Dear Max & Jake,
The month of August is always busy. Dada’s birthday is on the 4th, Max’s is on the 8th, and Uncle Bucky’s is the 17th. There will be lot’s of celebrations, parties, and cake. So let’s start there.
Max, we had your birthday at the tree house, the same place we had Jake’s 2nd birthday. You had a blast with your church buddy Robbie and the look on your face when you blew your candles out was priceless. One of the best things about having children is getting to watch how excited they get about their birthdays. You’ve been talking about your birthday party and how you are going to get to eat cake and get new toys. It brings me so much joy to see you looking forward to something so much. When you become an adult birthdays aren’t a very big deal, in fact, most people dread the thought of getting older. Not children. They enjoy every minute of it, and that makes it special. So this year you decided you wanted to have a Star Wars theme for your party. We ordered a really neat birthday cake and bought you a big plush Darth Vader that you sleep with every night. Many of your friends came to your party and you got lots of great gifts. The big gift that you got from Gran, Grandad, Nana, and Great-Grandad was a Wii. You played Wii for the first time at Uncle Guy and Aunt Destini’s house and you LOVED it. Needless to say, you were absolutely thrilled to get one for your birthday. By nature you are extremely competitive, and the Wii has shown us just how much you hate to lose. Even though you’ve been frustrated (when you aren’t good at something right away) it has been a good “life lesson.” The thing is, when Dada plays Wii with you he doesn’t let you win because we want to teach you to control your emotions when you lose. You are a very sensitive and emotional person in general, and you don’t handle losing very well. For that matter, you aren’t a gracious winner either. When you and Dada play UNO you both go straight for the throat. Anyway, getting to play Wii is a privilege that you have to earn, and if you cry and get angry when you lose, or if you brag and rub it in when you win, then we turn it off. It’s been good character building and we are hopeful that these “tests” will help you in the long run. No one wants to play with a bad sport. The other thing it has taught you is patience, and you are becoming more and more coachable. If you start playing a game and aren’t immediately good at it we don’t let you just turn it off and choose something different. We try to show you how to do it and we make you play it until the game is over. I think it’s important for you to understand the concept of practicing something in order to get better. It’s an important lesson to learn, the earlier the better. I was never that into video games, nor was your father, but I like that the Wii requires physical activity. We limit the time you get to play, but truth be told, you would still rather go to the park than play the Wii and I want to keep it that way.
Max, you LOVE to eat. You eat anything and everything and you are a bottomless pit. With childhood obesity numbers growing in this country I worry about you being overweight. Don’t get me wrong, you aren’t overweight, in fact, at your 4 year check up you were in the 75% for height and weight. The doctor said you were in proportion and totally healthy. Anyway, we try to give you healthy food, but more than that we don’t let you eat and eat and eat. We give you your meal and when you tell us you are still hungry we give you carrots. We have also stopped giving you sweets. Now I’m not saying that you don’t get the occasional treat, but you don’t get one after every meal. I’m very thankful that you will eat pretty much anything, and we have a rule that you eat what you’re given or you don’t eat. We don’t give you and Jake a choice of what to eat, you either take it or leave it. Jake, sometimes you won’t eat very much, but I don’t worry because you’re totally healthy. I also like that you both try new things, even if it’s just one bite. You never what you might like if you never try it.
At the end of the month Max started preschool 2 days a week. Max, you were very excited about starting school and you have done very well. The first time I left you at school it felt so weird. Here I am, leaving you with some teacher that I don’t know at all, and honestly, it was crazy. I’ve left you plenty, but always with people I know and that you know. I was so excited to hear about your first day of school and you told me about some friends you met and about the time-out chair. You are such a little rule follower that I know you won’t get in trouble. The first day you came home and told me that you didn’t eat all your lunch, and I was shocked, but when I asked if you talked too much instead of eat you said, “maybe.” I just laughed and told you to make sure you eat during lunch and not just talk. Jake is taking a class with me right before you go to school and when we go to drop you off Jake always hugs you and is always excited to see you when we pick you up. It’s very cute. Jake is somewhat lost without his playmate, but I’m enjoying getting to spend time alone with Jake.
It’s beginning to hit me that you are both growing up so much. Jake is now potty trained, Max is in school, and time is flying by. Although I wrestle with not having an identity outside of being a mom, I’m trying my best to really enjoy you both at every stage because I know I will never get this time back.
Love,
Mama
