I know that there are many parents who manage to write a love letter to you every month from your birth. I haven't been one of those, but I'd really like to be. The problem, is that there are now three of you, and I think I'd be writing letters once a week to do a monthly letter for each of you. Since your baby sister was born on the last day of the month, I've decided to write one letter each month to all three of you. I'm really proud of the way you all get along and the way you boys have fallen in love with your sister (who still needs a blog name.) We've had our moments this month, there's definitely been some challenges, but every evening each of you is thrilled to see baby sister waiting in the car. I can't wait to see her smiling and laughing at the two of you.
Speaking of baby sister, this last weeks you've started to smile in response to me. I wish I could say you're a quiet, predictable baby who sleeps all night, but that would be wishful thinking. Instead you are opinionated, loud, and impatient. You still eat every 3.5 hours or so, but I can usually count on one longish nap in the morning. You have a couple cranky spells a day, of a couple hours each, where all you can do is snooze 10 minutes then cry for a few, snooze, cry, repeat. It's very frustrating for your parents, especially when the only thing that calms you is walking with you, and even MORE especially when it happens from 1 to 3 am!
Buggy boy, you've accepted your sister much more easily than your brother accepted you! We have to constantly guard against you squishing her with your enthusiasm, but I would never say you were intentionally hurtful towards her. You want to hug her all. the. time. You talk all the time and keep up with your brother in imagination and conversation. You know your Star Wars characters every bit as well as Sesame Street. You never hesitate to climb a slide or jump off something tall and you don't give a hoot what we tell you. In fact, we've discovered that once you've decided to do something there is no stopping you with bribes or threats or reason. You are determined to always have your way. You are 2 years 5 months old and the "terrible twos" could be named after you. Despite this, you are a lot of fun to be around, your energy is insane and you keep us on our toes. Last night we discovered that you'll dance along with anyone dancing on tv- including the cast of Glee.
My Pirate, you're 5 years 5 months now. This was a big summer for you- you left the only daycare you can remember, you got a new sister, you started kindergarten. There are still more changes in store for you and I only hope you take them as well as you've handled the rest of the summer. You are a terrific big brother- most of the time. Now that you spend more time with kids your own age you expect your brother to play by 5 year old rules, which doesn't happen. This occasionally sends you into a fury of yelling and stomping, but we're working on that. This has also been a month of more rules and more expectations, many of which are hard for you to handle. I really think this is our fault more than yours, it's a lot to take in a short time. You're so happy and sweet and are free with your affection to all four of us, including your sister from day one. You love school and many nights come home to practice writing words and "reading" to your brother. You were so ready for what school is doing for you and I couldn't enjoy watching you enjoy school more.
There are days that are overwhelming with life with three kids. There are plenty of times that your dad and I lose our patience and our temper but we're learning just like you all are. We're so excited to see the direction that our family and our life has taken this month, and I can't wait til the end of next month to see what new things I'll have to record then. You kids are my heart and I hope to be a better parent to you every day than the day before.
Love,
Mommy
I am an Amazon Associate. As such, any purchase you make at Amazon.com after following a link from this blog will earn me a (tiny) percentage back as income. Thanks.
Hey! Another Nora Roberts book! I wasn't in the market for another one right now, but when you request books from the library and 43 people have them on hold, you read them when you get them!
. This one is a stand alone, not a series, and a little more serious than the Bride Quartet. This one has a mystery in it along with the romance, so might appeal to a wider range of readers. Fiona Bristow has moved to a small island off the coast of Washington to escape her past as the only survivor of a serial killer, now behind bars. Simon Doyle is a wood artist, who has moved to the island for some peace. His mother has gifted him with a puppy and Fiona happens to be a super star dog trainer. Simon goes to Fiona for help with Jaws, just as a copycat murderer emerges and Fiona is threatened again.
by Morgan Matson once I get a little cleaning done.
by Piper Kerman is yet another memoir style book where the author spends a certain amount of time doing something unusual. In this case, the author is in prison for a decades old crime related to drugs. She chooses to turn her experience into a book about prison life, which is good for her, and is somewhat interesting for the reader. She manages to keep it from being all about gossip and it's not overly condescending towards her fellow inmates who are all less educated than Kerman and from a lower economic background. She talks about how different prisons are completely different in terms of how they treat prisoners and what things are available at different places, for example, at one prison they did not even have underwear for her. It's a quick and easy book to read, but I found Kerman to be annoying and to maintain the attitude that she was somehow better than everyone else, that she didn't belong there. (Despite never denying her guilt.) I picked this one up based on a 
by Julie London. If you recall, I just read 
by Christie Craig made my TBR list due to 
by Gretchen Rubin is one of those books that fit the category I like (stunt memoir) but that I never get around to reading when I check it out of the library. I'd had this one home twice before I saw 
