Happy First Birthday Julian!!!

My dearest baby boy Julian,

Today you are ONE!  It's hard to believe that a year ago you had just been born and we were meeting for the very first time.  How my heart has grown so in the past 365 days!  My life before you came along is fuzzy in my mind - it simply feels like you've always been part of our family. That we've always been four!

Only a few days old - you were so cute!!!

You, my little one, are such a joy.  You are a HAPPY, happy baby (or should I say toddler!) and always full of smiles.  You love to flirt with the ladies, but are skeptical of most men (except those you know well). You've been known to run to the other side of the room when other kids' daddies pick them up from school!  But you're always quick to flash your pearly whites to the mommies and all the teachers at school.  Just the other day we were grocery shopping and three different ladies stopped me to say how adorable you were - you kept giggling and batting your eyes at all the ladies as we walked the aisles.

ONE YEAR OLD TODAY!!!

You have been a chill little dude since the day you were born.  You rarely cry except when you're tired.   But you're not the best sleeper, so there are many tears at night.  Well, there are tears until mommy or daddy goes and gets you out of your crib.  (We're still suckers and come hug on your if you cry out at night.)  You love being cuddled at night, but I think it's because you're too busy to stop for hugs during the day.  You want to just GO GO GO when you're awake.  You're trying to keep up with your big brother, I think.  One day soon I know you'll get the hang of sleeping through the night!

With your big brother  Lukas

You started walking a few months ago and you're just now starting to run.  I see you watch your big brother and you just love him and want to do whatever Lukas is doing.  You light up when he enters a room and he can make you laugh like no one else.  My heart sings when I see you two together.  I know there will be many fights over the years (toys and maybe girls down the line), but my hope is that you will be the best of friends.  

You, my little buddy, LOVE to eat!  Which is funny, because you're really a tiny little thing.  Mommy nursed you for about 9 months and thought we'd make it to a year and way beyond, but you had different plans.  You love your bottle (your "ba ba") and would rather drink a bottle and watch what is going on around you, rather than sit alone with mommy and have your milk - my social butterfly!  I'm trying to switch you over to a sippy cup, but I have a feeling that might be a difficult transition!  But back to the food - you have been feeding yourself for over a month and really don't care for anyone feeding you from a spoon or fork.  Right now some of your favorite foods are blueberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, grilled cheese, eggs, pancakes, peas, corn and cheerios.  Honestly, there's very little that you won't eat!

You have a head full of blonde hair.  Mommy and Sip Sip gave you your first haircut about two weeks ago before Auntie Al's wedding - we just snipped a little off the top so your bangs weren't in your eyes...I couldn't risk cutting out the curls at the nape of your neck.  You have five teeth up top (one of them, we think, is an "extra"! tooth) and four teeth on the bottom.  I think you're weighing in around 20 pounds, but we'll find out for sure at your 1 year appointment later this week!

You're starting to talk more and more.  You say "momma" and "dadda".  We think you're starting to say brother and have said "Ukas" a few times for Lukas.  You say "ba ba" for your bottle and dog for, well, dog.  At night you say "nigh nigh" when it's time for bed.  I think any day now you'll start jabbering on and on!

I am so honored to be your mommy.  My heart is so full of love for you.  I have loved watching you grow this past year and am excited to continue on this journey of life with you as my silly, sweet son!  I super excited about scaling back from full time work and getting to be even more present in your day to day life.  I love being your mommy buddy.  And the words I sing to you every night are true to my heart: I will be your home.  I will be your guide.  I will be your friend.  ALWAYS on your side.

Happy 1st birthday my boy!

Love always and forever,
mommy

Happy Birthday to Lukas!

My silly, sweet boy, Lukas, turns THREE years old today!  It seems like just yesterday that I was anxiously awaiting his arrival.  In carrying on with my birthday tradition, here's Lukas' 3rd birthday letter:

 

Last day as a two year old!

 

Mommy and her THREE YEAR OLD little boy!

My dear boy Lukas,

Buddy, you are THREE years old today.  This is crazy!  I look at your four month old little brother (who looks JUST LIKE you, I jokingly call him Lukas 2.0) and it feels like just yesterday that you were a little baby who couldn't talk or walk or eat anything other than milk.  How the times have changed!

You are still such a sweet, silly soul.  I get notes home from your teachers telling us how you make the whole class laugh and how loving you are to your friends.  And you are the BEST big brother.  You love Julian and are so kind to him.  You give him hugs whenever he is near you and want to get as close to him as possible.  If Julian is crying you'll tell me, "mommy, I think Julian wants some milk."  Or if he's upset in the car you talk to him and tell him we'll be home soon.  And your little brother absolutely adores you.  He lights up when he hears your voice and starts kicking his legs and flailing his arms.  I'm so excited to see you boys grow up together.

This year you're in preschool at Primrose.  You are learning new things every day and are a little sponge - I think you have your daddy's memory.  You can spell your name and you point out Ls on signs everywhere we go.  L for Lukas!  You can recognize all the letters of the alphabet and you can count to 20.  You love to read.  Right now some of your favorite books are any Bearanstein Bear book, I Love You Stinky Face, Curious George and all your Dr. Seuss books.

You are very into your toys and TV shows.  Your new obsession is The Octonauts.  Mommy is having a hard time learning all the characters, but you are constantly talking about Kwazi and Shelleton and driving the Gup-A.  You also love Jake and the Neverland Pirates (you even dressed up as Jake for Halloween last week!).  And we can't forget Special Agent Oso, the unique stuffed bear or Doc McStuffins.

You are such a good little helper!  You love to help mommy or daddy cook dinner.  You stand on your black stool and measure out the cheese, count the olives, help bread the chicken and mix the sides.  You also love doing yard work with daddy and helping him fix things around the house.  He even let you paint last week!  You are especially helpful with your little brother - you grab mommy diapers and burp clothes and toys for Julian to play with.

Lukas, I can't tell you how much joy you bring to my life.  3 years ago you made me a mommy.  You are the best gift I've ever been given in this life.  I love you with my whole heart and the sweetest words ever to be spoken are when you say "I love you momma".  My heart melts.  I love you sweet boy, happy birthday!

xoxo,

Momma

Now a walk down memory lane....

2011 - Lukas' FIRST birthday!

A year ago - Lukas' 2nd birthday!

3 years old!

Lukas is TWO!

Today is a very special day.  Our little guy Lukas is TWO years old today!!!  We started the day off with some singing, although I'm not sure you'd say it went very well.  What do you think?

And in keeping with the birthday tradition I started last year, here is my birthday letter to Lukas this year:

November 8, 2012

Lukas on his 2nd birthday!

Dear my sweet son Lukas,

Today you are TWO years old. Or as you say it, you’re “one, two”. In many ways it feels like just yesterday that I met you at the hospital the day you were born, but a lot has happened in two years. In fact, a lot has happened since you turned ONE last year! You haven’t been a baby for a while now. You’ve been this sweet, silly toddler. And then sometime over these past 12 months you turned into a little boy. You’re growing up too fast!

You’re still going to school at Primrose in Midtown and you love it! Just last week I dropped you off and you pushed me out the door – “bye bye mommy!” It warms my heart to know you like being with you friends and teachers at school! A year ago your teachers were Ms. Hope and Ms. Tyra. Then in January you moved from the infant 4 class to Toddler 1 with Ms. Peavey and Ms. Vaughn. Your buddies (the boys club) were all still together then. You, Nate, Rome, Sawyer and Bennett. They were your first friends. But over the past year they’ve moved on to different schools, states and classrooms. Rome moved to Texas in June and you’ve been “missing Rome” ever since. For months after he left I’d ask you who you played with at school that day and you’d always say Rome. Now when we talk about Rome you say “Rome’s gone.” I think you still miss your BFF. In August you moved into the Early Preschool Class with Mrs. Pitts and Mrs. McGregor and made new friends. Nate is next door so thankfully you see him often. You’re already learning how to pee pee on the potty at school and I’m told you are one of the happiest boys in the class.

You LOVE books more than just about anything. Every night before bed we read between 3 and 8 books. You simply cannot get enough. And you’re a smart little boy – you know all the words to many of the books we read. You can recite Just Like my Mum; Happy Hippo ,Angry Duck; Goodnight Moon and We’re going on a Bear Hunt. Your current favorite book is Happy Halloween, Biscuit that PopPop and Nana gave you for Halloween. You also love Winnie the Pooh: Colors. The first picture is of Pooh floating with a blue balloon. Mommy says “Pooh floats under a…” and you say “balloon”. Then when I ask you what color it is, you never say blue. You always say green or red or brown and then start laughing because you KNOW it is blue! When you see piglet you point to him and say “he’s like a pig” and Tigger is “like a tiger”.

Your favorite saying right now is “Lukas do it.” You do NOT want mommy and daddy to do anything for you. You want to put your PJs on, zip them up, put the waffle in the toaster, butter the waffle, flush the toilet, climb in the car, and the list goes on and on. You are becoming quite the independent boy! I’m having a hard time letting you do things on your own, but your strong will is quickly overpowering my desire to baby you. And you do ask for help when you need it!

Your second favorite thing to say right now is NO. Loudly. Repeatedly. You say no a lot if mommy has to wake you up in the morning. Let’s just say you’re not exactly a morning person if you don’t get to wake up on your own terms.

You love dinosaurs and we hunt for them in the car. The T-Rex is usually hiding in the park. The T-Rex is also scary! You also love construction machines – earth movers, bulldozers and dump trucks. We spend many car rides searching for bulldozers. You like to tell me that they move dirt.

You know your ABC’s (although you get a bit jumbled in the middle) and you can count to 11. You love to sing and many mornings I wake up to your sweet voice singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider or The Muffin Man or the Thomas and Friends Theme song. Speaking of Thomas, you love choo choo trains. You ask to do your Thomas puzzle every day and on the weekends you like to watch Thomas, Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse clubhouse. You also love jumbo jets and if you ever see or hear one in the sky you get very excited and yell JUMBO JET! And the jumbo jet (according to you) is always going to either California or Chicago.

You also love sports on TV. You ask to watch football and baseball whenever you see the TV. And your daddy is teaching you to swing a bat, kick a soccer ball and “hike” the football and then run for a touchdown (which you do with one finger held very high in the air). You also love to dance whenever music is on, even if we’re in the car. You request certain songs from daddy (Electric Car, Dino, Speed & Velocity, Take a Walk and Teaspoon are the current favorites). You’re a very busy little boy!

Buddy I am so proud to be your momma (as you still often call me – sometimes it’s mommy). You truly bring so much light to me and your daddy’s lives and it’s honestly hard to remember what our life was like before you were part of it. I love being your mommy more than anything in the world. I will always be here for you. I will always be your home.

Happy 2nd birthday Lukas!

Love,

Momma

Lukas' First Birthday Letter

Today is my baby boy's FIRST BIRTHDAY!  I can't believe it.  Here he is a year ago - the day he was born:

 And here he is today:

(and one family photo from this past weekend)...

This year has gone by so fast and so slow at the same time.  I've cried more in the past two days than I anticipated - I'm very emotional about my little baby growing up.  It's true what they say, it goes so fast!

And in what I hope to make a yearly tradition to Lukas and all my future kiddos, here is my birthday letter to my son on his first birthday:

My dearest Lukas,

Today you turned one year old!  I can hardly believe that a year has passed since I first laid eyes on you.  At 2:50pm on Monday, November 8, 2010 you, my sweet son, entered this world.  And you stole my heart that very same minute.  The instant love and joy that I felt upon meeting you was the happiest moment of my life.  And without a doubt, the past year has been the happiest of my life.

I remember being so nervous riding in the car home from the hospital with you.  Daddy was driving and I was sitting in the backseat staring at you the entire ride.  We got you home and I was so happy and so scared at the same time.  You were just this tiny little guy, but you were our guy and we loved you more than we imagined possible.  Grandma Kae and Grandpa Paul were home waiting for us to arrive and they stayed a week helping us learn how to become parents.  Grandma Sip Sip and Grandpa Up lived only 35 minutes away, so they came by often in those first weeks to help mommy and daddy care for you.

You nursed from day one and are still nursing today, 365 days later.   In the first month or two, you ate ever 2-3 hours and we spent most of our days sitting on the couch while you nursed.  I credit nursing as a huge factor in our bonding.  You loved skin-to-skin contact and sleeping on mommy or daddy's chest.  As you've grown over the past year, you slowly dropped the amount of milk you needed, but you still enjoy nursing and it is the one thing that can soothe you immediately if you're ever upset.  You sleep in your own room all night long and then when you wake up in the morning, daddy goes downstairs to get you and brings you to our room and we begin every morning laying in mommy and daddy's bed cuddling and nursing.  We end every day rocking in the glider as you drowsily nurse to sleep.  It gives me so much joy to share this special time with you buddy.  I'll be sad when the day comes that you decide to wean.  But I have precious memories, especially from the middle of the night when the whole rest of the house is silent and its just you and me.  It makes me smile just thinking about our bonding time.

You have been a happy baby from the get-go.  You rarely cried as a little infant and your smile and dimples are infectious!  Everyone we meet comments on how smiley and happy you are.  We picked your name, Lukas, because it means "brings light" and you have lived up to that name and then some.  You bring so much light to everyone's life, especially mommy and daddy's life.  Your eight teeth shine through when you smile these days and your laugh is so sweet.  You laugh with your whole body and without embarrassment.  You love music and begin dancing, or shaking your head or pumping your arms in the air whenever you hear music being played.  Some of your favorites right now are "Little Puppy", Mumford & Sons (thanks to daddy), "When Ducks Wake up in the Morning" and Renee & Jeremy for nighttime.  I sing to you every night before bed - usually the Night Mantra: I will be your home, I will be your guide, I will be your friend, always on your side.  Sleep now in your room, quiet of the night, surrounded by the moon, until you see the light.  I sing this over and over again and you seem to relax when you hear it, even despite mommy's bad singing voice.  You just light up when a song comes on the radio and if you're upset in the car, all I have to do is play your favorite Primrose Music class CD and you start clapping your hands and kicking the seat.  I keep joking that you're going to be a professional dancer when you grow up!

You discovered your voice a few months ago and you love hearing yourself talk!  You are always babbling about something.  Right now you can say: Dada, Momma, Dog, Cat, Duck, Look/Book and your favorite "UP" as you raise your hands in the air, or stand up.  You know that a dog barks and can mimic his sound.  Grandpa Paul taught you that cats hiss, so you hiss when I ask you what a cat says.  You LOVE your puppy Wrigley and you're growing to really like your kitty Bailey.  Surprisingly, she seems to like you, even though she doesn't like most people.  You know where your nose is and can point to other people's noses, you know where your hair is and we're learning about our ears.  You love fans and get very excited whenever you see one and start hooting like an owl!  You clap your hands and if you hear the word "clap" in a song you start clapping your hands.  You're a smart little guy!  You started walking around 10 months old and are now running around - momma's having a hard time keeping up with you!  You like to climb up the stairs and we're working on teaching you to go down the stairs backwards with our "knees please!"  You're getting the hang of it.  You have NO fear and like to climb on the couch and have taught yourself how to get down from the couch.  You love the water and ran straight for the ocean and the big waves a few weeks ago at your first big beach vacation.  You love being tossed high in the air and laugh loudly when daddy plays with you.  You have a great appetite and eat just about anything you're offered.  Your favorite foods are macaroni & cheese (you eat it and loudly say "Mmmmm"), yogurt, sweet potatoes and cheerios. You eat often, but you're so busy that you are a skinny little thing!

It is a true joy being your momma.  I love you more than I ever knew was possible and I love watching you grow and learn every day.  Thank you for the happiness that you have brought to our lives.

I love you sweet boy.  Happy First Birthday, buddy!

Love, 

Momma