To My Charley Bear

To my dear sweet precious 3 year old little boy....Once upon a time mommy had a blog and she did really well at keeping other people updated on the comings and goings of our every day life but also (more importantly) did a really good job of chronically our family story for preservation. I wrote your brother and sister letters on their birthdays and I kept track of their behaviors and how they had grown and what they were like at each age. I haven't done this for you and I am so sorry about that. To be honest somewhere around the time you were a year old I threw the towel in. I realized that something had to give and the blog seemed like an easy choice, I do and have always intended to catch it back up one day when things slowed down....but here we are 2 years later and I haven't.

Today, I had a conversation with Gigi and the specifics aren't really important but we were trying to recall which kid had which characteristics at which age. The great thing about the blog is that I can go back and see what aiden was like at 2, or what Hallie was doing when she was around that age. I by and large can't for you because YOU, my dear sweet 3rd child were the tipping point for me. Looking back I pretty much rocked at that whole mom of 2 thing (if I do say so myself) but 3...well I tread water for a bit, sank for a bit, gasped for air for a while, spent days and weeks and months just surviving and now finally I have learned how to swim. This has nothing to do with the kind of baby or toddler that you are, but the kind of mom I am and the learning curve I needed. 3 kids is hard. But I digress and I'm making excuses.

The reason I wanted to write this NOW is because before I forget what you were really like at this age and I start thinking to myself wellll maybeeee charley did that or maybeeee charley struggled with that, I wanted to put words to paper and describe who you are right now...

My sweet boy you are an absolute JOY to all those around you! You have hands down the best smile and you are always happy. I really can't remember a time when you haven't been a happy child. You are by far the most easy going of our 3 kids (shhh don't tell your brother & sister!). You love to snuggle and give big hugs, You and Hallie are the best of friends and miss each other when you are in school. When you are at home ya'll play together constantly and rarely ever fight. You are kind hearted and always willing to share with your brother or sister. I have never seen you throw a full on fit. When you don't like things you do this strange little sound that we have taken to calling your dinosaur noise. If you don't like what we're telling you or what you have to do you will just make this sound, its like "gahhhh" (except not at all like that? I don't know how to type what it actually sounds like) It's somewhere between a high pitched squeak and roar. That's the best I can do. Even that is not bad though, you always listen well and try to be pleasing.

You are our early bird, always up before anyone else in the house and you are always excited to let the rest of us know that "it's morning outside". We are not exactly morning people so I don't know where you got that trait but I love how happy you are when you wake up. You LOVE the lake and poppy's boat and jet skis are in your daily prayers as things you are grateful for, even when we haven't been out there in 2 months, they are still on your short list of things you love. You love all things trucks, trains, and cars. Your favorite movie is for sure CARS which is why when we went to Disney for the 1st time over your 3rd birthday we stayed in a CARS suite. You amaze me how you will just lay in the floor and push your cars and trains for the longest time, watching them go. Your brother & sister never had that kind of patience at this age. You will eat pretty much anything we give you, You are not too picky, thank goodness! But you especially like meat. You can eat sausage and bacon with the best of them and I have caught you more than a couple of times stealing hot dogs and bologna slices out of the fridge as snacks!!! So funny!

You are a daddies boy! You love me for sure and snuggle with me all the time but when daddy walks through the door you light up! You have always been that way, if daddy is home you want him to help you, to hold you, to put you to bed and so on. You adore you big brother and sister as well and always want to do whatever they are doing.

You have always loved music and constantly ask me to turn up the music in the car. You will dance and sing with all the songs you know, some even that you don't as long as the beat is good. At 3 you still nap so good for me, you will take a 2-3 hour nap on most days and you will even tell me when you are sleepy. (your brother & sister never did that)

My sweet charley bear I just don't have strong enough adjectives to tell you how much we adore you, to let you know what an amazing blessing you are to our family. You are such a gift and on days when I am the most exhausted your smile is everything. You are such a happy kid, such a sweet boy. I know that I will forever hold these moments with you in my heart, I will forever remember your joy because it's an every day gift but I know in time I will probably forget that you love sausage and get up early and maybe even your dinosaur noises so I wanted to write you this letter. At 3 this is who you are and you are amazing. I am so blessed to be your mommy.

I love you so much Charley Ray, To the moon & back,
Mom