Letter to Morgan - 7 Years

Morgan,

Happy 7th birthday, Pumpkin! I couldn’t be more proud of you over the past year. You have really shown what a good heart you have for your baby sister and your friends. You started Kindergarten this past year and made friends immediately. You knew that you would only be attending Shady Brook for one year, but it didn’t matter to you. You loved every minute of it and you even established a friendship with your teacher, Miss White.

You did great academically in all of your subjects and you particularly loved to sing. Miss White would sometimes have to scold you to get you stop singing in class. You truly enjoyed your year at Shady Brook and even got a Perfect Attendance award at the end of the school year.

You also joined Girl Scouts and became a Daisy. You were in a brand new troop with about 7 other girls and you earned all of your petals for your Daisy flower. You were the first to be able to recite the Girl Scout pledge and song from memory. I still remember the day that you memorized them, you were so excited and couldn’t wait until the next meeting.

Everything and everyone is your “favorite” right now. When you talk about a movie, a toy, a television show, a character, etc., it is always your favorite. When talking about a friend, you will say that she’s your best friend. Daddy and I think it’s funny that you can’t nail down one favorite thing or one favorite friend. You always tell us that you have “lots of favorites”. It’s actually really cool that you have such a passion for so many things in life. Don’t ever change, Pumpkin.

In addition to Girl Scouts, you are also taking Swim Lessons once a week. You absolutely love it and have progressed from level 3 to level 5 in three short months. You enjoy learning from your instructor and like to goof around with the other kids in the class sometimes.

Over the summer, you participated in the Children’s Courtyard summer program and got to go on many field trips around the area. You also participated in Vacation Bible School and Music & Arts Camp at church. You had a blast and you can’t wait to do it again next summer.

You’ve lost several teeth this year, so many that I can’t remember, and you even lost one while we were in West Virginia on vacation. The West Virginia tooth fairy didn’t let you down though. You currently have one that is loose right now, and it’s due to come out at anytime.

I’m proud of you for so many things, Morgan. You independently get yourself showered and dressed, you’re getting better at fixing your own hair (you’re learning how to put your hair in a ponytail). You can tie your own shoes. You’re smart, funny, and sensitive. What I’m most proud of though is the way you are with your baby sister. Yes, she gets on your nerves, but you love her and coddle her when she needs it. You play with her and share your toys (most of the time). The majority of the artwork that you bring home from school is about your baby sister. It fills my heart to see how much you love her. You’re a wonderful big sister.

Things you love: Singing, Maylin, Chocolate, Burgers, Apples, Strawberries, Yogurt, Pink, Purple, Shopkins, Barbies, American Girl, Elena of Avalor, Rey from Star Wars, Mini-Golf, Swimming, Dancing, Vacations, Hotels, and Girl Scouts.

I think that you can tell how much love we have for you and how much pride we have for our oldest daughter. I know that there are so many big things planned for your future and we are going to be with you every step of the way. We love you, Pumpkin.

Love Mommy, Daddy, and Maylin

Letter to Maylin - 3 Years

Dearest Maylin,

You are now 3 years old and such a sweet and feisty little girl. You are talking so much now and some of the things that you say are so cute that we can't help but laugh. You call flamingos "mingos" and your bathing suit "bathing soup". You love to sing, but you don’t want anyone singing with you. Your favorite songs are: ABC’s, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (or as you call it “Tinkle Tar”), The Farmer in the Dell, and Fishers of Men (church song). You still call yourself May May even though you know how to say your name now.

Your little personality is really starting to show now. We get to see your sweet and stubborn sides quite often. You apologize immediately when you accidently hurt someone, but when you’re mad you hit, pinch, and scratch. Typically your sister gets the brunt of this. You get in trouble for it and then get your feelings hurt and start crying (ha). You have learned the drama from your sister, I’m afraid.

You love to cuddle, give kisses, and sit in my lap. You also want to hold my hand when we go down the stairs together. On the other hand, you are fiercely independent and want to do everything by yourself. This includes dressing yourself, changing your pull-up, putting your shoes on, and pretty much anything else that still requires some assistance.
You copy everything that your sister does and you think you should be ABLE to do all of the things that your sister does. We have to keep an eye on you constantly because we’re never sure what you’re going to attempt next. Typical of this age, you tend to get hurt a lot and it’s usually your mouth. You have had so many bloody mouth incidences this past year that it’s hard to keep track. Thankfully none of them were serious.

You are truly a happy little girl and give us such delight and pleasure on a daily basis. You enjoy playing with your “Sissy” and you’ve really shown an interest in the cats over the past 6 months or so. You like to sit next to Aidan while he eats his meal and you will give us a report on what the cats are doing when you see them around the house “Mommy, Aidan is in the bathroom”.
You are so proud of yourself for graduating from taking a bath to showering with Sissy. You tell us that you are a big girl now because you are taking big girl showers. You are still getting used to it, but you love it and get very upset when it’s time to get out. You would stay in there all night if we let you.

You are slowly getting the potty training down. You do well at school, but at home you won’t go on your own and you aren’t motivated to tell us when you need to go. We will be working with you over the next few months to get you fully trained (we have been slacking off and not pushing it like we should).

You are currently enrolled in swim lessons every Wednesday evening and you absolutely love it. You are able to hold your breath, swim to the side of the pool, float on your back (with assistance), and swim down to the bottom of the pool to pick up a toy (with assistance). You are doing so well and we’re so proud of you.
One thing that we can’t seem to break you of is the fact that you won’t smile for any pictures that are taken by anyone other than me and Daddy. You love to smile for the camera, but if anyone else decides to take your picture you’re not having it, ha!

You like: your stuffed toys (Tutu and Lee Lee seem to be your favorites), Sofia the First, Minnie Mouse, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, pizza, grapes, french fries, cupcakes, yogurt, juice, your blanket, and swimming.

You dislike: strangers (or pretty much anyone not in the family), dogs, Malcolm (a boy from school who bites), apples, strawberries, bugs, dirty hands (including cat hair that gets stuck on your hands).

I honestly can’t believe that it’s been 3 years already. You have been such a joy to us, Sweet Pea. You continue to amaze use with your sweet personality and spunky attitude. We love you so much and we can’t wait to see what you have in store for us this coming year. Happy birthday, my ‘sweetest of the peas’.

Love Mommy, Daddy, and Morgan