Letters

Another year has gone by, Kiddo. And it's been a crazy one, for sure. For one, we've all been to see way too many doctors and hospitals. Your Mama and I have had some crazy medical adventures, and I'll be happy to not do that again in this next year. Another big note for this past year is that we've been on quite a few vacations, which is a nice change from being tied to the house and yard projects. We still have some of those, but not nearly so many.

You've changed quite a bit over the past year as well, and I'm not sure where to start. I notice you will sit still for books now, and you are really interested in what's in the book, instead of seeing it as a toy. I think the influence of preschool and your Primary class at church is showing, in that you'll sit and listen to the lessons in Family Home Evening, and have a much better attention span. Next year we'll be sending you off to Kindergarten, and that's a pretty scary thought. I think you'll do wonderfully but it does make me feel sort of old, and as always I wonder if I'll be able to keep up with you, especially as you soak up so many different things from school. We get a taste of that this year as you will be attending public preschool. I think it'll be really good for you. You're the oldest child, and as yet your only real competition is Sophie, and you're bigger than she is. At preschool it will be a different story. It'll be good for you to really learn to share, and interact with other kids your age.

You've learned to interact with the computer already. You already know your alphabet and numbers up to 10, and Starfall.com is teaching you to read short words. I love how you just absorb that kind of stuff. And when you call me on the phone at work, you have intelligible things to say, and you sound so grown up. You can find your Grandma Joan's number in the phone's memory and call her, and you like talking on the phone to people. Mama says you can do basic math already too. The other day you said you wanted six of something, and you counted, "One, two, three, four." Then Mama asked you how many more you needed and you immediately said, "Two."

I love that you have a mind and will of your own, and can reason and learn, but I can still pick you up and snuggle you. And you like snuggling. You have so much potential packed into such a small space. Every time I tell you no for something, or make you do something "my way", I worry about squashing your ambition. I know I may not be very good at it, but I try to make sure I'm teaching you the why behind what we're doing, and encouraging you to choose the better way on your own. I'm not a good teacher, but I still want you to learn independence and build good reasoning skills. Your Mama has an incredible quality she calls common sense, which I'm hoping you get large doses of. I call it common sense too, but I think it's simply thinking things through all the way to the end result. It really is a rare quality in today's world. I'm not that good at it, but your Mama is superb. Pay attention to that as you grow up, and internalize it. It will take you far.

I'm thrilled for all the new experiences you'll have this next year. I love you so much.

Love,

Daddy

We've been to a couple more family reunions this month, and you continue to charm everyone you see. You are so friendly and cheerful. And you love to snuggle with people. You snuggle a lot with Mama and me too. I'm surprised you like to sit still for so long. Mama told me you sat with her through 4 books the other day. Jonah wasn't snuggly until later. He couldn't sit still, he just wanted to be moving around and doing things on his own. He's more snuggly now, but mostly when he's hurt or tired. You will come over and snuggle with me for anything. I love it.

Last weekend Mama took you and Jonah down to spend a few days in southern Utah with all the Betts, while I stayed home by myself to work and get lots of things done. I missed you a lot. But it was really nice to have a bunch of time to myself to just do things. So this weekend I took you and Jonah to your Grandma Moon's house so Mama could have some of the same free time. We love our kids, but it really is nice to be able to get a lot done in a short amount of time without distractions. And I've loved having a weekend to just spend time with you and do the things you want to do. We went to the Aquarium to see the fish, and we've played with all of Grandma Moon's toys, including the go-kart, which both you and Jonah loved.

We also went down to the Willis Moon reunion in Provo yesterday, and you got to play with a bunch of your second cousins. Someone brought one of those PVC ladder games where you have two balls tied together with a rope, and you toss it and try to get it wrapped around one rung of the ladder. This one had golf balls, where before I've always seen it be tennis balls. Jonah knew what the game was, so he picked up some of the balls and started throwing them at the ladder. You picked up one set of balls and swung it but didn't let go, so you got a golf ball to the forehead. I know it didn't feel good, but to me it just looked really funny. You held onto the ball for a second, in shock, and then dropped it and let out a wail. Poor girl.

This morning you decided to wake me up in a pretty unusual manner. While we were at Grandma Moon's, you, Jonah and I all slept in the same room. You slept in a portable crib at the foot of the bed, and Jonah and I slept in the bed. Grandma Moon doesn't have air conditioning, so it was pretty hot at night. I slept with no blankets or sheets on top of me at all. Well, this morning you and Jonah woke up around 7:00, and I tried to get you both to lay back down and just rest a little while longer. I rolled over onto my tummy and tried to get just a little more sleep in. But after about a minute I felt these two little hands tickling my bare feet. I jumped, and you started giggling. Silly girl. You're not supposed to know your Daddy's ticklish! I laughed at that for a long time.

You are so very cute. The clothes you're wearing lately make you look like such the little girl, instead of our little baby. You've lost a lot of your baby fat, and you've developed so many grown-up mannerisms. I love how much you've grown. I harp on you not speaking yet a lot, but I'm really happy with how well you're doing. I love that you snuggle with me. As I say to Jonah, I hope that lasts a really long time.

Love,

Daddy