Riley's Birthday Letter

June 26, 2009
Dear Riley,

You are such a big boy now. I can’t believe you are already 2 years old! You have been so busy this year and have changed even more than the first year. You look like a little boy now instead of my tiny baby. You run like crazy (especially when you get away with something you shouldn’t have). You make me smile everyday. You make me laugh. You make me tired. You make me so thankful that I’ve had you to love for 2 years already! Happy Birthday my baby!

You have learned this year (finally) how to walk. You were almost 16 months old when you decided to go all on your own. It wasn’t long after that you started to run and only occasionally slow down for a quick kiss or hug! Once you started walking, your favorite game became (and still is) getting chased. If we are willing, you will get us to chase you all over the house. Sometimes you will find something that you shouldn’t be getting just so we will come after you and you throw your head back and laugh at us like crazy! You have also learned how to talk more. Although we are always trying to get you to say more words and put together the words that you do know, you are growing your vocabulary quite a lot and have made up your own form of sign language to get us to understand the words you don’t want to say. Daddy and I sometimes are the only ones who know your special language and sometimes I enjoy that we share that understanding without even talking. You pat the couch to get us to sit next to you. You go to the fridge and pull at the door to get more milk. When we open the door to get you milk you always grab the chocolate syrup for us to make you chocolate milk. You also learned how to climb out of your pack and play, your crib, and open doors this year. You’ve been quite busy busting out of places. Although you are good at opening doors in the house now, you love slamming them more (probably because of the loud sound that scares Mommy when you do it). You laugh at that too! If there is a door left open, you are always the one to shut it when you find it. Since you are a great escape artist, we moved you into a big boy double bed in March when you were 21 months old. It took a little time to adjust, but we are so proud of you for doing so well in a new room and a new bed. This also gave you time to get used to being a big boy before your little sister arrived. You have learned in the past few weeks since she got here how to be a good big brother. Each day that you came to see us in the hospital, you said, “baby” as soon as you came in. You wanted to find your little sister, Isabelle, and when you did, you were ready to give her a big kiss! She’s only been here for a few weeks, but you have already shown what a good brother you are when you help us feed her and you want to hold her.

You got in trouble this year. You haven’t officially entered into the “terrible twos” yet, but you have been in training I think! Some things that you got into trouble for this year are drinking water out of the bathtub while taking a bath, throwing your food at the dinner table (so Rudy can eat it), and crawling out the doggie door to go into the backyard. One thing you have become familiar with in the past few months is “time out”. When you start making bad choices, Mommy asks you if you want to go to “time out” and you always say, “No”!!! Hopefully time out will not become a habit in this next year, but if we need to visit it, at least you already know the routine! You always give either me or Daddy a kiss when you get out of time out because you don’t know how to say “I’m sorry” yet.

You make me laugh! You started blowing on your arm to make a funny sound and sometimes you will do it to Mommy or Daddy and start cracking up. It makes us laugh too. You also still put olives on your fingers before you eat them. With other things, like bread, that don’t have a hole, you just poke a hole in it then you eat it after that. You “swim” in the bathtub and call all of your toys in the water “fish”. When you don’t want to eat or don’t want to do something, you always say, “No, no, no”. You hardly ever just say it once. When we ask you to say “please” you say in a very high pitched voice, “PEAS”! It’s really funny!

Some things you love this year are swimming in the pool and playing in the fountain (especially when it means you can splash Mommy or Daddy), eating sushi- but only with chopsticks like Daddy, your little sister, getting chased, chocolate, going on slides all by yourself, watching cartoons, M & Ms, balls, dancing, brushing your hair and teeth, playing with Rudy, throwing things in the trash, going outside, walking to the mailbox with Mommy, and pushing buttons (on the remote, the cell phones, the baby swing, or anything else that has them).
Some things Mommy loves; you still come to me when you get hurt and let me hold you like a baby until you feel better, you give us kisses every night before bed and you also want to kiss the picture of Grandma Viv and Pepere that is on your bookshelf, you will try to eat almost anything if I give you something to “dip” it in, you whisper when I whisper to you, when I say “Shhh” you say “baby”, you squeal when I tickle you, you pat my back when you see me burping Isabelle, you wave to me while you are sucking your thumb, you are so good in the stroller when we take walks, you make us pretend to put deodorant on you because you see us do it so you need it too, you get up in your bed without any trouble at all, you copy gestures that Daddy and I do. I also love hearing you say Mama, getting sweet hugs, holding your tiny fingers, and making you laugh.

I hope that in this next year as you grow bigger and more independent you will still occasionally use those new walking legs to walk back to Mommy instead of running away to do your own thing. I’ll always be here waiting for those times that you decide to come to me. I’m still allowed to call you my baby as long as you are in diapers so I’m holding on to that until 1 more birthday letter. I always tell you that you are my favorite boy so I’m really glad you didn’t get a baby brother instead of a baby sister. You’ll always be my favorite boy…even when I can’t really call you a boy anymore. Happy Birthday, my baby. Mommy loves you and I am so proud of all that you are. You are such a gift to us.

Love,
Mommy