DUNK

Dear Brooklyn,

Ever since you were just a wee little thing you loved the water, as long as it didn't touch your face. 

Bath time rocked cause you would just play nicely, never splashing and making a mess. 

 

Swimming was easy because you would stay right next to me so you wouldn't go under or get splashed.

I condoned, supported and even encouraged this behavior. 

In the back of my mind I knew better. I knew you wouldn't just one day be okay with sticking your head in the water. 

Except that's exactly what happened. 

For over a year now your dad and I have been trying to get you to dunk your head under water. Or at least blow some bubbles!

It's all been to no avail. We begged and pleaded. We bribed. We even started tossing you in the air and letting you go under for a second in hopes that you would just get use to it. 

Yeah right. 

But for some reason the stars aligned today. We were sitting on the wading step and I told you that if you stuck your entire face in the water then I would get you the biggest bowl of ice cream with a bunch of candy. 

You got excited, like you usually do, and sat there staring at the water with a determined look on your face. 

 

This is typical. And it usually ends with you sitting there forever trying to convince yourself until it's time to go and then you scream cause you don't get ice cream. 

But today was different. I could see it in your eyes too. Today was the day. 

 

After only a minute or two you dunked your head. Then you loved it so much that you dunked your head about 50 more times.

 

I was so proud of you. 

 

 

And of course we celebrated with that extra large bowl of ice cream with enough candy to make you sick in 5 minutes.

 

I love you.

 

Sincerely, Mom

 

 

 

 

DON'T SMILE

Dear Brooklyn,

You and I, we have this thing.

I say "don't smile" and then you try really hard not to before you bust up in laughter.

I'm sure it's something a lot of people do to make kids smile for a picture.

But for you and I, it's a game. Something that we do for kicks and giggles or when you are sad.

We do it for pictures too, though. 

And what adorable pictures it makes.

I love you, silly girl. You and your bed head.

Sincerely, Lori

SUPER SICK

Dear Kurt,

Being sick isn't all bad. 

Sure, my head is pounding, my ears throbbing, my throat aching, and my nose dripping. But there are a few things that make it all a bit better. 

There's the soup you brought me during your lunch hour. 

There's the cuddling from my baby while I lay in my bed. 

There's the extra help from my sweet little Brooklyn. 

There's the phone calls from my dad where we bond over mutual sickness. 

There's the total control over the remote and an excuse to lay on the couch and be as lazy as can be. 

While it's nice to be healthy, it's also nice to know there's people around to take care of me and pick up the slack. 

I love you. 

Sincerely, Lori

BRING ON 2014

Dear Kurt,
Happy new year!
I have high apple pie, in the sky hopes for 2014.
As always I made a long list of resolutions. I can't help myself. Here they are:
1. Go somewhere I've never been. I'd love for it to be somewhere exotic or adventurous but I'd settle for a new restaurant if I had to.
2. Read the Book of Mormon. Simple enough.
3. Work out. Originally I thought I'd make it 5 times a week or for at least 30 minutes or what not, but I don't want to put a lot of stipulations on this. Just get my butt to the gym or get off my couch and work out at home. Just do it and make it count.
4. Only eat sweets once a week. I am constantly trying to get my sweet tooth under control. Last year I gave up sweets all together it lasted nine months. I hope this way will last the whole year and I will enjoy it more.
5. Write a letter everyday. I will also use this as my "don't break the chain" goal. I'm excited for this one. More letters. More pictures. More great memories to look back on in the future.
6. Become more like Christ. Pick an attribute of Christ. Read about it, study it, pick specific ways I can obtain it. I'm bouncing around a few ideas for this one....
7. Become more responsible financial. We aren't terrible but we could always be better. Pay stuff off, get rid of bills we don't need, save more, know where every penny is going, figure out what works for us.

I'm excited for the new year! I know it will be full of fun, personal growth, and change. Yay for 2014!
Sincerely, Lori

TICKLISH FEET

Dear Molly,

We are in the car. Taking the long drive to California. 

Next to you, your sister is sound asleep. But not you. You are wide awake, sticking your feet toward me in a plea to tickle them. 

It's one of my favorite things about you. Probably because it's something you got from me. 

You are your fathers daughter. You look like your dad. You have his facial expressions. You have his goofiness and kind heart. 

There isn't a whole lot of me that I see in you, except this. You love having your feet tickled. Just like your mom. 

So, in this dark, quiet car, on this dark, snowy road, I will tickle your feet and feel extra close to you. 

I love you, Molly. 

Sincerely, mom 

HOLIDAYS ON THE FARM

Dear Kurt,

I think we can agree that there is nothing better then making memories with the people we love the most. I think we can also agree that "Holiday's on the Farm" was one of our favorite parts of Christmas in California.

Before we left we got all bundle up in preparation to go sledding and play in the snow. I think we forgot it was California and 65+ degrees outside. We were shedding our hats, scarfs, and coats before we even hit the slopes.  

For the next 90 minutes we sled down the hill time after time, figuring out which lane was fastest and who can spin or launch you the best. Even Brooklyn was brave enough to go by herself and loved a good spin.

Towards the end of our sledding time my mom showed up with the littlest ones and we headed over to the pony rides to silence Brooklyn's and Isabelle's ongoing pleas. We also hit the petting zoo to feed the ravenous goats and the other animals. Molly was weirded out by them eating out of her hand. 

After a quick snack for the kids, Christina, Brittney, and I decided that we would zip line as our last hoorah for the evening. So while the kids jumped on a ginormous air bubble, we got suited up and fearlessly (well, mostly) jumped into the night air with nothing but some straps and rope to save us from certain death.

To finish off the night we grabbed some In-n-Out and dined at home. 

I think it was a great day for everyone. And I think we can agree that these were memories well made.

Sincerely, Lori

MY BROOKLYN

Dear Brooklyn,

You are my little girl. 

You are full of life. You love life. You are an amazing little girl.

You are a great big sister. You are always willing to help or share. Molly looks up to you and wants to do anything you are doing. 

You love attention. You are rarely shy around grown ups. If there are adults around you want to dance around or show off something you drew or something you learned. 

You are sweet. Never forgetting your hugs and kisses and randomly telling me that you love me or I am beautiful. You say please and thank you. 

You are sometimes inappropriate. Like when we are at someone's house and we tell you you are silly you respond with "your face is silly." That's your dad's fault, by the way. 

You are a social butterfly. You are constantly asking to go see if the neighbors can play or if you could have a friend over. You love to be surrounded by people, young or old. 

You love to sing. If there is a song on the radio that you like, you will sing it, even if you don't know the words, and you rarely do. And if you do know the words you tell me to stop singing so you can sing it by yourself. 

You love to dance. Play an upbeat song and I can guarantee that you will be up shaking it. I love watching So You Think You Can Dance cause you dance like crazy, trying to imitate moves the dances are making. 

You love to color. It is probably your favorite thing to do. You are so good, too. You stay in the lines and creating your own patterns. You love to draw people and have me write their names down so you can copy it next to their picture. It is fun seeing you flourish in something that I have always loved. 

You are a picky eater. Extremely picky. You'll eat about five things that aren't candy or desserts: cereal, cheese pizza, chicken nuggets, cheese quesadillas, and plain

Pasta. Everything else: it depends in the day and who else is eating it but don't hold your breathe. And nothing can be to hard or too cold or too soft or too hard or too green or too anything. Think Goldilocks except porridge is out of the question. 

When you are any kind of uncomfortable or extremely happy your hands go immediately to your mouth. I always have to tell you to move your hands so I can understand why you are saying but I love that it is a sure way to tell how you re feeling. 

You are beautiful. I love your big hazel eyes and your long eyelashes. I love the way your top lip curves up. I love the way your straggly hair is always in your face. And I definitely love the way your face still holds a bit of your baby chubbiness. 

You are so many things, Brooklyn, but my favorite part about you is that you are mine. We will always be together. 

I love you. 

Sincerely, mom

HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

Dear Brooklyn and Molly,

Happy Halloween to my scary little witch and my buff little Robin. 

You two are freakin' adorable and I love you. 

Sincerely, Mom