Mercedes - 3 Years Old!

Dear Mercedes,

Happy Third Birthday my big girl!! It's hard to believe that three whole years have gone by - your life has flashed by in an instant, but at the same time, it's hard to believe you haven't been in our lives forever. You are such a delight... minus the tantrums, the whining, the sleep issues... but even those hard moments make you the little person that you are. Your vocabulary is astounding, and you have the best, funniest, most amazing conversations with us. You make jokes, you give great hugs, you are affectionate and loving with your sister and with Duke, and with us. You have these wonderfully long arms and legs and giant feet, which we affectionately refer to as 'clodhoppers'. You insist on being half-naked most of the time - ditching your socks and your pants almost immediately upon walking in the house. You have the same addictive personality as your father - when a show or a snack catches your fancy, you insist on it over and over and OVER again. You try to bargain with us daily for more snacks, more shows, more stories, and you try to resist bedtime like there's no tomorrow. But we love the nighttime cuddles with you, and we are enjoying this wonderful age of discovery, ups and downs and all. You LOVE to sing songs and you are slowly learning how to recognize the alphabet. You can count to 15 or so, and are getting great at recognizing your numbers from 1-10. You absolutely ADORE going to 'classes' - currently we are doing a 'math' class at the Ontario Early Years Centre, as well as Kindergym, and you are full of enthusiasm for both! I can't wait to see you in school in a year and a half - I just know you will love it!

I am so proud of the wonderful little person you have become and I can't wait to see what the future holds for my bright little girl. We love you so much Princess.

Love,

Mommy

Alexis - 8.5 Months Old

Dear Alexis,

You have two teeth! Yay!

Your lower right central incisor (common first tooth) and your upper right LATERAL incisor - a little out of order for a 2nd tooth, but you've always been a trouble-maker haven't you?? ;) Both are just BARELY cut, but perfectly explain the random evening screaming you've been doing lately when you should be sleeping. I have a feeling some more are on their way too... I'm going to miss that gummy smile.

Love,

Mommy

Mercedes - 35 Months Old

Dear Mercedes,

You are nearly three years old and your vocabulary and comprehension of things astounds me every day. You have the most wonderful conversations with the people around you, ask inquisitive questions, and have an amazing memory for fine details!

You say things that surprise and delight us and make us laugh and cry. Here is a sampling:

Me, to Alexis: I love you so much my baby girl!
Mercedes: Well, Mommy, she's not YOURS, she's MY sister. And MY baby. So you have to share Lexi with me, ok?? It's not nice to not share. She's MY baby.

Mercedes, while watching a Dora episode: Mommy, do we have a family?
Me: Of course, we are your family!
Mercedes: But I don't have a Boots.
Me: No, but you have Duke.
Mercedes: Yeah, Duke is my family, I love Duke. And Rusty. But where is Bruiser?
Andrew: Bruiser had to go away. He was very sick. But he loved you very much.
Mercedes: Yeah. He did. I love Bruiser too.
Me: *tears*

Me: Mercedes, who is your best friend?
Mercedes: Lexi is my best friend ever!

Driving in the car with Mercedes this afternoon:
Mercedes: Oh Mommy, there is a car coming, I'm scared!
Me: Don't worry, I see it. I always protect you don't I?
Mercedes: Oh don't worry, I don't need you to protect me, I can protect myself. All I do is close my beautiful eyes and I feel better.

And later... to a not-so-fast minivan:
Mercedes: Come on grey car, MOVE. Jesus, you're slow grey car.

Mercedes' new favourite way to tell me something important: Mommy, I'm just going to tell you a question okay?

Alexis - 8 Months Old

Dear Alexis,

Last week was a difficult one for you. Last weekend, you threw up a couple of times and started having the most DISGUSTING poops ever. Fun, I know. We stopped feeding you all solid foods and just tried to get as much fluids (i.e. breastmillk) into you as possible. Your big sister was sick with a cough/cold at the same time, but thankfully no one else caught your tummy bug. You exploded out of your clothes with every single poop, necessitating many outfit changes and a ton of laundry. But we kept a careful eye on you to be sure you were still seemingly hydrated - crying real tears, peeing also, soft spot looked okay, etc. You were still alert and happy and sleeping well, and non-stop moving of course.

And then on Monday night, we took you to the hospital :( You had a big vomit, and then immediately started seeming lethargic. You weren't moving around much, you were vacantly staring into space, and perhaps most telling, you refused to smile, even at your father! We immediately packed you up and took you in. I admit, I panicked a bit - I probably should have thought of just getting you some Pedialyte on my own, but I wanted the doctors to look at you to be sure. A whole bottle of Pedialyte later, you were smiling and charming all the nurses and the other patients in the department.

You've been slowly improving since, and last night we finally reintroduced some solid food to you again, which you ate with gusto! I am so happy you are feeling better - nothing is scarier than seeing you tiny baby sick and worrying that something serious could happen.