Letters to Gwenivere

The first year of my daughter's life I wrote her letters monthly. It was something I wanted to do for her, as well as for myself, a reminder of all the things she was doing that sometimes didn't get written about in the day-to-day posts. During her second and now third years of life, I wrote/am writing her letters every 3 months, a "quarterly review" of sorts. I've also taken her picture with the same stuffed dog each time, an easy way to watch her grow. The full collection of letters is HERE, but I wanted to post my most recent one (33 months) for you guys after Valerie's recent post.

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Dear Gwenivere,
I don't know why or how this turned into such a big couple of months for you, but I feel like you really turned the corner from a 2 year old to an almost 3 year old. Everything is bigger now... you, your actions, your attitude!

Sometimes you have days when you are such a big kid. You'll sleep until a great time, wake up smiling, eat well, think about questions we ask you and answer thoughtfully, say no thank you and yes please, etc. You had a day like that recently where for dinner you sat there and chomped on ribs, eating the meat right off the bone. I looked at you and though, "My God... I birthed a real human." I mean one that's going to turn into an adult some day. An adult that eats ribs like a pro.

Other days, you still need a little more help to get through. You come a sleep for a bit in our bed in the morning, then need some extra snuggles while getting ready, and the day ends with an I'm too tire to cope meltdown. Normally over something like how many orange slices are in your bowl, or the color of your utensils. Those days are trying for all of us.

We're working on it though. Working on using words to describe our feelings instead of just yelling or whining. We're working on things like being more cooperative when getting ready for bed, so that we can do more fun things before bed. Its always going to be a work in progress, but we're doing it together.

These past few months you've spent a lot of time with your Daddy. Mama has had a number of nights I had to work late, so you guys had "slumber parties." Daddy reads you some books, then lets you fall asleep on the futon, or falls asleep with you on the futon, depending on how long of a day its been for him! We also had our first weekend apart. It was a great weekend for Mama, I needed the special time with my friends, but boy oh boy did I miss you! You are my girl, and it was hard to be away from you. You and Daddy did great though, and I think you guys have gotten a lot closer because of it.

Sometimes its hard for me to watch you grow so quickly. About a month ago, you came home from daycare and handed me your necklace. The one you've been wearing for 2 years, since you were 8 months old. You had asked them to take it off at daycare, you didn't feel like wearing it... and you haven't worn it since. Maybe you will wear it again, maybe not, but that felt like some kind of milestone for me.

We have a little routine we go through every other week or so, when I say to you what a big girl you are becoming, and you agree with me very excitedly... but then I ask you, "But you're still always going to be my baby, right?!" And you always agree with that just as enthusiastically.  ::phew::

I'll let you in on a little secret: No matter what your answer to that question, no matter what age you are when you read this, you really will always be my baby. 

Love you silly goosey,
Mommy

Ps. At 33 months you are just over 23 lbs (at least on the home scale). You must be going through a growth spurt because you want to eat. all. the. time! Your favorite veggies are green beans and peas, favorite fruit is oranges, and you love chicken and "meat" (what you call steak). You are a dark meat girl like your Mama, so I can't wait to give you a drumstick on Thanksgiving! You still nurse most nights and a lot of mornings, but do fine if I'm not there to nurse you.

You love your blankie, and rotate through a few stuffed animals and baby dolls. You love the colors blue and purple, and also have an affinity for orange. You love football, but the marching band maybe a little bit more. You love watching Elmo in the morning, and your favorite books are Olivia and Drummer Hoff. If we say, "Is everybody ready?" you respond with, "Shake a Leg!"  Home, by Edward Sharpe and the Magnificent Zeros, is now "your song," and you ask for it all the time. You love music in general though and will randomly start singing a myriad of songs randomly throughout the day. Dominic is still your best buddy at school.

As of now, you've decided you want your birthday party to be construction themed because of your love of cranes and all construction vehicles, but diggers especially! We'll see what you think in another month or two!

A Happy Birthday Letter

Today my youngest child turns two. He is our last baby. I will never again experience the joy (and the crazy) of guiding a brand new person from sleepy, milk-drunk freshness to walking, talking, adventuring toddler.

I intended to write birthday letters to each of the kids each year to give to them later on. I succeeded for the first four years of motherhood. (So, Agent E is six, but she only has four letters. Agent J is four, but she only has two letters.)

I did write one for Agent A last year on his first birthday, but honestly it's way shorter than his sisters' first birthday letters. (I blame that first whirlwind year of having three kids under five. How exactly did I survive that again?)

So, as I attempt to compose a note to my precious little boy on the second anniversary of his birth, what do I tell him?

The Birthday Boy

Some things I'll likely include would be the following:

. . . a few tidbits he might find interesting later on, such as his height and weight (35 inches, 27 pounds), his favorite food (hmm, that one might be hard to narrow down), and how he likes to "swim" in the bathtub.

. . . that he is "still" nursing and calls it Momma Milk (unlike his sisters, who had made up words for it at that age).

. . . the words he uses for his sisters—Va Va (Eva) and Ju Ju (Julia)—and how I wonder if those will stick as they grow. (My sister, whose real name is Rosemarie, has been "Mimi" for nearly 50 years courtesy of our oldest brother.)

. . . that we moved back to the states this year (he was born in Italy) on June 1st when he was exactly 19 months old, and what our traveling journey was like. Because you'd think you could never forget a full day of international travel with a toddler (plus two siblings) yet someday we'll be scratching our heads thinking, "how old was he? what month (year!) was it again?"

. . . my admission that well before his second birthday arrived I passed on my guilty food pleasure of cheddar sourdough pretzels. (Which his sisters don't like. It's just a Momma/Agent A thing.)

. . . a bit about his vocabulary, quite extensive compared to his sisters' at the same age. Likely because he hears them talking nonstop every waking moment. And they like to ask him to say new words.

. . . that his very first sentence was "I want mum mum" (but his current favorite thing to say is "Daddy—home—airplane").

. . . a story about his experience with trick or treating last night, where he became an instant "pro" at the knocking-holding-out-the-bag-smiling-and-waving-thanks bit by watching his partners in crime.

One thing I have not yet determined is when I will share these letters. When they turn 16? 18? 21? When they head off to college? leave home? get married? (Heck, Agent E would get a kick out of them now, at six.)

Do you write letters to your children on their birthdays or other special occasions? What do you include and what do you intend to do with them?

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day.