September 30, 2011

MOMMY'S GIRL




Dear Brooklyn,

Lately you have been glued to my hip.

You won't hardly even look at your dad.

If I walk out of the room, you drop whatever you are doing and run after me.

If I go somewhere, you scream and scream.

Today your dad said "she hates me." It was a heartbreaking moment.

I know this is just a phase, but can it be a quick phase?

And in the mean time can you not act like your dad is the boogie man sent on a mission to remove all happiness from the world?

I know he loves you. I know you love him.

And I love you both.

Sincerely, Lori


September 29, 2011

STRANGENESS



Dear Brooklyn,

You are a strange little child.

Especially when you sit and wipe your smoothie all over your face for a good 15 minutes.

It looked like throw up, which is why your dad took care of it instead of me.

Sincerely, Lori

September 25, 2011

TWIRL YOUR HAIR





Dear Brooklyn,

When you get really tired you start to curl your hair around your fingers.

It is the cutest thing.

Sincerely, Lori


September 22, 2011

GRAND OPENING






Dear Brooklyn,

A company that is located next to Aunt Christina's work had there Grand Opening today.




Put a bouncy house, blow up slides, face painting, cotton candy, burgers and corn dogs, and live music all together and what do you get? A well spent Thursday evening.


My favorite part: how you would sit and watch the guys play music and sing. Sometimes you would start to dance too. I think you stole these guys hearts.

Sincerely, Lori




September 20, 2011

REAL CURLS







Dear Brooklyn,

Today you let me curl your hair for real!

And with minimal amounts of bribing.

It is adorable!!!

I love it and your dad keeps saying "your hair is so cute!"

Sincerely, Lori


September 18, 2011

FEELING GUILTY




Dear Brooklyn,

You like to put things around the back of your neck like a scarf.

Today you were doing just that with a piece of stretchy lace that I cut off a shirt.

So when you threw a fit, I decided to put you in time-out, but I didn't want to put you in your crib with the lace because it is a choking hazard (ironic).

In the middle of your fit I went to grab the lace and ended up grabbing the wrong side, so instead of pulling the lace off, I ended up tightening it around you neck and giving you an awful "rope burn".

Now every time I look at you I feel super guilty and when people see you I say "I swear I didn't try to kill my child! It was an accident, okay? Stop judging me!!"

The guilty side of me is quite sensitive.

So, just so you know I'm so sorry.

I love you.

Sincerely, Lori


September 17, 2011

HARVEST FEST







Dear Brooklyn,

We went to the Idaho Falls Harvest Fest this afternoon.

Your dad was grumpy.

I was grumpy.

And after finding out that there were no Apply Cider doughnuts, Christina was grumpy.

And for the most part you were grumpy, too.

But for about ten minutes in the jumpy house, you were in heaven.

I think it was the best ten minutes of your two year old life!

But then we pulled you out and stuck you in your stroller and rolled you home... and we were all back to being grumpy again.

I think we all need naps.

Sincerely, Lori


September 16, 2011

FLOUR FIGHT




Dear Kurt,

Funny how you seem to be in the middle of every flour war and water fight that goes on in this house.

I don't think it is right for you to blame these things on me anymore.

You are officially the culprit.

And now it seems our daughter is catching on....


And here's the strangest part: I kind of love it.

So, here's to the next 50 years of cleaning flour off our floors and walls and out of our ears!

I love you.

Sincerely, Lori


September 15, 2011

CURLS




Dear Brooklyn,

Today you wanted your hair curled just like mine.

And although you only held still for about five curls,
you looked so pretty.

I love you.

Sincerely, Lori


September 14, 2011

OPEN DOORS





Dear Brooklyn,

You have learned to open doors.

Which wouldn't be a big deal except the only doors you can consistently get open is the front door and the pantry door.

The first time you opened the front door it almost scared me to death. I thought "who just walked into my house?!"

Now I always dead bolt the door since the bottom lock only locks from the outside.

As for the pantry... I might have you convinced the handle is hot....

By the way: lying is bad.

Sincerely, Lori


September 11, 2011

TEN YEARS AGO





Dear Kurt,

Has it really been ten years since the twin towers tumbled to the earth?

I remember that awful day so vividly.

My grandpa had passed away three day prior so I was almost seven hundred miles from home at my grandma's house.

I was sitting at my grandma's kitchen table eating breakfast with a few of my younger cousins, when my brother came upstairs from getting ready to go to class and said "turn on the tv."

He didn't sound overly anxious or alarmed so I didn't pay it much attention.

I immediately heard gasps from those who were in the living room when the tv was turned on, so I left my cereal and ran to see what could possibly be wrong.

And that is when I saw it: two buildings that I couldn't name if my life depended on it, one with a huge hole near the top with smoke streaming out of it.

I sat down on the floor in front of the tv with most of my family around me and watched on live tv as another plane crashed into the second tower.

My heart dropped.

All day long, I sat there and stared.

I listened to the devastating reports of another plane hitting the pentagon.

And then when I thought nothing else could possibly go wrong over there, I watched as one building crumbled to the earth, and then the other.

I felt like I couldn't breathe deeply enough. Goosebumps peppered my arms. And even though my body knew this day would change the world for good, my fifteen year old brain couldn't quite comprehend the magnitude of it all.

While the rest of my family eventually got up and went about their days, I sat there, watching every scene play over and over and reading every word that scrolled across the screen, waiting for more information, waiting for more attacks.

And now, ten years later, I know those terrorists failed. They succeeded in killing thousands of people, destroying many buildings, and starting a war. But in the long run, America is stronger, we are more unified, and have a greater respect each other.

And in the past ten years I feel that we have come closer to winning the war against terrorism.

For today, and probably the next few days, I will sit and watch all the documentaries and shows about September 11, 2001 and gain a greater understanding and appreciation and respect for the events that took place that day. I will cry. I will flinch. I will get angry.

But in the end, I will just feel grateful for what I have and that I live in this country where "land of the free and home of the brave" have a new meaning.

Sincerely, Lori





September 9, 2011

GOLF







Dear Kurt,

Golf.

Golf.

Golf.


We took Jedd golfing for his birthday.

I honestly thought I would hate golf.

And there were points in the evening that I did hate golf.

Particularly the point where I would swing and swing and swing and swing the golf club and the ball would just sit there and laugh at me.


But then there was the 8th hole and on the first swing I knocked that dang ball right onto the middle of the green!!!! Woo-hoo!

I think the people driving by the golf course knew how excited I was.

Golf.

Golf.

I love golf.

Sincerely, Lori


September 7, 2011

DINNER FOR TWO




Dear Kurt,

I desperately needed to get away from our screaming two year old for an hour or two so we dropped her off at your mom's and made our way to Texas Roadhouse.

It felt so good to not have Brooklyn yelling and kicking and throwing things and pulling my hair as I carry her to time-out for the twentieth time that day just for a little while.

Thank you so much!

Sincerely, Lori



September 2, 2011

SING AND DANCE









Dear Brooklyn,

Tonight we sang and danced into the night.

Sincerely, Lori