Happy 2 1/2 Year Birthday, Brayden!

Dear Brayden,

Today you are officially closer to being a big 3 year old rather than a 2 year old.  In your own words, “That’s crazy!”.

I know I say this every single month, but I am continually amazed with how smart you are.  I know every mom thinks this.  That there kid is the smartest kid in the world.  But, you really just might be.  It’s hard for me to comprehend that only two and a half years ago you were this little blob who couldn’t do anything besides cry, eat, and poop (and you did all 3 of those things a lot!).  And now you are this boy.  A really funny and smart boy who can articulate thoughts and has a huge personality.  You are a person.  And it’s so weird to me that this person was the same alien in my stomach that constantly had the hiccups and made me eat so much I would cry.

You are a little sponge that just soaks everything in.  Sometimes it takes awhile.  But, then one day, you will randomly just start taking about things that I had been trying to teach you.  You have a puzzle of the United States (because your Mama loves geography!) and you know that Aunt Connie lives in Washington, Uncle Don is from Maine, President Obama lives in the White House, and that you live in California.  You can almost spell your whole name.  When we were at story time making your name tag I asked you to spell your name as I wrote it.  You said, “B R A Y D”.  That totally impressed the little old lady librarian.    Speaking of story time, you love it.  On Wednesdays we go to two story times.  One at the library and then we go straight over to the book store for a second story time.  I’ve started buying you the Disney story books and you love them.  We read one before bed every night.  Your favorite is Dumbo (you don’t like it when Mrs. Jumbo gets angry) and also Peter Pan and Alice and Wonderland.  You don’t like Jungle Book.

You also continue to get more and more funny.  Your knock knock jokes are the best:

You:  Knock, knock.

Me:  Who’s there?

You:  Brayden.

Me:  Brayden who?

You:  Brayden Mama Dada!  Hahahahaha!

We think it’s so funny because you think you’re so funny.  We try to teach you real knock knock jokes, but you don’t think they are as funny as your knock knock jokes.  Then there are your random sayings like, “Aw, shucks!” and we have no idea where you get them from.

My favorite thing you said to me this month was when I told you that I love you so much and you responded with, “I love you so much too, Mama!”.

At the wedding that I shot this past weekend the mother of the bride gave an amazing speech.  That groom had gone through a lot in his life and his mom realized one day that he had lost the sparkle from his eyes and it made her so sad.  He got the sparkle back when he fell in love with his bride.  I know life isn’t going to be perfect, Brayden, and that’s what will shape you to become the man that you will be.  But, I hope you never have to lose the sparkle that you have in your eyes.  I love it so much and I will do everything in my power to see that it never, ever goes away.

Love,

Mama