he has a dress with a "A" on it but its not pink. Its just red. Like blood is red.

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? A healthy chocolate milk and cereal.

What do you want for dinner on your next birthday? Fruit salad. You take broccoli and some fruit and some celery and uh, then you stir it. Then put some cream inside. Thats all. (Ewwwww?)

What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a science man. That does science. Like a scientist. 

Juliana at 3 years...

I found this questionnaire on Pinterest.com (my current obsession) consisting of twenty questions to be asked every year on or right before their birthdays so you can see how much kids change from year to year. Im a bit late on this. Six months late to be exact but better late than never. They change so much Im sure their answers will be much different in 6 months. Since Juliana is still awake tonight (wayyy after bedtime, as usual) I decided to go ahead and ask her the questions.

What is your favorite color? Ummm... purple.

What is your favorite toy? Unicorns and my Wobby. And my Lenny. (Wobby and Lenny are her stuffed lamb and giraffe).

What is your favorite fruit? Apples. I mean bananas. Or maybe an orange.

What is your favorite TV show? Princess and the Frog. and Rapunzel. and Beauty and the Beast.

What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Pisghetti (Spaghetti) and fruit.

What is your favorite outfit? My cheerleader outfit. Skirts and shirts. Not leggings. Not jeans.

What is your favorite game? Dora the Explorer on leapster

What is your favorite snack? Popcorns

What is your favorite animal? Unicorns. Purple Unicorns. Not Kitties.

What is your favorite song? Beauty and the Beast song.

What is your favorite book? My princess book. But I lost it. Daddy, wheres my Princess book?

Who is your best friend? Noah. Actually Dane.

What is your favorite cereal? Raisin cereal

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Run and jump and hop. And dig in the dirt with shovels.

What is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas and Halloween

What do you like to take with you to bed at night? My Lenny and all my toys. And "Kanket" but I lost it. ("Kanket" is her pink blanket she's had since birth).

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes and brownies (Where'd she get those brownies, eh daddy?)

What do you want for dinner on your next birthday? Cake!

What do you want to be when you grow up? A cheerleader with the Gamecocks with pom poms. 2 pom poms.