GOOFY GIRL

Dear Brooklyn,

You are my goofy little girl.

I love you.

You make me laugh.

You make me smile.

You are my pride and joy.

Sincerely, Lori

GOING TO THE DENTIST

Dear Kurt,

I am nervous about going to the dentist today.

Maybe even a little scared.

Going to the dentist is one of my least favorite things to do in the whole world.

It probably has a lot to do with the fact that I have sensitive teeth and a bajillion fillings and a missing tooth and hurting wisdom teeth and..... well you name it.

Why am I afraid to get my wisdom teeth out?

Here is the list:

• I always said I would be "put under" when I get my wisdom teeth out which is not going to happen now that we have to pay for the whole shabang.

• I have heard a lot of horror stories. And I mean a lot of them.

• I fear pain. I always think something is going to hurt worse then it does. Except contractions. Those hurt worse then I thought.

• How am I going to take care of Brooklyn when I am all drugged up and in pain. (I will be drugged up, right?)

Anyways... there it is. I am a definite wimp when it comes to the dentist.

Maybe I can convince my mom to come and take care of Brooklyn (and me) for a week since she loves to travel around the country during the summers anyways...

Oh, and I heard once that dentists (out of all careers) have the highest suicide rate because people hate going to them, so whenever I go to the dentist I try and act extra happy because I don't want my dentist to commit suicide.... I know I am crazy.

Hopefully I can get this thing over with quick so I can think about something else.

Sincerely, Lori

WISDOM TEETH

Dear Kurt,

I seriously need my wisdom teeth out.

They have been giving me some awful headaches that put me on the couch for an hour waiting for pain killers to kick in.

I have a dentist appointment this week. Hopefully the news will be that they can take my teeth out soon and for cheap.

This is the first step toward my lifelong goal of getting my teeth fixed.

Hopefully the next step could be covered by dental insurance, huh?

Sincerely, Lori

YOUR FRIEND JAXTON

Dear Brooklyn,

I love when you and your bestie, Jaxton, get together.

You love to talk, laugh, poke and hold hands.

I can't wait till you both are a little older and you can really play together.

Sincerely, Lori

FLOPPY HAT

Dear Brooklyn,

I love hangin' out in the sun, so in order to spare your beautiful, fair skin I have busted out your floppy hats.

I must say they are adorable.

Sincerely, Lori

SUMMER SUNDAYS

Dear Brooklyn,

Summer Sundays are my favorite.

They make me feel like I have time warped back decades to a simpler, carefree time.

A nice afternoon walk, jumping on the trampoline with the family, and a delicious BBQ.

A successful Sunday afternoon.

And lots more to come.

Sincerely, Lori

FRISBEE GOLF

Dear Kurt,

Our new favorite thing to do: Frisbee golf.

I love it. And I for the first three "holes" I thought I was pretty good.

Then there was the hole where I hit the tree that was five feet to my left when I was aiming to my right and the frisbee ended up ten feet behind where I started....

I think we need to practice.

My goal for the summer: beat you a frisbee golf? Very ambitious since you slaughtered me.

Brooklyn even enjoyed the walk around the park.

How about frisbee golf and a picnic next weekend?

Sincerely, Lori

TAKING SOME "ME" TIME

Dear Kurt,

I'm putting Brooklyn down for a nap and I am taking some "me" time.

I'm not quite sure what I will be doing exactly but I will tell you what I am not going to do: I'm not going to clean, cook, do laundry, or anything of the sort.

I might paint my toenails....

Anyways, I wish you were here so I could turn my "me" time into some "us" time.

Love you.

Sincerely, Lori

MORNING PLAYTIME

Dear Brooklyn,

Who: You.

Where: Your crib.

When: Almost every morning.

What: You wake up and just play in your crib.

Why: You are so cute and such a good baby.

Sincerely, Lori

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICHARD

WENDELL'S BIRTHDAY 2009

Dear Richard,

Happy Birthday!

I hope it was great.

I miss you.

I love you.

Sincerely, Lori

FISRT EASTER

Dear Brooklyn,

Your first Easter was great.

We spent it with some awesome family and friends.

AUNT CHRISTINA, AUNT KIMMY, AND FRIENDS CLAYTON AND DANIELLE.

GRANDPA KILLIAN, GRANDMA KILLIAN, GREAT-GRANDMA HOLLI, AND GREAT-GRANDPA KILLIAN

You loved diggin' into your Easter basket.

THANKS TO AUNT CHRISTINND KIMMY AND YOUR GRANDPARENTS FOR YOUR EASTER GOODIES.

And looking for eggs at Great-Grandpa Killian's house.

YOU, ME, AND GREAT-GRANDPA KILLIAN / YOU, ME, AND YOUR DAD.

And playin' with your Easter Eggs.

YOU AND YOUR EGGS YOU FOUND AT YOUR GREAT-GRANDPARENTS

I loved it.

I love you.

Sincerely, Lori

NIGHTTIME PREDATOR

Dear Kurt,

Last night after feeding Brooklyn at 2 am I got back into bed and closed my eyes.

Then my eyes popped wide open.

The big garage door was opening and a second later I heard it closing again.

Then the door from the garage to the house opened...

I grabbed your shirt and said "Kurt, someone just came in the house!"

I could see the panic in your eyes as you asked "how do you know?"

I told you I heard them and you ran to the door and flipped the hall light on and grabbed the nearest weapon: a curtain rod.

After a minute of neither hearing or seeing our predator you made your way down the hall, only to find nothing.

Turns out my mind was playing a few tricks on me. The sound that I was certain was the garage door opening and closing must have been the heater or something because we ended up listening to it all night long - since we barely slept after that.

I nearly scared the crap out of us for nothing.

Sorry.

Sincerely, Lori

TINY PICTURES

Dear Brooklyn,

You are growing so fast.

I was looking at pictures of you when you were tiny.

I wish I could go back and really soak those days in.

I keep telling myself that you aren't that much bigger.

But then I am reminded by pictures like these:

I love the stage you are in right now but I also miss your tiny little self too.

Sincerely, Lori