Happy 4th Birthday Rylee!

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It can’t be, there is no way that this little preemie is four years old already!

Every time May rolls around I am overwhelmed at all that happens in the month.  But when I stop to think about the best gift I ever received in the month of May from www.saleslord.com and  it takes my breath away.

Rylee you have been a source of great joy ever since you made me a mom a day before Mother’s Day in 2007.

I have been thinking back to the first few months of your life and it’s amazing how much you changed our lives.  The first being that you arrived a full five and half weeks early.  What a surprise!  Fortunately your nursery was ready for you to arrive that early.  Momma wasn’t ready though.  I’ll tell you the story of me running around like a crazy person packing my bag.

Many will ask, “Why wasn’t your bag packed ready to go?  You’re always so organized it doesn’t sound like you to not be prepared.”  I’ll tell you why, it was on my “to do” list for the next day.  Again, we were just over five weeks away from your due date, I thought I was right on track.

One of the things I love about you is that you’ve never really had that ‘preemie look’ about you. You were just a smaller version of what we were expecting.  You went from being 5lbs 5oz to being in the 95th percentile for all the measurements.

12-May-2011 18:36

 

And now…..now you are a wonderful four year old who makes me laugh every single day.

On your birthday I came into your room to wake you by singing “Happy Birthday” you were still so sleepy that all you did was lay in bed and flash me four fingers.  It cracked me up.  You weren’t fully awake but you certainly knew that you were now 4!

14-May-2011 12:11

 

Your birthday party was a lot of fun, we had the best photo boot rental from https://kreadivcollective.com/.  This was the first time you invited a few friends to your party.  Between your friends and cousins you had the playroom floor covered in less than five minutes.  You all had a great time together.

14-May-2011 10:33

 

The big surprise almost seemed like a flop to you though.  Emily came over dressed as Belle, complete with her her in an updo and small crown, and surprised you.  The best part was that she sang three songs from Beauty & The Beast.  You really seemed a bit confused about her being Belle when you knew it was Emily.  At any rate everyone enjoyed her small performance and we got some nice photos with her.

You really loved your Belle cupcake display.  It was a labor of love to find someone who could create that for you.  I’m so glad we found her because the moment you saw that cake all the hard work was worth it.

14-May-2011 12:12

 

I really cherish every day with you and your sister.  Daddy and I are fortunate to be blessed with two girls who are not just sisters but best friends.

I love you Rylee!

Momma

Love Letter: Month 24

18-Feb-2011 19:22

 

Happy Second Birthday Brynn!

Whew, that came about quite fast!  You have been excited all week about turning two.  When we ask you if you’re still one you are very quick to correct us and let us know that you are now two.

18-Feb-2011 17:00

 

Brynn, you could not have asked for a better day to celebrate this year.  It was absolutely gorgeous and warm.  No kidding, warm.  Daddy and I kept saying that you’ll probably never have another birthday with temps in the 60’s and it’s a shame that you’re only two because most likely you won’t remember it being so warm.  But we’ll remember so we can share the memories with you.

We were all home on your birthday and we had a fun time celebrating. We went for a walk and everyone was out and about in the neighborhood.  We met some neighbors and came back to hang out on our deck.  I never thought we’d be spending time sitting out there in February and was delightful!

18-Feb-2011 17:17

 

Emily and Brooke both came over to wish you a happy birthday and they brought you some wonderful girlie gifts.  You loved them all and are loving the nice bows and ties for your hair along with the bracelets and rings.  I’m wondering if you may not be our Tom-boy afterall.

In the last month you have shown your true Terrible Two’s colors.  You throw yourself on the floor and have a fit if you don’t get your way.  Mommy and Daddy just look at you, step over you and tell you that we’ve been through this before and then go on our merry way.  When you realize that no one is paying attention to you, the fit is over and you get up and go play some more.  I’m hoping that soon you’ll just realize it isn’t worth the effort to even bother.

26-Feb-2011 13:13

 

Your vocabulary is still exploding.  At least twice a week a new phrase will come out of your mouth and surprise me.  Sometimes it seems to come out of nowhere.  We were coming out of a grocery store and you looked at me and said, “Oh my dosh (gosh)!”  Not for any particular reason, and it cracked me up. I’m not sure where you heard it, but I’m going to guess it was daycare.

When you know you’ve done something wrong you’ve started to come up to me and say, “Time out?”.  I’ll look at you and ask if you want to go to time out and you say yes. (I’ve never witnessed a kid ask to go to time out before.)  So I pick you up and put you in a time out chair.  You’ll sit there for a few minutes then you’ll announce, “All done time out”, hop of the chair and go play again.  It cracks me up every time.  I think the announcement is the best part.

26-Feb-2011 13:23

 

Rylee was nice enough to teach you how to put on your coat all by yourself.  You are so proud when you accomplish this.  You’ve also started climbing up in my van when it’s time to go somewhere.  Again, you make sure I know and glow with pride.  I’m just waiting for you to climb into your car seat too.  One less time for me to lift you is a good thing.

Wow, I can’t believe my baby is two already.  The baby years are definitely behind us now.  You are a full fledged toddler now and your personality is really flourishing.  I’m truly enjoying this time in our lives.

I was blessed to be home with you for the first twenty months of your life.  That time was such a gift.  I’m so thankful that we had it.  It’s been great watching your relationship with Rylee develop.  You two really enjoy each other and I’ve already witnessed you having each other’s backs.

20-Feb-2011 18:09

 

I’m looking forward to whatever comes next.  With you I know the time will be filled with lots of surprises and laughs.

Happy Birthday Baby.

Love, Momma