Just yesterday, I was looking at a picture on Facebook posted by the mom of a little boy I used to baby-sit when I was younger. That little boy is now a senior in high school! When my family and I moved to Hawaii, this little boy was just three years old. I had a full-circle moment when I realized that my oldest was already four years old, and my youngest will be three in January! I have kids who are the same age as this little boy was when I moved across the country. Time goes by so fast, and I thought it was appropriate to write down some things about my boys that I cherish so.
Dear Michael,
You are a sweet four year old little guy. You'd prefer for me to call you a "big boy" or "big kid" rather than "little guy" though. You are very very smart and can do basic math equations in your head. You know all of your letters and can count quite high, with a little added help deciphering the pronunciation of "thirteen" and "fourteen" because they both come out sounding like "firteen."
You are my inside-comfort child. Although you like to play outside, you'd rather be inside. You are a master cuddler and you still love to snuggle your "mommy blankies" when you're tired. You have no problems putting yourself to bed at bedtime. You rarely put up a fuss at all when we give the evening warning countdown. On the weekends, you still take a great nap. Sometimes, I have to actually wake you from your Saturday and Sunday naps.
You love your little brother, but still find ways to manipulate him at times. This banter starts out like all sibling-banter does-- both of you think it's funny, and then one of you decides it's not so funny any more, and then the aggravation begins. I do know though, that you are each other's best friend and I pray that this continues throughout your life. Your ages are close for a reason and it's so fun to see you two interact together.
Your favorite shows are "Angry Birds Toons," "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Batman" and "Super Mario Brothers Collection." Your favorite movies are "Despicable Me 2" and "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2." Sometimes, you'll even ask to watch our shows like "Burn Nose" (Burn Notice) and "Suits" which, of course, I do not let you watch. :)
Your favorite breakfast items include Greek yogurt, blueberry waffles (we prefer Kashi brand or Eggo Nutrigrain), bacon, scrambled eggs, etc, just to name a few. You consistently ask for cheese puffs (Pirate's Booty brand) at breakfast, and I consistently tell you that cheese puffs are not a breakfast food. Your favorite snacks include cheese puffs (obviously), yogurt again, or string cheese wrapped in pepperoni or hard salami (we find these in the Publix deli section and they are SO GOOD! And low carb!) Your favorite lunch and dinner items include anything with broccoli or carrots, and most kinds of chicken or pasta. The other night, you had three helpings of pasta with meat sauce, which surprised me since you're not a really big meat sauce fan.
You are growing very well. Your hair is so thick and the blondest of blondes without being white-blonde. Your eyes are hazel. Your face is very round and you always squint your eyes shut when you lean in for a hug. :) You are wearing size 5/6 in clothes, and your shoe size is between 12 and 13-- these are the last two shoe sizes in what's considered "infant/toddler sizing" and then we move to shoe size "1" which is the first size in boys' shoe sizes! So crazy to think you're already this old!
You love baths, especially bubble baths. You mostly play with a Despicable Me toy in the tub while you're getting bathed. You like to wash the hair of the toy, even though the toy's character is bald. You were a champ at the beach when you had to take showers instead of baths. You prefer your bath time, though, and you are very relaxed in the tub.
You are such a trooper when it comes to your diabetes care. You hardly flinch anymore when we do site rotations for your pods and CGM. You've even had to try a couple of new site locations recently and you've done so well.
I love you so very much, my Michael-moo! Love, Mommy
***
Dear Noah,
You are a spunky, spry two year old on a mission every day! You wake up and hit the ground running. Sleeping in is not for you! You are now "light switch height" and find great pleasure in being the one to turn on the lights.
You are obsessed with vacuums. Yes, Obsessed. I feel like I'm living in a vacuum museum since all of our vacuums are on display right now in our living room! You have a toy vacuum, and love to follow me around the living room "pretend vacuuming" while I'm actually vacuuming. You ask me to vacuum every.single.day! You get so excited when I plug in the "purple vacuum." Your day is totally made if I use "frink-fulls" (his word for "sprinkles" which is what he calls baking soda) on the carpet before vacuuming. I'm hoping you still love to vacuum in a couple of years when it's counted as a "chore."
In a close second place to vacuums are hair dryers. You love to go get Grandma Chips' hairdryers out of the bathroom drawer as soon as you get to her house each day. You carry them around with you during the day and you make the appropriate sounds for each level of drying capability of the hairdryers.
When we go to Target, we have to walk by the row of vacuums, and if you're extra good, we'll walk by the row of hair dryers as well. We've gotten many a double-take from people who pass by our cart and hear you say "Let's go look at the vacuums again!" or "Let's go see the hair dryers now."
One day last week as I was working early in the morning, you come into the living room nearly silently, and as I looked up and saw you and said "Hey Buddy!" you reply with "Hey! Where's your purple vacuum mommy?!?" I thought that to be quite an extensive sentence for a two-year-old. :)
Your favorite way to annoy your older brother is to say "I'm Michael, I'm Michael" to him. He gets so aggravated when you pretend to be him. You certainly know how to push his buttons in a very short amount of time. But deep down inside, I know you love him so much and look up to him greatly.
Your favorite shows are "Angry Birds Toons," "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "When You Give a Mouse a Cookie," and "Tumble Leaf." Your favorite movies are "Despicable Me 2" and "Zootopia."
You ask for "dinosaur cereal" (The Publix brand of Froot Loops has a dinosaur on the back of the box) every morning, and sometimes you'll actually sit down to have a yogurt or blueberry waffle. For snack, you like yogurt or gummy fruit snacks. You are not a sandwich fan in the least, and you will barely pick at your lunch or dinner if a sandwich is involved. You're much more interested in what Daddy and I have on our plates, even if it's the same as what you have.
You are little for your age. You've barely grown out of your 18-month clothes, and are comfortable in 24 month, and 2T outfits right now, even though you'll be three in January. You show zero interest in potty-training, and I'm hoping one day you decide it's your idea to sit on the potty and it'll just click. Until then, you tell us every time you've done something that requires a diaper change. Right now, I'm picking my battles and I'm choosing to let the potty training thing slide for a couple more months.
You make up songs and you dance around the house constantly. Your little run is so cute to watch! You love to perform and you speak in lots of different silly voices throughout the day. You are learning so much, and I love your rendition of the ABC's (A-B-C-D-E-E-E-H-I-J-Kate-Now I know my ABCs!).
You are not squeemish at all around blood or needles, which is a plus in this household since those are everyday sights here. You will be a great advocate for your brother.
I love you big, Noah Scott Tater Tot! Love, Mom-mom.
***
Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba
So sweet!
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