Hello my children,
I am enjoying this change of season and really, the change of pace! We are finally home for some weekends before we take our long vacation in Asia, yippeeeeee! We had the best time in Vermont for your Aunt Ruth's wedding, spending most of our time paddle boarding, canoeing, kayaking, and swimming. It was SO SO great to spend that time with you and being present and not rushing every second of the day. That weekend really made your baba and I think about the life we want. Gosh peeps, this summer was a great one..and now we get to look forward to the cool, breezy weather, sweaters, Halloween, and pumpkin chocolate muffins :)
Alright, since I always start with Evie, out of fairness, I'll start with Max this time.
My dearest Max - Oh little babe, you're not so little anymore! You're running, doing naughty things and even instigating couch jumping with your sister. You love to say "cheers" and cheer us with your cup, chicken drumsticks, blueberries, and anything else in your hand. You are so sweet, you give the warmest hugs, and you have the best giggles. You are friendly and social..and oh my gosh, I think an extrovert! You're not afraid to run into a group of new friends and just start playing. I love that about you. You're also testing boundaries and I'm also starting to have to show you where these boundaries are. Your baba laughs at me every time I try to enforce rules with you because he knows how badly I want to cave. I'm going to admit that if he wasn't watching, I might have bend a few of them for you but it wouldn't be fair to your big sister, so I am trying my best. Currently, you are practicing using your spoon rather obsessively and I am happy to report that you're doing a pretty good job. You love to dance and clap to music, and you love to be rowdy! You love Evie and you want to do all the things that she can do. While we were at the lake, we realized you were crying in the water not because you were cold or wanted to get out, but because you wanted to jump into the water from the boat like Evie was doing! Also, the way you stare at her when she's practicing on her balance bike is a mixture of envy and desire.
Oh my dearest Evie - I am pretty sure I have said "gosh, 3 is hard!" 4000 times!!!! I know it is developmental but it is really hard to not react when you are yelling! Thank god I know how cool and wonderful you are. But anyways, you are growing so fast that I can't believe it sometimes. You are speaking and articulating your thoughts so well. That other day, I heard you saying alphabets out loud and counting in Spanish. You're about to transition into the next classroom and you are so excited. It was so neat to see this renewed excitement for school and you wanting to be a big kid and do big kid things. You're becoming quite the story teller and you make pretty funny jokes. That other day you and I were talking about dinosaurs and I told you they were extinct. You kept saying "why do they stink!?" HAHA. You apparently also really love the word "booty-butt." This morning, you said, "mama, I am sorry I hit your booty-butt." Where did you learn that word, my love? Also, I love that you ask about what I do. You were thrilled when I showed you my "homework," which was a couple pages of tracked changes on a document. You said that I did a good job, thanks! We are so glad you are ours and we are learning to work with you. The biggest development since the last month is your skill on the balance bike. YOU ARE SO GOOD, like better than mama on the bike good, which doesn't say much but still! You started showing an interest a few weeks ago and asking to practice every day. You went from falling down a bunch to riding like a pro and doing trips up and down the street. We are so proud of you and I think you love that. But we try to remind you that you need to do things for you, not only to please us or make us proud. I hope you remember that throughout your life. That other day, a few kids took interest in your bike. We thought you were making friends but instead, you left your bike with them and walked towards us with a giant pouty face. It worries me that you didn't want to ask for your bike back nicely and you didn't do anything about it..but I also reminded myself that you're little still! I hope that once you're older, you'll know that sharing is great but asking for what is yours or deserve (in a nice way) also isn't a bad thing. You'll figure it out your way, I know.
Alright kids, love you guys to the moon and back.
Love,
Mama
Po Chi Fung is a Ventura County Newborn and Family and Newborn Photographer, also serving Ojai, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, and other surrounding areas. She captures real-life moments with a documentary approach on film to tell your family's story.