Eli: 5 Years Old

Dear Eli,

Where do I begin? I can't believe that I used to write to you every single month and now I only write once or twice a year. You are growing up so fast, I get teary-eyed just thinking about it. This is one of my all time favorite pictures of you. I put it on my phone and have probably stared at it 100 times today. I can't get enough of your piercing blue eyes. You are such a handsome kid.

You start kindergarten in a few short months and I'm simultaneously excited for you and dreading it at the same time. It's going to be a big transition for both of us, but probably more so for me. With the exception of preschool for a few hours a few times a week, we've spent almost every moment together since you were born. It's going to break my heart to send you out into the great big world without me every day. You are so ready though. I've toyed with the idea of holding you back a year in school because of the deadline, but there is simply no way I could do that to you. You would be bored out of your mind at home for another year. You are ready to learn and can't wait! You talk about kindergarten every single day and are counting down the days.

You've been having a few behavioral issues lately. Nothing major, but I feel like we're frustrated with each other a lot. You tell me I'm a mean mommy a lot and that makes me sad. I feel like I try my hardest to take you on outings and let you invite friends over to make your life fun, but it feels like it's never enough for you. You're demanding and whiny when you don't get your way. It's hard for you to take no for an answer. When I say no, you continue to beg until I either give you a consequence or give in. Another thing we're struggling with is that you interrupt me constantly while I'm talking to other adults, whether its on the phone or in person. It's embarrassing and frustrating and I don't know how to teach you to cut it out!

In an effort to help you to do be nicer and do what I ask, we've recently started filling sticker charts when you do something good. You get stickers for things like getting buckled into your seat belt without me having to ask you a million times, saying please and thank you, and saying "okay" when I say no instead of whining. After you and Oliver filled one chart, I took you to Kangaroo Zoo as a reward. Now, you're working on earning a new DVD that I bought you at Costco. I have it sitting on the kitchen counter in plain sight to motivate you to be good.

You're doing so much better with peeing and pooping on your own. You still don't pee very often and will only go three times a day unless I pressure you to go more often. You poop every other day like clockwork, but the nice thing is that I never have to bug you about it. You go on your own. We're working with you on learning how to wipe your own butt so in case you need to go while you're at school.

Your dad and I were just talking about how we are finally starting to feel like you don't need naps anymore. You rarely fall asleep in the car and seem to do fine without them. You don't fall apart in the afternoons like you used to. You do, however, crash hard at night. You usually go to bed around 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. and you almost always fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow. It's so sweet. We love coming into your room after you're asleep and staring at you like we're creepers. Lately, you look like a teenager sprawled out in your bed. You're so long!

I've been trying to work with you this summer on your letters, sounds, and numbers. I want to make sure you don't forget everything you learned in preschool. I feel really strongly that I want you to be 100% prepared for kindergarten. You know how to write all of the letters both uppercase and lowercase. You know all of the letter sounds except for two or three. You recently learned how to count to 100. I've been doing a book with you called "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" and you're already reading simple words. I feel totally confident that you're going to do great in school. I can't wait to watch you learn!

The older you get, the more I believe that one of your spiritual gifts is a love of learning. You always want to know how things work and why they work the way they do. The depth of your questions are constantly surprising me. You won't stop questioning things until you really understand. I try to explain everything to you throughout the day and you soak it in like a sponge. It's awesome.

You are a very silly little boy. You love to laugh. You love to play make-believe. You're fairly high maintenance in the sense that you want me to be constantly entertaining you, but if the conditions are right and you get in the zone, you're able to play for hours without much supervision on my part.

This summer has been so much fun and I'm going to miss having you around as much when you start school in the fall. I'm trying to soak up as much Eli time as I can. I love you, my firstborn. I love watching the little boy that you are becoming. Thanks for filling my days with light and laughter.

Love always and forever,
Mama

5 Year Old Stats: 
Weight: 46.4 lbs (75th percentile) 
Height: 44 1/4 in (75th percentile)
Vision: 20/30

Isaac: 11 Months Old

Dear Isaac,

The fact that you are just one short month away from being one year old is really freaking me out. It seems as though time is passing more and more quickly with each baby I have. It makes me so sad, especially since I'll probably only have one more after you. This is the second to last time I'll get to experience all of your firsts and every magical stage with you.

Your big developmental milestones of the month were that you learned to crawl and pull yourself to standing. You are crawling with your belly off the ground now and are quick! You can get wherever you want to go in a very efficient manner. A few weeks ago, I found you standing in your crib for the first time. It is always so surprising to see because you're not expecting it. You looked so proud of yourself. Of course, we had some issues with you standing up and not knowing how to lay back but it actually didn't take you too long to figure it out. 

You love to stand and stand against everything you can. Frequently, when I'm standing somewhere around the house, I'll feel you crawl up to me and pull yourself to standing on my legs. It's sad though because if I have to walk away after just a few seconds, I'll have to sit you down again and you cry. Your favorite place to stand is at the toy drawer in the hallway. I can stand you there and you'll be occupied for a half hour or so while you empty the whole drawer toy by toy. You grab them one by one and fling them over your shoulder with gusto.

We had to re-sleep train you about a week ago. You were back to waking up two or three times a night to nurse, and at almost a year old, I decided that was completely ridiculous. So your dad and I slept in the guest bedroom in the basement and let you cry-it-out in the night. The first night, you cried for an hour before you fell back to sleep. The second night, you cried for 10 minutes. And you've slept through the night every night since then! Sleep training makes me sad, but it's so worth it when you start sleeping through the night again.

You've been a napping champ lately. You nap at 9:30 and 2:30. Both naps are about an hour and a half to two hours. My biggest challenge is always keeping your brothers quiet while you sleep. I have to turn on the TV every time I nurse you so that they don't come in and interrupt us and a lot of the time, I have to keep the TV on while you're sleeping too. I hate it. I feel guilty that they watch so much TV, but because of the layout of our house, we really can't be upstairs by your room while you're asleep. I can't tell you how many times they've woken you up by running loudly down the hallway outside your room or yelling in the kitchen. It's so frustrating.

Your eating reminds me a lot of how Oliver was when he was your age. Your eating is really hit or miss. You'll either eat everything we give you or you won't want anything for days at a time. I'd say that probably 80-90% of what you get comes from nursing. I'm really trying to up that to at least 50/50 but if you don't feel like eating, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm trying to not stress. My boys just aren't eaters!

Your personality is really exploding lately. You really hit your stride in the evenings. This is when you're the most playful and animated. You'll yell, wrestle, dance, throw your head around, and grin at everyone that will make eye contact with you. You are an extremely happy baby. Everyone loves to be around you because of your fun little personality. I love watching you grow and develop. You are so much fun.

It's hard to say if you're truly saying any words yet, but it sounds like you've said "mama," "dada," and "grandma." You also like to point at things and say what sounds like "this" or "dis." You have 6 teeth now although the two to the sides of your front teeth just barely broke through and are so tiny, they hardly count.

I'm still your favorite person. If someone else is holding you and I walk into the room, your whole body will literally quake with excitement. Sometimes you even start clapping when you see me. You'll lean as far away from the person that's holding you and lean towards me with your arms outstretched all while wearing a huge grin on your face and making desperate little noises. It's the best thing ever.

Ike, you're amazing. Thanks for bringing me so much joy!

Lots of love,

Mama

11 Month Stats:
Weight: 22.0 lbs (44th percentile) 
Height: 30 1/2 in (80th percentile) 
Head Circumference: 18 1/4 in (55th percentile)