Where did you get your funny?

Oh Kyra Mae, 

I have no idea where you got your funny from. You are all or nothing. You are meltdown or funny face. You fight hard but you love harder. You have me wrapped. You are smart like your daddy and emotional like me. We've decided this has potential to be a dangerous combination. You have super curly hair that is rarely tamed and in the humidity, Shirley Temple has nothing on you. You love reading and puzzles and snuggling. You have grabbed on to the role of the youngest and played it well. You love your sister with a fierceness that I pity anybody who dare breaks her heart. Hell hath no fury like a Teagan with a Kyra Mae as her sister.  You dance to your own beat but you have two left feet and are our constantly bruised and beat up kid. You are passionate. You know what you want and typically will stop at nothing to get it.  You bring such laughter to our lives. I even have to watch myself when you are doing things you know you shouldn't because it's often funny. You love hugs and kisses and you love to be tickled. You despise having to go try and potty if you don't have to go right that second. You always come home with a sandbox of sand in your hair on pretty days. You share the brightness in your eyes that Teagan has. You are barely one size away from her in clothes because you are physically your daddy made over and are taller than some of the kids in her class. People rarely believe me when I tell them you are merely 3.  Our relationship had a rocky start. I feel like I've spent a lot of time making up for the bonding I feel like I deprived you of in the first year. I think I'm partly at fault for feeding into your youngest child mentality. I admit to babying you some. I admit to doing things for you because it's just a little bit easier that way. You get very upset if you don't do things right immediately and if it doesn't work the first time you get yourself worked into a tizzy. This has been a tough one for your daddy and I. We recognize the frustration and sometimes we are really good at cultivating persistence and perseverance with you during those hard times and sometimes we are terrible at it. We aim for more good at than bad at. I just ask that you be patient with us. I pray that you know how much we love you. I pray that in those times of frustration that we are able to show each other Jesus and grace, oh, so much grace. 

We love you. Forever and always. 

Tea for two.

This little girl of mine, she isn't so little anymore. I hear myself starting to say the words, "don't rush it" and "your time will come" more often than I'd like. Her smile lights up the room. Her eyes can tell you every answer to the universe. She has concern for what others think but she still stays true to herself. She reminds me at night to braid her hair so it won't tangle for tomorrow. She asks questions about friends overseas and how certain cultures believe certain things. She prays for their hearts, that they will learn about and love the Jesus she does. She is sassy and easily distracted. She is kind. She loves to sing, and after a lot of persistent practice, has taught herself to snap and whistle and she beams when she does. She tries to mother Kyra Mae which doesn't always go over well. She is rarely without a book or high heels. She likes to accessorize and asks to wear lotion on her face like mommy. Occasionally I curl her hair. She loves dresses. She loves chapstick and cannot wait until we let her have a tube with color. She challenges me. She pushes my buttons and tests my patience. I say, "seriously, kiddo?" quite frequently. Her heart is tender and is easily bruised. There are times where my words are the ones that bruise. She loves deeply and forgives quickly. 

There are times when I cringe for the times that will come as she gets older. I sometimes grow weary for things that will be. For when the reality of a fallen world smacks her in the face. When the kids in her class are not so accepting of her personal style. When the world starts to tell her to just give up or move on to something else when the things in life or life itself gets hard. When her heart gets broken the first time by a friend or a boy after loving them deeply and possibly forgiving too quickly.

Then I rejoice. I rejoice at the fact that God gave her to us. He gave her to me to be her mommy. To be blessed to capture that smile and to be the one to look into her eyes to find the answers she may not want to tell me. I rejoice that there will still be times she wants me to sit on her bed and braid her hair before she sleeps. For the times I won't be leading her into prayers but that we will pray together and her words will be without prompt. I rejoice that she has personality. I rejoice that she has started to seek perseverance now and hope that it will be something we can continue to encourage in her. I love how she loves her sister. I know there will be a realistic version vs. the romanticized version of their relationship that I see but their genuine love for one another makes my heart burst. I am anxious for those relationships that cause her heart to break. I am anxious that she is going to go through the phase that all girls go through where parents are no longer the heroes of their story. However, I hope that at that time I won't want to be her hero and won't pretend to be able to fix it. I pray that Josh and I are able to love her and direct her to the cross, to the real hero. I pray that when the time comes that loving her well as her mommy will be what I am equipped to do. And I am blessed to fill that roll, both now and later. Forever and always. 

Dearest Kyra Mae.

Dearest Kyra Mae,
My sweet girl, you went to the dentist for the first time today and you did great!  You did cry a lot but after you were finished being what seemed like tortured you perked right back up and turned on the Kyra Mae charm!  You are getting in so many teeth at one time but you are such a trooper!  You started getting your teeth around nine months and you haven't stopped.  So, my sweet baby, you have been teething for four months non stop.  I just don't know how you've done it and not been a complete grizzly bear!  You haven't come out unscathed though because you have basically kept an ear infection the entire time.  Hopefully this next round of antibiotics will knock it out.  
You are growing so quickly.  Much too quickly.  You are practically running right now and you have almost caught Teagan in height.  You are truly going to give her a run for her money pretty soon.  You are a feisty little booger and I have a feeling she is going to realize that in the next few months.  Watch out, Big Sister!
You are working on eating with a fork and you are doing a pretty good job!  Tonight you ate french toast with a fork and seem to really be getting the hang of it.  You have also started doing "praying hands" on your own.  It is precious to watch!  
Even though you are a feisty little bear you are extraordinarily sweet.  You love hugging on your stuffed animals.  Whether you are walking or running around the house you typically have your puppy or your gorilla snuggled up to you.  You are still a great sleeper and 9 times out of 10 you go down without a fuss and without needing to be rocked.  Sometimes this still bothers me a little bit and I am so thankful when you allow a little before bed cuddle.  I don't force it though, because I know you are not a huge snuggler and that is okay.  I take whatever I get.  Even when you don't want to cuddle you allow me to sit you on my lap and I pray for you.  I put my hands over yours and we do praying hands, we say the typical sweet children's "night-night" prayers and then I pray for you, over you.  I pray for you to know how much I love you.  I pray for you to have sweet dreams.  I pray for your heart to grow closer to the Lord with every day.  I pray for you and Teagan's relationship to grow stronger each day.    I continue to learn so much from you, Kyra Mae.  You teach me every day that just because you and Teagan both came out of my belly does not mean you came out the same person.  You have different strengths, different weaknesses, different likes and dislikes.  When you were first born that idea intimidated me a little bit and I had a hard time dealing with it.  You have been so patient with me and our relationship has grown so much over the last 13 months.  We are still learning each other and I know we will continue to do so the rest of your life.  You and I are completely different and to be completely honest, I think that is going to come in handy come your teenage years!
I hope you know how much I love you.  I will continue to remind you every day a few times a day with a ton of hugs and and equal amounts of kisses.

Forever and Always,
Mommy    

Dearest Teagan.

Dearest Teagan,
You are growing into such a little lady.  I tell people I don't have an almost three year old; I have an almost five year old because most of the time that is how you act.
I am so proud of the little lady you are turning into.   You have to be accessorized almost always, with either my "high heels" or your sparkly shoes or jewelry of some sort.  You've learned that it is not proper for little boys to watch little girls use the potty.  You have learned to sneeze into your elbow because we don't want to spread the germs.  You have learned we must wear leggings under dresses that have gotten too short because we are ladies and "ladies do NOT show their panties, except to Mamaw and Mommy and Dad".
You are quite a smart little bear as well.  You are always coming home knowing something new.  You are basically a sponge and absorb everything you can.  Right now you're working really hard on your letters.  You can recognize over half of the letters of the alphabet and can name a word (mostly people) those letters begin with.  You can spell Teagan and Kyra.  You love to put puzzles together and are rarely found without a book or a baby in your hand.  You can count to fifteen in Spanish and twenty in English.  You know "head" and "mouth" in Spanish also.  Honestly, I taught you those because I find them fun to say.
You have become quite the "mommy".  To your babies and often times you try to be the mommy to Kyra Mae.  The being mommy to Kyra Mae has its advantages and disadvantages.  You are still working on reading people's body language and so you don't always realize Kyra is saying no until she cries and starts pushing you away.  Then your feelings get hurt, my tender hearted girl.  You walk around with your baby on your hip or cradle them in one arm "like Mommy do".  I often times look to see how you are playing with your babies because I know you will act like you have seen.  Thankfully, I haven't witnessed anything that has made me feel like a hill of dirt.  Mostly I see you being loving but occasionally I hear a "no ma'am" or a "do you need a time out" and I have to stifle a giggle.
You love all things Disney princess and Minnie Mouse.  Honestly I cringed at this and fought it tooth and nail in the beginning.  We were not going to raise you to be a spoiled "princess".  Then I realized it was not the princess trend that grows a spoiled princess, it is how the princesses are presented.  We do not present the princess idea as one of entitlement.  We present it as Belle loves to read like you do or Cinderella is kind like you try to be with your friends and Kyra or Ariel loves adventures and wants to travel to new places like we plan to do when you and Kyra Mae get older.  Also, I watched this video on youtube and as I cried I said "this.  this is what I want princess to mean to Teagan and Kyra".
You love hard and you play hard.  You get your feelings hurt really easily but you know what you want and you want things a certain way.  You wear your emotions on your sleeves like I do but you are methodical like your daddy.  You love for me to pray for you.  When I put you to bed at night and we are "rocking" often you ask "Mommy pray for me" or "talk to Jesus for me, Mommy" and my heart melts.  Little do you know that I pray for you and Kyra Mae often but I will never turn down an opportunity to pray a little more.  You like to pray too.  You love to pray for the firetrucks and the ambulance and the police cars when they zoom by us or you hear them at night.  You also pray for the missionaries, Tim and Kristin Milner in Califorina.  We don't know them but we picked up a postcard with their information on it and you have prayed for them every night since.
Sometimes you and I butt heads because we are so alike and I am sure this is going to get worse as you get older but know that I will always love you.  No matter what.  You will always be my first baby.  You will always be my Little Bear.  You will always have a part of my heart. No matter how quickly you grow or how far you travel, I will be here.  Arms wide open.  Praying for you every step of the way.

Forever and Always,
Mommy
    

Dearest Teagan

Dearest Teagan,

Sweet girl. Little Bear. Mommy's helper. Daddy's shadow. Big sister.  Every day with you is something new. Like brand spakin' fresh outta the box new.
Your latest thing is playing with my shoes.  Little lady, you can wear my heels better than I can!
The imagination you are developing is unlike anything we could have wished for.  From mothering your babies to fixing lots and LOTS of noodle soup in your kitchen.  From "doing it like Daddy do" to "feeding Baby Sally like Mommy".  I can't wait to see where your imagination takes you. 
We will continue to let you explore your world with boundaries and freedom all at the same time.  We will let you make mistakes but I promise we will catch you when you fall.  If we happen to miss I promise we will pick you up, hold you and find a bigger mit to catch you with the next time.

Forever and Always,

Mommy