Dear Eden,

This is a month late, but I still want to wish you a happy 6th birthday in a birthday letter. So happy birthday, Eden girl! We celebrated your birthday in New Mexico and Colorado at the family cabin. It seems we celebrate your birthday in a lot of different places due to the day being in the summer. I wonder where else we will celebrate our girly. I have written this letter but I didn't like how it came across so this is birthday letter 2.0. Now onto the letter!

 

Despite your limited diet (by choice), you are where you should be height and weight-wise. So no concerns there. You don't like to exert yourself too much and claim to be tired a lot. After some tests, there's nothing that came up, so maybe you're like your mom and like to rest up. You did ballet last school year and really enjoyed it. You wanted to try Kung Fu with Eli this past summer but it was a struggle at the end. I'm proud of you for finishing. You will be starting dance back up in September and you are excited to do it again. You really want to be a ballerina when you grow up and recently you told me you will never change your mind. I'm interested to see if you do or not in the future.

I mentioned your diet, and oh boy, it's a chore feeding you. Things you are guaranteed to like are corn dogs, white mac and cheese from a box, PB and J, strawberries, apples, and peanut butter, Mott's fruit snacks, and Little Caesar's cheese pizza. You will also drink ketchup/mayo/honey mustard from the bottle if given the opportunity. There isn't a single vegetable you will eat. You love cupcakes, but only the frosting. It's stressful I must admit, but we are doing our best to introduce new foods. I really hope one day you will grow out of it for your health. 

 

You are a talker! You like to tell me about your day, ideas you have, your opinions, the past (mainly how much you miss California and want to go to Disneyland and drink California water). You want my undivided attention and get mad when I can't give it or zone out (whoops!). It's been getting better when I say you will have a turn after a conversation with someone else or a task I am finishing. Other things you love from me are cuddles. You love to compliment me while cuddling with you and though I don't really feel I deserve it, it's super cute. You are so lovey-dovey and crave physical contact. Nothing makes you happier (than maybe a new toy). You are still a full-on momma's girl!

Some of your interests include anything shiny (I call you my little magpie), dragons, Puppy-corns, stickers, butterflies, Pokemon, Stitch, and the color pink. Very much a girly girl sprinkled with magic. You love material things and get excited when you see something you like at the store. This past year we had a couple incidents with you stealing  (hence being called a magpie). You haven't done it in a while though! When you don't get something you want you introduce your sad face (big eyes looking up, tiny frown with lips moving up and down). I kind of laugh every time you use it, sorry! You think it's a cute face (it really is) and you do love cute things! You like to draw with cute eyes on everything and do have some of the cutest drawings. Your teachers have commented on your drawings in the past and it's hard to throw any of them away. You are a talented girl. Lastly, I noticed you are more willing to complete chores and tasks with little fight. As long as you get to play Pokemon or earn a dollar or two!

 

I've stated that when I was pregnant with Noah, I thought that if I didn't get another girl it would be okay because I had you as a daughter. It was due to how adorably sweet and girly you were. Those things are still very true, although you've become quite the firecracker as well. You fight back when your brothers are bothering you (you have some good nails on you). I'm still not sure what to do there, but I hope you will express yourself more calmly as you get older. And even though your brothers get on your nerves, you do not like to be alone at all. And you always want a playmate. Maybe more friends than enemies, but "frienemies" is the best term to describe your relationship with your brothers. You have friends you've made at school, Wrigley, Dustin and Rubi. You talk about them a lot and we even had playdates with them. I'm so happy to see you create your own relationships. I hope these relationships last through the years!

I love you, sweet girl. I hope you have a wonderful year and grow into that beautiful spirit of yours. I've seen great changes in you and I am so happy to call you my daughter. You are enough for us in many ways and I'm glad you are in our lives. Keep working on being a good sister and great friend. 

Love, 

Mama

Dear Joseph,

Happy 11th birthday! Once again you remind me of the breakneck speed of the time passing. I still remember holding you at our old duplex listening to Clair de Lune and savoring every little part of my newborn. Now that newborn baby is finishing elementary school.  Let's get into your life at eleven years old.

Looking back at your last letter I see not a whole lot has changed. You've gone up a size in shoes and pants, but other than that you haven't passed me in height or shoe size. I have a feeling that will change come next birthday. You also haven't gotten braces like I predicted. The new dentist said we could wait so we'll see when it actually happens. You still like some of the same foods, like sushi, watermelon, dragon fruit, and other tropical fruits, but your biggest obsession is Orange Fanta. Your uncle Matt gave you one when we went to Mexico and you ask for it almost every chance you get. In fact, that's what you spend most of your earnings on. Hopefully, we don't have to make extra trips to the dentist for that too.

As this is your last year in elementary school, we were looking at our options for middle school. I was first leaning toward the middle school you are assigned to, but your dad wanted to look into the magnet schools funded by the school district. We then learned about Jones STEM middle school and you eagerly wanted to go to this one. You are going to have a focus on science which you enjoy the most out of all the subjects. You want to be a herpetologist one day (study of reptiles and amphibians) so I think it will be a good fit for you. Your absolute favorite animal is a hognose snake, so much so that you got one last Christmas. You also like axolotls and geckos. You also asked for a passion fruit vine and a Venus fly trap for your birthday. I just love these things about you.

Concerning fifth grade, I've seen growth. You have done well with testing, so I see a jump in concentration and understanding. Your writing has improved and you are pretty proficient in math. All good things. The biggest things you struggle with are all social in nature. You prefer to be alone most of the time and get mad at other students if they talk to you for any reason outside of school work. You are still in speech learning about back-and-forth conversations. You have gotten super sensitive and don't react well to teasing or scolding. Lately, you have been biting your hand as a coping mechanism. I just hope you can cope with middle school and all the things that go on there.

 

We've recently given you chores that need to be completed to gain screen time. You are so good at completing these chores without prompting, like dishes, homework, and lately taking care of your plants and animals. Thank you for being so responsible.  This helps me feel better about middle school since it requires more responsibility to get to class and remember all the work that needs to be done. By completing additional chores you earned an allowance. Most of it goes to Fanta as I mentioned above, but when we went to the Reptile Show here in San Antonio you wanted to get a new pet so bad. Eli spent his whole savings on a gecko while you bought a mobile fake tarantula. You are hoping to earn money for next year's show. We'll see what happens then!

You've gotten less patient with siblings and there has been a lot of contention, but there are sweet moments too. Right now I can hear you play with Eden (who is at a difficult stage), and you will help watch the kids when I need you to. I'm sorry you have to be the bigger person a lot and also have to help your siblings with things. I appreciate the things you do and the big brother that you are.

I'm sure there's plenty I've forgotten, but no letter can truly capture the person you are, Joseph. I haven't met a person like you, and I just love how unique you are. I can appreciate how passionate you are about the things you are interested in. I find I enjoy learning about these things along with you. It has been so fun being your mom and I hope that I can practice more patience and empathy with you, especially in these coming years. I love you so very much!

Love,

Mom

Dear Noah,

My baby is three. It feels like we had you forever and no time at all. You have made yourself a part of our family through and through and we love you for all your spunk and imagination. Let's capture our little Noah man at three years old.

 

Looking back you haven't changed much in your eating habits. You still love chocolate milk, fruit snacks, and Go-Gurts. But occasionally you will ask for fruit and veggies, like carrots, salad, and even broccoli. You are a tall little guy, being the tallest of all the cousins born around the same time. You are pretty solid as well compared to them. I love my big boy! 

  

Speaking of being a big boy, you are potty-trained! You have been a dream compared to your brothers and even potty-trained earlier than your sister. I finally had a weekend where I couldn't make any excuses not to start and although it took a few days, by Sunday you were requesting to go poop at church and have been doing well since then. Of course, you started regressing with poop, but it hasn't been too bad. Needless to say, I am so proud of you and grateful I had at least one easy child to train!

We stopped therapy since moving to Texas but you have been doing well communicating and with your motor skills. I haven't felt the need to put you back in. You can communicate for the most part, although there are some words I still can't decipher. Some things you have learned include building with tiles, legos, marble run pieces, building forts, and coloring. I think you will be just fine when you get to school age! You even prefer to do things for yourself and always say it's Noah's turn. Noah's turn to brush his teeth, mix his food, get his shoes on, buckle his car seat, bow Mom's cello, say the prayer, etc. You get mad if I do things for you even though you ask me to do it for you ten seconds later when you can't figure it out. It's good to learn to be independent.

 

You have gotten into a lot of things. For a long time, it was Super Mario. You even wanted to wear your Luigi costume a second time for Halloween. Then you got into Spidey and His Amazing Friends. You asked to watch it all the time. Then for a brief time, it was dinosaurs and you wanted to watch Dino Ranch. Now you love Paw Patrol. Thank goodness I didn't get rid of all our Paw Patrol toys. I feel your favorite character changes a bit. It was Chase, then Marshall. Then for a couple of days, you wanted to be called Zuma and corrected us if we called you Noah. Now you correct us and say you are Marshall. What a silly boy!

Since moving to Texas there have been some challenges. Now all your siblings go to school full time and you are stuck at home with me and get bored easily. You can get a bit demanding and it's hard to get a moment of peace. You also have to share a room with a sibling and it gets troublesome at some points because you try to keep them up. We wanted you to share a room with Eli, but Eden freaked out about being alone, so we put you in her room. But you two keep each other up! Currently, you switch between the two rooms and I joke about how you are homeless. Eventually, you will find your permanent room and get more routine. 

I have a feeling you will be pushing buttons this year, but as much as having a three-year-old is challenging, I will miss you being this little and how sweet and innocent you are. I love to see how much you love Nursery and playing with your siblings. I love hearing you talk and laugh and seeing you do silly dances. I hope you have a wonderful year and continue to make your mark in this world. We love you so so much.

Love,

Mama

Dear Elijah,

Happy belated 8th birthday, dude! It didn't seem like a year had passed, but things certainly happened for the family and you. I'm ready to jump in and talk about the amazing boy you are.

 

This year we made the move back to Texas and you started second grade. You have been slower in making friends, but you seem happy enough. You excel in areas like reading and math. In reading you have finished the Chronicles of Narnia and are flying through the Percy Jackson books. Your only homework in second grade is reading and you gladly finish your homework with no complaints. Your favorite subject is math. This summer your dad bought you a pre-algebra book and you have completed some pages there. You can calculate square roots and just have the brain for memorizing math facts. For Show and Tell you brought the math book, but I think it was to show off to the class. You are very proud of the fact that you are smart! You will be tested for the gifted program in February and I will be surprised if you don't qualify.

 

As far as extracurriculars, you finished Cub Scouts in California and took a break with kung fu when we moved to Texas. We found a new dojo and although the teaching styles are very different between the two sifus, you still really enjoy kung fu. We put you in a Junior Engineering class with Joseph, and not too long ago we started piano lessons. You have such discipline and I hardly ever have to fight you to do anything. You practice on your own, do your chores and homework, and overall like to do new and hard things. Sometimes you get frustrated when you are not good at something from the start but who isn't really?

 

You have always been tall for your age and this year hasn't that. Some people guess you to be older than you are, and sometimes face kids older than you in kung fu because you are their height and build. You finally lost some teeth! You lost three so far with a fourth loose one. Coincidently all of these teeth are on the bottom and you don't have any loose top teeth. Not the typical order, but you are not the typical boy I guess! As for eating, you like cereal, ramen, Hawaiian pizza, burgers, and crackers. You are disciplined with dessert stating that it is unhealthy a lot of the time. You have more self-control than your parents. You are still on the pickier side but are willing to at least try new things.

  

Besides school and activities, you love to read books, play video games, and build Legos. So not much has changed since last year in that regard, but your collection of all three has grown. You were originally going to share a room with Noah in Texas, but Noah ended up bunking with Eden so you have your own room. We put a long table in there for you to do Legos and there's already so many Legos that you started building them on the ground again. I'm not sure what your favorite game is, but you do play Super Smash Bros and love to watch Dad play Tears of the Kingdom. Seeing as you learned to read by playing video games, I don't mind you playing so much. As long as you do your chores and whatnot beforehand and you almost always do.

We started reading the Book of Mormon at the beginning of 2023 and finished before your eighth birthday. I loved hearing you read and gaining quite the vocabulary. You chose to be baptized in Albuquerque over New Year's weekend. It was a beautiful baptism and made me so happy to be called your mom. A lot of family showed up for the occasion and it was a really fun time to be with family. Now to keep your covenant by being nicer to your siblings! (You are actually a really good brother, just a big tease).

I've enjoyed being your mother so much and seeing you learn and grow so much. There are times I wish I could be more like you Elijah, you teach me so much as well. I'm so proud of you and the person you are becoming. You are so smart, funny, energetic, disciplined, and thoughtful. I hope you have the best year and I can't wait to see what you do next. 

Love,

Mama