Today you are three, my sweet little man.
Your black eyes melt my soul.
Your dimples assist you in getting yourself out of far more than you should.
You are completely, 1,000% percent made of snips and snails and puppy dog tails.
You don’t ever stop. Ever.
Your laughter permeates our house and I can still hear it echoing through the halls long after you have gone to bed.
You are our most spirited child and I say that with complete love. God knit you together in a way in which He wanted you to be curious, questioning, interested in how things work and are assembled. He wanted you to laugh hard and play hard. He wanted you to be tough and also sensitive at times as well.
You have always been the only one in the house to rush to my side if I say “Ouch!” and ask, while patting my leg, “You okay, mama?”
At the moment, you are deathly scared of ladybugs. Of all things. Yes. Lady bugs. You refuse to go down the slide in our backyard because there was once a lady bug at the bottom and apparently, it had a devastating effect.
You love to go and see the cross at our church. You want to sit at the bottom and pray. You like to remind us all that we “don’t touch the instruments on the stage.”
I love the moments with you when it’s just you and me, snuggled in your bed, reading books. It’s the one time I can get you to hold still and I drink your affection up like a tall glass of water on a 90 degree day.
When I bury my nose in your soft curls the sweet smell of you intoxicates me. You giggle and say “Mommy, stop” and I reluctantly respect your personal space wishes.
You are growing up too fast for my taste.
I also think you are in fact going to use the “big boy potty” now before you go off to Kindergarten in two years. A few months ago, I wasn’t so sure. But now you are expressing an interest and are particularly fond of your Lightening McQueen underpants that I dangle like a carrot in front of your nose to remind you of how much fun the potty really is.
I cannot write about you without mentioning that you stretch me as a mother and this is a good thing, my precious boy. It hasn’t always necessarily been easy to know the best way to parent you, dear one, but I suspect I might have been the same way as a child. It’s genetic. You are who you are and I love you for it. You feel deeply – love deeply, cry deeply, anger deeply.
And I love you deeply. We’re the same in that area, too.
You are now riding a bike with training wheels. In fact, today you will be presented with the Transformer bicycle with matching helmet that you have had your eye on for a while now. You won’t have to ride Sissy’s Dora bike with the too-big Tony Stewart helmet anymore. You will be one tough, stylin’ little dude in the neighborhood.
You are about to start swim lessons.
You are going to summer camp for a week at your school.
You are going to play “Saturday Soccer” for three-year-olds.
Your life is unfolding and I, as your mother, stand back and look at you in wonder. I’m amazed that just three short years ago today, you were a little shriveled-up, red peanut that emerged from my womb three weeks early and just ten days after our family had moved to a brand-new community in a brand-new city.
Your timing has always been just that – your timing. And we love you for it.
It’s getting a little bit easier to parent you these days because you are suddenly so unbelievably verbal. The existence of at least one new word is evident each day in your conversations and you don’t seem as frustrated now that you can tell me your side of the story in a sibling spat with your sister.
Susannah may not be so happy about this but I am.
And lastly, I am loving the heart I see growing within you, my love. The other day, I placed a new bottle of mouthwash on our steps to be taken up when convenient. For the record, I am usually the only one who notices the things on the steps so imagine my surprise when I walked up for nap time to find the bottle of mouthwash sitting in my bedroom doorway. “Now, who helped mommy so much by taking the initiative to carry the mouthwash up for me?” I asked my three little charges.
You giggled and flashed those dimples in delight. You were so pleased with yourself and I was, too. I could see that little kind heart emerging and this, my sweet one, is my goal for you. I love nothing more than to see it emerging.
Happy Birthday, baby. I love you with such an intensity it scares me. You are my son. You are my love. You are my everything.
Love,
Mommy
Umm…Excuse me, Mr. Ornery. You are supposed to gather the eggs THEN eat the candy…
How could you not want to snuggle that precious boy all day long?
Sawyer sounds so much like Gabe, it makes me laugh. I have SO been in your shoes, full of love for our rambunctious sons but stretched to the limit by that same endless energy.
I love how you said he is exactly the boy God intended him to be. It took me awhile to realize that with Gabe; I was so used to the calm behavior of my oldest two kids, I wasn’t sure what to do with this third tornado of a child. Now I love and accept him exactly for who he is, and I hope that his teachers will be able to do the same :)
Happy Birthday, Sawyer!
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Spring break; a summary =-.
Ahh…Calm behavior? We just don’t have that at Casa de Snapp. Susannah is the calmest, no doubt, but she most definitely has bouts of tornado-ness as well.
I do accept him for who he is but I must confess it’s harder to do than I ever thought possible. Hence why I say he stretches me…
Always great to hear I’m not alone. Thank you, dear Heather.
Ok this is perfect. writing letters to my girls is something on my 30 in my 30s post I did for today. Your letter is perfect and I think I might steal a few lines and just re-word them to make them more girly! Beautiful!
The name of your blog still makes me laugh EVERY TIME I SEE IT. I LOVE IT.
Steal away (isn’t that a song from the 70s?) I just ask that if you use an exact quote, you credit your source…:)
I am curious about 30 in my 30s…I am off to check it out!
Awww…I got teary eyed reading your beautiful love letter! First, Happy Birthday to your handsome little man. My son turned 3 last December, might ‘borrow’ your idea of making a love letter like this for his 4th birthday :)
Stopping by from SITS.
.-= Maureen´s last blog ..Being Dark is Not UGLY! =-.
Borrow away, Maureen! Thanks for stopping in, reading, and commenting!
Thank you for sharing your love for your Middleman in such a sweet and touching way. He is adored by us and we can see such big changes in him especially with language. Your stories melt my heart and take me back to those sweet days of parenting young children. You and JJ are doing a wonderful job with your family. We love you dearly. xoxo Aunt Julie
Thank you, Aunt Julie! I love hearing that other people notice the changes, too. He is growing up quite a bit.
Happy birthday to you son! And our toddler recently went through a time of being afraid of ladybugs. She could spot a ladybug when no one else could even see it. But sure enough, if you looked closely, there it was. Too funny! I think she is finally not so scared of them anymore.
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Conversations over Coffee =-.
Oh I am so glad to know I’m not alone. For crying out loud, who would have EVER thought lady bugs would be so terrifying?!
I hope you all have a great day celebrating! What a cutie he is and what a loving post.
.-= debbie´s last blog ..The Entitlement Generation Gets Younger =-.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Debbie!
Happy Birthday to your little man. What a cutie! Love the curls!
Aw, look at that smile! Happy Birthday to your boy!
.-= C @ Kid Things´s last blog ..A Shit-uation =-.
Thanks, C!
Oh, what a sweet little man! Happy Birthday, to Cute Stuff!
I laughed at your potty training comment. I remember thinking that about my boys. They were around three when they finally “got it.” Thank heaven for cartoon undies. :)
Enjoy every minute. It’s fleeting.
Amen. I love those undies…That just might be the motivation that will provide the swift kick to get us rolling…
Happy Birthday! I love all three of your children dearly, but there is just something about that boy that melts my heart! I’m only around him a few times a year (sad), but that is all it takes for him to have me wrapped around his finger. He is so kind and it is really fun to watch him grow into the boy God created him to be. You have a VERY special group! Brian absolutely loves playing with your 3 and we can’t wait to follow in your footsteps! :)
p.s. Sorry that my card will probably be a day late!
Ahh…I didn’t know you had that special affinity for him, Lora! We did get your card today and he kept saying “This is from Lo-wah?” So darn precious…Thank you…
Happy Birthday sweet Sawyer! You are all ready growing up to be a mighty man of God, but please don’t grow up too fast! I don’t think your mama could take it!! Have a blast on your new bike.
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Not Me! Monday – day after Easter =-.
Happy, Happy Birthday Sawyer. You sound like the most adorable precocious little fellow ever.
And you bring such joy to your Mommy’s heart which is so beautiful.
Have a great weekend Natalie!
.-= Christy´s last blog ..Caffeinated Randomness :: Ask Me Anything….Answers! =-.
Thank you, Christy. Precocious. Yes, what a wonderful word to describe him.
YOU have a wonderful weekend, too!
Ahh, happy birthday! Your little guy’s curls are just so sweet – I’m jealous! ;)
.-= Andrea´s last blog ..Caffeinated Randomness: I love tees! =-.
Thanks, Andrea! They are quite wonderful…
children’s funny, looking healthy and spirit, how old are they now?
Ok, I love him now, too! He is a doll. Natalie, that is a post from a mama’s heart. You actually made my biological clock tick. Adorable.
Glad we could help with the ticking, Tracy!! :) He is quite a handful but he does make me giggle often. I usually have to turn so he doesn’t see me but he absolutely has me wrapped.