Dear Jax 21 months

Dear Jax, 

You're 21 months old. You are creepin up on 2 like it's your job. We've been talking a lot about your talking lately, and wondering what your vocabulary was like compared to T Bug's at this age. Yes, we know we aren't supposed to compare our nuggets, but we thought it would be fun. 

One thing that's interesting about your talking is that you say a TON of words - your vocabulary is quite extensive, using words I wouldn't think you'd know. For instance, this morning Daddy was giving you love pats on your bottom, and you said, "No Spankin Daddy." You love to point out what's out the car window and tell on you sister for things she does. "Ta Ta push" You are not afraid to tell what's on your mind.

You love to be crazy and jump off furniture causing a slight heart attack in your Mama daily. You enjoy destroying all things, especially lego towers made by T. 

We love to watch you be crazy and then watch you snuggle in with your Mama and give out "Pithess" (Kisses). You are a lover and a destroyer. A wreck it ralph with a heart the size of Montana. 

Love you Jax. 

Love, 

Mama

Dear Family

Dear Family, You fill my heart with so much joy. This weekend it became apparent just how lucky I am. It was time to get a passport so I can fly to Canada this summer for my 2nd annual half marathon trip with my amazing and lovely cousin, Amber. While sorting through our little safe looking for my birth certificate, I stumbled upon a little gem. An e-mail written on December 13, 2001, from Ryan to Me. It was a sweet little note where he was asking if I thought he should give me a ring before or after I finished school and if our family would think it was weird. His last sentence made me laugh out loud: "P.S. I am not proposing to you over the internet, K."

I also found this:

 It's always so fun to give ourselves a flashback to a time so different than now. We reminisced sweetly about the many things we did before nuggets. But we both ended the day by agreeing our lives are so much better now. I mean look at these lovelies.

Dear February

Dear February,

You started out by bringing us a lot of SNOW to play in, and oh did we play. We spent days and evenings in snow piles, sledding and having family fun. 

Unfortunately the last few days have been filled with rain, wind, and mud. The nuggets have enjoyed the indoor time swimming and jumping, but we love our outside time.

We spent Valentines Day at the diner having burgers, shakes, and fries for the 5th year in a row. This is a sweet tradition we started when T was a babe, and we have loved it. It's become a day to celebrate love, true love, rather than a show of how much the Mr. Can spend on a nice dinner. The nuggets love to be included, and God knows burgers and shakes are a rare treasure on this Mama's watch. Side note: it's all homemade as we have carefully chosen the best diner in all the city. Anywhoozle, the Mr. Outdid himself on gifts this year with a beautiful bouquet of tulips at work and a fabulous necklace handmade just for me. A Montana "Love" necklace complete with a "P" inscribed on the back. 

Thank you, February, for reminding us to celebrate LOVE. 

Dear Snow

Dear Snow,

I never thought I'd wish for you, growing up in a land where you were plenty. But this winter, I have wished for you! My nuggets NEED you. Because, you see, it's just so.much.fun. to play in the snow when you're a nugget.

And you finally joined us. We played, and played, and had so much fun! We went sledding, ate snow cream, and even out snow in the bathtub to play in after dark!

Thank you snow, for making my nuggets' week. 

Dear Jax 20 months

Dear Jax ,

You are 20 months old! Where has time gone? I ask myself this daily as I slowly watch you morph into a little boy. 

You are such a little nugget. So lovable, huggable and kissable. You weigh about 10 pounds less than your sister who is FOUR years older than you. You are approximately 2 1/2 feet tall, or mini skirt height. 

You love all things boy: trains, planes, and automobiles. But yet you love to play with dolls and purses too. 

You pretty much full on converse these days with your vocabulary doubling by the day. I've lost count of the amount of words you can say. You know what you want in life and you express it well. You often get exactly what you want due to the fact your voice sounds like angels singing. But when you don't get what you want? It's a full on bird-poop-on-the-lip pout followed quickly by crocodile tears. Heart. Breaker.

You love your sister beyond words. You often shout out "luv oo mama" or "luv oo daddy" just to make your presence known. 

We love you big time and can't wait to see what you do next. 

Love always,

mama

Dear T

Dear Tatum, We just got back from Arizona on our "girl's trip" and what a wonderful weekend it was! We spent time living the dream, soaking in the sunshine, and doing whatever we wanted. We held hands, we giggled, we played in the sun, we walked the labyrinth, we went to Butterfly Wonderland, and we took things a little bit slower than we do at home. We spent time talking to each other, with no distraction. We smiled at each other, and said "I love you" a hundred times over. We snuggled in the same bed and lived like we were on vacation. Just you and me, my first babe. How lucky I am to have you. Thank you, T, for the great weekend. Love, Mama

New.

New. Fresh. I love change. I love a new year. I love being given a chance to make some much-needed changes. This year, I don't have resolutions. I have changes that need to be made to make me a better mother, a better wife, and a better lawyer. This year, life will slow down. I will take time to breathe, take time to enjoy, and take time to love. I will slow things down at work so I can enjoy my family at home instead of lose my shit on the poor souls. It was a cold day in late December when I had this realization: I was managing to hold my shit together 8 hours a day, 5 days a week in a professional environment I call work. Not once in 7 years has any one seen me lose my temper. BUT I was coming home in recent months and losing my shit there. On my poor family. It was stress, I knew it. But it wasn't their stress. It was mine, and I needed to be accountable for it. So at that moment I professed to the Mr. that I would be accountable for my stress-load and slow.it.down. The other thing that will happen this year is that I will take a hiatus from my smart-phone. This thing is attached to me just like the rest of America, and that's ok - sometimes. When it gets right down to it, I get about 2 hours (max) with my nuggets on weekday evenings from the time I get home until the time they are fast asleep. I came to the realization that anything can wait 2 hours - and if there's an emergency - oddly enough my phone has the capability to be used as a phone as well! I don't write this as a list of things to suggest everyone do them, but rather a reminder to myself of what is important to me. So, here's to new. Here's to change. Here's to fresh. 2014 is going to be great.