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 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.

View at Picasa 12-May-2011 18:36, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 4.5, 34.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 200

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!

View at Picasa 14-May-2011 12:11, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 4.5, 31.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 200

Your birthday party was a lot of fun.  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.

View at Picasa 14-May-2011 10:33, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 5.3, 46.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 400

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.

View at Picasa 14-May-2011 12:12, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 4.0, 20.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 200

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

View at Picasa 18-Feb-2011 19:22, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 5.0, 38.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 200

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.

View at Picasa 18-Feb-2011 17:00, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 3.8, 20.0mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 100

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!

View at Picasa 18-Feb-2011 17:17, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 4.5, 34.0mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 200

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.

View at Picasa 26-Feb-2011 13:13, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 6.3, 35.0mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 1600

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.

View at Picasa 26-Feb-2011 13:23, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 5.6, 48.0mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 1600

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.

View at Picasa 20-Feb-2011 18:09, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 5.3, 45.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 200

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

There are times when I look at you and somehow manage to still see my baby.  Then there are times you walk up to me and spurt out a long sentence and I’m amazed at just how much you understand and can convey that understanding.  It’s a struggle for me because no mom likes it when her baby is no longer a baby.  As much fun as each stage is, knowing that there will be no more babies in the house is a bit sad.  NO, I do not want another baby.  I just want the ones I have to stay young and innocent a bit longer.

Brynn this month your new word is NOW!  It is pretty much put at the end of most sentences these days.  “Mommy home NOW!”  “Eat, NOW!”  “RyRy go potty NOW!”  Sometimes you’re actually yelling at someone when you say it, but most of the time it’s just your way of emphasizing things.

You also crack me up with how you inflect your voice when talking. There is no way I can begin to describe it on here, but when you’re old enough to read these letters, ask me what it was like and I’ll demonstrate for you.  You definitely give Daddy and I something to laugh about on a daily basis.

View at Picasa 25-Dec-2010 17:42, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 5.4, 21.5mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 640

You’ve finally hit the point where you won’t take any bull from your sister. I’m not sure if this just because you’re fed up or because you’ve learned, from daycare, that you don’t have to take it.  It’s certainly been a wake up call for Rylee.  When she complains about it we remind her that you have probably learned the behavior from her.

One thing that you’ve started doing is actually sitting still while we read you books.  Before you’d give us the book, we’d read a page, you’d close it and that was it.  Now you sit there and enjoy the book.  You also have decided that you want to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with Rylee before bed.  Again, you finally sit still and watch the entire 25 minute episode.  I guess you’ve finally decided that you don’t have to be going nonstop until the moment you are put into bed.  You really do like to have both Mommy and Daddy sit and watch with you so this has become a new routine for us.

View at Picasa 30-Dec-2010 19:27, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 4.8, 35.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 110

Since your birthday is next month I’ve already ordered the fun stuff for your party.  I opened the box with you and you were so excited when you saw all the Ariel stuff.  I think you are really going to enjoy your party this year.  Don’t worry, there will be plenty of cake for you.  I just hope you aren’t nearly as messy as you were last year.

So, my babe, this is the next to last regularly (or a wee bit late) scheduled Love Letter for you.  I decided that once you and Rylee turn two I will stop the monthly love letters.  I started this when Rylee turned two and the reason is that once you reach this age there isn’t always a lot that’s new on a monthly basis.

Don’t worry, my new plan is to post a regular update on both of you from now on.  It will be lots of fun for me and I hope for the two of you in the years to come.

Love, Momma

View at Picasa 26-Nov-2010 12:12, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 5.3, 42.0mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 1600

Wow, I can’t believe you are 22 months old already!  You really are growing up so fast.  Again this month the biggest thing for you is the explosion of your vocabulary.  Not just the new words you’ve learned, but the sentences that you’re saying blow me away daily.  That’s because I know behind those sentences there’s a lot of thought.

One change that I really like that you’re now calling me Mommy.  Before you’d just say “Mom, mom, mom, mom….”  Then it changed to you calling me Mom-Mom.  I think that came about because you’ve been saying Da-Da for so long that it made sense to call me Mom-Mom.  You also now call your father Daddy as well.  Rylee is still Ry-Ry which I just love.  Sometimes when you’re asked what your name is you’ll say Brynn.  But for the most part you say “Me”.  It cracks me up every time!

View at Picasa 10-Dec-2010 12:17, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 4.6, 8.1mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 500

As much as your sister is thoroughly enjoying the Christmas season you are still just taking it all in.  Sometimes you get excited when we talk about Santa coming and bringing presents.  I think next year is when you will really ‘get’ it.  This is the year that Rylee does and she’s very excited that Santa is coming soon.

You do love looking at the Christmas tree in the family room. You really like the little tree that you have in your bedroom too.  Of course you look adorable in all your festive Christmas outfits too.  And I know that on Christmas morning you’ll be excited to see all the presents and you’ll have a blast opening them too.

You are officially 30 pounds now too.  That means that Mommy is ready to buy the piece we need to change your crib into a toddler bed. Now there are some people out there (Bobbi) who think I’m nuts for not keeping you in the crib for a while more. But they aren’t the ones who have lift all 30 pounds of you in and out of the crib on a daily basis.  That said, once the holidays are over, my mission is to order that part.

View at Picasa 26-Nov-2010 11:53, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 5.6, 30.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 1600

I suppose I should start thinking about your 2nd birthday party soon.  Wow, I can’t believe my baby is almost two.  It’s really been fun watching you grow and develop your personality.  I have to say that when it comes to funny, you are the one who keeps me in stitches.  You say and do things that are hysterical but you don’t realize it which makes me laugh even more.

I’m looking forward to many more years of laughing with you.

Love,

Mommy

You were Tigger for Halloween and Rylee was Eeyore.  You were both super cute and enjoyed your costumes.  Brynn you went trick-or-treating to about five houses with Daddy and Rylee, then you came home to help me with the kids who came to our house.  You loved seeing all the costumes and your favorites were Elmo and Mickey Mouse.

View at Picasa 07-Nov-2010 10:10, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 400

A week after that fun we were off to Disney World.  This was your second trip and I have to say that the actual travel part was much easier last year when you were eight months old.  Being almost 21 months was quite the challenge for Mommy & Daddy.  Next time we fly we will have to purchase you your own seat and after this trip I’m totally okay with spending the money for that.

This year you were very leary of the characters.  We thought you might be and we just decided to hold you while you gave the characters five and giggled.  Rylee, after feeling that way last year, enjoyed seeing the characters and giving them hugs.  I have a feeling when we go back in two years you will be right there with her giving hugs and smiling for photos.

View at Picasa 07-Nov-2010 17:06, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 5.4, 21.5mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 400

You did a lot of walking which surprised us. You had a good time holding onto the handle we have for Rylee and walking along like a big girl.  You really did enjoy going on the rides this year.  It was so much fun to listen to you and Rylee giggle on the rides.  Despite what your parents think, you really did love It’s A Small World.  There’s so much in there for the senses that your head was in constant motion trying to take it all in.

View at Picasa 09-Nov-2010 11:38, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 400

One thing you really enjoyed this year was seeing the animals outside of our hotel room.  Every morning you would get up and go running to the window to look out and see what animals were waiting for you.  Actually you did this every time you woke up and entered the room.

You are doing well at daycare now and that makes me one happy Mommy!  You are still rather clingy when you get home, but more and more you will go into the playroom with Rylee rather than trying to hang out rightbesideme all the time.

Your vocabulary continues to just explode.  You will basically repeat any word we say to you.  This is a lot of fun when we’re reading books.  I point to everything on the page and tell you what it is and you repeat it.  It takes a lot longer to get through the books but we all enjoy it.  You are also speaking in more sentences and just speaking your thoughts more & more.  Between you learning more about your world and Rylee learning so many things at daycare the two of you keep the chatter going.

We are heading into your second Christmas and I am eagerly awaiting the fun along with Daddy.  You and Rylee are going to make this holiday season shine for us.

Love, Momma