Dear Graham, 36 Months

Dear Graham,

Your 36^th month might just have been the best month ever. And not just for you…your mommy and daddy thought it was pretty awesome too. 

Aside from the obvious celebration of your third birthday, we managed to squeeze in your first trip to Disney World, a trip to Chicago to visit your aunt, uncle and cousins at the lake house, the 4^th of July, and a day at the beach with friends. It was a pretty fun month.

I’ll start with the trip to Disney because it will forever be one of my favorite memories as quite possibly the perfect day. While you had a vague idea of what Disney entailed, you really had no idea about everything that makes Disney purely magic. We decided to stay in a Disney hotel for two nights, which gave us the ability to be on site early and to stay late, but also to come back mid-day and take naps. So when we arrived at the hotel and checked into our room, we decided to go to the Disney Boardwalk for dinner. You continue to be infatuated by all things transportation related, so the fact that we could take a boat from the Boardwalk back to our hotel blew your mind. In fact, we probably could have called that Disney World and you never would have known the difference. (And it would have saved mommy and daddy some serious money.)

Early the next day we went downstairs and boarded the Disney bus to take us to the park. Again, you loved just being on the bus, but then when we approached the park and saw the monorail, you were telling me all about it with excitement as other bus passengers smiled at us. We made it there in time for the park opening, where you got to see the Disney train with Mickey Mouse on board welcome us to Disney. We had already achieved the transportation trifecta by 9:00 that morning…needless to say you were a happy little boy.

Because I knew we only had one day and because I tend to be a bit neurotic, I had planned out the ride schedule based on which rides I knew would be busy later in the day and which rides I knew we could get Fast Passes to. It worked out beautifully because by lunch time, we had gone on the Speedway, Dumbo, the spinning teacups, Winnie the Poo, It’s a Small World, Peter Pan, the train, and watched Mickey’s Philharmonic.

After three hour naps for all of us, we headed back to the park. All morning you talked about wanting to see Mickey, so we finally went to see him. At which point you decided you really weren’t a fan. You were timid and weren’t about to have your picture taken with him alone. So mommy and daddy got in on the fun as well. We spent the afternoon going on more rides and revisiting a few from that morning. The highlight of the evening were the fireworks and Tinkerbell’s flight right over your head to kick off the fireworks show. Despite being awake waaaay past your bedtime, you were the only child on the bus back to the hotel who was still wide awake and looking around. You weren’t about to miss one second of your Disney adventure.

Another highlight of the month was a trip to Chicago and Wisconsin to see Uncle Rush, Aunt Kristen, and cousins Emelie, Christopher and Nikolas. The trip happened to coincide with a cold front, which provided a nice break from the Florida heat, yet wasn’t too conducive to getting out on the boat at the lake house. We still made the best of our time and you had a wonderful time running around with your cousins. The first day we were there it was warm enough to get out on the water and you and daddy were adventurous enough to go tubing behind the ski boat. We were worried if you would like it, but when you were done the first thing you asked to do was to “do it again.”

We spent one of the colder days visiting a farm where you got to feed the goats and see turkeys, cows, horses, ducks, chickens and more. When we got home that evening, the extended family threw you an early birthday complete with a Thomas cake. You were so enamored with the trains ON the cake, that you had to be reminded to actually eat the cake.

We flew home on your third birthday and that evening opened presents. This was the first birthday that you actually got what was going on, and you wanted to “open more” when the presents were all done.  You were an old pro at blowing out the candles on the cake, having had lots of practice this month not only on the cake at the lake house, but also helping with mommy and daddy’s cakes earlier this month.

The three years (or 36 months) that you have been in our lives have been such a blessing. You make us smile daily with your wit, songs, hugs, dimpled smiles and personality. It is so much fun being your mommy.

Love,

Mommy

Dear Norah, Month Two

Dear Norah,

Well, month two came and went as fast as your first month, which means it was a total blur. But somewhere between diaper changes, cat naps, nighttime feedings and lots of snuggles, you continued to grow.

 Your eyes are so much more alert; your sweet hands are now open as much as they are balled up in a fist; and you are gaining more and more control of your neck muscles, so you’re not such a bobblehead these days. Perhaps your best development (in your mommy’s eyes), is your adorable smile. You have one precious dimple that is nearly invisible until you smile, and then it appears as cute as can be on your right cheek.

It’s a good thing those smiles are so precious because your sleeping patterns are not. All kinds of friends (and even strangers) told us how great their second children sleep, but apparently you didn’t get that memo. You like to have frequent wake ups and cuddles with your mommy, and while I don’t mind the cuddles, they would be even better in the daylight. 

Your brother continues to love on you constantly, and sings his song that he made up for you frequently. The lyrics are short but oh-so incredibly sweet: “You’re my sister, yes you are. “You’re my sister, yes you are.” And the sing-song voice that he delivers it in makes my heart melt each time he sings it to you.

You celebrated your first Thanksgiving this month and to you it was pretty much like any other day. The day was special because you got to meet one of your great grandmas and you were surrounded by aunts, uncles and your sweet cousin Sutton. You spent much of the day asleep on your daddy in the ergo, which is one of your favorite places to be. We frequently put you in the ergo when you’re fussy or refuse to be put down, and it normally calms you almost right away.

 While we’re sleep deprived and I may or may not refer to our home as the “house of chaos,” it already seems strange to think back to when we were a family of three…you filled a space we didn’t even know was missing.

Love,

Mommy