Ryan: 4 Years

Dear Ryan,

Today you turned 4 years old! I still remember the day you were born. It was the day you made me a Mama and it was truly one of the happiest days of my life (tied only with the day I married your Daddy, and the day Zachary was born). You've grown so much in the past four years. Sometimes its hard to believe you're already so old. And sometimes, those days of when you were a teeny, tiny baby seem like forever ago.

But, you're certainly not that teeny tiny baby any more. You're such a big boy now, and you've really grown in the past year. You became a big brother, you started pre-school, you went down the "big-drop slide" at Great Wolf, you can put your shoes on all by yourself, just to name a few of your big milestones and greatest moments of the past year. 

Speaking of becoming a big brother, you're a great big brother. But, as you like to say, "Having a baby brother is hard sometimes." Yes, it is hard sometimes, especially when Zach wants to play with your favorite toys. But Zachary watches everything you do, and he loves you so much, even if he annoys you sometimes. I know you love him so much, too. I can tell by the way you're always looking out for him, making sure he isn't putting things in his mouth that he shouldn't, or trying to catch him when he falls. You give him big hugs and you love to try and wrestle with him, even if he is still a bit too small for this. You always want to share food with him and when we stop at Dunkin' Donuts and I ask if you want a munchkin you always say, "I want two. One for me, and one for Zachary." Throughout your life you and Zachary are going to annoy each other. You're going to get frustrated. You're going to say mean things sometimes. But I hope you always cherish the special relationship you share as brothers. It is a relationship unlike any other you will ever have in your life and I hope you one day recognize it as the greatest gift Daddy and I ever gave you. 

This year was a huge year also because you started pre-school. On your first day you went with no problem at all. Daddy joined you and you were as happy as a clam. But, for the next few weeks after that you had a bit of a rough time. No matter how much fun you had, or how much you told me you liked your teacher, Mrs. Hammer, you still sobbed every day that you went. You said ridiculously cute and sad things like, "I like school, but I just love you soooooo much!" or "I just wanna stay home with you and Zachary. I don't need to go to school." But as much as you cried, you still always knew you had to go. And you didn't fight it. You were just really sad about it. But then, after a couple weeks, you stopped crying, and you just got excited about school every Tuesday and Thursday. You love the arts and crafts you do. You report holding hands and sitting next to your buddy Rosalind almost daily, and you beam with pride when you sing a new song you learned. Daddy and I are so proud of you. We hope this first year of pre-school instills in you a love of learning that will last a lifetime. 

Other high-lights of the year were our family vacation to Great Wolf Lodge and Sky Top Lodge in the Poconos, going to the Howard County fair with Uncle Chris and Saoirse, Family parties with your best buddies (and cousins) Caitlin & Julia, Autine Cindy, Uncle John, Auntie Catharine, Uncle Mark, NeeNee & Pop-Pop, the Pumpkin Festival at Butler's Orchard, trick-or-treating as Peso from Octonauts, going to the train garden at Homestead Gardens, and of course Christmas! You find such joy and excitement in relatively simple adventures. You love being with the people you love and doing fun things. You talk about each of these "high-lights" with such enthusiasm and excitement that it's contagious. You have a joyful spirit that makes doing anything with you a tremendously fun and memorable experience. 

Ryan, you are a kind, sensitive, honest, smart, loving, enthusiastic, inquisitive, and out-going little boy. You observe the world with such a keen eye and ask excellent questions. You find joy in such simple pleasures. One day while riding with me to my office, which required driving in a part of Baltimore you had never seen before you said, "Wow! Everything in Baltimore is AWESOME!" Coming down MLK Blvd, seeing the stadiums, the round house in the distance, and Mommy's office was pretty awesome. I'd never appreciated it in that way before. Ryan, you open my eyes to the world in a way that makes each day happier and more full of joy. You make me a better person and kinder soul. 

Thank you Ryan for being my son, for sharing your joy, your hugs (you give the BEST Monkey hugs!), and your love with me. Being your Mama is a privilege and one I will never take for granted. 

Happy 4th birthday, sweet boy! 

Love always, 

Mama 

Zachary: 10 Months

Dearest Zachary,

Today you turned 10 months old, and what an exciting 2 months it has been! Yes, I am so sorry! I never wrote your 9 month letter. I'm very sorry. But, I'll be sure to capture both months in this letter.

Starting with your 9th Month: You learned a lot of new "tricks" and we went on our first family vacation since you were born. At the beginning of this month you learned to pull up on things all by yourself. You mastered this and learned to pull up on anything and everything. At the end of September you started standing independently for a few seconds at a time and on September 25th you said "Dada!" for the first time. On September 27th (while on vacation at Great Wolf Lodge and Sky Top Lodge) your top tooth finally popped through, quickly followed by the second top one. This meant you could now grind your teeth. A sound that makes mommy's skin crawl! I remember Ryan doing this when he was teething and I hated it then too!

On October 2nd you clapped for the first time. And you just LOVE to clap. I tried not to be offended that you clapped first for Nee Nee and Pop Pop, despite the fact that I'd been trying to get you to do it for so long. But yeah, I was a little offended. What the heck, buddy!? (Just kidding...sorta!)  When you first started, and even now, you're so proud of yourself when you clap. Its the cutest thing! Now you notice when other people are clapping and you clap with them. You recently demonstrated this at Caitlin's Piano Recital. You also clap anytime someone says "Yay!" whether they are saying it for you or someone else.

On October 4th you FINALLY figured out how to crawl. Its funny though, even now you do it in a funny way with one knee off to the side. Its as if you don't really like having your knees on the ground. I suspect that if you could somehow manage to move as fast as you do with both knees off the ground that you would.  That sums up the big milestones from your 9th month.

 

Your 10th month started off with you getting a pretty nasty cold which eventually turned into your first ear infection. You were such a trooper at the Pediatrician's office! But man, you sure were a sad little guy when you weren't feeling well. It wasn't so much that you were grumpy or in a bad mood. You just weren't as smiley and all you wanted to do was snuggle. Which, I didn't really mind. Expect that I had to take care of Ryan too. It made me wish for an extra set of hands! But overall, you were still such a good little guy. I didn't notice exactly how impacted you were until you were finally back to your happy self, and then I could see what a difference there had been.

Despite your cold, you continued to develop. On November 6 you took 6 steps! Now that you've mastered crawling you still crawl more than you walk, but you take independent steps a couple times each day and I expect you'll be walking like a pro in no time.

On November 12th you had your "9 month Pediatrician appt" which clearly was more of a 10 month appt. Mommy's pretty stubborn and will only schedule your Well Child visits with our favorite doc, and sometimes getting on his schedule is a challenge. But he's worth it. At your appointment you weighed 20 lbs 5 oz, and were 29.5 inches long. You're about 49% on weight, 70% on height, and well, you're 99% on head circumference. Yes, you're a DeBoy. We have big heads! :)  Dr. Parmele declared you "Awesome!" and said everything is right on track. I couldn't agree more.

Zachary, you are such a curious, fun-loving little guy. You're mischievous, and friendly. You wave to strangers and just seem to enjoy being around people. You're independent but also a Mama's boy. Your mischievous nature is most evidenced when Daddy or I tell you "no" about something, usually about touching an electrical outlet. You walk over to it, and as you do, you turn your head, look at us, and smirk. Then as you reach to touch it, and we say, "No, no, no!" you laugh and touch it any way. Its cute now. But I'm resisting the urge to let you keep up this behavior. (Note: All the outlets in our house have child proof covers). Yes, I may have videotaped it the other day. But since documenting it, I've been more vigilant about teaching you that no means no!

As I said, you're also independent. One day recently we went outside, and you immediately looked to where the pinwheel had been in our front yard, only to discover that it had blown away. You paused for a second, and then proceeded to crawl up the sidewalk, 4 houses up, all by yourself to another house that you knew had a pinwheel. You crawled right up to that pinwheel, pulled it out of the ground, and smiled from ear to ear. You were very proud of yourself, and I have to say, so was I. You noticed a problem, and found a solution on your own!  May your independent, problem solving spirit never fade!

And yet, despite your independence, at the end of the day, there is no one's arms you'd rather be in than mine. I'm flattered, and I love the snuggle time we get, but we're also working to change this a bit. Daddy and I got into the habit that post bath (which is Daddy's special time with both his boys), Daddy did most of Ryan's bedtime routine, and I did most of yours. This resulted in the fact that you scream if anyone else tries to put you to sleep. We're making very slow progress, and hopefully by next month I can report that you will let Daddy put you to sleep without screaming for 15 minutes before settling in his arms. Though, the Holidays and travel may get in the way of the progress we hope to make.

But in the meantime, I am trying to savor your babyhood and remember that these moments of being your "everything" are fleeting. You won't curl up into a ball in my arms every night forever, and so, who am I to wish that you'd curl up in someones arms besides mine. Well, except for the fact that Daddy misses having that snuggle time with you, and he would really appreciate it if you would let him cuddle you a little more.

You're my sweet, funny, lovable, Bugga-boo, Monkey man, Zach-a-doo, Zach-a-Joe, and Snuggle bug. I love you more than words can say, and I always, always, always will. As one of the sweetest and saddest children's books ever written says, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.

Love always,

Mama

Zachary: 8 Months

Note we had to have Ryan hold the sign. Otherwise, you just wanted to tear it up. 

Dearest Zachary,

You turned 8 months today. And a busy month it has been! You are coming into your own for sure and developing more and more of a personality every day. You remain a determined, happy, at times easily frustrated, and joyful little boy who loves his family, and most of all his big brother.

This month you learned to wave bye-bye and to say "Ma-Ma." You still don't crawl, but you're so darn close. But despite how close you are, Daddy and I are both fairly convinced that you're not gonna crawl because you would much prefer to stand and walk. You can pull up by yourself (when you manage to roll or scoot yourself close enough to something onto which you can pull up) and you love to walk around while Mommy or Daddy hold your hands. The other day you stood unsupported for about 4 seconds and you're learning to fall safely onto your bum when you lose your balance.

But to be honest, none of us are particularly eager for you to become mobile. You are a very determined (read: stubborn) little guy, and when you want to grab something, it is very difficult to stop you. The things you can most often be found reaching for are the remote, Mommy's cell phone, or Ryan's toys. Keeping you out of things you're not supposed to touch is difficult enough at this point. It will become near impossible once you can move on your own. Though Ryan doesn't realize it, he may be the most effected when you can move. Suddenly all his toys will be fair game. I think I see a cage in your future! (Hah. Just kidding. Sorta.)

You eat like a champ. You pick up and eat (to name a few things) puffs, cheerios, strawberries, meatballs, pasta, mandarin oranges, avocado, and black beans (you LOVE black beans!) all by yourself. You can use a straw and you slurp up Daddy's special green smoothies (with spinach and flax seed) like there is no tomorrow. You still love to nurse but during the day you are eating real food more and more and nursing less and less (I wish the same was true at night!).

Ryan remains your most favorite person in the world. Well, maybe a close second to Mama. But if Ryan produced milk, he would DEFINITELY be your favorite! Ryan makes you laugh like no one else and when he's not around you look for him. You almost never cry, but on Ryan's first day of pre-school, you spent much of the morning whining/fussing and looking around confused. I think you missed him and were wondering when he was. You love him very much. And he loves you, too. You and Ryan now thoroughly enjoy taking baths together. One night recently you were really tired so you got out of your bath rather quickly. We expected Ryan to stay in for a while and play. But after just a few minutes he said, "Dada, it's lonely in here without my bruddah. I wanna get out." It is one of life's greatest joys to watch the two of you interact with each other. Ryan gets the biggest belly laughs out of you, and those truly, truly are contagious.

You're also a very observant little boy. You clearly are taking in a lot about the world, and once you can really talk, I expect you'll have a lot to say. One such sign of your intense observation is what you do anytime someone gives you a cloth, a napkin, or a paper towel. You immediately start "cleaning" the floor or table with it. You don't eat it. Nope, you clean. You're a man after my own heart. Of course, after cleaning for  a bit you then may tear it into a bunch of pieces and try to eat it. But first, you clean. You've generally gotten better about not eating everything. I can let you play with the sand box without you shoveling it into your mouth (though, you do occasionally try to sneak a taste). But you understand the phrase "not for your mouth" and when I say it you typically stop what you're doing, look at me and smirk. You're smart, and funny, and you bring so very much joy to our lives. We can't imagine life without you!

Happy 8th-Month day, Zachary!

Love,

Mama

In addition to all the every day fun we have around here, this month also included your first ever Orioles' game. Ryan had to wait until he was 3 1/2 years old to go to a Big League game. But, being the second kiddo, you got to go when you were only 7 1/2 MONTHS! The joys of being the second :) Pop-Pop joined us and we had a blast. 

One of Many 1st Days....

Dear Ryan,

Tomorrow is your very first day of school. You'll be going to pre-school two days a week this year, and I could not be more excited for you. I hope this is the beginning of a love of school and a love of learning. But more than anything, this year, I just hope you have fun, and come to view school as a happy, good place to be. As far as I am concerned, those are the goals of pre-school.

But, in three-year old terms, tonight I told you I want you to do three things at school:
1. Have fun.
2. Be a good friend.
3. Learn new things.

If you do each of those things, and I have no doubt that you will, then you'll be making Daddy and I so very proud. I know you're excited, but I can also tell you're a little nervous. But you have nothing to be nervous about. I know you'll do great! I can't wait to see how you blossom this year. Its going to be a great year!

Love always,

~Mama