problem solved

Dear Connor,

You made me laugh so much today. You have the most gentle heart and the silliest quirks. We are dog sitting g for the Taylors. You are all pretty excited but Hunter especially. At  one point Hunter went outside to play with the dog and you burst into tears. You started saying that you had been replaced, and that Hunter only loves the dog now. That there was no room left in Hunters heart for you. We had a talk and I clarified how the amount of love we have is endless. It was a sweet moment.

One of your newest quirks right now is to wear knee high socks and pull them up repeatedly. Today we got our baseball gear and you tried on your baseball socks. You loved how they fit. They were so tall and they didn't ever fall. You talked about how great they were for an hour. Then Daddy came home and you told him about them and that your sock problem had  been solved. We were giggling so hard. It's the little things that you grasp onto like the tiny tank top or the baseball socks that bring you so much joy. I love all these quirks. I love you.

Mommy

Hunter Boy

Dear Hunter,

As I am making your letter book for your birthday I am realizing that I didn't write very many letters this year. I hope that I wrote down everything I wanted to remember. You are such an amazing little boy. I want to remember it all.

You still try to snuggle every chance you get. When we do our reading lesson you sit so close you are practically in my lap! Most of the time I love it, but you are a really big guy these days! You grew over 4 inches this year. It's just insane.

Some days you don't eat a thing and then about once a week you wake up and you eat everything in the house.You would prefer to have juice and bars for every meal and would if I would let you. Your front teeth have been missing forever so you take bites out of the side of your mouth. The front two teeth are finally starting to pop out though! This is exciting for all of us because I would really like to see you use your front teeth again.

You love going to school. Everywhere you go you make a new friend. Right now you are taking arts and crafts, legos, and human body. You really love arts and crafts and human body. You are
n't super impressed with lego class. I love that you look forward to going to school! I bought you a new binder and a lunch box and it was like you won the lottery! I love how the simple things make you so happy.

You got glasses right after Christmas. That was really exciting for you. You just love wearing your glasses. You look super cute too. Russell got ahold of them and broke them! We have to have them fixed now and you are doing such a good job waiting patienlty for that to happen.

I love you so much buddy!
Mommy

Kitten

Dear Kiddos,

We got a new kitten a few weeks ago. She is really cute! You were all so excited to pick her out and get her home. She was not as excited. She was scared crazy. In fact, we didn't see her for a good week unless I drug her out from behind the couch to eat or put her in her litter box. Slowly she came out though and each time gained a little courage. Now she walks around like she owns the place. She lets Russell drag her around all over the house. She never claws or bites him, just endures.
Last year in Kindergarten Connor and Hunter completed a unit on nocturnal animals. The two of them have been telling us all about how cats are nocturnal. She is, for sure, nocturnal. She wakes up in the middle of the night and sneaks into your bedroom. She bats at your legs and toes. If you roll over or move at all she pounces. It drives Kaylee insane. Every time she wakes Kaylee up we hear Kaylee crying "DADDY!!! The kitty won't leave me alone!" The first two weeks Daddy would run to her rescue, get the cat out of her bed, and tuck Kaylee back in. Then one night I hear Daddy yell from his bed, "KAYLEE JUST GET THE SPRAY BOTTLE!" I laughed so hard.

The kitty takes turns sleeping with you. She likes to get into each of your beds and snuggle with you while you're asleep. Daddy and I take pictures to show you in the morning and you are always so thrilled!

We named her Ditty because that's how Russell calls her. Hunter wanted to name her mittens and we obliged for a short time but Daddy and I couldn't get over the cuteness of Russell saying Ditty and so we slowly have switched her name.

Russell always knows where his Ditty is. She climbed into a box and I almost wrapped her up Christmas Vacation style but Russell kept opening the box until I realized she was in there. She got trapped in the closet and Russell showed us where she was to get her out.

It's been fun having a kitten. I love watching you take care of her and snuggle her. I love the way she makes you laugh. I love you.
Mommy