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