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Dear Jack,
Happy 3rd birthday! I know I’ll probably say this every year, but I can’t believe how fast you’re growing up. You are getting so tall and you are so smart. Most of the time I think that you are too smart for your own good. You are incredibly curious and mischievous, and you have absolutely no fear. You can really test my patience sometimes – and sometimes I feel like the only thing I ever tell you is “no”, or “stop doing that!”. There’s a part of me that wants you to grow up faster so that you will understand the things that I ask you to do, and part of me just can’t believe that you’re not a baby anymore. I see so much strength in you. You are a natural leader and I love watching you talk to kids you meet at the park (or anywhere else for that matter). You go right up to them and say “I’m Jack. Want to play?” You can be a complete goofball most of the time, and you never. stop. moving. You can also be so serious and I love that you still need your mommy snuggles and kisses. At nighttime you like to give me “jump hugs” – you jump off your bed into my arms and lift up your feet and hug me tight with your arms around my neck and your face nuzzled right into me. I love love love your hugs. You usually ask for more, and then more, and I have to tell you no because it’s time to go to sleep. But really, I don’t want to have to tell you no. Your hugs before bed are my favourite moments with you and I love to hear you giggle as you jump.
Your favourite meal is grilled cheese. You ask for it almost every single day. You love Buzz Lightyear and will jump off of tall structures at the play place while yelling “to infinity and beyond” at the top of your lungs. You love to wear your new batman shirt and will dig it out of the laundry basket and wear it again even if its dirty. You like to wrestle your brother. I don’t think Felix loves it as much as you do, but you wrap your arm around the back of his neck and wrestle him to the ground until he shrieks. You like to sneak food – on more than one occasion I’ve caught you with mouthfuls of baking chocolate from the pantry. I guess you come by that one honestly;) You’ll grab a bite of anything you can find – biscuits, pretzels, play dough, and even salt, whenever you think I’m not looking. You also love to eat snow, and will scrape dirty snow off the bottoms of your boots to eat – it kinda grosses me out.
You love to read your Bible. Daddy reads you the Bible story every night before bed, but so often you pick it up and sit down to read it on your own. You remember the story of Daniel really well and you remind me about how God shut the mouths of the lions to protect him. I hope that you always have a love for the story of God and live in awe of His goodness. My prayer for you is that you will continue to walk with boldness and grace – standing up for what is right and fighting for the oppressed. “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
Jack I’m crazy about you. I think you’re a really, really, REALLY awesome kid – and I count myself blessed that I’m the one you call mommy. Have a happy happy birthday!
Love, mommy.
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Dear Felix,
Happy birthday! You are now three! You are such a thoughtful and kind little boy. You are very sensitive to the needs of those around you and you have blessed me on many days when I was feeling sad or stressed out, and you came to give me a hug. You are eager to help and will drop whatever you are doing if you see that someone needs help. You love to help shovel the snow and you have refused to come inside when it was all done so you ended up shovelling the neighbours driveway too! You are very particular – you annunciate every sound and you make sure that all your toys are in their proper place. If you find a block that we forgot to put away you won’t let me get away with saying that we will do it later. You know where it goes and you make sure it gets put back. You don’t like to get dirty – one time there was a piece of toe fuzz in the bathtub and you freaked out when it was getting too close to you. Apparently you were traumatized enough that you recounted the story to me several days later. You are more introverted and cautious – you hold back in new situations until you feel comfortable enough to talk. And when you are comfortable with people you are very friendly and welcoming. When we tell you that friends are coming over you’ll exclaim “Oh I LOVE to say hi!” or, “I LOVE to give hugs to them!”. You get frustrated when you don’t catch on to something right away. We were playing frisbee one time and it wasn’t flying the right direction so you fell to the ground. I told you to try again and you jumped up and said “Alright! I will try again!” I love your determination and tenacity.
You love Buzz Lightyear and say “to infinity and beyond” in the exact same timing as on Toy Story. You even close your eyes – it’s hilarious! You love playing at the beach – you are still a bit cautious of the water and will make sure you get your floatie on before going in the lake, but you have asked “go a la beach?” a lot since we were on vacation last summer. You love grilled cheese and tomato soup. If I tell you that we are having grilled cheese for lunch you will ask “and tomato soup?” and if I say yes you say “JACK! We’re having tomato soup!” I love how excited you get for things and how you love to announce the good news to everyone who will listen:) I also love that you seem to be quite content with mommy saying “someday” when you ask to do something specific, like go on an airplane. You’ll say “JACK! We’re going on an airplane SOMEday!” and smile.
You can be quite the comedian. You have subtly hilarious expression and you love to make us laugh. You have the BEST giggle when you’re being tickled too. When we run down a hill, you yell “WAAAAA!!!” with the hugest, roundest mouth. It’s so funny. You will even do it in the car sometimes when we drive down a hill.
You still ask me to carry you when you are feeling tired. And I’ve had to start saying no because you’re getting so heavy that it’s hard to carry you up and down the stairs. But I really hate saying no to carrying you, because I know that one day you will stop asking. I love holding you and cuddling with you when you let me. It’s some of my favourite moments with you – feeling your little hands rest on my back and your head on my shoulder. I LOVE to kiss your chubby little cheeks. I’m so happy that you still let me do that:)
You love the story of God. Whenever you see a rainbow in the sky, you exclaim “it’s God’s rainbow!” May that always remind you of the Lord’s promise that He is always faithful. You love to pray for your friends, and I believe that God has given you a special sensitivity, both to the needs of those around you, and also to His Spirit and leading. I pray that you will allow the Lord to speak through you and use you to be an encouragement to those around you. I pray that as you grow, you will love those who are hurting and you will be a safe place for people who need a friend. This is our prayer for you: “But now, O [Felix], listen to the Lord who created you. O [Felix], the one who formed you says, ‘Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.” Isaiah 43:1-3a
Felix, I love you so much. You are an incredible little boy and my heart just bursts that I get to be your mom. I wish you the happiest of birthdays and may the next year be absolutely amazing.
Love, mommy.
Having TWO 2 year olds this past year has been…. completely exhausting. You are both so energetic and can push each other’s buttons sometimes, but you always look out for one another and you are the best of friends. I’m so looking forward to seeing how your relationship grows and how you help each other through life. You boys have my heart.
