NaBloWriMo and Letters to the Littles

it's october first!  it's officially NaBloWriMo!!!!  i'm very excited.  i had so much fun last year, so this year will be even better!!!  (and you thought you got sick of me writing only once a week....)


it's also the first of the month, which means it's time for the Letters to the Littles.  i'm trying to write a letter to my kids once a month, it's a great exercise, and one i hope you will do to.  just remember, what you say on the Internet is there.  forever.  so don't say something that you're going to regret later.  be smart about it, ok?

Dear Princess,
     this has been kind of a trying month for all of us.  you're getting more independent, and quickly becoming more and more of a teenager.  i still think you make good decisions, don't worry about that, you're smart (smarter than you realize).  but you have to remember that we have rules at our house for a reason.  we're in charge of helping you become the best and most wonderful person that you can be.  and that requires boundaries and responsibilities.  so i'm sorry, but no matter how much you want it to, that's not going to change. because i love you.  fiercely.  but when it all boils down to it, i'm not your friend.  i'm your parent.  and i will be there for you long after your friends have come and gone.  i will always love you.  i will always accept you with open arms.  but i have a responsibility to you and to society to lead you to become the best person you can be.  and that involves putting away the dishes and doing laundry and watching your brother.
     your birthday is next month (gads, officially a teen!!!) and i've already started making you gifts.  i think you'll love them.
    i love you

                 Mom


Dear Bubby,
     this month has given us so much with you.  more words.  the beginning of sentences.  daredevil tendencies like leaping off the coffee table.  i see a lot of er visits in our future.  but they will be well spoken er visits.  you're very daddy-centric this month.  and i'm ok with that.  the two of you have been all about football.  it's adorable to see the two of you watching the game together.  you even know when daddy says 'touchdown' you have to say 'touchdown' too.  that's not to say you haven't been mommy-centric too.  you have.  you're very cuddly.  and you love nose kisses (for about 3 seconds).  you're a good mix of the two.
     you're also testing your boundaries.  sometimes repeatedly in the same 5 minute period.  and to be honest, there are times that you strain the gentile parenting that your daddy and i are trying to cultivate.  we've used a lot of 'time outs' this month, and i'm not sure they work, but i don't know of anything else to do when you start hitting and headbutting (where did you learn that anyway?  i'm pretty sure that papa doesn't headbutt!). thankfully the biting has stopped for the most part.
     you're starting to have favorites.  favorite show (cars), favorite fruit (apple!!!), and favorite thing in the world (TRUCKS!!!!).  i'm hoping that we can put off the 'mine' phase for a while, but im not counting on it.  i hope the cuddly phase lasts...
     i love you
             Mom