Letter 3

I could say ladies first and start with Vanessa or I could say Chancey is an hour older, so I should start with him... Choices...

Chancey,

Since I can hear you coughing in the monitor, my sympathies are enhanced, so I will begin with my boy. What a little lover boy you are to your mom! You come up to me randomly just to glue your whole self and wrap around my leg. You love me so much! You hate it more than your small body can stand it to see me leave to go to work or even to walk out the door for the mail.

You are so good at saying "taytou" when I give you a cracker or your "bankie". (Speaking of, Chancey, you LOVE your blanket. You donʻt really have a preference for one over another, just as long as it is one of the favorite four that reside in your bed. ) You also love the little bear Grandma Smith gave you to be in bed with you when you sleep. Your favorite toy, however, are any toy cars, any size balls, small cups (at the moment), and a tri-cycle your dad had when he was your size.

 You love to serve though! You are smart enough to get a diaper when we ask you, youʻll help daddy with Vanessaʻs water or get her blanket without being asked. You want to make your sister happy; you most of the time want to make your parents happy...

You love to give hugs and kisses though! Some of my most cherished memories are when you go up to Vanessa and want to play ring-around-the-rosies, or simply just want to hug her more than she can handle the heavy attention. The best was when we were putting on shoes to go to the library and you kept hugging Vanessa and giving her kisses. Vanessa got into it too since we both were laughing and having the best time. The kisses and hugs eventually turned to me as well, and all three of us got hugs and kisses to last the rest of the day! Heavenly!

One thing Vanessa will want to do with you: race with you! (The competitive spirit runs on both sides kids!) Iʻm so glad you both have a built-in running partner. Iʻm sure youʻll get better at playing with each other, creating stories and adventures, instead of wanting the same toy or trike the other one has at the moment. You think Vanessa is pretty funny though and laugh at all of her silly faces and side-ward glances.

You love bananas, and eat a whole one in a sitting, tomatoes you love just as well! You also love veggie straws and the baby crackers. You and Vanessa love the squeezable baby food, which I love because they travel so well!) You arenʻt very good at first with new foods, but you will always eat everything. You are a very good eater... You just get so hungry you can hardly bare it sometimes... I wonder who you get that trait from...???

I think your favorite color is yellow. You say that color for any color though, so...
You LOVE to read books!! You will sit so attentively if I read and keep reading books! (You think we go to the library only for you? No, I donʻt want to get sick of reading the same books!) Your favorite book is "Going on a Bear Hunt" and/or "Hi." I should really buy that book since we get it every time we go to the library.

You love a bath, you love singing and dancing to "Happy" by Pharell. Your top three songs to sing are, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," "Itsy, Bitsy Spider" and the "ABCʻs". You think itʻs the best thing to jump. You havenʻt quite gotten any height to the action, but man, you think itʻs the greatest still. You are so good at building things! Youʻve surprised me on many occasions where Iʻve looked and thought, "I canʻt believe he knows how to do that!" I mean, itʻs no wonder. Your father is a builder as well.

Look at these valuables I get to keep with me? These memories of the bleach-blonde boy who always loves me? (Remember when you are a teenager.) I am so grateful I get to be your mommy! Look at all the things you are already teaching me? Unconditional love, patience, long-suffering, happiness, gentleness, a better listener...

I love you Chancey James.