Dear James,

You are currently sitting in timeout because you refuse to swallow a bite of your chicken noodle soup. You aren’t complaining, just enjoying your right to be extremely and stupidly stubborn. I would just like to send you a friendly reminder that the longer you store the noodle and broth in your mouth, the nastier its going to be to swallow it.

Today you pulled down your pants at preschool to show everyone your Thomas the Train underpants. I wasn’t there to see it, but your teachers were extremely entertained. I just pray that you forgot to say “hey baby, whats your sign?” to the girls like you have in times past while running around naked.

You also tried to feed Rita when Josie was throwing a tantrum and I couldn’t. You made a huge mess, but it was a valiant effort. And, this morning, while on the way to school, you interrupted our prayer to say, “mom, we have to tell Jesus that my lip is hurting and that I got out of my bed.” I’m sure he was very happy to hear it.

Thank you, also, for not waking me up last night when you came into my room at a certain hour that I’m happy to have missed seeing on the clock. When I found you this morning sleeping on the floor without a pillow or a blanket I felt sorry for you. Please, please, please, just stay in your own bed tonight. And, hopefully, by bedtime, you will have swallowed your soup.

Dear Josie,

As Daddy continues to torture your baby sister with the toy helicopter James bought him for Christmas, you are running to her rescue with concern and ability. Its really making up for the past 2 hours during which you insisted I hold you while standing up and walking, “or else!!!”. Even when my friend came over to borrow clothes (its very flattering when a single person still wants to borrow my clothes-they only have a tiny bit of throw up/breast milk on them) you were relentless in your “absolutely under no circumstances are you allowed to put me down.” I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you the whole bag of shredded cheese, like you wanted. And the $12 lipgloss that you stole from me, looks great on your one year old lips. I don’t know why I thought it reasonable to spend so much money on lipgloss, especially since I find it so difficult to keep it out of your reach.

Today you put your boots on just like I asked you, and twice, I found you completely naked sitting on the toilet doing your business. You also were able to throw the basketball much higher than your brother. You did, however, chew through plastic for the second day in a row to eat a whole row of Peeps. Peeps are gross, Josie. And, now, because of your skills and the sharpness of your teeth, they are hidden as well. Thank you for eating 3 bowls of soup and swallowing every bite.

Dear Rita,

I think maybe you are getting a tooth. You are never fussy, but you did yell at me just a little bit today. Thank you for letting your brother feed you in such a disgusting way. And for taking such a long afternoon nap. Your new love for crawling is hilarious and more acrobatic than both your brother and sister were at your age. You have your dad wrapped around you chubby little finger so much so that he insists on picking you up at the slightest wimper. I’m sorry about the helicopter, but you really don’t seem to mind that much.