Too Sweet

Dear Sawyer,

You came up to me today and said, "Mama, if I had diabetes, I couldn't get near you because you are too sweet."

Wow! Nice line!

Love,

Mom

Sawyer-Mama Time

Dear Sawyer,

I detest cold weather and pre-Covid, I avoided going outside at all costs if the temperature dipped down to 45 degrees. But now post-Covid and desperate to get out of the house whenever I can, I'm like "It's all the way up to 38 degrees today! Let's go for a walk!"

And so this afternoon, we bundled up in four layers, hats and gloves and went for a walk around the neighborhood. You were on your balance bike and asked to go down a slightly steep hill. I let you go and your cries of "OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!" made me laugh so much! You told me it had been scary . . . but not scary enough to stop you from going down the same hill a second time!

We also made a stop at Hawthorne Park where I had so much fun playing Hide & Seek with you! The trees in the park are perfect because they are spread apart and wide enough to hide even me, so I had a blast running to different trees and hiding behind them while you covered your eyes and counted to 10. I peeked out to watch you search for me and you were just the cutest!

Last weekend, our whole family went out in near-freezing temperatures so that you, GuhGaw and JieJie could ride your bikes around Flushing Meadows Corona Park. You guys biked around for a bit and played tag but then you came over to me, hugged my legs and said you wanted to be near me. (I think you were upset because GuhGaw and JieJie were running too fast for you during tag.) So I said the two of us could go on our own walk together around the park. We ended up wandering a ways off from the rest of our family because we saw an interesting-looking statue in the distance and wanted to explore it closer. It ended up being a 20-minute detour and I enjoyed our solo Sawyer-Mama time so much. It is always so fun chatting and playing with you! After we eventually made our way back to the others and were in the car heading back home, I asked you if you had liked the park. You said, "Yeah, but I liked our walk the most." *melt* I am so glad you enjoy Sawyer-Mama time as much as I do!

Love,

Mom

State Names

Dear Sawyer,

You came up with this cute game today: I told you the name of a state and you told me what that state is famous for, based on its name. For instance:

Texas: it has a lot of taxis

Florida: it has a lot of floors

Washington: people wash things a lot

Pennsylvania: there are a lot of writers who use pencils

Illinois: people are annoyed there

Hawaii: people ask why a lot

So cute!

Love,

Mom

Handsome Fella

Dear Sawyer,

I picked out a blue-and-white plaid button-down shirt for you to wear today and when you put it on, you saw yourself in the mirror and exclaimed, "I'm so handsome!" I love your self-confidence!

Love,

Mom

Sweet as Sugar

Dear Sawyer,

Cute things you have said recently:

- You couldn't remember what the number 6 was called so you described it to me: "It's like an upside-down 9 with the belly on the bottom."

- "Mama, you're as sweet as 1,000 bags of sugar."

- "Upee." (I love that you still ask me to pick you up this way!)

You also say to me multiple times a day, "Mama, you're beautiful." I'll never get tired of hearing that!

Love,

Mom

Pressing Pause

Dear Sawyer,

Sometimes when you're on a Google Meet call for school, you have to leave to go to the bathroom and it's so cute when you ask me, "Can you pause it?" Hahaha! You haven't yet grasped that it's a live call and not a recorded show on the DVR!

Love,

Mom

The Little Moments

Dear Sawyer,

Being a mom (and especially a mom to four!) is so hard sometimes but the little moments that warm my heart are so worth it. I had two with you today:

- Last spring, I gave you money to buy a book at your school's book fair. You (unsurprisingly) bought a dinosaur book and it meant a lot to you because a) dinosaurs but also b) it was the first book you had picked out and paid for yourself without your parents around. You asked me to read it to you every day for awhile but it somehow got lost in one of our closets. I found it today and gave it back to you. It had probably been months since you'd last seen it so when you got it back today, you were SO happy! You clutched it in your hands, stared excitedly at the cover and ran up the stairs to read it in your room exclaiming "OMGOMGOMG!" the whole way. I love how excited you get about dinosaurs and I felt so happy seeing you so happy.

- Before Covid, you spent a lot of time with PoiPoi, either playing with her at her apartment or going to the playground together. Covid obviously halted those activities and PoiPoi is so nervous about the virus that she won't even enter our house. However, she did finally feel comfortable enough to spend time with you outdoors and agreed to take you to the park today. I went out to the sidewalk to watch you two walk away and hearing you chatting with PoiPoi and seeing your small frame next to her taller one after almost seven months of not seeing you two close together was such a welcome sight.

Love,

Mom