Dear Parker (Half Birthday!)

Dear Monkey Baby,

Oh my sweet baby! Happy, happy half birthday! Be prepared. Mama goes BIG on birthdays and half birthdays. Cake, presents and all. My mama made every birthday so special and I want to continue the tradition. We'd come home to a fully decorated front yard and even more inside. We'd have a huge family party (isn't everything huge when you are one of five kids) and we were the center of attention all day long. Yep, that is your future.

|| Learning to 'show food' ||

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Being a mom is hard. It is the constant tug of war of feelings. I want you to stay this age forever. You come hug me out of nowhere and run to me with your lips puckered, making kissing noises the whole time. You say 'mom-meeeee" and 'dad-deeee" all day long. You dance around me while I do yoga and reach your arms up at me while I am over you doing downward dog. You are curious and so happy all the time. I don't want it to end.

On the other side of that, I want to hear what you are thinking, in cute broken sentences. I want the innocent things children do and say to be part of our every day life. I want to see you running, jumping, and climbing everything. I want to hear all about your daddy or grandma dates. I want to watch you chase frogs.

I guess I just want time to slow down.

You are so funny with your pups. You sit and try to ride Leia and Coco. Leia hates it, but Coco is such a good sport. You have been doing the best thing ever. You see the pup laying down and back yourself up right between their front paws and park your bottom. You absolutely love cuddling with them and try to nap by Leia every day. It doesn't really work. Once you're on the ground, Leia leaves you. Sorry, babe, she needs her space.

You are obsessed with all animals, actually. Especially birds. They fascinate you. We sit at the window and watch them leave our trees or peck at the grass. Every animal draws you in. River otters are your favorite. You like mimicking what they do. When we go to grandpa and grandma's we must go see the "shish" (fish) immediately. Daddy takes you to Ace Hardware just to see the bunnies and chicks. I think Daddy and I argue every time it comes time to leave because I do not want to bring home a chicken or bunny. One day, buddy, one day.

You want to be outside and with water all the time, but hate splash pads. How weird is that? I think you find them intimidating especially because there are always so many kids around that spray water right in your face. You could swim all day long, especially with your cousins. I mean, five babes in bikinis and one Parker? Heaven. We never want summer to end.

Sweet treats! My, oh my, do you have your daddy's sweet tooth. You see anything that looks remotely sweet and you attack! It is pretty funny. If anyone wants to see a fit, eat ice cream in front of Parker. The world. will. end.

I am still sit and watch you sleep. I don't think that will ever end. I even like watching your Daddy sleep. You got his habit of smiling and laughing while sleeping. Unfortunately, you also got my crazy habits. You wake up and move somewhere, sometimes you run to get the remote and cuddle with it. If you are napping on the couch, you will pop up, slide off the couch, run to the back door, point and babble, then lay down and fall asleep. I am sorry for passing that trait on to you.

Every day your love for everyone increases an insane amount. I cannot believe how much you adore each and every person in our family. You hug, kiss, dance, and play with everyone and make each person feel so special. I want to love like you do.

We live a life of fun. Morning to night, we have fun. Thank you, for giving that to me. For allowing me to experience everything again, with an innocent perspective. Happy half birthday, sweet monster. Here is to many more!

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