2 years
Dear Gideon,
I never wrote to you on your first birthday. I'm sorry buddy! Life happens so quickly and I got pregnant with your sister a month after I wrote you last and it has been a whirlwind trying to keep up with you and your sisters. But I am so grateful for you. You are such a bright spot in my life and in all of my days. I am so grateful for your fun-loving personality and your ability to make us all laugh. You started walking when you were about 13 months old and you have been running every since!
In November of 2018 we went and visited my brother Alex, his wife Maggie, and their kids along with the rest of my family. We had Thanksgiving with them and that was their first time meeting you and you got to play with your cousins. You were very excited to play with everyone. You were a great traveler, as always, and brought a lot of joy to everyone. That Christmas we went to see your grandparents in Washington State.
In the summer of 2019, when you were just over a year old we took you to the beach in North Carolina with my family and you got to see all of your cousins again. That was really fun because you were running around and had a lot of fun at the beach, especially playing in the sand and you were even brave enough to swim in the ocean.
Shortly after that you became a big brother in October 2019 when you were a year and a half. It was so sweet to bring you to the hospital for you to meet Rosemary. It seemed like a sweet reunion. I hope that you can be close to your sister as you grow older. Since then, there have been some long periods of adjustment for you. It has been hard to find a new normal, but I think we have finally found it (now that Rosemary is 5 months old). You love being affectionate with Rosemary, though your affection is usually very rough. However, nothing beats when you great her in the morning and say, "Good morning Rosemary!" When she was first born, we referred to her as "Rosie" because you had such a hard time saying her name. After awhile you would call her "Rosiemary" and then you finally learned to say "Rosemary". You like to throw balls at Rosemary, lay down next to her and hold her hand, and give her big hugs and kisses.
Juliet is your new buddy now and you have learned to play with her for most of the day (FINALLY!) I have waited for this moment for almost two years. You are a great playmate for her because you listen to what she says (mostly) and go along with her imagination. The games you guys play together is mostly "taking care of babies" but you also like to throw balls around with her, build legos and blocks, and play in the kid tent while reading books. You also love to listen to Juliet read to you.
You have recently learned how to climb out of your crib, which is unfortunate but we are working on staying in your crib at night. You take one nap a day and it is usually an hour and a half to two hours. You have never been an amazing napper. I have waited your whole life for you to take a three hour nap but it never happens. I usually put you down for a nap between 1 and 1:30 pm and you wake up between 3 and 3:30 pm. At night I put you to bed around 7 or 7:30 pm and you wake up before 7:00 am but I make you stay in your crib until your alarm clock turns green and then Juliet can come wake mom up to get you out. You have been a really good sport at learning to wait until 7:00 am to wake up from bed. You used to sleep in a pack and play but we got a crib from your dad's coworker who was moving to China and she gave us the crib her son was going to use for free. So we gave that to you the summer of 2019 and you have been sleeping in it ever since. You love that Juliet has a toddler bed and you try to sleep in it all the time. You like to take a stack of books and I find you frequently reading to yourself in Juliet's bed.
You have loved learning about books and you ask for us to read books to you all the time. Your favorites are The Three Little Pigs, little red books that are phonics books, books about Trucks, What a Wonderful World, and The Little Engine that Could. You have reading time in your bed every night, along with Juliet, and you will stare at pages of books for a long time.
You are still a pretty good eater, although you stopped eating vegetables awhile ago. You are better than Juliet at eating vegetables and you will at least try everything on your plate at a meal. Your favorite foods are: hot dogs, any type of fruit, crackers, fruit snacks, clif bars, popcorn, cheese, carrots, cottage cheese, yogurt, smoothie, quesadillas, turkey sandwiches, and BEANS!
Lately I have started working out again since having Rosemary and you are my little workout buddy. You love to share the mat with me and try squats and planks. You usually get bored quickly and then try to jump on top of me. I usually stop every workout to give hugs to you, but I don't mind because you are my reason for trying to stay healthy. After my workouts, I help you get ready for the day which you do quickly because then we get to do an activity! You usually pick rice bin, which means a bunch of colored rice with some dollar store toys in a bin on top of a blanket. We play scooping and pouring and hide the balls.
play games
You have all of your baby teeth. You have loved learning to brush your teeth. You have started refusing to let me or your dad brush your teeth so we are skeptical that your teeth actually get clean.
One of your favorite things to do is play basketball. Your dad has taught you how to do a jump shot, a dunk, and a rainbow dunk. You love throwing balls around and also love watching basketball with dad. Many times you climb up onto his lap while he is working on his laptop and ask to watch basketball.
You are talking so clearly and nearly always in complete sentences. It is so fun to hear you and hear what you are thinking. Some of your favorite phrases are: Alexa, dismiss. Alexa, play Nephi's Courage by Matt Cropper. Juliet, are you pooping? I want to go to the mall play place. Please read me a story. I want to sing I Am a Child of God. As part of scripture study, you usually volunteer to say the prayer or pick the song. Your prayers usually consist of you thanking Heavenly Father for Juliet, mom, and dad. You started nursery six months ago and it was a harder transition than any of us would have believed. It makes sense now looking back that it was hard for you because Rosemary was born the week that you started nursery. You would cry for a long time and they would usually bring you to us because you were so sad. It took four months for you to get used to it, but you have finally started being happy the whole time during nursery and you are starting to make friends. You have one more year in nursery and I think you will love it. Some of your friends are: Timmy and Opal.
You have started trying to dress yourself and do not like to have my help. You usually only like my help after you have tried for awhile. I like your perseverance and you have already come a long way in learning to put your shirts on. You are still in diapers and have moved up to a size 6 in the last few months. You are not wearing size 2T clothing, although you still fit into size 24 month. Your favorite clothes are striped clothes. You like to pick our your own clothes and you rotate between striped shirts and your dog shirt, which are your favorites. Your favorite color is purple because it is Juliet's favorite color. I think that if you did not have her for a big sister that your favorite color would be blue. You love playing dress up as well. Anything you can put on your head you like (hats, glasses, crowns, etc.) You also have loved dressing up in princess dresses, but recently have liked the Woody costume I bought on sale last Halloween.
You say goodbye out the window whenever anyone comes to visit us. You are pretty good at helping clean up, although I am expecting that to change after you turn 2. You notice everything that Juliet does and usually want to be involved, whether it is baking bread with mom, cooking dinner with dad, reading books, doing preschool, or playing with quiet boxes. You have started proclaiming that you want to stay up (like Juliet proclaims every day). But, I always make you take a nap and you always take one still. You get hurt a lot. You get bruises and fall almost every day. You bump your head a lot. You are my adventurous little boy but you usually need a good hug and then you are willing to try almost anything again.
Something that has changed recently is there has been the coronavirus (COVID-19) that has changed all of our lives. We cannot go anywhere in public. We usually just play in our backyard and go for walks together. We play in the house a lot. You have started to get used to it, although it has been a hard adjustment for all of us. We have done a lot more sensory bins at home and showers with Juliet and movie nights as a family. We are all still working on being happy, but you seem to understand how to be happy even when things don't always go your way.
You love being with your dad and you miss him when he is gone all day at work. You are especially affectionate and we love having your excited, sweet spirit in our home. You make all of our days happy.
Happy birthday sweet Gideon!
Love,
Mom
I never wrote to you on your first birthday. I'm sorry buddy! Life happens so quickly and I got pregnant with your sister a month after I wrote you last and it has been a whirlwind trying to keep up with you and your sisters. But I am so grateful for you. You are such a bright spot in my life and in all of my days. I am so grateful for your fun-loving personality and your ability to make us all laugh. You started walking when you were about 13 months old and you have been running every since!
In November of 2018 we went and visited my brother Alex, his wife Maggie, and their kids along with the rest of my family. We had Thanksgiving with them and that was their first time meeting you and you got to play with your cousins. You were very excited to play with everyone. You were a great traveler, as always, and brought a lot of joy to everyone. That Christmas we went to see your grandparents in Washington State.
In the summer of 2019, when you were just over a year old we took you to the beach in North Carolina with my family and you got to see all of your cousins again. That was really fun because you were running around and had a lot of fun at the beach, especially playing in the sand and you were even brave enough to swim in the ocean.
Shortly after that you became a big brother in October 2019 when you were a year and a half. It was so sweet to bring you to the hospital for you to meet Rosemary. It seemed like a sweet reunion. I hope that you can be close to your sister as you grow older. Since then, there have been some long periods of adjustment for you. It has been hard to find a new normal, but I think we have finally found it (now that Rosemary is 5 months old). You love being affectionate with Rosemary, though your affection is usually very rough. However, nothing beats when you great her in the morning and say, "Good morning Rosemary!" When she was first born, we referred to her as "Rosie" because you had such a hard time saying her name. After awhile you would call her "Rosiemary" and then you finally learned to say "Rosemary". You like to throw balls at Rosemary, lay down next to her and hold her hand, and give her big hugs and kisses.
Juliet is your new buddy now and you have learned to play with her for most of the day (FINALLY!) I have waited for this moment for almost two years. You are a great playmate for her because you listen to what she says (mostly) and go along with her imagination. The games you guys play together is mostly "taking care of babies" but you also like to throw balls around with her, build legos and blocks, and play in the kid tent while reading books. You also love to listen to Juliet read to you.
You have recently learned how to climb out of your crib, which is unfortunate but we are working on staying in your crib at night. You take one nap a day and it is usually an hour and a half to two hours. You have never been an amazing napper. I have waited your whole life for you to take a three hour nap but it never happens. I usually put you down for a nap between 1 and 1:30 pm and you wake up between 3 and 3:30 pm. At night I put you to bed around 7 or 7:30 pm and you wake up before 7:00 am but I make you stay in your crib until your alarm clock turns green and then Juliet can come wake mom up to get you out. You have been a really good sport at learning to wait until 7:00 am to wake up from bed. You used to sleep in a pack and play but we got a crib from your dad's coworker who was moving to China and she gave us the crib her son was going to use for free. So we gave that to you the summer of 2019 and you have been sleeping in it ever since. You love that Juliet has a toddler bed and you try to sleep in it all the time. You like to take a stack of books and I find you frequently reading to yourself in Juliet's bed.
You have loved learning about books and you ask for us to read books to you all the time. Your favorites are The Three Little Pigs, little red books that are phonics books, books about Trucks, What a Wonderful World, and The Little Engine that Could. You have reading time in your bed every night, along with Juliet, and you will stare at pages of books for a long time.
You are still a pretty good eater, although you stopped eating vegetables awhile ago. You are better than Juliet at eating vegetables and you will at least try everything on your plate at a meal. Your favorite foods are: hot dogs, any type of fruit, crackers, fruit snacks, clif bars, popcorn, cheese, carrots, cottage cheese, yogurt, smoothie, quesadillas, turkey sandwiches, and BEANS!
Lately I have started working out again since having Rosemary and you are my little workout buddy. You love to share the mat with me and try squats and planks. You usually get bored quickly and then try to jump on top of me. I usually stop every workout to give hugs to you, but I don't mind because you are my reason for trying to stay healthy. After my workouts, I help you get ready for the day which you do quickly because then we get to do an activity! You usually pick rice bin, which means a bunch of colored rice with some dollar store toys in a bin on top of a blanket. We play scooping and pouring and hide the balls.
play games
You have all of your baby teeth. You have loved learning to brush your teeth. You have started refusing to let me or your dad brush your teeth so we are skeptical that your teeth actually get clean.
One of your favorite things to do is play basketball. Your dad has taught you how to do a jump shot, a dunk, and a rainbow dunk. You love throwing balls around and also love watching basketball with dad. Many times you climb up onto his lap while he is working on his laptop and ask to watch basketball.
You are talking so clearly and nearly always in complete sentences. It is so fun to hear you and hear what you are thinking. Some of your favorite phrases are: Alexa, dismiss. Alexa, play Nephi's Courage by Matt Cropper. Juliet, are you pooping? I want to go to the mall play place. Please read me a story. I want to sing I Am a Child of God. As part of scripture study, you usually volunteer to say the prayer or pick the song. Your prayers usually consist of you thanking Heavenly Father for Juliet, mom, and dad. You started nursery six months ago and it was a harder transition than any of us would have believed. It makes sense now looking back that it was hard for you because Rosemary was born the week that you started nursery. You would cry for a long time and they would usually bring you to us because you were so sad. It took four months for you to get used to it, but you have finally started being happy the whole time during nursery and you are starting to make friends. You have one more year in nursery and I think you will love it. Some of your friends are: Timmy and Opal.
You have started trying to dress yourself and do not like to have my help. You usually only like my help after you have tried for awhile. I like your perseverance and you have already come a long way in learning to put your shirts on. You are still in diapers and have moved up to a size 6 in the last few months. You are not wearing size 2T clothing, although you still fit into size 24 month. Your favorite clothes are striped clothes. You like to pick our your own clothes and you rotate between striped shirts and your dog shirt, which are your favorites. Your favorite color is purple because it is Juliet's favorite color. I think that if you did not have her for a big sister that your favorite color would be blue. You love playing dress up as well. Anything you can put on your head you like (hats, glasses, crowns, etc.) You also have loved dressing up in princess dresses, but recently have liked the Woody costume I bought on sale last Halloween.
You say goodbye out the window whenever anyone comes to visit us. You are pretty good at helping clean up, although I am expecting that to change after you turn 2. You notice everything that Juliet does and usually want to be involved, whether it is baking bread with mom, cooking dinner with dad, reading books, doing preschool, or playing with quiet boxes. You have started proclaiming that you want to stay up (like Juliet proclaims every day). But, I always make you take a nap and you always take one still. You get hurt a lot. You get bruises and fall almost every day. You bump your head a lot. You are my adventurous little boy but you usually need a good hug and then you are willing to try almost anything again.
Something that has changed recently is there has been the coronavirus (COVID-19) that has changed all of our lives. We cannot go anywhere in public. We usually just play in our backyard and go for walks together. We play in the house a lot. You have started to get used to it, although it has been a hard adjustment for all of us. We have done a lot more sensory bins at home and showers with Juliet and movie nights as a family. We are all still working on being happy, but you seem to understand how to be happy even when things don't always go your way.
You love being with your dad and you miss him when he is gone all day at work. You are especially affectionate and we love having your excited, sweet spirit in our home. You make all of our days happy.
Happy birthday sweet Gideon!
Love,
Mom
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