Titus: 3 Years!

Dear Titus,

At 3 years...

• You weigh 28 pounds and are just shy of 3ft tall 
• You wear 2T shirts and still wear mostly 24 month pants because your legs are short and your waist is small
• You are still in diapers (you have yet to seem very interested in potty training) but we are planning on potty training this month
• You have been in your big boy bed for a couple of months now and you love it! You've only fallen out a couple of times and you have never crawled out in the middle of the night (I think you are too scared to get out of bed in the dark)
• You love to pretend. We do a lot of pretending to blow bubbles, or throw balls, or eat pretend food.
• You are generally very sweet and kind to your baby sister, but when you take a toy from her or hit her I often come back in the room to see her crying and you in timeout, where you PUT YOURSELF for hurting her.
• Your favorite foods are stir fry veggies, cheeseburgers (with LOTS of pickles), yogurt, "special tweats" (usually a hershey's kiss), sandwiches, hot dogs, most berries, mandarin oranges, carrots, pizza, popsicles...
• You don't want to try new foods ("I DON'T WIKE IT!!!") but our rule is you have to have one bite, and then you usually end up eating all of it anyway
• You are in a phase where you love to tell stories and are always asking everyone else to tell you a story. All of your stories involve throwing fireballs.
• You respond to almost everything with, "why?"
• You are obsessed with patterns, measuring, counting, and spelling
• You are always spelling "words" on your etch-a-sketch pad and then ask me what it spells (which really means you just want me to say, "I don't know Titus, what does it spell?" and then you tell me the gibberish word you spelled)
• Calculators are one of your favorite "toys"
• You are also on a geography kick, so you want to look at maps and talk about countries all the time. Your favorite country is Turkey, you can find it on almost any map along with about 10 other countries
• You love the solar system and reading books about planets
• You have learned a little about flags and now anytime you see the American flag you say, "Wook! It's our flag! U S A! U S A!" (your Daddy taught you that chant). The other day you saw the USA flag and said, "it is big and it is stwong!"
• You still go down crying for most of your naps and frequently wake up from your nap crying. Naps are not your favorite thing.
• You are so very, very dramatic. You throw yourself on the floor in a fit at least 3 times a day. When you get sent to timeout I can often hear you wailing and saying, "Whhhhyyyyyy??? Whhhyyyyyy I throw the boooooook??" Like you are bemoaning yourself for disobeying
• You have become so independent. You let yourself in and out of the backyard screen door, you climb into the car and in your carseat by yourself, and you often get your own food out of the fridge.
• When daddy goes to take a shower you have a meltdown if you can't go with him and shower too
• On the weekends you LOVE waking daddy up at nine "way-ro- way-ro" (zero zero). You love clocks and telling time in general!

Titus James, you are my firstborn and I will always love you in such a special way because of that! No one will ever be able to make me feel like you do when you look in my eyes and smile at me and give me a big hug. You are sweet to other kids (especially babies) but you definitely don't want them in your space bubble. If you start to feel upset you often need to take some quiet time in your room by yourself and get out of a crowded area. Once you cool off you are so much better!We are also laughing at you ALL THE TIME! You are so funny and you KNOW you are funny. The more people laugh at you the sillier you act. You also think a lot of nerdy things are funny, like when we ask you to point to what country you live in on the globe you will point to Mexico and then laugh so hard, knowing that you intentionally picked the wrong country. Not only are you smart, but you are definitely an energetic little boy! You love jumping, running, yelling, and generally being a little spastic. Not a day goes by that I don't feel so lucky to have you in my life. Even when you are throwing fits or disobeying, I am grateful (sometimes only after you've gone to bed, ha!) that I have you as my son. We love you to the moon and back, to infinity and beyond, forever and ever.

Haddie Mae: 12 Months (ONE YEAR!)

Dear Haddie,

At 12 months you...

• You weigh 21 pounds.
• You wear size 4 diapers and 12 month clothes.
• You sleep from about 7-7:30pm to 6:45am. You take two naps around 9:30 and 2:30.
• You love to feed yourself (if I try to feed you then you spit the food out)
• You can say "mama" and "cat"
• You moved to a convertible carseat last month and don't love the car, but you seem pretty content still facing backward
• You still don't have much of a passion for food in general, but you keep putting on weight and have some cute thigh rolls so I guess it's ok!
• You LOVE your bottle, you get so demanding when you see me making it
• You love going to the store and riding around looking at everything. You actually love anything you can ride in- the wagon, stroller, shopping cart, etc. You don't ever try to climb out, you just sit back and enjoy it. I don't think I've even had to strap you into a shopping cart yet, come to think of it!
• You love bath time so much that you scream and cry almost every time we take you out, even if you've been in there for 20+ minutes.
• You try to put EVERYTHING in your mouth. When we go outside I often zip you into the trampoline so that you can't crawl on the dirt and put rocks and weeds in your mouth. We also watch big brother play outside a lot while you stand and watch from inside the screened door, you love doing that!
• You are loving to crawl around and explore. You go from room to room just looking at everything.
• You make a lot of screeching and screaming noises, but you aren't trying to talk much. You do say "mama" and "cat cat cat cat."
• You are so very sensitive. The fews times I've had to tell you "no" (usually because you are trying to eat a cord or mess with the DVR) you immediately cover your ears, your bottom lip starts trembling, and out come the big, fat crocodile tears.
• Speaking of covering your ears, this is a big thing for you. You do it when a stranger tries to talk to you and you're feeling bashful, you do it when you are sleepy and want to go to bed, you do it if you are physically hurt, and you do it when your feelings are hurt. It's like your security blanket!
• You have the prettiest little dimples starting to show when you smile! Especially the one on the right side
• You and Titus will often crawl into his room and play by yourselves. I'll here him saying, "Here go Baybee Hahdee, take dis toy. You wike blocks!" He is so sweet to you, he is always giving you things and saying, "it otay Baybee Hahdee" if you start crying (while he pats you on the head). 
• You still love to sleep and I am thankful for that!
• Every time you get in your crib you grab the extra paci in your crib and switch it out for the one in mouth. Then you hold the other paci in your hand while you sleep.
• You like to try and put your bows on yourself. Also sunglasses and scarves, so apparently you may have a thing for accessories!
• You LOVE to cuddle. It is my favorite thing about you! You will just sit still and lay on me (or almost anyone after you warm up to them, for that matter) and wrap your chubby arm around my shoulder
• Your favorite game is "put my paci in mommy's mouth" which is exactly like how it sounds
• Your favorite toy is the cozy coupe car. You like being pushed but even if no one is there to push you, you just love sitting in it and not even moving.
• You got 6 baby dolls for your birthday and you love every.single.one.
• You love bouncing, dancing, and bobbing. Pretty much anything that looks like squats.

Baby love, we just adore you! Everyone is constantly commenting on your red hair and your pleasant disposition. You are constantly smiling and trying to make eye contact with everyone around you, even though you will immediately duck your head and act bashful when people smile and talk back to you. I don't think I've ever reached the point where I just want to put you down and need a moment to myself, I genuinely love each second that you want to cuddle with me because you are just so gentle and sweet! We have so many friends and family that are praying that you keep your gentle and kind personality, and I know that God made you with these characteristics for a reason. I pray that you will grow up to love everyone as openly and warmly as you love your mommy, daddy, and big brother. I pray that you will view everyone as important just like you do each of your baby dolls (and stuffed animals and basically anything with a face, including the dog picture on the dog treat box!) But more than anything, I pray that you would know that we love because He first loved us (1 John 1:19). You are so incredibly special to us, Haddie Mae. Happy first birthday!