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

Letter to Morgan - 6 Years

Dear Morgan,

Happy 6th birthday, Pumpkin! How can you already be 6 years old? I was recently looking back at some of your baby pictures and it seems like it was only a short time ago that I was rocking that sweet baby to sleep.

You have grown up so much over the past year. In one short year, you’ve become much more independent and are taking the initiative to try new things. You are an amazing little girl full of so much energy and life. You talk and sing non-stop and love to boss your little sister around as much as possible.

I’m so amazed by your ability to adapt to new situations and accept change. In a matter of a month, we moved from our house that had always been your home, to an apartment. You went from having your own room and bathroom to sharing with your sister AND you started Kindergarten. You have loved and accepted every minute of it.

You started Kindergarten one month ago and you absolutely love it. Every day you have a great story to tell us about what you did in class, a song that you learned, or a game that you played during gym class. You are so smart and excelling in school already. You get wonderful comments on your homework from Miss White, like “Beautiful Job”. Your penmanship is excellent and looks like it was written by a child much older than six. I’m so proud of you, pumpkin!

In the last couple of months, you have lost your first 2 teeth, your two bottom front teeth. Your first tooth came out very quickly – you told us it was loose and within 3 hours and it came out while you were eating dinner. You were so excited! The Tooth Fairy visited that night and put glitter all over your dollar bill and left some fairy dust on the table (which you quickly scooped up and put into a baggie). I had to explain to you that she didn’t leave enough for you to be able to fly, which disappointed you tremendously. You lost your second tooth earlier this week, which Daddy pulled out for you right before bedtime. Once again, you were very excited and the Tooth Fairy left you a glitter dollar again (without the fairy dust this time).

You are starting to make friends in school, but no new BFF yet. You still talk about your old friends from Pre-K (Cassidy and Megan) and you are looking forward to seeing both of them at your birthday party at American Girl. You have been asking for an American Girl doll for over a year and have wanted to have your birthday party there for even longer, so this year you are getting your wish. You are so excited and it will be your first time in the store. I’ve got a feeling you may explode from sheer joy.

You’re a good big sister to Maylin. You play with her and show her how to do things and help her when she needs it. You struggle with sharing your toys with her, which is typical for most kids, but I think you have fun being able to boss her around. She listens to most everything you tell her to do and she copies everything you do and say (good and bad, ha!) I love watching the two of you play together and I can see how much you love each other. I pray that you both have a lasting bond for life.

You recently got a ‘big girl’ haircut where 8 inches were cut. We plan on donating your hair to a good cause. You handled it like a champ and you were actually excited to get it cut. It’s so much easier to wash and brush.

You are now taking showers and you’re no longer interested in taking a bath with your sister. You still need a little help, but I’m guessing over the next year, you will be showering without any of our help.

Your favorite things right now are: Topsy-Turvy Elsa/Anna doll, Disgust doll (from the movie “Inside Out”), stuffed Dolly (which you’ve had since you were born), the Kindle, Television, McDonalds, Cheeseburgers, Gym class, and playing in the pool.

We are enrolling you in Girl Scouts this year and you can’t wait to learn all of the songs. You associate Girl Scouts with music because I’ve sang and taught you many of the songs that I learned while in Girl Scouts. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Daddy and I couldn’t be more proud of you and the things that you’ve accomplished this year. We love you so much and although you’re not a baby anymore, you will always be our baby girl.

Love,

Mommy, Daddy, and Maylin

Letter to Maylin - 2 Years

Maylin,

Happy 2nd birthday to my ‘sweetest of the peas’! This year has gone by so quickly and you have accomplished so much that it’s hard to decide where to start.

You began walking shortly after your first birthday and now you are running, jumping, and climbing on everything. We are constantly telling you to either get down or sit down. You don’t always listen and will even tell us ‘no’ sometimes.

Your personality is shining through more and more every day. You are my little observer and are still reserved around people that you don’t know or haven’t seen in a while. Around the family, you are a rambunctious, sweet, rotten, defiant, loving, and happy little girl. You love your big sister so much and you imitate EVERYthing that she does. You want to do everything that she’s doing and you will get frustrated if you can’t or aren’t allowed.

You are a mama’s girl and constantly follow me around and want to be picked up. You are especially clingy at this age, but I don’t mind as I know there will come a day when you won’t want me around as much. I treasure every cuddle moment with you.

You love your stuffed animals. You have 3 favorites: Toothy (which you call “Tutu”), Bloom (which you call “Moon”), and Leona (which you call “LeeLee”). It’s so precious to see you interact with your buddies – you kiss them, hug them, sleep with them, and throw them when you’re mad lol.

You are talking so much! A lot more than your sister did at this age. You talk in 2-3 word sentences and we can understand most of what you’re saying. You refer to yourself as May May and will start most sentences with your name first. It’s very cute! One of the funniest things that you do is when anyone toots (including yourself), you will call them out on it by saying “Daddy poop”. We can’t get away with anything when you’re around! You call your sister “Sissy” and when we ask you say Morgan, you still say Sissy. You refer to both cats as “Meow Meow” and you’ll get mad at them sometimes for no apparent reason other than they may have gotten too close to one of your stuffed animals.

When I put you to bed at night, I always blow kisses at you and tell you that I love you. You learned how to blow kisses back almost immediately, but you resisted saying I love you until recently. As I was leaving your room, you said “You You” and my heart melted. Those 2 simple words made my day.

We have not started the potty training process with you yet, but you are definitely showing an interest and recently told your teacher that you had to use the potty. She put you on the toilet and you pooped in the potty. We were so excited to hear this and we have our fingers crossed that potty training will go smoothly.

You love to eat and you can eat a lot. We joke that you have a hollow leg that must be filled before you’re done with your meal. The unfortunate part for us is that you’re a slow eater, so we tend to get impatient waiting for you to finish your meal. You get very upset with us if we try to take your plate away before you’re done. Your favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, French fries, applesauce, yogurt, and dessert. You don’t care for fruit very much, but will eat pears and bananas. You also don’t like toast, pancakes, or waffles.

We are looking forward to sharing more precious moments with you in the coming year, Sweet Pea. We love you with all of our hearts.

Love,
Mommy, Daddy, & Morgan

Letter to Morgan - 5 Years

Dear Morgan,

You are now officially a 5 year old. When and how did you get so big, in such a short amount of time? This past year has gone by so quickly and there are so many amazing things that you’ve done.

One of the biggest things that you did was graduate from Pre-K. You and your class recited all of the things that you’d learned and you read a book to the audience on your own. We were so proud of you, Pumpkin. You can read and write your ABCs, you can sound out your letters, and so much more! The unfortunate thing is that you are in Pre-K again this year. You just missed the Kindergarten cutoff date (due to your birth date). You were a little disappointed that you weren’t starting Kindergarten like many of your friends, but you got over it quickly, and you now talk about when you start school NEXT year.

You took swimming lessons this year and you are a fish in the pool. In just 2 short weeks, you were holding your breath underwater, kicking your legs, and straitening your arms while swimming. You absolutely loved it and you can’t wait to do it again next year.

We tried to talk you into participating in soccer this year, rather than gymnastics. Although you were interested in soccer, you weren’t willing to give up your gymnastics to do it. Over the past year, you have moved up TWO classes in gymnastics. You are learning more techniques, including the balance beam and the bars. You have great balance and like playing on the bars. You had the cartwheel down and then you tried learning a hand stand and all of the sudden you forgot how to do the cartwheel – back to the drawing board! (You also tried Karate at school, but it wasn’t something that kept your interest).

You had a BLAST at the Young Family Reunion this year. We spent almost 6 days total in the car driving there and back and you were such a good girl. You met a lot of your cousins and had a special bond with Erin and Jenna. They took you under their wing and had you playing with all of the other cousins in no time. You continue to talk about the trip to West Virginia and that you want to go back next year.

You love puzzles (just like Mommy) and are exceptionally good at putting them together. You completed a 200 piece puzzle this year with very little help. That puzzle is for 6+ years and you did it at 4 years old. It was a proud Mommy moment!

You are still trying to work through things when it comes to your baby sister. There are times when you are so sweet to her. You sang the most precious song to her when she was about 5 months old and it’s a video that I will treasure forever. There are also times when you get frustrated with her because she won’t keep her hands off your things. You struggle with sharing, but you are getting so much better. You will now offer her some of your toys, but you get upset when she tries to put them in her mouth, ha! I know that it will get better and I also know how much you love her. You are very possessive of her when other children want to play with her or when an adult jokingly mentions taking her home. You are a good big sister and I look forward to watching your relationship with Maylin grown over time.

You love: Frozen, Elsa from Frozen, singing Frozen songs, bubbles, drawing/coloring, playing games, singing made up songs, the color pink, dresses, anything “girly”, chocolate, ice cream, sugar, ketchup, pizza, chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, carrots, your stuffed animals, playing at the park, bounce houses, gymnastics, playing with your friends (your BFF is Lucy), and watching cartoons (Tom & Jerry, Scooby Doo, Pokémon, and animated movies).

You dislike: Mashed potatoes, spicy food, salad, ranch dressing, jeans, “boy stuff”, loud noises, thunder/ lightening, and bugs.

We love watching you grow and we can’t wait to see what you have in store for us this year! Happy Birthday, Pumpkin. We love you.

Love,

Mommy, Daddy, & Maylin

A Year In The Life of Maylin Muriel Young

Birth Day! August 1, 2013


1 Month


2 Months


3 Months


4 Months


5 Months


6 Months


7 Months


8 Months


9 Months


10 Months


11 Months


Happy 1st Birthday! August 1, 2014

Letter to Maylin - 12 Months

Sweetest Maylin,

You are 1 year old. Writing this brings tears to my eyes. It’s unbelievable that it’s already been 12 months. I still remember how tiny you were when we brought you home. Your newborn diapers were too big for you and Auntie Lisa and I would laugh at your little ‘granny butt’.

You are on the brink of walking and have taken a few steps here and there on your own, but you’re not quite there yet. You are crawling everywhere and are very quick about it too! You will also use tables and chairs to help you walk around the room.

What a wonderful baby you have been! You only get fussy if you’re hungry, tired, or in pain. You’ve had some tooth pain, but you take it like a champ. You have 4 bottom front teeth and you have one top front tooth that is already in and the other one is just breaking through. You chew on anything that you can get your hands (or mouth) on, including dirty shoes. We have to be careful not to keep our shoes lying around because you will find them!

You are still not too sure about regular foods. You will try a bite of most things, but will quickly spit them out if you don’t like them. You’re still not a fan of bananas or really any fruit that isn’t pureed. You will eat chicken nuggets, carrots, applesauce, cheerios, French fries, and Gerber Cheetos and Puffs.

Your personality is very mellow and laid back. You suck on your bottom lip and observe what is going on around you. Your facial expressions are priceless! You tend to have a shy demeanor especially in group gatherings, but you are fine with people holding you. At home, you are a chatter box and you’re favorite thing to say is “yeah yeah”. We’ll ask you questions and your typical response is yeah yeah, which makes it sound like you are actually answering.

You love to play with your sister and when she gets excited about something, you will too. She can get you to dance and laugh more than anyone else. Your tummy, neck, and feet are ticklish. Nibbling on any of those areas will get you laughing and squealing in no time. Your laughter is such a beautiful sound.

Your birthday weekend was very active and fun. You celebrated with cupcakes at school on the day of your birthday. The next day you got your first pair of shoes (hopefully you will be walking in them soon). On Sunday, we had a pool party to celebrate. The pool was cold, but you didn’t care. You were happy as a lark in your float. You weren’t too sure about your smash cake, but you did like squishing the green frosting in your hands. Mommy, Daddy, Morgan, Auntie Lisa, Grammy, Pap, Aunt Robin, Uncle Ed, Gracie, Brittany, and David were all there to celebrate your one year of life.

How blessed we are to call you daughter. Happy 1st Birthday, Sweet Pea. We love you.

Mommy, Daddy, & Morgan