Dear Fullback

My tiny little son,

You are my little ball of sunshine mixed with toddler attitude.  Your blue eyes make me melt and your underbite smile makes me laugh.  You constantly keep me on my toes with toddler antics like dumping out an entire box of cereal or hiding my brand new glasses.  But then you tilt your head, and pat my shoulder and give me a slobbery kiss and all is forgiven.  How did I get so lucky to have you as my boy?

You are still the strong shy type but not so silent.  You are not talking in the conventional sense but boy do you communicate!  You babble and tell stories all day long without ever saying a real word.  And somehow I understand you because you will make sure you get your point across.  You can say "please", "mom", "dad", "no", "Lub ew" (Love you), "uh-oh", "Jack", "car", "ball", "baby", "hi", "bye" and a few more.  Body language is also a big part of how we talk.  Whether you are pulling my hand or patting my face to get my attention or even rolling your eyes and shrugging your shoulders, rarely do we question what you mean.

Shortstop adores you and thinks everything you do is adorable.  He often squishes your cheeks and says "My chubby boy…I love your cute face."  He doesn't mind that you like to follow him around and giggles when you copy everything he does, which you do.  He is trying to teach you how to play sports and read and sing songs.  He loves when you wake up from your nap and in the morning and says "Let's go get him!" while charging into your room.  If I praise Shortstop for doing something, he quickly adds that you did it too so you can get the praise.

Bath time is a torrential time for everyone in the bathroom as you two like to splash and play and throw toys everywhere.  You have no fear of water and often come up sputtering and laughing from falling in and dunking your head.  Speaking of no fear, you get hurt all day long and rarely cry!  I am always amazed at how tough and resilient you are.  I expect copious amounts of tears only to see you shake it off and keep on running.  You love to explore and have no fear when it comes to climbing and jumping.  If other kids can do it, then you just assume you can.  You want to be a part of everything and your little legs take you there as fast as you can, which often means up and down running more than straight running.  Probably my favorite thing ever.

Nursery is finally something you enjoy…hallelujah!  No tears and you stay the whole time without us in there.  You do your own thing and play nicely with the other kids.  It is so fun to pick you up and see how happy and excited you are!  You babble about what you did and show us your drawing but are happy to be in our arms, no matter how much fun you had.

You wear your heart on your sleeve.  When anyone is sad or angry or frustrated, you head straight for them to give a hug, a kiss and an understanding nod of the head.  You pout your lip with me when I cry, you hug Shortstop when he gets frustrated with himself and you hold dad's hand when he looks tired or stressed.  As soon as we can crack a smile for your benefit you nod and run off as if to say "Ok, you are good…I am gonna go but be happy and I love you."  You hug me randomly throughout the day, especially when I am standing at the sink doing dishes.  You come from out of nowhere, warp your arms around my legs and then run off to inevitably destroy another part of the house.  But those hugs are worth it!

It is fun to watch you fold your arms and kneel down for prayer.  You rarely actually close your eyes, and I know this because I peek all the time.  You just quietly look around, taking it all in and if you catch my eyes, you wave and smile and then fold your arms again.  You like to "repeat" the scripture when it is your turn and you try to use the same intonation that we use when we read it.  Storytime is now enjoyable.  You used to not like it and would throw the book we were trying to read, but now you like to snuggle up and pay attention.  Not much else beats having my two babies by my side while I read a bedtime story.  You are a great sleeper still and often wake up and stay quiet in your crib.  I guess you like your alone time and when we come in too early to get you, you just lay there and shake your head while nuzzling your blanket.  In addition to having to have your blanket, you have Baby and Woody.  Baby is a cabbage patch doll that you have grown close to and Woody is from Toy Story.  And you like to play with cars more than your brother ever did.  You often have one or two in your hands and like to drive them on everything while making the sound.  It is very little boy!

Cartoons and movies are finally keeping your attention but unfortunately it is sometimes a fight when we turn them off.  You haven't quite learned the "ok in five minutes we are ending _______" whatever activity we are doing.  Your independence shines through more and more.  You have to climb into your car seat all alone, you prefer walking over the stroller, you have to eat your own food no matter how ineffective your eating may be….I wouldn't be surprised if you wanted to change your own diapers!  You are growing up much too fast!

Your eyes light up when you see animals or babies.  It is the cutest thing ever.  When you see a tiny baby you put your hands up to your mouth and start giggling and whispering.  Then you want to lightly pat their head or kiss them but you are so gentle it is unbelievable.  You might be telling me it is time for a sibling!

Thank you for coming to our family, for adding so much love and happiness.  When I hold you, I hold my heart and I am forever grateful to be your mom.

Love, Mom