Dear Liam: six!

Dearest darling Liam David,

You are the most incredible six year old I've ever known!  It's so easy to celebrate you, especially since you are genuinely thrilled by the smallest of things. Happy sixth birthday, precious boy. 

You are a "big P-2" (your phrase) this year and have settled into school well. You have lovely handwriting and are doing really well with your reading. Most importantly, you love school. I'm so thankful that you are enjoying learning and having fun with your friends!  

Someday, I imagine, you won't be the cuddliest and sweetest boy in the land. But, until that moment, I will enjoy your tender heart and lovely cuddles. You are hands down the most naturally sweet person I've ever met. We tell you all the time that the most important thing you can do is be kind, and I truly think you embody this attribute. 

Liam, you love a laugh! You will go to great lengths to get a laugh from others and you find the humour in everything. Your laugh is big and bold and incredible, I hope that never changes!  You also love love love to dance!  This isn't a new love, but you're really cultivated some new moves recently. 

Everyone always comments on your size. You are currently 50 inches tall and tower over most of your classmates. I'm always amazed that you're so big since you started off so teeny tiny. I pray you keep your sweet spirit and become a gentle giant like your daddy. 

Sweet boy, I am so glad that I get to be your mommy.  You make me proud every day and I'm humbled that I was chosen to raise and shape you. I'm excited to continue to watch you grow and change, I think this year is going to be the best yet!  

Love you forever, and ever,

Momma

Jude at 3.5:

Jude was 3 and a 1/2 on May 25th, but I'm just now getting around to writing for him. Whoops. 

*Jude is our little comedian. He loves to make people laugh and has started using "potty humour" to try and get a laugh.  We are working on redirecting this. But goodness, his timing is good. 

*Jude is still a bit of a "tough crowd," he does not enjoy meeting new people and can be quite shy. The trouble is his shyness usually manifests as rudeness. 

*Bunny is still Jude's favourite companion and goes with us most places. 

*Jude's favourite colour is purple and he loves stars, playing with Legos, and play doh. 

*This kid loves to eat. Some favourite foods are potato chips, pancakes, raspberries, yogurt, milk, and any type of candy. 

*Jude is always keen to help me in the kitchen and loves to stand at the stove and watch me cook. 

*Jude is extremely aware of his surroundings and knows his way around town to the point of telling me I'm lost if I take a route other than our usual one.  

*We adore this crazy, wild, determined and hilarious little boy. He loves us passionately and is so proud of his little family. 

Liam at 5.5:

Yesterday was Liam's half birthday so I thought it was high time to share a bit and brag on my sweet big boy. 

*Liam is hands down the most genuinely sweet person I've ever known. He doesn't have a mean bone in his body. I just love his guts.  

*he loooooooves to be a helper.  If I can phrase an unpleasantry, like cleaning, as a helping task he is generally all over it. 

*at his parent/teacher conference his teacher said that Liam is a "a lovely sweet boy who loves a laugh," I think she knows my boy well. 

*He is doing extremely well at school and thrives on the routine. His handwriting is lovely and he knows all of his phonics sounds and is starting to read!

*Favourite foods are jam sandwiches, triangle (tortilla) chips, McDonalds French fries, blueberries, spinach smoothies, and Jaffa cakes (a type of cookie here).

*He builds elaborate Lego structures on a daily basis and loves to play pretend. 

*Dancing to music and hide and seek are some favourite home activities.

*He loves to pick out clothes on the weekend (he wears a uniform to school), and always wants to show off his "stylish."

*He is definitely picking up a bit of an Irish accent, but more so has adapted to phrases and colloquialisms. He sounds like a proper wee Irish boy, but with an American accent. We love it. 

*Liam is truly a treasure and we are so glad that he's ours!

Dear Jude: 3

Dear Jude Monroe,

You are three years old, darling boy!  I cannot believe that my baby is so grown up. It seems like mere moments ago that you were born. I cannot imagine life without your sweet self in it, and I am so so thankful that you were chosen to be our son!

Jude, you have enough personality for 10 little boys. You are sassy and sweet, naughty and nice, your are conniving and argumentative and determined to your very core. The word "no" means nothing to you unless you are the one using it. You are brutally honest and tell everyone the truth even if they don't want to hear it. One hilarious quirk is that you are extremely in touch with your emotions. You are very sensitive and prefer crying to reason in most scenarios. You often tell us, "I'm so sad," "I am crying," or "I want to cry." The drama is strong and adorable. 

Of course you are a giant of a three year old, this should come as no surprise. We don't do yearly check ups here so I'm not sure of your actual size, but there are children in Liam's class that you are larger than, and they are at least 1.5 years older than you. 

Your favourite thing on earth continues to be your beloved Bunny. You sometimes call him/her (the gender varies) Bun, but you don't allow the rest of us that privilege. You also love to stay in your p.j.s and snuggle. It is a hassle to get you dressed everyday, I have to say you come by this trait honestly. You love Paw Patrol and Team Umizoomi on TV and we can always count on you to be absorbed in a phone or tablet if one is lying about. 

Counting is one of your favourite things to do and you've recently mastered 1-10. You love to read books and you speak very well for your age. We are so proud of you, sweet boy. 

Jude, you are a loyal little boy and you fiercely love your family. I can't tell you how many times you've rescued me from a bad mood with your love. What a gift. We absolutely cherish you and cannot wait to see what great and mighty things you do in this life. 

Love you forever, and ever,

Momma

Dear Liam: 5

Dearest Liam bird,

Happy FIFTH birthday!!!  You are so excited to be five years old, I'm in a bit of shock that you can possibly be this old.  We are so incredibly proud of you and are really enjoying this stage in your life, but it's always startling to see just how quickly another year has passed us by.

Liam, you have grown so much this year.  Your speech has evolved and has come a long way and you've just matured in every way imaginable.  You stand 48 inches tall and weigh in at 50 pounds, they don't do growth charts and percentages here, but I'm pretty sure you're in the hundredth percentile by American standards.  I'm amazed that you are now ten times the weight you were when you were born, well done!

You are currently really enjoying primary school.  Every day you ask if you get to go to P-1.  You are very independent about going into school and have done really well at adapting to the schedules and routines.  You struggle a bit with group instruction so you sometimes get a bit of extra one-on-one help which really helps you to move forward.  You have several friends that you talk about at home and you always tell us about going to the library and doing exercises outside so I think those are your favorite parts of school at the moment.

The most common thing we hear from other adults (kids church workers, cashiers, teachers) is that you are so very sweet.  This makes me so proud, sweet boy.  More than anything else I long for you to always be sweet and kind to others, so to send you out for an hour or so and to hear that you were giving hugs and using your nice manners and being sweet to everyone is just the greatest report ever.  You are still our snuggle bug, I think all those hours of holding you while you slept has made you really comfortable with being close to us and I hope you don't grow out of snuggling anytime soon.  You love to get into bed with Jude in the mornings and share the iPad while Daddy and I get a few more winks, and you always want to sit with us and relax after school.  You still hold our hands readily and love to have rides on Daddy's shoulders when we are out walking a long distance.

Your favorite things to do are: any type of outside play, going for hikes, eating "blue surf" ice cream from Maud's, watching hobby kids videos on youtube, eating at "the french fry shop" (McDonalds), playing "Go Fish" and "hide & seek," and running around the house with your little brother.

Your love of life is absolutely contagious.  If anyone asks how you are your typical response is, "I'm great!" And you are, my dear, you truly are.  I am so proud of you and thankful for you, sweet Liam.  You are our firstborn, guinea pig and I'm so glad to learn this parenting game through your (and God's) grace. 

Love you forever, and ever,

Momma