Dear Kid Sunday

Welcome to this week's installment of "Dear Kid" and sorry for the unannounced hiatus! I'm just now getting caught up after our Seattle trip and the freelance projects (thankfully) have been plentiful. Here's what we've been up to since you last heard from us.

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Dear chickadee,

We've had a busy couple of weeks since my last letter. We planned a surprise party for your Grandma Tiny and you were SO awesome at keeping it a secret! She had no idea. Part of the surprise was a quick visit from your Aunt who lives in California. You were super excited to see her and I know she loved spending time with you.

Also last weekend a new little doggie came to stay with us. You've been such a great help. Since she's a lot smaller than our dog, you're able to walk her all by yourself and you think that's pretty great. She's really taken to you as well. Hopefully she'll continue to get along nicely with our big dog and she'll be able to stay.

You did something SUPER cool this week - you started writing words! We've been working on reading and you already recognize some words, but all of the sudden, you began sounding things out in order to write them down. Amazing! The first time you did it, you came running up to me and said, "Look, Mom! I made a sign that says 'No Apples!'"


Not bad considering you'd never tried anything like that before. You thought it was hilarious to ban apples in our house, so your next sign was:

Poor Dad. He loves pears! That one was even more amazing because I only gave you a teeny bit of help. You couldn't figure out how to make the long A sound in "pears," so I gave you a hint. The rest you came up with yourself! Later that afternoon, you wrote me a note that said, "No Nap." Hmmm....

The fancy dress in the picture is from your "Fancy Day" with your Aunt K. She took you out for an early birthday surprise - getting your nails done and then.... a tea party! She said you behaved like quite a little lady. I'm so proud of you.

Meanwhile, we've been having a little trouble with listening at home, haven't we? Lately I have to ask several times for you to do something, and every now and then you'll stick your tongue out or give me some sass. I don't like it one bit and I've not been very patient with you. When I get mad, you get madder - we're quite the team. I realize that if I get worked up, I'm only teaching you to get worked up, so I need to learn to practice self-control. Now that you're older, you can say things that really hurt my feelings. It's my job as your mom not to respond emotionally but to offer you choices and allow you to make mistakes. You're smart enough and independent enough that you'll learn much more effectively from the consequences of bad choices than you will from a lecture from Mommy. Let's work on it together this week, OK?

On a "you're adorable" note, last night when we were at dinner, you tried and tried to get the waiter's attention while he was taking our order. Every time there was a break, you said, "Sir? Sir?" When he finally turned your way you said, "Sir? Guess what? Me and Mommy are best friends!" That was pretty much the sweetest thing ever.

I love you so much, girlie girl.

Kisses,
Mommy