Dear Quinn

Hello baby girl,  You are not quite a baby anymore. You will be four in two days!  Four years has flown by. You are the most beautiful, well spoken, creative, imaginative, playful, spirited, friendly, curious, talkative girl I know. God has blessed me beyond my greatest imagination with who you are and who you are becoming.  Your stories make me laugh, your memory amazes me, as does your eloquent speech.  You love making cards for people because you say it's a way that you can show love to others. You ask questions about everything, I can't hide any details from you.  You love to sing and make up songs, just like mommy and daddy do.  And you memorize songs so quickly. You love to sing "take me out to the ball game", "God bless America", several Beatles songs, "I love you Lord", and several VBS songs from Jacob's Well's first VBS last week. 

I've noticed lately how long your legs are getting. And one evening when I held you in my arms and told you to stop growing up so fast and stay my baby forever you looked me straight in the eyes and told me with a serious face "I can't stop growing Momma. God made me to grow up. I can't be little forever."  I nearly burst into tears. 

I love you so much. You are my best girl. 

Dear Sawyer 18month

Sawyer Allen, you are the sweetest boy. I'm so in love with you. Just the other day you sis got in trouble and was crying in her room. You could hear her from your room where I was nursing you, and you stopped nursing and pointed at the door and wanted to go see what was wrong. So I put you down and we went in to Quinn's room to hug her. As I was talking with her you toddled off and the next thing I new you had come back in with a strip of toilet paper, offering it to her and then patting her face, eyes, and nose with it.  You continued to go back into the bathroom, which now had a long roll of TP coming out of it, and tore off little pieces to offer to your sister to wipe away her tears and blow her nose.  You continue to amazing me.

When we are at playgroup and a kid is crying, you go up to them and pat their back and then give them a (sometimes tackling) hug.  You are just the sweetest boy. You are always giving us hugs and kisses. You snuggle your stuffed animals, before chucking them across the room. You love to snuggle with mommy and nurse and rock and FINALLY you also love to read books!!  When you wave hello to people you look like you are "raising the roof".  If you wake up before your sister you love to try to race into her room before I can stop you and then stand by her bed, emphatically waving in your upwards motion to say "hello! Good morning!" to her sleeping body. 

I tease that you are a little like your Daddy and Grandpa Ben bc you freak out when, for example, you get your pants with the watering can or I put your bare feet in the sand box.  You can also be quite meticulous when picking up your blocks, although you make TONS of messes as well, like pulling all the books off your shelves or throwing all your food on the floor.  Speaking of throwing things, you really like to throw all your toys, cars, books, cups, etc. which we are working on so you don't keep hurting friends at playgroup. 

Your smile is infectious. Your giggles intoxicating. Your cries heart breaking. You are very attached to mommy still and do not like being dropped off at JW kids community or BSF, but I think we are improving.  You don't use many words yet but you know lots of signs. You LOVE to point at cars going by on our street and up at the helicopters and planes.  You've developed your own sign for vehicles which is to say "vmmm vmmm" and run your hand a long your chest or belly. You know where your nose, ears, mouth, head, and belly button are. You know where a hat goes. You love the book "Get Dressed Dino". You will repeat some words like ball, bubble, momma, dada but you don't use words on your own.  You sign for cup, nurse, more, please, car, hat, and do a lot of grunting and screeching. You know lots animal sounds like elephant, dog, duck, snake, cow, horse. 

At your 18 month appt Friday, Dr. Moylan said you were growing perfectly. You are 75th%tile for height and 50th for weight at about 33 inches and 25lbs.  You are walking like a champ now. You are starting to play more with sister although there is still a lot of supervision needed as she gets frustrated easily and resorts to pushing you.  We are always reminding her to be a good model for you, for you certainly love to watch her and do what she does.  Time for me to get to bed my love. 

I love you always,

Momma

Quinn- 3 1/2 years old

Hello my best girl,
Each time I put you to sleep I pray over you.  It's usually one or both of these prayers:

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace."

"God made you.  God loves you.  God blesses you.  And God is with you."

The last one is the blessing the say over each child in the Loft on Sundays at JW.  Then I kiss you goodnight and I tell you I love you and that you are my best girl.  Your eyes light up and you get a big smile on your face.  Sometimes you say "Momma you are my best girl."

O my child, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways.

Proverbs 23:26

 

Sister, you are my sweet, sassy, beautiful, intelligent, curious, imaginative, loving girl.  It February and we are still listening to the Harry Connick Jr. Christmas CD because you (and Sawyer) are obsessed with "Drummer Boy" and "Toy Soldiers".  You know most of the words now, and belt them out, and EVERY SINGLE TIME you say "here comes the crazy trumpet!"  You say, "Momma you know why I always like to listen to "Toy Soldiers" every day?"  "Why Quinn?" "Because I like the crazy instruments!  The crazy trumpet! Hahahah!"  And we talk about all the instruments we hear and you sing some words wrong and I don't correct you, like "soldiers are blinking, soldiers are winking, at each pretty little man-ger" (instead of "maid").

 

You've started drawing people!  You've always been much more interested in writing your name or other words like, Mommy, Grandma, etc. But a couple weeks ago, and all on your own, you drew a very detailed Mommy, Daddy and Baby.  You named each body part as you were drawing it.  I was so proud of you!  You have been really into making "cards" for people.  You color or stamp or put stickers all over a paper or card and then you want an envelope and you like to fold the paper and stick it in the envelope (this is sometimes frustrating) and lick the envelope and use stickers to keep it closed.  You always tell me who they are for, usually Josie or Jude, or Otto, or Caleb or Abby, or Jayden (we mailed that one), or for Daddy or Grandma or for me.  You are a sweet friend.  You always ask if you got any mail and love getting the occasional card or package.  When someone gives or send you something you say "Oooooh!  That's so sweet of them!  That's so sweet of them!"

When I was sick with a cold you prayed for me and said "God please help Mommy to feel better."

 

You always refer to Daddy as "My Dad" when you are talking to him.  "My Dad, can I have some milk?"  It's very sweet.  

 

You are in ballet class at the KC Ballet Bolender Center!  Mark and Dave got you two months of classes for Christmas.  It. Is. The. Cutest. Thing. I've. Ever. Seen.  And you love it.  I stand at the door made of two-way glass and watch you.  You seem to be following your teacher's directions and watching intently.  Sometimes I can tell when you start to drift off and stare blankly into space, or get distracted by one of the girls who acts up.  And sometimes I see you chewing on your toenails.  Yuck!  You have quite the bad habit of nail biting.  But when you are dancing, it is so precious.  I hold these things close to my heart.  It makes me think of Luke 2:19 ^"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."  or another translation: "Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself."

 

 

 

A while back you were laying next to me, kissing me all over and holding my hand and you said, "Someday, when I'm bigger, and Jude is bigger, we can get married like you and Daddy are married.  Do you want to come to my wedding?"

 

Saturday during the rainy day:
 Q-"why is the sun not out and the sky is dark"
Me- "well because the clouds are covering the sun. And all of those clouds are dark and full of... (Giving you wait time to say "rain")
Q- "Mischief!?"

(I was then corrected by Daddy that the clouds were actually covering the earth, not the sun.)

 From November:
It finally happened. I dragged Quinn out of bed when I found this tonight.

She looked at me with wide eyes and said "momma, why did you color on the wall?" Then I buried my face into the bed to hide my laughter and Jeff told her I was crying.

 

Sawyer 15 1/2 months

Hello my little man,

It's been so long since I've written. These days you are still determined to crawl and you are very fast. You stand and walk around things (holding on) but are not much interested in walking on your own or as your main mode of transportation. 

You are the sweetest mommy's boy, though you love your daddy as well. You go right to him and want to be held each day when he comes in the door home from work.  But you are my sweet snuggle bug. You love playing with my hair when I'm holding you or when you are nursing. You love to give hugs and kisses. You always want to be held or crawl in and out of my lap.  You are going through an attachment phase and having trouble when we leave you in the nursery at church or BSF. You've finally started sleeping though the night (most nights) and you did it all on your own!!  

You use baby signs a lot and you are starting to scream a little less. You say "uh oh" when you drop or throw something. You say "vroom vroom" and run you hand across your chest when you see any type of vehicle.  You say "bum bum bum bum" to the drummer boy beat whenever we get in the car bc you and your sister are obsessed with that song. Speaking of Quinn, you love your sister, except for when she's too rough with you. You love you play on the couch with her.  You will slide off and then stand at the couch and hold your hands up and whine until she comes and pulls you up under your arms. Then you two wrestle around and giggle. Some days when you wake up from your nap, you crawl out your door before I can catch you and straight towards Quinn's room to try to wake her up. Luckily I get to you before you accomplish this task.  You still don't let me read to you very much. I have a few books with flaps that help keep your attention.  You've started to pick up Quinn's baby dolls and "snuggle them"- so sweet.  You even held a bottle to the doll's mouth to feed her...before launching the bottle, followed by the baby, across the room. :) 

I love you so much and love every sweet moment I get with you. 

This has been my prayer for you and Quinn this week, that God and your daddy and I would win your hearts: 

O my child, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways.

Proverbs 23:26