2007

March 28, 2007

Precious Dylan,

Of all the things that have changed about you this amazing year, one thing has not: you are still my silly goofball! Your ability to make us all laugh is constant. That does not mean that we do not have trying times with you - obviously we do. But the times you brighten a room with your silliness and laughter are far more than the times where you are getting into trouble. In this past year you have become acutely aware of timing. You know just when to bring on the charm and how to orchestrate a good joke. You especially love doing this with Maryn and it is the cutest thing ever, not to mention incredibly brave on your end because you can never be sure if Maryn will reward your humor with a big appreciative laugh or yell at you for invading her personal space.

This year you have grown so much: your vocabulary is finally starting to improve, you finally moved into your big boy bed, and you have just turned into an all out BOY! You still have your princess moments complete with high heels, which don’t tend to worry daddy as much because you have just as many moments of banging cars and making boy noises with your monsters and super heroes - your personal favorite being Superman. It is a good balance! You run around and you act crazy. I love watching you run. You take off down the hall at full speed, jumping and being silly. But my most favorite is when you run straight to me for a hug. You have become big on hugs and kisses and are extremely affectionate.

One of daddy’s favorite things is to hear you say, “you’re my buddy”. And you seem to genuinely crave the reaction you get from this. You truly have this amazing personality that I pray that God shows us how to cultivate that in a way that never breaks the spirit inside of you.

The tubes fell out of your ears just 8 or 9 months after having them put in. Thankfully, you have had no more ear infections! We praise God for this, because that had to be the most miserable experience for us all. You are still our early riser, greeting us at our bed at the crack of dawn, but it has been nothing compared to your first couple of years. You generally come to our room at least once these days. We don’t really mind though because you get back to bed so easily. All you really seem to want is a hug or a kiss. Sometimes daddy or I will let you crawl in bed with us for a moment. If you are being still we all go back to sleep, but generally this is not the case. You move around and are squirmy, so we will say, “we are going back to your bed in just a minute”. You say, “okay” and when we take you back, you always go right back to sleep. I know that there will be a time when I greatly miss those moments of snuggling, half-asleep at 4am.

You are doing great in school this year. You still don’t generally like being dropped off in the morning, but clearly have great fun once you are there. You started Play Ball this year and are beginning to learn basketball, baseball, and soccer. Mommy has been missing you and Maryn greatly while I am at work and am praying that God will make it possible for me to stay at home again in the near future. We have again been thinking about home schooling and are also keeping that in our prayers.

Mommy and Daddy have been spending a lot of time this year trying to figure out how God wants us to be as individuals and as parents. I hope that we will continue to search for His guidance in our lives for all of us and that you and Maryn will truly know what it means to have a relationship with God that will give you all the strength you will ever need.

I love you so, so much! I crave your hugs and I ache to see your smile and your silly face every moment I am away from you! You are my precious, amazing little boy and I adore you!

Favorite memory:

My favorite memory this year would have to be watching you interact with anything that has to do with music. You love to dance, and when I say dance I mean you really get down!! And you have great rhythm. When you grab your guitar, you strap it on, strum the cords, and make this great rocker face, all scrunchy like. Your first go at the drums, you totally rocked out hard core, stood up, and threw your drumsticks on the floor. We cracked up forever over that one! You definitely have a musical ability and I look forward to supporting that in any way that I can.

M.A.D.L.Y