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.
