Dear Baby Boo,
Yes, I'm writing to you first. You're my only son, my youngest child, and are currently experiencing your toddler years in their fullest. I can't believe how much you grow every day, how much you love your family, and what a true blessing you are to us all!
From the first day, you were so obviously the puzzle piece that completed our family portrait. You are the epitome of a bouncing baby boy! In a family full of girls, and with parents that have spent countless hours perfecting (pshya, right) the art of raising little ladies, your arrival heralded a change in the whole dynamic. We have bonded ever closer, marveling over you and watching you grow every day.
Until you came along, we were a family full of ‘only children’. With Tibug grown and on her own, Rosie approaching her tween years (and visiting every few weeks), and Doodlebug developing into a sweet and sassy preschooler, we had our hands full of kids at all different stages of development. Not that much has changed, except now we get the joy of raising two kids full time. Actually, I call it 3.5 full-time kids, when you throw in Tibug’s beau, considering how often they come to see you. There is just something magical that you bring to the mix that seems to permeate the family – a joyful, loving smile and a sense of wonder that we all need reminded of at times.
Not that all of this growth is easy. In fact, it is often painful – both literally and figuratively, sometimes especially so to your sister’s hair. And that’s where the title of this blog comes from, a saying that your grandparents used with your mother and her siblings. When things don’t go your way, and you can’t tell us what you want, you’ll often pull Doodlebug’s hair to get the world to stop and turn its attention toward you. And while we know many ways to get girls to work through problems and have helped them with many frustrations, this behavior has really taken us aback. You don’t seem to care if you’re put on the rug, get a little slap on the hand, or really anything (although the threat of being put in the crib DOES seem to work) – so the best we can come up with is to have you “Give your sister a kiss and tell her you love her.”
And, really, it’s good advice for all of us.
The love of family is a binding force in our lives, and you remind us every day, in new ways, why this is so.
Little dude, I’m so proud of you that I can’t even explain it in words. So I’ll just leave off with using the recommendation above, and give you this –
XXX,
Daddy
We could have called it "Go lick the wall" but I suppose that would have been a bit much.
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