My Cute Companion

Dear Sawyer,

Tonight at bedtime, you asked me to hang out in your room for a little bit. I asked you if you wanted to talk, just the two of us, since we hadn't had much one-on-one time in awhile and you said, "Yeah, plus I just really like your company." You are always so sweet!

Love,

Mom

You're Nine Years Old!

Dear Sawyer,

Airplanes can fly because the engines use propellers or jets to propel the planes forward. The first dinosaur was a plant-eater the size of a kangaroo. The largest diamond ever found weighed 1.37 pounds and measured more than four inches long.

These are just a few of your favorite facts from your National Geographic book Why? Over 1,111 Answers to Everything. We have had that book for years and I see you poring over it all of the time because you have such a curious mind and love learning about all of the why's--why do people have fingernails, why do leaves change color in the fall, why is the Golden Gate Bridge orange? I love that you have such a thirst for facts and I love that you are constantly starting our conversations with "Mama, did you know . . ." You absorb all of the information you learn at school and from the books you read and you love sharing it--I learn something new from you every day. Happy 9th birthday to my walking encyclopedia!

You are 9 years old! One minute, you were a tiny 3-year-old who loved dinosaurs and playing with cars and the next minute--well, you still love dinosaurs and playing with cars, but now you are a bit taller! And you have many more interests and hobbies. You like reading about engineering feats and interesting weather-related phenomenon; you like watching nature documentaries with Daddy, you like building elaborate structures with Legos and Keva planks; you like playing chess and basketball; you like hiking and exploring new trails with me; you like going on bike rides; one of your favorite activities is looking for rocks and throwing them into the ocean; you enjoy watching water flow, whether it's a waterfall, stream or even just the kitchen faucet while I'm doing dishes. You also still like to draw and make the most amazingly detailed pictures. When you grow up, you want to be an architect.

Your favorite foods are still pizza and my sausage barley soup (but without the vegetables, haha). You like to put everything seasoning on, well, everything. You love fruit, especially "waterlemon" (yes, our family members all still call it that because of you!), blackberries and Asian pears. You like our dance parties. Your favorite song is "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and your favorite line from it is "how can we not talk about family when family's all that we got." When you recite that line, sometimes your voice wavers and you get emotional. I really like that you feel things, whether you are talking about your friends or a thought that you had about the planet. You are a very sensitive kid and you embrace your emotions, which is one of your biggest strengths.

Another one of your strengths is your continued love of reading. Yes, you love reading nonfiction books but you also devour stories inspired by Greek mythology and historical events. You are still a fan of Dog Man, Wimpy Kid and Wings of Fire, and you also like the Boxcar Children and Gregor the Overlander series. Also, it is STILL difficult to get you to get ready for school, come downstairs for dinner, do your nighttime routine, etc. because you constantly get distracted and lose yourself in a book but as I've said before, that's not the worst problem for a parent to have!

You are such an inquisitive, joyful, funny, kind and sweet kid and I love watching you be you. I am proud of you, Baby Bear, and I hope you had a terrific time celebrating your birthday today. I love you so much!

Love,

Mom

Rocking Out

Dear Sawyer,

We went to the aquarium yesterday and I gave you a snack and water bottle to put in your backpack. At one point, you left your backpack on a bench and when I picked up the backpack, it was heavy, like way more than just a snack-box-and-water-bottle heavy. I know you tend to squirrel things away in your bags, so I wasn't totally surprised, but I decided to see what else you were carrying around and when I unzipped your backpack, there was an actual ROCK inside. You'd found it the last time we went hiking and put it in your bag for safekeeping--and kept it there. I can't believe you walked around all morning with a heavy rock in your bag!

Love,

Mom

Good Night Kiss

Dear Sawyer,

Here is our nightly routine: 

1) We say "Good night/I love you/see you in the morning/who's my favorite baby bear?/me/who's your favorite mama?/you"

2) We clap twice and do Korean heart with both hands

3) We do sign language for "I love you" with both hands

4) We point to our eyes, draw a heart in the air and point at each other ("I love you")

Yesterday, though, you added a bit where you ask me to come closer and then give me the sweetest kiss on my cheek. As you've gotten older, you don't kiss me that often, so it's very heartwarming when you do. When you kissed me tonight, I pointed out that you don't kiss me that much and you said you missed it. I did, too, and am so happy you added a kiss to our routine! And I will remember to kiss you more all the time--especially while you still let me!

Love,

Mom

Getting Dirty

Dear Sawyer,

At dinner, we were talking about how Daddy likes to garden. Daddy said, "I like to play with dirt." You jumped in and said in a slightly high-pitched tone, "Hi Dirt, I'm Daddy. What do you want to play today?" Daddy and I laughed SO hard!! You funny!

Love,

Mom

Light It Up

Dear Sawyer,

Can something be sweet AND morbid? The other night, we somehow started talking about the concept of reincarnation and I asked you what if you came back as a bug. You asked me what kind of bug I think you'd come back as and after a minute of thought, I said, "I think you'd come back as a firefly because you're always lighting up now." You smiled the sweetest smile, so I could tell that you liked my answer. And then you said to me, "If I die before you and come back as a firefly, I'd keep landing on your hand because that's good luck." Oh. My. GAAAAAAAWD. What is this liquid welling up in my eyeballs?? Then you went on to tell me that you'd put a sign on your back that said "Sawyer," so that I'd know the firefly was you. I asked you how you'd write the sign since you'd have no hands and you genuinely looked stumped, hahaha! I said you could get all of your firefly friends to fly in formation to spell out "Sawyer" in the air and you said you'd tell them to spell out your first, middle and last name just so I'd know for sure that it was my Sawyer. Goodness! Such a cute/funny/creative/heartbreaking conversation all in one!

Love,

Mom

Michael Mistake

Dear Sawyer,

You like playing basketball, so I signed you up for a basketball class in the neighborhood and you had been going every Sunday since October. You seemed to look forward to it and you always said you had fun in the class, so I was surprised when you told me that you don't want to sign up for the next session. When I asked you why not, you explained, "I like playing basketball, but just with my friends. I don't want to be on a team like Michael Jackson."

Jordan. You mean Michael Jordan. Hahaha!

Love,

Mom

Color Me Impressed

Dear Sawyer,

We were walking home yesterday when JieJie asked why all of the houses in our neighborhood look so similar. I explained that in private neighborhoods like ours, a homeowners association makes sure that everyone uses the same paint colors, stone tiles, etc. so that the houses look more uniform. I told you that one of our neighbors had to repave her new driveway because her contractors didn't use the right kind of brick and that some people in the neighborhood would have complained about it. Then you and I had this exchange:

Me: I personally wouldn't care about the type of brick but some people care about things that don't really matter.

You: Like the color of a person's skin?

#proudmom

Love,

Mom

The Good Part

Dear Sawyer,

When I saw you this afternoon, you told me you had a good day today. You only had a half-day of school because there were parent-teacher conferences, so when PoiPoi picked you up from the bus stop, she took you all over: Austin Street Pizza for lunch, the library to get new books, Austin Street playground since it was such a nice warm day and McDonald's for a second lunch (?). When I tucked you in tonight, I said, "I'm glad you had such a good day. Some days are bad but hopefully you have more good ones." You replied, "Every day is at least a little good because you're a part of it." Oh Sawyer, you are such a sweet little guy. Thank you for being my son!

Love,

Mom

Our Day at The Met

Dear Sawyer,

Ever since we went to The Metropolitan Museum of Art with your class a few months ago, you have wanted to go back, so we went today. It was much nicer this time because we weren't rushed (the guide that took us around with your classmates was super friendly but I think she was tasked with showing us a big checklist of "musts" in a very small window of time) and we could see everything we wanted to see. The museum is gargantuan and even I got overwhelmed trying to find our way but you really enjoyed picking something you wanted to see (French Impressionist paintings, American wing, armor exhibits), finding it on the map and then following the numbers on the walls to get to the right room. The rest of your siblings (and Daddy) were visibly bored after about an hour at the museum and retreated to one of the cafes, but you and I kept going and we managed to walk through pretty much every part of the museum. You loved seeing the paintings by Monet and Van Gogh ("Water Lilies" is still your favorite), as well as the impressive Medieval Gate, halls of Greek and Roman sculptures and period rooms in the American wing (I think your least favorite was the Egyptian wing with its creepy mummies). We were at the museum for over three hours and I bought you a "Water Lilies" print, which you are super excited to hang in your room. You said you had a really fun day and I'm so glad! Maybe from now on, museum days can be our little thing.

Love,

Mom

Hug It Out

Dear Sawyer,

This morning, you were fed, brushed, dressed and ready for school with more than 10 minutes to spare, so while most school days are me barking at you, "Get your water bottle! Go downstairs! Put on your shoooooooes!!!", I had time today to stop and hug you before you left. Like, really hug you and not just a perfunctory embrace before pushing you toward the door. You hugged me for two seconds and when you realized I wasn't letting go, you immediately wrapped your arms around me again and looked up at me with such love in your eyes. Your eyes were so big, your smile was so sweet and your face looked so happy. Thank you for loving my hugs and thank you for loving me. I wish we had more time to hug like we did this morning. One of my resolutions is to remember to pause often and just take it all in. The laundry hampers might be full, the furniture may be covered in dust and the dinner has to be made but tiny moments like a prolonged hug in the hallway are what really matter.

Here's to more hugging in 2024!

Love,

Mom