Christmas

Dear Jordan,

In case you ever wonder how loved you are, just look back at your pictures from this year's Christmas!  I know you can't measure love in presents, but if you did, well...you cleaned up!  You have too many new fun things to list here, but I will specifically mention your new basketball goal.  I KNEW you would love it and your Mimi bought it for you.  Your face lit up as soon as you opened it.  You have played with it quite often since then.  I have no idea where your love of basketball came from.  We usually watch it when OU plays, but other than that, we watch alot more football.  But basketball has captured your heart...probably because all of the kids play on Wednesday nights in the gym!

This Christmas was so fun!  Last year you didn't show alot of interest in anything, but this year, you really got into it.  You liked the music and the movies...but your favorite were the lights!  Driving around at night sounded alot like this...."Whoa!  Lights!  Wow!  Lights!".  Every morning you had to have the tree lights plugged in or it would really really throw you off!

Another fun thing is your new play area.  Your Aunt Katie got you a letter puzzle mat that is the size of a carpet.  So we made half of our dining room into a special area just for you!  It's nice for us because we have our living room back.  It will never be "kid free" but that is fine with me.  I like the little reminders when I walk around the house that we have a little kid in our family.  It's a blessing!  (Although, sometimes I grumble about the mess...)

We survived another ice storm.  It's been a crazy winter.  Two snows and an ice storm and it's not even January!  Hopefully we'll get to enjoy a couple of more snows!

You have brought us so much joy, little man.  You are the reason that this Christmas was magical and I can't wait for many more Christmas celebrations with you!

Love,

Mom

Firsts

Dear Jordan,

Well, little man, you have accomplished a couple of things this week!

The first was your first haircut.  You were really looking shaggy, but I was putting off taking you.  First, I felt guilty because I didn't want to spend the money on something I should be able to do.  And second, I knew how it would go. :)  Well, we took you on Monday and it went about like I expected.  You cried the whole time!  But you did it!  You got some bubbles and high fives after it was over and they did a great job.  Turns out, I think we're going to have to pay because I will not be able to hold you down and cut your hair at the same time.  I promised your dad that I wouldn't cry, but I did kind of tear up.  You just look like such a big kid!

The second milestone is something I've been dreading.  You figured out how to climb out of your bed.  Yikes!  You did it a few days ago when I put you in there because you were throwing a fit.  I was nervous about you doing it in the middle of the night, but you haven't done it yet.  I have been sleeping with the door open just in case!  Today at nap time was the first time you did it to get out of sleeping.  You didn't want to take a nap, even though you were exhausted.  About ten seconds after I closed the door, you came walking out and closed it behind you like you owned the place!  So, it took a few tries, but you are finally asleep and resting!

Last night and today we have been in an ice storm.  We were without power for a few hours, but it's not bad.  It's on now and we're hoping it stays that way.  All of the trees in Norman are covered and many are broken.  It's always very sad for us when the trees get broken because that is one of our favorite parts of this town!  They are beautiful, but trouble when the ice comes!

It is hard for me to believe that you will be two in six weeks.  Time is just flying by!  I love who you are.  You make us laugh all the time!  You are sweet...you always blow kisses and say hi to strangers.  You make people smile!  I pray for you all of the time.  I pray that God will capture your heart at a young age so that you can start spreading His love and truth early!

I love you, buddy.

Mom

Blessings

Dear Jordan,

When you were six months old, I told your dad that I wanted you to stay that age forever.  It's not that I didn't enjoy your newborn years, it's just that when you were that age, you really started to interact and I really felt like I knew what I was doing!  Well, every stage since then, I've said the same thing.  Each age and stage is so much fun.  Today I told your dad that I want you to stay the age you are now forever.  You are so funny and sweet and independent.  You talk alot more and can play by yourself.  But you also say "mama" all of the time and give hugs when asked.  It is so much fun to be your Mom!

That doesn't mean that our days are always easy.  You are working on your last molars right now and it's made it hard for you to sleep and sometimes you are a little crankier than usually.  I have to admit that sometimes I wish these days away.  Sometimes I am so ready for you to be able to communicate with me better.  Sometimes I am ready for you to listen to me better.  And sometimes you whine.  But, the issue is not with you, it's with my heart.

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the Newtown shooting.  You can google it when you read this, but on December 14th, 2012, a young man went into an elementary school and shot and killed six adults and twenty first graders.  I remember seeing a vague comment about it on Facebook, but when I turned on the news, I felt like someone had punched me in the gut.  And the moment they announced that twenty six and seven year olds had died, I cried.  I hugged you and tried not to imagine what those Mommy's and Daddy's were feeling at that moment.  Yesterday, I was reflecting on that tragedy and on those parents.  I realized that those parents would give anything to wake up in the middle of the night with a teething toddler.  They would give anything to have a kid throw a tantrum because he wanted more milk.  Those parents would love to have their babies back.  Thinking of them reminded me of how blessed I am.  I am so sorry for taking you for granted.  For not being patient with you.  For wishing that you would grow up.  Sometimes, I need God to remind me that it is not honoring to Him that I complain.  Instead, I need to be focused on what He has given me and being thankful.

So, with that in mind, I have been cherishing you.  Last night, I thanked God for the snuggles and the laughs.  You are an amazing blessing from God that I don't deserve and I am thankful that He is gracious and good to correct me when I forget that. 

Little Man, I pray that some day you will understand what it means to be in a relationship with God.  You are already a boy who loves to pray.  You even bow your head and close your eyes and when I snuggle you at night before bed and pray for you, you seem to understand and appreciate it.  I don't know how much you understand now, but I pray that you will become a follower of Jesus as soon as you hear and understand the Good News.  I can't wait to see you grow in your faith in Him. 

I love you,

Mom

Thanksgiving 2013

Dear Jordan,

You have given me so much to be thankful for this year!  Instead of dwelling on the losses we had this year, I decided to focus on the blessings I have...you and your Dad!  I am one blessed Mama.  You were such a joy throughout the entire holiday weekend.  You make it easy to be thankful, especially when you give me that toothy grin!

You are really starting to say a lot of words.  One of them is "thank you" which just makes my day, especially when you use it in the right context!  You also are really enjoying wrestling and playing football with your Dad (which basically involves wrestling and diving on the football!).  You are such a spunky little boy, and it is really hard for me to keep up with you sometimes!  Yesterday, we let you walk beside your stroller down the street and you just thought that was the greatest.  Until you fell and scraped your hands...then you were kind of over it!

On Thanksgiving Day, we got up early and went to Mimi's house.  You love it there!  You act like you own the place.  We watched the parade and then went to your Great-grandmother's house for lunch.  We stayed for a while, but you got tired and cranky, so you, me and Ying went back to Mimi's house where you took a great nap.  Then that evening, we decorated Mimi's house.  I'm surprised at how indifferent you are to the Christmas trees.  You like them and look at them, but you're not trying to climb them!

On Friday and Saturday, we hung out with Aunt Abby and Aunt Katie.  We ate another Thanksgiving meal and the highlight was getting to go ice skating.  They had skates that fit you and you did great.  You were freaked out most of the time, but kept trying to walk on the ice.  Someone had to hold you up and you were happy to skate or sit with Mimi on the sideline and watch us all zoom by.  It was fun for you to try to give us high fives when we skated by.  At first, you wouldn't even let me put your skates on, but once you saw your Dad putting his on, you went for it.  I was very proud of you!  Not even two and already ice skating!

I feel like I'm forgetting so many funny things that you do.  You are just such a joy and I am so looking forward to this Christmas season and watching you experience so many new things.  You are just big enough to enjoy things, but still a little small to understand.  My goal for this year is to work on our Jessie Tree and ornaments so we can start teaching you about the true meaning of Christmas.  Santa Claus is a fun story, but I am so excited for you to hear the real "Good news of great joy" which is Jesus!

I love you,

Mom