Dear Jude: 23 months

Dear Judesy,

You turned 23 months old on the 25th (which was also your JuJu's happy birthday!) and I'm already mourning the fact that you are almost really and truly two years old.

You are a large child!  I have no idea of your actual size, but you stand as tall as Liam's shoulders and seem to weigh at least a million pounds. You are wearing 24 months and 2T clothes and size 4 or 5 diapers. You have finally gotten your canine teeth in, so we are just waiting on molars, ugh. 

Judes, you continue to be an imp in every sense of the word. You are a bit conniving, the Irish would call you a "wee messer, or a wee chancer," which describes you exactly. If you think you can get away with something you will risk it, and often even if you can't get away with it!  You love to try to get into the fireplace that's covered in soot, if the door is unlocked you are outside and trying to get in the street, you continually climb into the windowsill or the washing machine, you love to pull plugs out of outlets and throw toys around. You are a tornado and we love your spunk. 

Lately, you've shown favoritism towards savory foods, in these pictures I've bribed you with crisps which you routinely ask for for breakfast. You love to eat curry chips and chicken nuggets, you still are our little Cookie Monster. 

Developmentally, you continue to amaze us. We have recently discovered that you love to color, you sat and scribbled for 45 minutes the other day just as happy as could be. Your climbing, throwing, running, and kicking skills cannot be surpassed. You talk really well and have nice manners. You love to sing and will demand either, "tinkle, sunshiy, nana, or Jesus" for twinkle twinkle little star, you are my sunshine, hey Jude, or Jesus loves me at bedtime. It's hilarious. 

Judesy Roe, you are a joy of a little boy. We are constantly surprised by your sweetness and compassion. You love to snuggle and love on everyone. We are so thankful to have a front row seat to your life and can't wait to see where your spunky sweet little personality takes you in this life. 

Survey: Liam at 4 years old

I finally remembered to ask Liam these questions!  Hopefully I will remember every year. This was pretty entertaining. 

What is your name? I Wiam Hawk 

How old are you? My birthdays gone, I'm four years old. (He's been a little sad that everyday isn't his birthday).

Where do you live? In the new house 

What is your favorite color? Blue

Who is your best friend? Omi (Noemi, from nursery school).

What is your favorite food? Chips and chocolate sandwich (Nutella and peanut butter).

What do you want to be when you grow up? Small (most likely not happening).

What do you like to play? Rocket ship

What is your favorite show? Peppa pig 

Dear Liam: 4

Dearest Liam Davy,

Today you are FOUR years old!  I could burst into tears at how quickly the past 48 months have passed and at how proud you make me everyday. This is the first birthday you've understood and been excited about, which makes it even more fun for everyone!

Before we moved to Belfast we had one last visit with your beloved Dr. Steitz and he confirmed that you are a perfect giant. You are 43.5 inches tall, and weigh 43 pounds!  You're in the 100th percentile for both categories, you've come a long long way from the 19.5 inches and 5lb 5oz weight of your birth. For goodness sakes, we rejoiced when you made it into the growth charts in the 3rd percentile at three months old!

Liam, you are so smart!  You have your quirks and your struggles, but your intelligence and memory skills are amazing. You forget nothing, it's remarkable. You are cruising right along with your peers in nursery school and have finally learned how to sit quietly!  Hurray!

Buddy, you love life!  You are happy, happy, happy almost all of the time, you regularly will walk up to us and say, "I happy!"  It shows in your eyes and sweet smile, love. You love to run and be outdoors. You don't love holding hands or listening to directions, so we get a bit nervous walking around the city. But you love it.  There's a park really close to our house that we walk to a lot of afternoons and you absolutely adore walking through "the jungle" to get to the park and then exploring the paths and trails. You are an inquisitive soul and love to explore the world you're in, this is when you are the most calm and collected, when you are exploring. 

Liam, you are the most hilarious four year old I've ever known. If you hear music, you have to dance. Regardless of the context, you will drop everything and boogie. This is one of my favorite things about you. You could care less that you're blocking the entrance to the grocery store, you simply must dance. You love to laugh, and you have a big wonderful laugh that we love to hear.

Dadda is the king of your world, you absolutely adore him, but momma can calm you down when you are out of sorts.  You love to tell strangers about your brother, "this is baby Jude, he's a baby," you'll say. You can take him or leave him a lot of the time at home, but you are so proud that he's your baby. You have started wanting to help sing to him at night and snuggle and read him stories, which is precious. I love watching you develop your relationship, I know first hand how difficult it can be to be the older sibling, sometimes you just don't want anyone touching your stuff!

Liam bird, I can't quite put into words how proud of you I am. You have truly changed our lives in such a wonderful way. You made me a momma!  And you continue to teach me more about myself and my need for grace each day. I wouldn't change a single thing about you. I'm so very very glad that you were born. 

Love you forever, and ever,

Momma