Annual Updates

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FIVE

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Five seems like a big number. Five means kindergarten is coming. More and more I look at pictures of him and realize that he has gotten so big. Everything about him looks older and not like the little kid he used to be. He’s calmer than he was, his outbursts (while still epic) are less frequent and easier controlled. It’s hard knowing that the upcoming year is going to be both hard and exciting for him (any mentions of kindergarten leads to an immediate meltdown), and that he’ll grow even more.

He’s been working to pick up new skills - how to get himself dressed every day, and put his dishes away after a meal. His drawing skills are also getting really good and are so impressive. Pictures he draws have gone from cute and funny to almost shockingly good.

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TWO

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You are an amazing TWO year old. So clever, I find you figuring out problems with ease. Can’t reach something? Next thing I know you’ve grabbed a step stool and grabbed whatever you needed. You watch your siblings and learn from them all the time.

You have no fear (a little fear once in a while might be a good thing, you know? Maybe a few less black eyes?) and literally dive into everything head first. You’ll jump off anything, tackle anyone, and everyone who meets you uses the word “bruiser” to describe you. However you’re also super nurturing. You always “make drinks” for everyone and can also be found taking care of your babies. If your older siblings look sad, you’ll give up your own toys to try and cheer them up.

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SIX

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It’s been a big year. E has almost finished Kindergarten and has grown so much over the past year. He has learned many new skills. We’ve seen him crush math worksheets, utilize new art skills which landed him a spot in the town wide art show, and enter the beginning stages of learning how to read. He comes home daily with new knowledge about things we’ve never discussed - it’s equally thrilling and scary to no longer be the only source of information in his life.

He regularly does 200-500 piece puzzles and non stop Lego kits that he takes apart and uses to build something else. He’s less into coloring, but loves making cards for people. He still loves crafts but dislikes painting. He loves running until his hair is wet and sweaty, but also loves to sit and cuddle with me - often waking up an hour before anyone else to find me in the house and get alone time with me.

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Four

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Somehow here we are, and you’re four. You are growing and changing at an alarming rate lately. Suddenly you are writing letters and drawing people and your face looks older, and I’m just wondering where my little G went. You are still super sweet and loving. You’ll appear and offer a toy to F when she’s crying, or will tell me you love me when you see me having a hard day. You love to cuddle and wake up slow in the mornings, and almost always have something soft to rub on your face.

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ONE YEAR

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Even though this is our third first birthday, it’s still just as much of an accomplishment each time. We did it. We survived the year! And I’m always just as shocked about how quickly it went by. How are you one already?

Your year feels split in half - the first half you were the easiest little squish baby who just came along wherever we went. The second half, aka the mobile half, is when things got a little crazy. You became strongly opinionated and LOUD. You aren’t talking but you still blow us lots of raspberries, give very wet kisses and screetch often. You’re constantly moving and climbing and exploring and trying hard to become a full on toddler. You love eating chicken nuggets and pasta and drinking from a sippy cup just like a big kid.

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FIVE

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HOW did we get here. I had babies and babies and suddenly I have a child old enough to go to school (which you will this fall).

You are sweet and caring and love to do things to make other’s happy. You send love notes to people in the mail, bring your siblings their favorite toys, share treats/snacks and you love to cuddle, especially after you’re supposed to be in bed.

You feel things deeply and take things personally. I often have to make sure I take extra time to talk about feelings with you. For example yet another pair of pants you were wearing ended up getting a hole in the knee, and I could see how sad you were. You were feeling ashamed, like you’d done something wrong. I had to sit you down and let you know that it wasn’t your fault, it was the pants. They weren’t strong enough, and we’d buy new ones. I didn’t want you to play any differently or worry about them. I can definitely see the rule following personality traits of an oldest child forming in you, and while it’s something that can be helpful to a parent or teacher, I want you to learn when to break the rules too.

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Three Years

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The other morning I woke you up and told that you while you were two years old that morning, you’d soon be three! And you said “No! I’m your baby always!” and then you had me scoop you up and rock you in my arms. It was just what my soul needed as I mourn all of my children growing way too fast. But then again, you always seem to know what other people need lately. I’ve dubbed you a caregiver more than once lately. You often tell me that if I’m scared it’s okay, because you’re here for me. And we all call you our Italian grandmother, since you love feeding people. It brings you so much joy, and you won’t take no for an answer. No one can come into our house without getting some of your meal fed to them. You also will seek out my water from across the house and bring it to me to make sure I’m drinking enough water.

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FOUR

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I think I have to stop calling you a toddler. You are suddenly so grown up, and I have no idea how this happened. I miss my baby a bit, but it’s also a lot of fun to watch you become who you are.

You are still my sweetness, completely. You often come up to me and tell me that you have four things for me, and then you give me a kiss, a hug, a squeeze and a cuddle. While you fight with your brother often, you are just as often sweet and caring to him as well.

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TWO

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Sometimes I have a hard time time coming to terms with the fact that you’ll be two, since for me, time has stood still during this pandemic. Much like my desk calendar in the city, my mind is stuck in March. You know, back before you even knew how to walk? So how can it be that you’re two? On the other hand, it seems like I’ve been telling you forever that you don’t “get” to wear a mask until you’re two! Just a little bit longer to wait, we keep telling you. (Don’t think it’s lost on me that the biggest marker of you turning two will be that you need to be masked now - what a perfect snapshot of our world).

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THREE

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Three feels big. Heavy and important and monumental. Two still felt like a baby, still felt close to birth, with everything felt fresh and new. Three feels so big and so old. It’s hard to explain the feeling, but when I had babies I didn’t feel like a mother so much. I felt like a caregiver of tiny humans, someone who was given a gift of these squishly little creatures to take care of. Now I feel like I have a child. A child that I have to raise, mother, and teach.

Three is old enough to ask questions and remember things that I’ve told him. Three is big enough that I need to think about what I say before I saw it, unless I want it repeated forever and to everyone.

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ONE YEAR

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I’ve been counting down for this for a year, but still somehow I can’t believe that we’re here. I barely remember you as an infant, those days were so long ago. And these last 6 months have flown by.

You are so much fun right now. Always laughing, always moving. You’re still “talking” and mimicking us all like crazy, and have started pointing all over the place to tell us your opinions and what you’d like. You have strong feelings and get angry quick if I tell you that you can’t have my phone or something else you want.

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TWO

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Two. TWO. TWO?????

Have you really been here for two full years?

I feel a little bad that this year is starting with so many changes, but I’m sure you’re going to be absolutely THRILLED with all the upcoming visitors. I have a feeling you’ll be a little less thrilled with my maternity leave ending. For whatever reason, you’ve decided that you need to be attached to me at all times. You want me to put on your bib or lift you out of your high chair or clean your hands. You want to be in my arms, carried everywhere, in my sight, with me, at all times. You ask for me the minute you wake up. And lately that’s been fine, since I’m always home. But tomorrow you’re going to wake up, and I won’t be here, and it breaks my heart to know how unhappy you’ll be. Because I live to make you happy and hear those giggles.

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ONE YEAR

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Nick Names: Bubba, Sweetness
Height: 28.75 inches (13th percentile)
Weight: 21 pounds, 8 oz (54th percentile)
Head: 18 inches (40th percentile)
Special Outings: Panera, Market Basket
Visitors: Grandma & Grandpa, Becca & Joe, Nicole, Alice & Stephen, Aunt Joanie, Uncle Rick & Brooke
Loves: Laundry baskets, coat hangers, walking by pushing furniture
Hates: Waking up during the night, empty bottles, getting hurt