Big Boned

Dear Sawyer,

One of your teachers is a little bigger and when you were talking about her one day, you said she was fat. I told you that that wasn't a nice thing to say about someone and that statement has really stuck with you because not only have you never again said she is fat, you won't say the word at all or even let anyone else say it. When we were looking at your dinosaur book, I commented that one of the dinosaurs was so fat and you immediately called me out on it: "That's not nice. Don't say 'fat.'" And at dinner the other night, we were talking about bacon and GuhGaw said it's full of fat. You jumped right it: "That's not nice. Don't say that." Yes, sir!

Love,
Mom

Mrs. Manners

Dear Sawyer,

You came into the kitchen this morning and shouted, "I'm thirsty!" I constantly have to remind you and your siblings to ask for things nicely because, ahem, I am not your slave, so I said, "How should you ask for something? 'May I please . . .'" You replied, "May I please I'm thirsty!"

*sigh* I try.

Love,
Mom

Quiet Time

Dear Sawyer,

You never like going to bed and always ask me to stay with you "all day." Last night, I said I couldn't stay all day but that I would stay for a little bit. I sat down on your bed and asked you what you did in school and you said, "I moved all the kitchen toys to the other table." Then I asked you what else you did but you were so tired (it had been a school day and you hadn't napped) so you blinked slowly, rolled over on your side and said softly, "Mama, that's enough talking." Hahaha! Message received. I stayed quiet and just held your hand until you fell asleep.

Love,
Mom

Season of Sharing

Dear Sawyer,

The holiday season is officially here and during this time of year, Daddy and I always donate to charities. Your school is holding a Toys for Tots drive and I wanted to use it as an opportunity to teach you about giving to those who are less fortunate. However, it turned out to be a little more complicated than I expected. Our conversation went like this:

You: Can I play with those toys?
Me: No, we are going to give them to kids who are less fortunate. It's kind to give things to people who may not have as much.
Y: Oh, like sharing with homeless people?
M: Yes.
Y: So after we give them the toys, they will give them back to me so that I can play with them?
M: Well, no. We are going to give them the toys and they will take it to wherever they live.
Y: But we are sharing! We take turns!
M: Yes, normally that is how sharing works but--
Y: Because I want to play with the tractor, too!
M: I know, but they are going to take it to their house--
Y: Then can I go to the homeless house to play with them? Can you drop me off for a play date at the homeless house?

Oh boy! We talked about donating for awhile longer and I think you got it. I know how much you liked the tractor but you have also always been so thoughtful, so you were very understanding about why we were giving the coveted toy away to someone else. You carried the tractor the whole way to school and helped me place it in the Toys for Tots box in the lobby. I told you that you were going to make some kid very happy and you smiled back at me so sweetly!

Love,
Mom

Daddy Impression

Dear Sawyer,

I gave you lunch this afternoon and went into the kitchen to clean up. While I was rinsing dishes at the sink, you ran up behind me and tightly hugged my legs. You looked up at me lovingly and then ran back toward the dining room. You paused, though, to turn back and tell me, "I hug you because you so beautiful." Day made! And it got even better when several minutes later, you came back into the kitchen and said, "I give you three kisses." Then you gently kissed me in three different spots on my arm. You are such a sweetheart!

You are also such a funny little comedian! After dinner, you and I were again in the kitchen together while I was cleaning up. Daddy walked in and said, "I'm going to take a shower now." After he walked back out, you repeated exactly what he said in a deep voice and sounded exactly like Daddy! You nailed his tone! I laughed so hard, my stomach started to hurt. It was awesome!

Love,
Mom

Best Friends

Dear Sawyer,

Recent Sawyer cuteness:

- You say narble (marble), gubblebum (bubblegum) and faminee (family).

- You say it's either "good morning time" or "good night time."

- You and JieJie have a special goodbye ritual when she leaves for school in the morning. Instead of shouting bye to each other, you say, "Chicka chicka!" I guess it's your special sibling code word for "goodbye."

- You were eating lunch one day when you pretended to be your tummy. You cupped your ear and said in a deep voice, "Can you hear me? I'm full!"

- When you eat something you like, you say a satisfied, "Mmm" and give me a thumbs-up sign.

-You often fold your hands together while you're riding in the car or watching TV.

- You still love Team Umizoomi and ask to watch it every day. You never want to watch anything else!

- You giggle whenever you hear the words "poop" and "fart."

- You can spell your own name!

- You came into the kitchen the other day, spun around with your arms out and said, "See my ninja spin!"

- JieJie left her unicorn slippers in your room and while she was in school, you brought them back to her room and placed them neatly next to her bed. When I told you that was such a thoughtful thing to do, you replied, "I'm her best friend."

- Your classmate Mila is also your best friend and you talk about her all of the time. Sometimes, you tell me, "Mila is my best friend. I'm going to marry her." Awww!

Love,
Mom

Passed Out on Picture Day

Dear Sawyer,

You had your very first school picture day today! I dressed you in a blue oxford shirt, khaki pants and a bow-tie and gelled your hair and then told you to go look at your reflection in the mirror. You ran to your room and I heard you shout, "Wow! I look SO handsome!" And you did!

You were incredibly handsome today . . . and tired! After school, I was helping JieJie with her homework and you were playing on the floor next to us. Around 5pm, you asked to sit in my lap and dozed off after several minutes. You haven't fallen asleep in my arms like that in a looooong time and it was so sweet. I rocked you and admired your long eyelashes, chubby cheeks and still-babyish face . . . and then you started getting really heavy and I carried you to your bed, haha. And now it's been five hours and you are still asleep! You didn't even eat dinner. I guess it was exhausting posing all those photos today!

Love,
Mom

Sugar High

Dear Sawyer,

We met up with Aunt Sarin, Uncle Austin and your cousin Julietta for lunch yesterday and afterward, Aunt Sarin took us to a bakery so that she could buy you kids a treat. You and JieJie walked up to the colorful display case housing cookies, cupcakes and other sugary goodies and Aunt Sarin asked you to pick out what you wanted. JieJie picked out a pink-frosted cupcake and you chose a chocolate-frosted one. Aunt Sarin turned to me and asked me if that was okay. I saw a green frosting leaf on top of the cupcake, assumed it was a mint chocolate cupcake and said, "Sure." Aunt Sarin then proceeded to pay for the cupcakes when Uncle Austin jumped in and said, "Wait, I think the leaf cupcake has CBD in it." He asked the cashier if that was true and she nodded, which means Aunt Sarin almost gave you a cupcake with drugs in it!!! She didn't know what the green leaf really meant, either! Thank goodness Uncle Austin did!

I am not sure what would have happened to you had you eaten the, er, enhanced cupcake (My guess: "Wow, Sawyer is taking such a long nap today!" Daddy's guess: "Man, Sawyer is asking for a lot of snacks.") but I am really relieved we didn't find out! Aunt Sarin and I texted this morning and were still laughing about the mix-up. We will most likely be telling this story at every family gathering for the rest of our lives!

I had no idea that it is now legal to sell CBD-laced products in New York. I have since learned that it does not have the same psychoactive effects as straight marijuana but whether it's safe for kids is still in debate. When we walked into the bakery with two little kids, how did the cashier not feel the need to warn us about the ingredients when we picked out the CBD cupcake?!

Love,
Mom

Speeding Ahead

Dear Sawyer,

You were on a roll today and impressed me with several of your newly acquired skills. First, you were playing in the attic and when I went up there to check on you, I saw that you had completed the giant firetruck puzzle all on your own. You have always been good at puzzles but the firetruck puzzle has a lot of pieces. Nice!

Second, you learned a Halloween song at school ("Ghosts and goblins, cat and bats, I'm not afraid of this or that . . . ") and you sang the entire song at dinner. I am proud of you for being able to remember all of the words!

You are growing up so fast, so I take comfort in the "babyish" things you still do. I love how you always ask me to hold you like a baby and how you rest your head in my lap when we watch TV together. It's sweet that every night at dinner, you eat for about 10 minutes and then get off your chair, walk over to me and say, "Lap lap, please." Then I pull you into my lap and feed you the rest of your dinner. I still get amused when you mispronounce certain words and names: lellow (yellow), lummy (yummy), lucky (yucky), pahcorn (popcorn), vechables (vegetables), torteewa (tortilla), waterlemon (watermelon), peetend (pretend), poweese (police), scawee (scary), ungabeads (Aquabeads), Nofia (Sofia), Cwaire (Claire), Oviler (Oliver). It also makes me smile when you say things grammatically incorrect, such as "The whole family pick up me!" (You exclaimed this one Friday when Daddy, GuhGaw, JieJie and I all came to pick you up from school.) And finally, when you are sad, hurt or tired, you immediately run to me, say "Up, please," rest your head on my shoulder after I pick you up and hug me tight. Don't lose these baby behaviors too soon, mmkay?

Love,
Mom

Baby Behavior

Dear Sawyer,

For the past few days, you have often been asking me, "Can you hold me like a baby?" And even though you currently weight 32 pounds and I can cradle you for no more than five minutes before my arms start growing weak, I oblige every time you ask me because pretty soon, you will be too big for me to cradle for even one minute.

Once I cradle you in my arms, you keep the game going by resting your head against my chest and saying, "Goo goo gah gah!" Sometimes you ask me in a high-pitched voice (a.k.a. the voice you use whenever you pretend you are a baby), "Rockabye Baby?" So I will sing "Rockabye Baby" to you and you will close your eyes and pretend to fall asleep. Three-years-old-going-on-three-months!

Love,
Mom

Wardrobe Assistance

Dear Sawyer,

When you woke up this morning, you walked into my room wearing nothing but your underwear! I asked you where your pajamas were and you replied, "I took the monkey pajamas off all by myself!" And when it was time to get ready for school, you were able to put on your socks without my help. I am proud of how independent you are becoming! You even assist me with my own clothes sometimes! If the bottom of my shirt is bunched up around my waist, you straighten it out. And when the bottoms of my leggings are riding up around my calves, you pull them back down to my ankles. You always notice how things "should" be (i.e. if I leave a dresser drawer or kitchen cabinet open, I can always count on you to close them) and are quick to correct them. Thanks, sweetie!

Love,
Mom

Silly Sous Chef

Dear Sawyer,

You were helping me make chocolate peanut butter banana bread this afternoon, so you were standing next to me at the kitchen counter. You were on top of the step stool, which put you right at the height of the metal mixing bowl I was using on the counter. And as I mixed the batter, I watched out of the corner of my eye as you played with your reflection in the metal bowl: You were making silly faces, rolling your eyes and sticking out your tongue at yourself. It was such a cute, funny, sweet and innocent childhood moment and I held in my laughter so that I wouldn't interrupt it and make it end. I love your silly side, Sawyer!

Love,
Mom

Sleepy Student

Dear Sawyer,

You are enjoying school and look forward to going every day. When it is time to leave the house, you proudly and eagerly put on your backpack and insist on holding on to both straps as you walk--I'm not sure if it's because it makes you feel more like a big boy? After we arrive at the school, most of your classmates are jumping around or running all over the gym but you always obediently go to the black line and stand there to wait for your teachers. When the teachers come to get you, you walk calmly and coolly into the classroom (still holding both of your backpack shoulder straps) and don't even look back at me (*sniff sniff).

You like your teachers and classmates and you definitely like the classroom toys and playing on the school playground! But you miss your afternoon nap on school days and that has been a little tough on you. After you came home from school yesterday, you played in your room for a few minutes and then found me and sleepily asked, "Can I lay down in your lap because it's comfortable? Can you hold me like a baby?" I rocked you for awhile and then I told you to hang out in JieJie's room while I cooked dinner. After I had been in the kitchen for several minutes, JieJie came downstairs and told me that you had fallen asleep in your chair!

Aww, my tired little guy!

Love,
Mom

Washing Up

Dear Sawyer,

All the time now, you come up to me and say, "You know I love you all day?" I love you back all day, night, week and year!

Also, after you use the bathroom, I put the potty seat back on top of the toilet, close the lid and flush and while I am doing this, you walk over to the tub faucet and cup your hands underneath it, ready and waiting for me to wash your hands. You are always such a sweet, good little boy!

Love,
Mom

All Day Long

Dear Sawyer,

I was in the kitchen and you came in and said, "Mama, I love you all day." How sweet are you? :-)

Love,
Mom

Why Oh Why

Dear Sawyer,

You have officially entered the "Why?" stage.

*sigh*

Love,
Mom

Schooled

Dear Sawyer,

Cute things you did recently:

-Last night, we were sitting on the couch and you were giving me so many kisses. Daddy asked if he could have some kisses and you said, "No! You're not the mama."

-This morning, you saw me packing a bag of grapes in GuhGaw's backpack and you said you wanted some, too. I was so tired and said I would wash some for you but I needed to have some coffee first. You got impatient and started whining, "But I want grapes! I want the grapes!" I told you more sternly that I needed coffee and you snapped, "Fine!" But then you had a flash of understanding and said more gently, "Okay. I will wait."

-When I picked you up from school today, I asked you if you liked school and you said you did. And you really did: When we came back home, you sat on the staircase, put your head on your balled-up hands and pouted. I asked you what was wrong and you told me, "I want to go back to school."

Today was your second day of school and you did a great job, just like yesterday! Several of your classmates were crying and protesting at drop-off (one had to be carried into the classroom because she wouldn't let go of her dad) but you were silent and stoic. You knew to line up on the black line in the gym and you followed your teachers out as instructed. Ten minutes before class was over, I was waiting on the bench in the foyer and saw you walking to the bathroom with Ms. Keira; you were such a good boy and had asked to go to the bathroom when you needed to! You told me that you made a farm today, that "the girl in the white dress" made you dinner (a sandwich with three pieces of bread and cheese) and that you got two cupcakes (a classmate had a birthday party today). It sounded like an awesome day so no wonder you want to go back to school again!

Love,
Mom

School Days

Dear Sawyer,

GuhGaw and JieJie started school last week and with all the excitement over their new backpacks and first-day-of-school photos, you were visibly feeling left out. When we came back home after dropping them off at school, you sat down on the staircase and looked so sad and abandoned. But fear not, today was your turn! It was your very first first day of school and you were the star with your new backpack and first-day-of-school photos:

Since you have watched your older siblings go off to school for the past three years, you were very excited to finally go to school, too. We visited your classroom and met your teachers last week and you were looking forward to starting nursery school. You were in the same classroom and had the same teachers for your Moms & Tots class and you have always been pretty laidback, so I wasn't too worried that you would be scared on your first day.

That is, until PoiPoi came over this morning! She kept telling you, "You're going to school today! By yourself! By yourself! Not with Mama! You're going by yourself!" She probably thought she was helping but she repeated the "by yourself" part so much that I think it freaked you out. When it was time to eat lunch before we left for school, you suddenly started crying and shouting, "I don't want to go to school! I don't want to go to school!" You even stomped your feet for emphasis (and you were also wearing JieJie's old Frozen slippers, which made your indignation pretty cute). You cried for almost 10 minutes and I was finally able to console you when I said I would sit on a bench outside the classroom and wait for you there. You stopped crying and asked quietly if I could go into the classroom with you and I said I couldn't but I would be waiting right outside.

Daddy took you to school, too, and while we were waiting outside on the steps, you were happy again but also shy and nervous. A classmate named Mila came over and asked you what your name is but you stared down at the sidewalk and then buried your face in my leg. When we went into the gym to wait for your teachers, other kids were running or jumping around but you held my hand and stood quietly next to me. When your teachers arrived, you got into line, gave me a halfhearted hug and kiss and walked solemnly toward the classroom. You didn't smile and you didn't look back for me. Other kids were crying and I worried that their tears might set you off.

When I came back to pick you up after class, the teacher called your name and you came out. When you saw me waiting for you, your signature big smile lit up your face and you ran toward me holding out a hand print project you had made and a bag of graham crackers your teachers had given you. "Look what I got!" you exclaimed. I asked you if you had liked school and you said matter-of-factly, "Yes." Yay! Your first day of school was a success! I am so proud of you, sweetie!

Love,
Mom

Wanted

Dear Sawyer,

For the past few days, when I tuck you into bed and ask you if you want Curious George, Narwhal or one of your other stuffed animal friends, you reply, "No, I want you. Can you stay all day?" Aww, I wish I could, sweetie!

Love,
Mom

Fingers Crossed

Dear Sawyer,

Back when you were a little bitty baby who was just a few months old, you would often take your middle finger and move it on top of your ring finger and leave it there. It was always this cute quirk you had. Fast forward to today when I was brushing your teeth. You were leaning over the bathtub and when I glanced down at your left hand, you had your middle finger resting on top of your ring finger, just like when you were a baby! How sweet! I wonder if this is something you will absentmindedly do even when you're an adult.

Love,
Mom

Quack Attack

Dear Sawyer,

At dinner tonight, we were talking about what you want to be when you grow up. JieJie's response: "I want to be a teacher." Your response: "I want to be a duck!"

Love,
Mom

The Big Time

Dear Sawyer,

There is a Huggies Pull-Ups commercial jingle that goes, "I'm a big kid now!" The kids in the commercial sing it when they go on the potty and you have been singing it all the time throughout the day, I guess whenever you are feeling especially like a big kid. It's so cute!

Love,
Mom

Lots of Love

Dear Sawyer,

Sometimes, you just randomly come up to me and say, "I really love you, Mama." And that always makes me the happiest mama in the world :-)

Love,
Mom

Sawyer's Song

Dear Sawyer,

You were playing in the living room and I heard you singing this song to yourself: "My name is Sawyer! I love playing with my toys! And I love hugging my mamaaaaa!" Hahaha! I love it!

Love,
Mom

Direct Hit

Dear Sawyer,

You rocked potty training! Now, you always ask to go to the bathroom when you need to go and you stay dry when we go out, during naps and all through the night. Woo! Of course, there is still the occasional potty mishap here and there, like the one we had this afternoon. We went for a walk around the neighborhood and when we came home, I put you on the potty. You didn't sit far enough back, though, so your penis was pushed up against the front of the potty seat and pointing upward. As such, when you peed, the stream of pee shot up into the air and all over your face. Oh man, I will never forget your poor scrunched-up face as your pee sprayed all over your eyes, nose and forehead!

Love,
Mom

Hidden Figure

Dear Sawyer,

I just checked on you while you were napping and your shirt looked a little weird. Why did it look weird? Because you had stuffed your Sophie the Giraffe toy underneath and fallen asleep with it there. Haha!

Love,
Mom

Slip and Slide

Dear Sawyer,

You are a pretty cautious little boy. You don't like amusement park rides or even the swings at the playground. Before this summer, you wouldn't even go down the slides at the playground but now you do enjoy the shorter ones. And today, we found out that you enjoy the really tall ones, too!

We spent the afternoon at a playground in Central Park and on one side was a tall pyramid-like structure where you could climb up to the top and slide down a long slide to get to the bottom. You and GuhGaw were playing near the pyramid and JieJie was playing in the sprinklers at the other side of the playground. I was watching her and then when I turned back to look at you, you were flying off the slide! You had climbed up to the top of the pyramid and gone down the very tall slide! And it was a little wet from kids who had played in the sprinklers and then gone down the slide, so that coupled with the height of the slide compounded with the fact that you are on the light side meant that you picked up quite a bit of speed on your way down! When I looked over at you, you flew straight off the bottom of the slide and landed a good foot away! Luckily, you landed on sand so it was a soft surface but I gasped pretty loudly and ran over to you, unsure of what your reaction would be. It was touch-and-go for a few seconds there--your face was a little "Oh crap, what just happened?!"--but GuhGaw was laughing gleefully at your airborne adventure and that made you smile and laugh. Whew! When I got to you, you told me, "I go bump bump bump bump down the slide! I land in the sand!" I'm so glad you weren't traumatized . . . though I noticed that you didn't attempt to go down the slide again, haha!

Love,
Mom

Hold It

Dear Sawyer,

I gotta say, I crack up every time you have to go poop because you always stand up, put your hand on your butt and say, "I have to poop!" Then you run all the way to the bathroom with your hand covering your butt until you get to the toilet. Is the poop going to just drop out of your butt if you don't do that? Hahaha! It's so cute!

Love,
Mom

Me Three

Dear Sawyer,

When I left for Barcelona, you couldn't hold up just three fingers. When I came back from Barcelona, that was literally the first thing you showed me as I walked through the front door. You exclaimed, "Mama! I'm 3! I'm 3!" and held up just three fingers like a pro. GongGong taught you how to do that while I was away and now whenever anyone asks you how old you are, you don't answer verbally but just look at the person and silently hold up your three fingers. Haha! It's so cute!

Love,
Mom

Shared Bathroom

Dear Sawyer,

Our house has six bathrooms so we never have that problem where one of us can't use the bathroom because someone is already using it; another bathroom is always available. GongGong and PoiPoi, however, only have one bathroom in their apartment so when we were there this afternoon when you and JieJie had to use the bathroom at the same time, we ran into that very problem. The funniest part? JieJie was already sitting on the toilet when you felt the urge to pee but instead of waiting for her to finish and get up, you ran into the bathroom, pushed the step stool next to the toilet, climbed on top of the stool, pulled your shorts down and almost peed right on your sister. No!!! I ran into the bathroom behind you and picked you up before you did your business. You said, "I have to pee! I have to pee!" I said, "You can't pee on JieJie!" And you aren't that good at holding your pee sometimes and JieJie hadn't even wiped yet so I held you over the bathtub and you peed into the tub. Yep, that happened.

Hahaha! I still can't believe you did that!

Love,

Mom

Revenge Is Wet

Dear Sawyer,

Daddy, JieJie and I went to Barcelona for a week while you and GuhGaw stayed home with PoiPoi and GongGong. (We will take you on international trips when you are bigger!) It was the longest I have ever been away from you and I was worried about how you would handle it, but you were fine and PoiPoi said you behaved very well the whole time. When we came back yesterday afternoon and our taxi dropped us off, you and GuhGaw were standing in front of the living room windows and shouting, "Mama! Mama! You're home!" with big grins on your faces.

However, there were two incidents that proved that you weren't totally okay with me leaving you for so long. First, you refused to video chat with Daddy, JieJie and me during the first couple days we were in Barcelona. When PoiPoi held the phone up to you, you actually ran away and said, "No!" Fortunately, you warmed back up to us on the third day and talked to us every time we called after that.

Second, PoiPoi said you only had one pee accident the whole time we were away and that you were great about telling her when you needed to pee or poop. But within an hour of me coming home, you had not one but TWO huge pee accidents! You had the first one when you were playing with JieJie in the study. You peed a lot all over the floor but I figured you were just excited to be playing with JieJie again and didn't want to stop. But then just half an hour later, we were eating dinner and you peed all over your chair! And again, it was a lot of pee! Where did it come from? You had never had two accidents (and huge ones at that) so close together, even when you first began potty training, so the only explanation was that you did it as payback for me not taking you to Spain, haha!

Oh man. But pee or no pee, I am so happy to be back home with my baby bear! I missed you so much!

Love,
Mom

Real Huggies

Dear Sawyer,

Cute things you do now:

-Sometimes your hands are dirty or my hands are dirty when you want a hug, so I give you an "air hug." That's not always good enough for you, though, so after we have washed our hands, you often hold out your arms toward me ask, "Huggie? Real huggie?" Of course!

-When you take off your sandals, you take one off, carefully push the Velcro strap back down and put it on the shoe rack. Then you take the other sandal off, push the strap down on that one and set it next to the first sandal. You are so neat and organized!

-You like to make silly faces at me, especially when you are sitting on the potty and I'm waiting for you to go. When you eventually go, you shout excitedly, "I pee on the toyyy-let!"

-I don't know what it is, but there's something about the way you run that is just the cutest thing ever! Maybe it's how you pump your arms or slightly tip your head side-to-side as you run. I do especially love how when you run, you often shout, "Blaaaazing speed!"

-You "read" books aloud by narrating what you see in the pictures and repeating what you remember from the story from when I have read it to you. It's so sweet to hear you reciting stories this way.

-When I tuck you in at night, you grab my arm or wrap your arms around my neck and say to me softly, "Don't go yet."

Love,
Mom

Good To Go

Dear Sawyer,

You continue to amaze me with how well-behaved you are! We met up with Aunt Sarin and Julietta for lunch today and while we were waiting for our food, you and JieJie were playing with some Legos and toy cars. I said that when the food came, you would have to put the toys away. When the food did come, you saw it and said, "Time to put the toys away!"

After lunch, we all went to a nearby playground. After an hour, I told you guys that it was time to go. I could tell that neither you nor JieJie were ready to leave but you both came down from the jungle gym. We started walking out of the playground and JieJie started to protest but you told her, "We come back 'nother time!"

Thank you for being such a good little boy!

Love,
Mom

Not Correct

Dear Sawyer,

At dinner tonight, you spilled some milk on your leg and I was too lazy to get up to get a napkin, so I just wiped the milk off with my T-shirt. I had never done that before and you looked at me and said, "That not correct!"

A few minutes later, you were looking at the family photos hanging on the dining room wall. I am a bad mom and haven't updated any of the photos on that wall to include ones of you, so you asked, "Where is Sawyer in those pictures?"

I love the way you talk now. It's so cute!

Love,
Mom

Tough Enough

Dear Sawyer,

I was impressed earlier this month when you got your shots at your checkup and didn't bat an eyelash but you exhibited a whole other level of toughness today. We were walking down the street and you were trying to catch up to JieJie on her scooter. You were running pretty fast and I told you to slow down before you fell--and then you fell. You scraped your hand, knee and leg and your knee was bleeding slightly. You whimpered a little but then that was it. You stood up and were so brave while I cleaned up your boo-boos. I didn't have a Band-Aid but you sat in your stroller and calmly held a napkin on your knee to stop the bleeding until we got to the restaurant we were going to.

I don't know what was up this afternoon but JieJie got pretty hurt, too, when we arrived at the restaurant. The restaurant has two heavy glass doors and I asked JieJie to hold the interior one open while I held the outer one open and pushed you and the stroller in. While JieJie was holding the door, it started to close and her hand got caught! I couldn't get to her because I was still trying to hold the outer door open and get you inside. JieJie's eyes widened in pain but she didn't scream or cry; in fact, it was me screaming "Her hand is caught! Her hand is caught!" that got the waitress's attention and brought her running over to help.

JieJie did cry a lot once her hand was freed and her hand must have been sore for awhile but she was still able to wiggle and move it around. The waitress brought over ice to put on it and JieJie soon stopped crying and went on to scarf down three whole slices of pepperoni, broccoli and mushroom pizza (btw, I could only eat two before getting full!).

I have such tough kids!

Love,
Mom

How Come

Dear Sawyer,

We were reading a Magic School Bus book tonight when you started asking your usual barrage of questions. But this time, you said "how come" instead of "why come"! You even realized it yourself--you stopped in the middle of your question, looked at me and smiled knowingly at your verbal progress. Awww! It was a bittersweet moment: sweet because of how pleased you looked and bitter because it's further proof that you are now more my big boy and less my little baby!

Love,
Mom

Perfect Answers

Dear Sawyer,

You were playing in the attic today and when I went upstairs to check on you, you were taking apart the Magic Tracks and putting them into a box. I asked you what you were doing and you replied matter-of-factly, "It's clean-up time." Wait, what? You had decided to clean up your toys on your own. On your own!

Later at bedtime, we were having our nightly chat and I was talking to you about my upcoming trip. I asked you what you want me to bring back for you and expected you to say toys or cars. You said, "Foods that are healthy. Not junk." Whaaaaat?!

Too bad I didn't record either of your perfect-kid responses today because no other parent will ever believe me.

Love,
Mom

Fishy Behavior

Dear Sawyer,

Every time you pee on the potty, you get a gummy bear or fish as a reward. You pee on the potty several times a day, though, so in the interest of not causing premature tooth decay, I sometimes "forget" to give you a gummy. But then you will see the sandwich bag of gummies on the kitchen counter later on and say, "Mama! You forgot to give me a gummy!" Oh, whoops, silly Mama! :-P

You peed on the potty after you woke up this morning and you asked Daddy for a gummy in the funniest way: "Can you open the bag of fish and put a gummy in my mouth?" Hahaha! I love it!

Love,
Mom

Where Did It Go?

Dear Sawyer,

After you woke up from your nap this afternoon, you were very clingy. I was trying to cook dinner but you wouldn't let go of my leg or even go to the living room when Daddy turned on Team Umizoomi for you (yes, your clinging was that serious). When Daddy tried to take you out of the kitchen, you started full-on crying and jumping up and down. And in your distress, you peed. You were still wearing the diaper you had on during nap time but you didn't know that. You thought you were wearing underwear, so as you cried, you looked around on the floor for the pee. You kept turning this way and that, confused as to why there was no pee puddling at your feet like the other times you'd had an accident. Hahaha!

Love,
Mom

Pay Attention!

Dear Sawyer,

We went to Story Time at Barnes & Noble this afternoon and while we were waiting for it to start, you were sitting on the bench next to a little girl who was probably a bit younger than you. We didn't know her but that didn't stop you from suddenly standing up and showing off your race car T-shirt to her. You stood in front of her and said, "I have a race car! It go so fast!" The little girl was looking at a book in her lap, though, and didn't pay you any attention. Undeterred, you said more loudly, "I have a race car shirt!" When the girl still didn't look up, you actually went closer to her and tapped her several times on her shoulder and I almost lost it. Hahahaha! Like GuhGaw and unlike JieJie, you are definitely not shy!

With me, you don't like it when I talk too much to Daddy and your siblings because you only want me to focus on you (hello, baby-of-the-family syndrome) so when you feel as if I am not giving you the attention you deserve, you physically take it by grabbing my chin and whipping my face around to look at you. It's funny (for now, only because you're still little!) but thank goodness you didn't do that to the little girl!

Love,
Mom

Tough Guy

Dear Sawyer,

You had your 3-year checkup today and you handled it like a boss. The nurse had to prick your finger and draw some blood and I was nervous for you but you didn't cry or even flinch. You watched the nurse draw your blood with some trepidation but you sat perfectly still the whole time. And it was the same when the doctor later gave you a Hep A vaccination. He stuck the needle in your shoulder and you were so still that I didn't even realize he'd given you the shot until he was already done. You are so brave and so tough! You are also so curious. You kept asking, "What the doctor doing? What he do now?" When the doctor was finished with your exam, you grabbed my hand and pulled me so hard toward the door--you wanted your lollipop!

You are currently 31 pounds and 37 inches tall, putting you in the 25-50th percentile. And at the rate you are growing, the doctor predicted that you will grow to be 5'9"--taller than both Daddy and me!

Love,
Mom

Birthday Bash

Dear Sawyer,

We celebrated your birthday with your buddies today by going to our neighborhood's annual Children's Day carnival and capping off the afternoon with ice cream at a nearby ice cream shop. You rode a pony, jumped around in a bouncy house, opened gifts and devoured your chocolate ice cream!

You also had a big milestone today: You told us that you had to pee! You have been great at holding your pee and poop and going when Daddy or I put you on the potty but today was the first time you had to go and told us first. You were in the hallway when you grabbed your crotch and shouted, "I need to pee!" Daddy rushed you to the bathroom and you held your pee until you were on the toilet. Nice job!

Love,
Mom

You're Three Years Old!

Dear Sawyer,

Happy third birthday to my thirdborn! All week, I have been asking you how old you are going to turn on your birthday. You have been responding by saying "Three!" and trying to hold up three fingers but you currently lack the manual dexterity to that so then you hold up all of your fingers and ask, "How about 5?" Hahaha!

You may not be able to hold up only three fingers right now but there is already so much you can do. You can recognize so many shapes, letters and numbers and you speak so well and so much. When we come home, you take off your shoes on your own and responsibly put them on the shoe rack, which is something your older brother, your older sister and even your dad don't do (they leave their shoes all over the floor in the foyer, despite the fact that we have two big shoe racks right there). You are so good at cleaning up toys and picking up the errant socks or hand towels I accidentally drop on the floor while doing laundry (again, your siblings and father just walk past those while you are mindful enough to pick them up for me). You are doing a great job with potty training and have had very few accidents. Yesterday, I gave you a peach cup and went to get a load of laundry out of the washer. I had forgotten to give you a spoon with your peach cup so you ran into the kitchen, opened the utensil drawer and got one yourself. When I came back to the dining table, you were obediently eating your peach cup with the spoon you had gotten on your own. It was such a little thing but it made me realize how big you are now. You just turned 3 but you are already so responsible and independent!

You have always been so full of joy and you bring so much joy to our family. Your face is almost always lit up with a smile and you are so sweet and loving. You wrap your arms around my legs and tell me you love me all of the time. The other day, you went up to GuhGaw and JieJie, hugged them and said, "I love you guys." You always insist to PoiPoi that you "wait for Mama" when I go out with Daddy at night. If you are awake when I come home, you get so excited and shout, "There's Mama!"

There are so many things about you that make me smile:

- the way you like to sit in my closet, under my clothes and with the step stool in front of you, and pretend that it is your ice cream shop

- the way you stomp around the house and roar when you're pretending to be a dinosaur

- the way you talk in a high-pitched voice when you're pretending to be a baby dinosaur

- the way you interrupt me every five seconds when I'm reading a book to you to ask me, "How come [fill in this question]? How come [fill in that question]?"

- the fact that you can't actually pronounce "how come" and that it sounds like you're saying "why come"

- the fact that I once spent five minutes trying to teach you to say "how come" but you still kept saying "why come" and bursting into a fit of giggles every time you said it wrong

- how much you love Team Umizoomi and PJ Masks

- the way you run around the house in circles and say, "I'm a race car! I so fast!"

- how excited you get about eating chocolate and sweets (me, too, buddy!)

- how you love to be chased and tickled and the resulting giggles that spill out of you when I chase and tickle you

One of my absolute favorite things, though, is the request you make every night as I'm tucking you into your bed: "Let's talk for a little." Sometimes you want to talk about cars, sometimes you want to talk about bugs. Sometimes we rehash the day's events or discuss what we should do the next day. But whatever we talk about, I cherish our bedtime talks so much because that's just you-and-me time.

Happy birthday to my sweet, sensitive, smart, funny, AMAZING boy!

Love,
Mom

Wrap Party

Dear Sawyer,

That moment when you get ready to wrap your soon-to-be 3-year-old's birthday gifts the night before his birthday and realize that all 10 rolls of the wrapping paper in your closet are Christmas-themed. #ChristmasinJune

Love,
Mom

Dry Spell

Dear Sawyer,

You have been doing so well with potty training! I put you on the potty about every hour and you always pee right away (and know to point your penis down into the bowl!). You only have one or two accidents a day and they have been mainly after dinner, when Daddy and I are busy trying to clean up the kitchen and get your siblings ready for bed, so we are distracted and forget to put you on the potty.

The really amazing thing, though, has been the fact that for the past five days, you have stayed completely dry during naps AND overnight! Your naps are sometimes as long as three hours and you sleep for 10 hours at night and your diaper has been consistently dry when you wake up. Very impressive, little man!

Love,
Mom

Where You At?

Dear Sawyer,

When you don't know where I am in the house, you shout at the top of your lungs, "Mama! Where you is?" Hahaha, it's so cute!

Love,
Mom

Three for Three

Dear Sawyer,

Day 2 of official potty training! There were a total of four pee accidents today and guess what? Only 50% of them were yours! My day started waaaaaaay too early at 3:45am this morning when JieJie came running into my bedroom to tell me that she had peed in her bed. Daddy and I got up, showered her, blow-dried her hair and changed her sheets. We all climbed back into bed a little after 4am only to have GuhGaw come into our room at 4:30am and tell us that he had wet the bed. Seriously?!? Another shower, another change of sheets, a disgusting pile of laundry in the hamper room. It's the first time your siblings wet their beds in the same night and it's ironic that it happened right after you officially started potty training. You peed on yourself yesterday--were GuhGaw and JieJie feeling left out? Haha :-P

You had one accident while eating breakfast and another one after dinner. When you had to poop this afternoon, you told me, "I have to go sit on the toilet." Then you pooped in the toilet like a pro! But you didn't tell me whenever you had to pee and in fact, you had a straight-up tantrum this morning when I said you had to go potty. It had been an hour since your breakfast accident and I told you that it was time to go potty. You started crying and said, "I don't want to!" Then you sat down on my floor, crossed your arms, kept kicking your legs and cried for the next half hour. At one point, you actually stood up, ran over to your room, plopped down on your floor and continued your crossed arms-kicking legs cryfest there (why the sudden change of location?). I tried bribing you with rainbow chocolate, gummy bears and my iPad but you said no to it all and continued crying. I sat next to you the whole time and said I understood that going to the bathroom all of the time is annoying but you have to do it now that you're almost 3 years old. Whenever I tried to touch you, you swatted my hand away but eventually, you let me get close to you and you climbed into my lap, hugged my chest and stopped crying. My poor guy. I hate potty training but I know that it is no fun for you, either.

Love,
Mom

P.S. I still can't believe that when I washed the pee laundry today, it included clothes from all three of my kids! *sigh*

Captain Underpants

Dear Sawyer,

Official potty training has begun! Hello undies!

Love,
Mom

Brotherly Love

Dear Sawyer,

My little sweetie pie! Cute things you did recently:

- I was getting you ready for bed last night and you said, "I need to play." I said you could play for a few more minutes while I went to the bathroom. You started playing with your cars but I guess you were more tired than you thought because before I even finished in the bathroom, you called out, "I done playing!" When I went back to your room, you had already climbed into your bed and pulled the blanket over your lap!

- We went to a birthday party today and came back home a little late. JieJie had fallen asleep in the car and woke up cranky and crying. She was standing in the foyer crying and you immediately began comforting her. You told JieJie softly, "You okay. Don't be sad. Hug?" Then you stretched out your arms and she moved in close to you for a hug. Then you looked up to her and asked, "Kiss?" You kissed her on the cheek and capped it all off with, "I love you." Oh my god, soooooo sweet!

Love,
Mom

Happy Lunch

Dear Sawyer,

Recent activity:

- You count like this: 1 2 3 4 5 6 11 14 19 12 19 12 19 12

- You have a bossy side. Sometimes, you say things like, "Sit up, Mama. 'Sit up,' I said!" Whoa, there.

- We started a new music class and the other boys in the class can get a little rowdy. They like to run around the classroom, touch toys in the corner that they're not supposed to touch, bang the drumsticks on the mirror and not listen when their moms and nannies tell them to sit down. But not you! You don't copy their behavior at all. Instead, you obediently sit in my lap for the entire class and follow all of the teacher's instructions. Thank you for being such a good boy!

- You like to put emphasis on the things you say by shaking your hands up and down with your palms turned upward. It's so cute!

- You call armpit hair "grass."

- When you want to sit on my lap, you say, "Lap lap, please!"

- You are so helpful! Whenever you see me Swiffering the floor, making my bed, folding laundry or cooking dinner, you say, "I want to help you!" If I'm cooking something easy like soup, I will hold up with one arm and you will help me add seasonings or stir the soup. You look so happy when you get to assist me and you always tell Daddy and your siblings, "I help Mama. I do a good job. I'm a good chef!"

- I went out yesterday and you told me today, "I miss you yesterday. I so sad." Awww!

- You were eating your lunch when you smiled sweetly as you dipped your carrot stick in your pasta soup and said cheerfully, "I so happy!" Day. Made.

Love,
Mom

Left Behind

Dear Sawyer,

I took you and JieJie to the park today, where we met up with our friends Ellie, Bernie and JoJo. JieJie and Ellie were riding their scooters around the track and you were desperately trying to keep up with them but you are still a scooter newbie and kept fumbling and tripping over your own feet. You tried so hard but they were going so much faster, so you got a little frustrated, abandoned your scooter and ran after them, calling out, "JieJie! JieJie! Wait!" She and Ellie were too far ahead, though, and you couldn't catch up so you started crying. Oh, sweetheart! It was sad but also a little funny at the same time. When JieJie and Ellie came back around, they saw how upset you were and we spent the rest of the afternoon playing on the jungle gyms in the playground, where you were better able to keep up!

Love,
Mom

Mr. Sun Is Awake

Dear Sawyer,

Funny things you have said or been saying recently:

- "Waterlemon" (instead of "watermelon"--it's so cute how you switch the two consonants!)

- Sometimes you stand with your hands on your hips or your arms crossed and declare, "I'm a man!"

- You ask me questions but then dictate how I should answer them. Examples: "Mama, can I have a cookie? Say 'yes.'" or "Do I have to nap? Say 'no.'"

- "The man say 'I love you.' The man in the music box." (It took me a beat but I eventually realized you were talking about the stereo; you had heard the man on the Music for Aardvarks CD singing the "I Love You, I Love You" song!)

- "Mr. Sun awake!" (At bedtime, I tell you that you have to go to sleep because Mr. Sun is asleep and that you can wake up when Mr. Sun is awake. So now when you wake up in the mornings, you yell out, "Mr. Sun awake!" to let me know that the day has started and you can get up now!)

Love,
Mom

Hide and Poop

Dear Sawyer,

When I started semi-potty training you (we will go into full training mode soon), you were good about pooping in the toilet but now when you have to poop, you go into hiding! The other day, we were in the living room and you slinked behind the foyer wall. I asked you why you were behind the wall and you said, "I'm sad." Worried and then suspicious, I went over to you and asked you if you were pooping. You insisted, "No! I sad!" but then grunted a telling grunt. Caught ya!

Then yesterday, we were in the kitchen when you suddenly ran behind the stairway door and peeked out. I asked you what you were doing and you said, "I peeking at you." My mom-Spidey sense kicked in and I knew that you once again had to poop and were just trying to hide it from me! Sneaky little guy!

Love,
Mom

Missing You All Day

Dear Sawyer,

Cute things you said today:

-When I asked you what you wanted for your snack, you replied, "I want junk." I said that eating too much junk would make you sick and reminded you, "Remember the book 'Yummy Yucky'? 'Ice cream is yummy. Too much ice cream is yucky.'" You said, "Too much ice cream is my favorite!" Haha!

-After JieJie came home from school, you hugged her and said, "I miss you all day." So sweet!

Love,
Mom

The Wave

Dear Sawyer,

Many times, you will be by yourself--playing in your room, finishing up your breakfast at the dining table--and when I walk by, you look up, smile at me and give me this quick wave. It's such a small gesture but it's so sweet and always makes me smile.

Love,
Mom

Good Night Song

Dear Sawyer,

You may "want to be grow up" already but you still love your snuggles with Mama! At bedtime tonight, you climbed into my lap, laid your head against my shoulder and asked me, "Can you sing 'I Love You, I Love You'?" Anytime, baby bear! I sang that song, plus a couple more, all while holding you close to me and it felt so, so wonderful!

Love,
Mom

Growing Up Fast

Dear Sawyer,

It's bad enough that you are already so tall and wearing size 3T and starting nursery school in the fall, but then you told me last night, "I want to be grow up. I don't want to be tiny. Can I please grow up?" I replied, "But I like you tiny! Why do you want to grow up so fast?" Your response: "No, you like me grow up. I want to grow up fast, fast like a race car!" How about you grow up fast, fast like a sloth?

Love,
Mom

Ant Man

Dear Sawyer,

I say it all of the time: One of the best parts about having kids is seeing things through your innocent, awestruck eyes. We were playing in our front yard this afternoon when you spotted an ant in the driveway. You then spent the next five minutes squatting down to watch it, following it across the driveway and trying to feed it blades of grass. JieJie, already a little jaded at age 5, got bored and said, "Can you stop looking at the ant? Let's go play!" You were fascinated by the ant, though, and turned to me and marveled, "The ant so cute! It so tiny!" You also asked me, "Can I step on it?" I said no and you said ok and continued to observe it.

In other news, Daddy turned 37 today! We celebrated at home with cheesecake and homemade carrot cake cookies with coconut cream cheese frosting.

Love,
Mom

Head Block

Dear Sawyer,

There's no denying it -- you really are growing so tall. You were sitting in my lap tonight while I was reading a bedtime story to you and JieJie and I could not see over your head! Your noggin was directly in my line of sight to the book and I had to peer over your shoulders to see the pages. This was not the case a month ago!

Love,
Mom

So Tall

Dear Sawyer,

After you turned 1 year old, you stopped sitting in your high chair and insisted on sitting in a regular chair at the dining table with the rest of your family. You could never quite reach the table, though, so you always ate while kneeling on your knees. That is, until last night, when I looked over at you and realized that you were eating your dinner off of the table just fine while sitting on your butt. Both Daddy and I were surprised by this seemingly out-of-nowhere growth spurt and commented that you are now so tall. You replied, "I not so tall! I tiiiiny!" And you emphasized the "tiny" part by holding up your left hand and bending your pointer finger downward. Haha! Well, like it or not, you are so tall now but I'll always see you as my tiny baby!

Love,
Mom

Masked Man

Dear Sawyer,

Your current obsession? PJ Masks! It's a Disney show about three kids who don masks and costumes to battle bad guys. There are two boys and one girl--and one of the boys is named Connor--so it's perfect for you, GuhGaw and JieJie to play PJ Masks together! Your siblings like the show, too, but you are the biggest fan and I always hear you saying things like "Connor becomes . . . Catboy! Greg becomes . . . Gekko! Amaya becomes . . . Owlette!" You like to pretend that I'm Luna Girl (she is a villain on the show but for some reason, you tell me she is a good guy) and that Daddy is Romeo (also a villain, on the show and in your pretend world), so you'll run up to me and say, "Luna Girl! We have to find Romeo! Let's get him!" And then you pretend to attack Daddy, haha!

Love,
Mom

Happy Days

Dear Sawyer,

I was brushing my teeth tonight when you walked into my bathroom and said, "Hi Mama! That make me happy!" I asked you what makes you happy and you replied, "You! You make me happy! You no make me sad!"

Right back at ya, cutie!

Love,
Mom

Rainbow Chocolate

Dear Sawyer,

When you poop on the toilet, I reward you with M&M's, which you call "rainbow chocolate." Today, you pooped in your diaper and when I realized this and said you should have gone on the potty, you said, "When I poop on potty, I get rainbow chocolate. Can I go poop on potty now?" Uhh, it doesn't quite work if you have already pooped in your diaper! But nice try. I know you wanted that chocolate, haha!

Love,
Mom

Comforting Mama

Dear Sawyer,

I was sitting next to your crib tonight as you were falling asleep and started thinking about Uncle Tony, which made me cry. You noticed, immediately sat up and said, "Mama, you sad? Be brave. Let me get you a napkin." Then you stood up to get a tissue and used it to lovingly blot my nose. Thank you so much, sweetheart.

Love,
Mom

Sleep Time for Sawyer

Dear Sawyer,

Hallelujah! After two and a half years, you have finally finally started sleeping through the whole night in your own bed on a regular basis! Let me get a "Woooo!"

I sleep-trained GuhGaw, I didn't need to sleep-train JieJie and I should have sleep-trained you but didn't have the energy. For a loooooong time, you would wake up crying every couple of hours if you slept in your crib. But if Daddy and I brought you to our bed, you would immediately fall asleep and stay asleep for the whole night, so it was just easier to let you sleep in our bed. Well, easier for you since you got to rest. You often flopped around like a wet fish when you were sleeping, so Daddy and I would often be harshly awakened by your fist hitting our cheeks or your foot kicking our chins or your head butting ours (dude, you have a hard head!). But that was preferable to throwing off the blanket, getting out of bed and walking down the hallway to shush you back to sleep every two hours, so we suffered through the physical abuse and woke up every morning groggy, tired and slightly black and blue.

Putting you to bed was a challenge, too. GuhGaw and JieJie get in bed by 7:30pm and they stay in bed until the next morning (for the most part). You refused to stay in bed and if we tried to say goodnight and leave you in your room, you'd cry so hard that Daddy or I would have to come get you for fear of you waking up your siblings. Many nights, Daddy and I would just make you lie in our bed between us until you eventually passed out at a very late 10 or 11pm.

But now that you are closer to 3 than you are to 2, you have finally started letting me put you to bed in your room while you are still awake. I put GuhGaw and JieJie to bed in their rooms and then I walk you to your room, tuck you in, read a few books to you, kiss you, say good night, turn off the light and boom! Sometimes you cry out for me but you will stop after a few minutes and eventually fall asleep on your own. And you stay asleep until morning time! Victory!

I'm not going to lie. Since you are my youngest and I know how fast the time goes, I didn't hate our co-sleeping days. No matter how tired I was, I could always appreciate the sweet feeling of you nestled next to me with your hands holding mine. I could always stay awake for just a little longer to watch you drift off into dreamland. I loved hearing your rhythmic breathing and your occasional mid-sleep giggles and mumblings. So even though I waited this long for you to go to bed on your own, sometimes when you are all tucked in with the lights off and you ask me if I can stay with you, I am more than happy to comply!

Love,
Mom

Stay With Me

Dear Sawyer,

Sweet things you do now:

- You sit to my right at meal times but that is apparently not close enough for you because a few minutes into every meal, you always push your place mat and chair as close as you can to mine so that they are touching and say, "I love you." Sometimes, you even like to hold my hand while we eat and give me so many hugs that I actually have to tell you, "Okay, no more hugs! Eat your dinner!"

- When I am across the room, you instruct me to squat and hold out my arms so that you can run into them and have me catch you.

- When I put you down for a nap, you often ask me in a soft voice, "Can you stay with me this much?" Then you reach your arm up to the ceiling. And I can hardly say no when you ask me so adorably!

Love,
Mom

Asking Nicely

Dear Sawyer,

One of my favorite things about you is how polite you are. You always say please and thank you and if someone says thank you to you, you respond with a chipper, "Welcome!" Sometimes you forget to say please but if I ask you how you should ask for something nicely, you immediately repeat your request with the word please. I have taught you that you get things when you ask nicely, so I kind of turn your world upside-down when you don't get things when you ask nicely.

Case in point: We were at a play date today and after we were all done eating, you asked if you could have a cookie. I gave you one and you ate it. You asked for a second cookie and I gave it to you. Then you asked, "May I have another cookie please?" I said you couldn't have a third cookie, that was too many cookies. You gave me a confused look and said, "But I ask nicely." Well, you got me there . . .

Love,
Mom

Sneaky Shoppers

Dear Sawyer,

Going shopping with you kids is dangerous because I never know what's going to end up in my cart! When GuhGaw and JieJie were your age and sitting in their strollers, they often grabbed things off of the shelves without me seeing them and then I'd pay for my things and walk out of the store, only to realize that GuhGaw was clutching a toy car or JieJie was holding a bag of chocolates. I always went right back into the store to return the shoplifted goods and luckily, we never got into trouble!

You exhibited equally sticky fingers today when we went to Trader Joe's and I kept finding things like a box of popcorn or bag of apples that you had thrown into the cart when I wasn't paying attention. Then when we were checking out and I was talking to GuhGaw, you grabbed a box of chocolate peanut butter cups from the shelf, walked over to the belt, stood on your toes and pushed it onto the belt with the rest of our groceries. The cashier almost rang the chocolates up, too, but I saw the contraband just in time. I said we weren't getting those and the cashier jokingly reprimanded you, "Hey, you almost got me into trouble!" Haha, you sneaky guy!

Love,
Mom

Home to Daddy

Dear Sawyer,

As we were leaving music class this morning, you said to me, "We better go home." I asked you, "Because of the snowstorm that's coming?" You replied, "I miss my daddy." Awww!

Love,
Mom

Staying Still

Dear Sawyer,

GuhGaw and JieJie, like most kids, hate going to the doctor but you are the opposite. When you fall down or bump your head, you say, "I get hurt. I have to go to the doctor. Can we go to the doctor?" Is it the TV in the waiting room? Or do you like to look at the fish on the receptionist's desk? Maybe you just enjoy taking a car ride with Daddy and Mommy?

On Thursday, I actually did have to take you to the doctor because I noticed that your right ear was leaking yellow pus. It turns out that your ear drum had ruptured because you had an untreated ear infection! I had no idea you'd even had an ear infection because you hadn't complained of any pain, hadn't been rubbing your ear, hadn't had trouble eating or sleeping . . . nothing! Ear infections hurt so you are seriously one tough guy!

The doctor said the rupture will luckily heal on its own; I just need to put ear drops in your ear for 10 days to kill any bacteria. And you have been so great about letting me put the drops in! I have to put 5 drops in twice a day and after I put them in, you have to stay on your side for at least five minutes to allow the drops to fully enter your eardrum. I know that staying still for five minutes is an eternity for most kids (and even some adults!) but you have been so good about doing it every time. Yesterday, you were laying down on the couch and I told you to stay down while I cleaned up the kitchen. Time got away from me and I didn't realize that more than 15 minutes had gone by, but when I went back to the couch to get you, you were still laying down! Such a good boy!

Love,
Mom

Music Man

Dear Sawyer,

You started taking a music class at the beginning of this month and though you are really shy in class (when the teacher asks you what song you want to sing, you respond with the faintest whisper--if you even answer her at all!), you seem to really enjoy it. You may not speak or sing loudly but you copy all of the teacher's hand gestures while she sings and you like playing the different instruments, including the guitar, xylophone, drums and cymbals. And I have noticed that you have started singing a lot more at home. Now, I always overhear you singing the alphabet song or what you call "Way Up High" (you mean "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star") while you are playing in your room and you often ask that we sing songs together. I'm glad you have found your musical side!

Love,
Mom

Say Sorry

Dear Sawyer,

Earlier tonight, you ate half of a banana and said you didn't want the rest. JieJie told you to throw it away and I scolded her for telling you to waste perfectly good food. She got upset and you totally had her back--you came up to me with a stern look on your face and said to me gruffly, "You say sorry to my sister!" I pretended to be offended that you spoke to me like that (I was surprised and amused, though!) and said, "Excuse me?" You changed your tone and rephrased your request to, "Please can you say sorry to my sister, please?" Haha! I love how you looked out for JieJie!

Love,
Mom

Nose Snuggles

Dear Sawyer,

Cute mispronounced word of the day: peepohopamous (hippopotamus)

Cute gesture of the day: After we were done eating dinner, you pushed your chair against mine, wiggled close to me, looked up at me with your big round eyes and said, "Let's snuggle our noses." Then you rubbed your nose against mine! And as if that wasn't adorable enough on its own, you followed it up with smiling at me and saying, "Now let's hug." We hugged and then you said, "Let's kiss." You gave me a sweet little kiss on the cheek and I just about lost it. I can't even with all your cuteness! :-D

Love,
Your seriously smitten mom

Talk It Out

Dear Sawyer,

Last night, you pulled me over to the couch, climbed onto it, crossed your legs together and said, "Mama, let's talk together."

Okay!

Love,
Mom

Mr. Clean

Dear Sawyer,

You had been in your room by yourself for a little while tonight when you called out for me to come to you. When I did, you gestured around the room with your arm and proudly said, "Look! I clean up my whole floor!" Your room is often a complete disaster area but you had picked up all of your toys, puzzles and books and put them in your toy boxes and on your toy shelf. I hadn't asked you to clean up your room but you had decided to do it on your own and there wasn't a single thing left laying on the floor. Thank you for being such a good little boy! I was so proud of you for cleaning up your room by yourself and the huge beaming grin on your face was proof that you were proud of yourself, too!

Love,
Mom

Hug Time

Dear Sawyer,

Cute thing you said last night: We had some free time so I asked you what you wanted to do. You thought about it for a second and replied, "Hug." And so we did! And then I melted into puddle onto the floor :-P

Not-so-cute-but-kind-of-cute thing you did last night: Daddy and I were talking and you did not like this. I was paying attention to him and not to you and you weren't having it, so you interrupted and yelled, "Stop talking! Only talk for me!" (You meant to say, "Only talk to me.") You wouldn't even let Daddy hold my hand when we were all laying in bed; you pulled his hand out of mine and said to me, "I want to hold you hand!" Whoa, possessive much?

Love,
Mom

Talk JieJie

Dear Sawyer,

My cute Sawyer anecdote of the day: JieJie was upset about something and crying in her room. You found me in the bathroom and told me that JieJie was crying. I told you to go and talk to her and ask her if she was okay. You left and returned after a minute to report to me, "I talk JieJie okay. I talk JieJie don't cry pwease."

I'm really going to be sad the day you stop talking your cute toddler talk! (And JieJie was okay. She was just a little cranky and sad because it was time to go to bed.)

Love,
Mom

Teddy Bear Ice Cream

Dear Sawyer,

I know that I am breaking a record for how many times I have posted on your blog in a single month but you keep doing so many cute things! You have always loved the puzzles in your Moms & Tots class and yesterday, you sat down next to the puzzle shelf and completed every single puzzle. There were about two dozen different puzzles of animals and numbers and other various objects and you very patiently removed the pieces from a puzzle, finished the puzzle, placed it back on the shelf, took down the next puzzle and so forth. You literally did every puzzle in the classroom and while that in and of itself amazed me (how many 2-year-olds have that kind of attention span for one activity?), I especially enjoyed the fact that after you completed each puzzle, you stretched both of your arms up to the sky to do a victory pump!

Later on during snack time, you looked really cute eating your cheese crackers, so I took out my camera to immortalize the moment. When you noticed me taking a picture of you, you immediately moved your chair to the corner of the table, rearranged your snack and juice box to straighten them up and posed with this silly, cheesy smile on your face. I'm so glad you like posing for pictures because I definitely like taking pictures of you!

This morning, you gave me another awww moment when you pushed several toy boxes and chairs together, set a bunch of toys around you and asked me, "You want to try i ceam in my i ceam shop?" You had to repeat yourself a few times before I realized that you were asking me to try ice cream in your ice cream shop, haha. Once I knew what you were saying, I said I would love some ice cream and you handed me a teddy bear and said it was my ice cream. Then you picked up another teddy bear, said it was your ice cream and pretended to lick it. Awww!

Love,
Mom

Dinosaur Bones

Dear Sawyer,

You visited the American Museum of Natural History for the first time this past weekend and you loved it! You like dinosaurs, so seeing an entire floor full of towering dinosaur fossils was, as you put it, "So cool!" You kept running up to different fossils with a big smile on your face and shouting, "So cool!" And even though I am a grown-up who has been to the AMNH many times before, I was still in awe of just how large the dinosaurs were. Can you imagine what it would have been like to come face-to-face (or, more accurately, human face-to-dinosaur toenail) with one of those magnificent creatures when they were still living? It always amazes me that such gigantic animals once roamed the earth and it was really sweet watching you discover just how gigantic they were.

It was also sweet to hear you tell PoiPoi about your trip to the museum: "I went to the dinosaur 'seum! I saw dinosaur bones! And fish bones!" PoiPoi asked you if I took any pictures of you and you said, "Uh-huh. I say 'Cheese!'" Hahaha, so cute!

Love,
Mom

Soccer Star

Dear Sawyer,

Cute things you said recently:

- "Can I have a snack? Yes or no?"

- "Can you read for me?"

- If I ask you to do something, you sometimes contest it by saying, "I am [fill in my request word-for-word.]" See examples: "Sawyer, stop throwing your toys." "I am stop throwing my toys!" "Don't jump on the bed." "I am don't jump on the bed."

- You were squirming around on the changing table while I was changing your diaper and I told you to stop because it wasn't safe. You replied, "I could be fall."

- When I was pouring milk for you, you asked me if I could mix it with orange juice. I said that would taste gross. You responded incredulously, "Yeah, that no make sense!"

Cute things you did recently:

- Started soccer class!

GuhGaw started taking soccer classes when he was 2, JieJie also started when she was 2 and now it is your turn to don the Soccer Friends' signature red jersey! You had your first class today and I was very impressed with how brave you were. You were a little hesitant to walk over and sit with the coaches by yourself but when they waved you over and I told you to go, you did. And you proved to be an excellent listener for the entire class. You followed all of the coaches' instructions perfectly! I could tell that you were often tempted to pick up the balls and throw them into the goals but you knew you weren't allowed to use your hands so each time you wanted to, you balled your hands into fists, pulled them away from the ball and continued kicking the ball with your feet, even though that was a little more difficult for you. I was very impressed with your self-restraint, especially when the other boys in the class kept picking up their balls.

You seemed to really enjoy soccer and after the coaches gave you stickers at the end of the class for being a good listener, you ran over to me with your face absolutely beaming! You were so excited to show me your stickers! Go Sawyer!

Love,
Mom

Stop, Drop and Roll

Dear Sawyer,

Cute things you did today:

-We were at Ellie's house this afternoon for a play date and Ellie's bedroom faces the LIRR tracks, so a train zoomed by every several minutes. You missed seeing the first few trains because they were already gone by the time you waded through the mountains of toys all over the floor to get to the window. When you finally did see a train, you were so excited! And I mean, REALLY excited! You said, "I saw train! I saw train! Let me tell the guys!" The "guys" were JieJie and Ellie and her two sisters, who were playing the living room. You ran out to the living room, pointed excitedly to your chest and exclaimed, "I saw train! I saw train!" Your eyes were so wide and your smile was so big and it was so adorable!

-When we first moved into our house, I decorated your room with Snoopy wall decals. You have kind of outgrown Snoopy, though (*sniff sniff), so I put up new Thomas the Tank Engine decals last week. While you were in your room by yourself, you peeled a few of them off and rolled them into a ball. And you described this action to me by laying down on your mat, rolling back and forth across it and then getting up and saying, "I roll them. I roll them into a ball." Thanks for the bonus visual, sweetie!

Love,
Mom

Apologies

Dear Sawyer,

You and JieJie were playing together in your room and started fighting over something. JieJie got angry and stormed to her room and I went into your room and asked what happened. You said, "DiDi pull JieJie blanket. We fight over der" and pointed to a spot next to your toy shelf. I told you, "You shouldn't fight with JieJie. She's your sister." You replied, "DiDi say sorry. Can I go say sorry?" I said you could and you ran over to your sister's room and said, "JieJie! Sorry."

Thank you for apologizing!

Love,
Mom

Dirty Car

Dear Sawyer,

While I was cleaning the second floor this morning, you were playing by yourself in the play attic. When I finished cleaning, I went upstairs to get you for lunch and you were sitting in the Cozy Coupe. Normally, you run over and hug me when I come into the room but this time, you stayed seated in the car and hid your face behind the back part. Puzzled, I walked over to you and noticed that you had your left hand inside of a plastic Team Umizoomi cup. You said to me quietly, "DiDi hiding my hand." I asked you playfully, "What are you hiding?" and took your hand out of the cup. That's when I saw that your fingers were covered in a smelly, brown substance--POOP! You had pooped and then stuck your hand in your diaper, YUCK. A little bit of poop was smeared on the coupe's steering wheel and door but thankfully, you had at least realized that the poop was gross and hadn't gotten out of the car and touched anything else.

Like I said before, life with kids is never dull! (Or clean for very long, haha!)

Love,
Mom

Pretend Potty

Dear Sawyer,

We were playing in your room this morning when you suddenly pulled down your pants (but you kept your diaper on this time, haha), sat on your bed, put your feet on your drum as if it was a footstool and said, "I go potty! I pee!" When you "finished," you pulled up your pants and said, "I done!" Then you pretended to wipe your butt and wash your hands.

Now if only I could get you to do that in real life!

Love,
Mom

On Third

Dear Sawyer,

Your toddler talk is always so cute! When I was giving you a bath last night, you noticed the small mound of soapy suds on your feet and observed that you had "ho ho ho feet" because the suds resembled Santa Claus's beard--how astute of you! And while I was brushing JieJie's teeth this morning, you told her, "You brush away all you sugar bugs." My favorite, though, is how you always refer to yourself in the third person: "DiDi love it! DiDi hung-ree! DiDi go, too!"

Love,
Mom

Walking Compliment

Dear Sawyer,

Tonight, you rushed past me to my closet (where you love to play with my makeup and clothes) and, without stopping, said to me, "Hi Mama! You so pretty!"

Aww, thanks, sweetie!

Love,
Mom

Going Commando

Dear Sawyer,

After I changed your diaper this morning, I left you in your room while I threw away the dirty diaper and washed my hands. When I went back to your room, you were sitting in your blue armchair and said, "DiDi took off diaper!" I absentmindedly said, "Oh yeah?" but then I saw the diaper I had just put on you on the floor next to your chair. Ack! You were sitting on your chair butt naked! I asked you if you had peed on the chair. You said no. I then asked you if you'd been playing with your penis. You replied in a very serious tone, "Yes. DiDi play with my penis." Then off we went to the bathroom to wash your hands.

Seriously, life with kids is never dull!

Love,
Mom

Rash Decisions

Dear Sawyer,

One thing that I have learned as a mom is that kids can always come down with the strangest ailments totally out of the blue. Yesterday morning, you had a slight rash around your diaper area, so I put cream on it and it gradually went away. Then around 9pm last night, a rash flared up around your eyes, neck and legs. Your skin was clear one minute and then it wasn't the next. The rash around your eyes seemed to get especially worse especially quickly and you started crying, "My eye burning! Ow ow! My eye burning!" I was so scared and even though it was in the negative degrees last night, I told Daddy we had to take you to the emergency room.

I put a cold washcloth over your eyes to ease the pain and then tucked you into my bed so that I could go call PoiPoi and ask her to come over and stay with GuhGaw and JieJie while Daddy and I took you to the doctor. But while I was on the phone with her, you snuggled into my pillow and immediately fell asleep. Daddy and I looked at you and wondered if we should wake you up. On the one hand, I wanted to take you to the ER because I was really worried that the rash might keep spreading and somehow affect your vision. But on the other hand, you were sound asleep and I didn't want to wake you up and take you out in freezing temperatures if I didn't have to. For several minutes, I seriously didn't know what I should do. Ultimately, Daddy and I decided to let you sleep; if you were able to sleep, then the rash probably wasn't hurting you that much.

We were going to take you to the doctor first thing this morning but then you woke up and the rash was completely gone! There wasn't a trace of any redness on any part of your body and you seemed totally fine. So weird! But so lucky that the freak rash didn't turn out to be anything serious.

Love,
Mom