6 {BRODY JAY TRUE}

My Sweet Boy… Its hard for me to believe that you are in Kindergarten and at school all day every day and are six years old! You love school and I’m so grateful for that! You love to play video games! they are probably your most favorite past time.. but you do love to play outside as well. You are still such a picky eater.. and rarely will try something new.. its frustrating, but I’m still hoping the older you get that will get better..but you are still tiny! you are still the smallest in your class and still in the 0% on the charts. you have had several cavities over the past couple years (5 I think) but your dentist has assured us its not because of bad brushing or really anything other than your mouth is so tiny and your teeth are so crowded that it is really hard to get inbetween your teeth (even the dentist has a rough time) so the cavities you do get are in between the teeth, he says until you get older (and bigger) you may have this problem.

You are just beginning to read, you are struggling with it though, its just not something you enjoy so you dont care to sit down and practice, but its still so fun to watch you read the small words and you do get so excited when you can read certain words!   Going to Kindergarten and being 6 has also seemed to make you more adventurous and more BOY! You love to climb now and ride your scooter and play tag like never before and are becoming more daring at things. Playing teeball has proven that your still not a real aggressive player but you are a go get er!

on top of all that….

you’re wiggly, you like to stay up late and sleep in, you still dance when you need to go potty and try to hold it as long as you can, you’re not very patient, you love to play with your best friend caden, but at school prefer to play with the girls (just like in preschool), you never pull away from my affection, you still havn’t lost any teeth yet, you still need your blankey at bedtime, you prefer to wear pj’s or jogging pants every day, you love McDonalds, you’re obedient, You hate shopping, And you’re all I could ever hope for! I’m so thankful for the amazing little guy you are! You are a joy and you (and your dimples) have my heart! I love you so so much!!!

Love momma

PEYTON GRACE 10.5

Since I didnt get any Pics taken of Peyton for her 10th Birthday, I did a little photoshoot myself! love this precious face girl! In a world where it is popular for girls to be sassy, sarcastic, self indulgent, outspoken and head strong, Peyton is none of these…ok well maybe a tad sassy, but she’s sweet, sincere, softspoken and shy. Trusting, quiet and caring girls are still neded more than ever!

BRODY: 5 YEARS OLD (and almost 1/2)

My sweet Brody Jay, So…here it is…your 5 year old letter AND my sentemental attempt to capture you before you start ‘Big Boy School!” in less than 6 months!!! I know there will be tears and a little bit of heartbreak for this momma if we do choose to send you to full day Kndergarten next year. But, for the next 6 months I’m going to cherish you being my sweet pre-schooler.
You are full of energy and full of life! you enjoy playing lego’s, ninja’s, imaginext, riding your bike or scooter, playing games on your ipad, or wii u games with daddy (or anyone else who will play with you) you are constantly wanting to DO something. Resting is NOT your thing, you can stay up pretty late at night (around 10) and you havn’t taken naps since you were 2, you just dont require a lot of sleep I guess.

Sleep the past year for you has been great! no more night terrors and you rarely ever wake up once you fall asleep! You wake up ready to talk and go to bed talking,, you always have so much to say. Surely you will get good grades in writing when your older because your so good at details! But, as soon as I think you’re getting sooooo big, when I pay attention to your little lisp with some words, it brings me back to reality! : )

You’re silly! you love to make us laugh. You love to dance silly and make goofy faces, especially for the camera! you have a great sense of humor!
you are also compassionate and sensitive, if someone is upset you like to be right there hugging them, and if we even get stern with you, you cry. you DON’T like to get in trouble, your pretty obedient for us (and always for other adults) you are still somewhat high maintenance and a tad demanding.. were working on patience with you.. but its a tough one!

You love to learn. You ask alot of questions, your retention is awesome and your memory is like your momma! Its crazy how you remember things from so long ago and details that were so tiny!
You love to watch PJ Mask’s (its your favorite show) there arent too many shows you really enjoy at the moment, but you like going to the movies, so about once a month we do! Your favorite places to go out to eat are Sonic, McD’s, Applebee’s, and Roadhouse. You are still super picky with food, but will try new things sometimes. You love to cuddle up with me in a blanket. We havn’t taken your training wheels off of your bike yet, but will here in the next few months, I’m sure you will do just fine! You’re eyes truly sparkle. You have no modesty. You let me style your hair and are a dream getting your haircuts each month and always have been!. You always think you need dessert after every meal. you love to sing. you dont love to color or draw. You are affecionate. You’re beautiful. And, your still such a perfect little part of our family! You are so very loved Brody Jay and I am so thankful that I get the amazing privilege of being your mommy!!!
I love you times infinity!!!
Momma

BRODY JAY: FOUR {AND A HALF}

How does it happen in a blink and feel like forever at the same time? another 6 months has gone by and my baby boy is 4 and a half now! regardless of the strange complexity of time, it happens before my eyes. You're so much fun…and such a mess…and the life of the party! you make us laugh EVERY day, and you have a sweet tender heart that easily shows itself to us. Your laugh is contagious, and the words you use are hilarious! you cant say your L’s so instead you replace L with R always so you “Rove” us, and “Rike” things.. its precious and funny both. I’m so thankful we are out of the ‘threenager” phase and we have been onto the magical fours for many months now. don’t get me wrong, you still have your moments, but thankfully we don’t see too many tantrums anymore.

you had your 4 year well child check up recently (I know 6 months late) but you have finally made it on the charts for your weight! at 31 lbs you are in the 3% and you are 38 inches tall but still 0% there. the nurse and dr both said your speech is amazing for your age and you use big words very well, you know some letters, your shapes and some numbers.. we are still working on writing your name, but your close! trying to get you ready for preschool in the fall. speaking of preschool, you are SO excited! and so are we.. even though I’m also emotional about it I just know you are going to have so much fun! and learn so much, I’m so excited for you to be going to a Christian school and getting to hear and learn Gods word every single week.

you are still not a good eater, pretty sure I will be typing that same sentence for years to come..I had basically given up even trying to get you to eat things but after talking to the Dr about your eating habits she gave us some suggestions and were trying to do some “food therapy” with you ha!…might be lots of gagging and crying but hopefully we will get you to eating a few more things!

Its really hard to believe than in less than 6 more months I will be typing your 5 year letter.. that just sounds way too big! but for now I’m going to enjoy my sweet little 4 year old!

PEYTON GRACE: NINE {AND A HALF}

My Beautiful, 9 year old girl,

Somehow I blinked and you went from 7 lbs. 10 oz. to THIS! Its hard to believe…and, when I look at you sometimes I’m still in disbelief that your mine. It may even be more shocking than when you were tiny…that all of those lanky limbs and scraggly teeth…all of that sassiness and whit.. started with you in my belly and into my arms. it brings me such joy to look at you..and to watch you grow into being Peyton Grace True more and more everyday.

I do feel like 9 is a funny age…stuck between being a little girl and a big girl. (that, thankfully leans toward the little girl most of the time!) you still love to play with your American girl doll. But you do really enjoy your iphone, ipod, wii, ipad all the technology stuff too, but some of those are playing girly kid games that sparks your imagination, its one of those things that keeps you little and I’m thankful!

you really enjoy sports, you are definitely a tomboy at times! you love most all kinds of sports from girly ones to rougher ones.. you are really wanting to try basketball this next year.. so guess we will see! you enjoy riding your bike so much, which is something ryley and bailey really never cared much about. so again, I love it because it keeps you little : )

you enjoy school for the most part, you have lots of friends and really have come out of your shell the past year, you like to play with the boys on recess even. You are a pretty good eater, you like all fruit and most veggies, not a big meat eater but neither is mama so I’m sure you get that from me. you still get growing pains which you have been getting since you were 3 so I pray they will go away soon.

we adore you…most people do! you're smart, compassionate and such a good helper. your favorite color is purple, you would choose mcdonalds if we let you pick where to eat at. you prefer baths over showers, you would rather not sleep alone, you are used to always sleeping with your sister and now that she has her own room you share with brody.

overall, I’d say that I’m the lucky one. I get to be your momma and get a front row seat to watching you grow. thank you for loving me back, always being a momma’s girl, being good about apologizing, for still holding my hand… and for giving me so very much to be thankful for.

BRODY: 4 YEARS OLD

My Sweet Love,

You are four! and FOUR sounds too big! when I tell you to stop growing up so fast you laugh and don’t seem to mind telling me that you ARE going to get bigger! And, for that I’m thankful…and heartbroken at the same time.

I think that if I could freeze you in time, this would be the age I would choose. You are independent enough but still need me all of the time. Hearing you say “Mommy” still makes my heart skip a beat…especially when its proceeded with “I Ruv you!” And, watching you live and love life is a true and unexplainable joy. You are a priceless gift and I still seem to have a hard time believing that you’re mine.

So… in honor of YOU… my TOO BIG four year old…here are some of my senses of you Brody Jay

When I SEE you, I see such a stunning little boy. your pale skin and big brown eyes are beautiful. you are so small but yet you have meat on your bones, you are not skinny by any means, but just very small (and short) You have a gorgeous smile with pretty little teeth and such thick light brown hair! (that you obviously got from your daddy) and you like me styling it now a days!  we love to watch you as you play.. and are amazed at how well you use your imagination and how long you are content to stay indoors and play with all of your toys. You especially love all of your super hero things and the imaginext sets. But, you’ll sometimes still play with Cars and your trains.

Because of you, there are SMELLS that will forever remind me of your childhood. when I smell Baby Magic body wash, I can be transported back to your baby days… (even though we still use it for you sometimes) When I smell peanut butter or apple juice… or playdough I will always remember what you were like as a four year old.  I love to smell your hair and for some reason your breathe never stinks?!.. One day I know you'll be a stinky boy… but not yet!

and speaking of smells, your precious joyfulness always allows you to stop and smell the roses. Literally and figuratively. You're rarely in a hurry … and your always soaking in the details and the beauty of our world. You're amazed by watching Ants  and other things that most people would just walk past. it makes me stop and notice things too… and for that, I’m so grateful!

You’re not a very good eater STILL…by far your favorite TASTES are sweets! You live for desserts and candy and fruit snacks and peanut butter. But thankfully you don’t eat very much of any of it, you are a tiny eater and a couple bites of something is enough for you. You will eat most any kind of bread item such as muffins, cereal bars, cereal, etc.. you love rice, tortillas, bacon, yogurt, chicken nuggets and fish sticks! you like some french-fries and tater tots but not all, you like apples, oranges, grapes and sometimes strawberries but that’s about it for fruit and NO veggies whatso ever.. you gag and plug your nose just looking at them.

As you’ve turned four, you’ve gotten a little more of a taste for adventure. you LOVE Sunday school and enjoy playing with other kids, your starting to climb and jump on things at the playground you never would before, your still fairly cautious, but we can see your “boy” side more and more!

Your sweet hands constantly are TOUCHING something, usually you have something in your hands.. a toy, a snack, a sippy cup, something! This year you are learning to write your name, were still working on it but you enjoy trying! were trying to get you ready for preschool next fall!

But, surely, more than any sense, I love that I get to HEAR your precious voice every day! Don’t get me wrong, your constant chatting and sometimes whining WEARS ME OUT, but I am so thankful that you always have something to say. listening to you play is hilarious and the conversations that we have are just so grown up sometimes! you ask such good questions and lately a lot about Jesus, which I’m so happy you know his name! On top of your words, I love to hear you sing it melts my heart! we love to sing and dance together in the car.. and I cant help but watch you in the rear view mirror.

and your laugh… its precious and so very contagious. It doesn't take much to make you giggle!.. but daddy gets the big belly laughs from you! music to my ears!

and here are some of your four year old habits…

Bad habits: (some are our fault… but, they're still bad) throwing ALL your toys all over the place, you make big messes (but you are pretty good about cleaning them up when we tell you), Always wanting to look at the toys when were at the store, chocolate milk before bed, using the ipad too much (however you have learned a lot of good from it too) not trying foods

Good habits: good manners, playing by yourself, telling us you love us ALL the time, telling the truth, sharing with your friends, holding our hands and staying with us in stores or places

I could write for days and never truly sum up who you are and all of the amazing things you say and do. you truly are the sweetest little guy. you bring so much joy to our lives. Daily I look at you and my heart swells with love for you …and your brother and sisters of course! and I am constantly thankful that God has blessed us with your presence. Thank you for everything that you are. I cant wait to watch you as a big four year old! I love you baby love

Mommy

BRODY: 3 1/2 YEARS OLD

My big boy is THREE & a HALF! Wow!! And, lately, he seems even more big and even more BOY! Maybe its because he has given up his binky and is now fully potty trained! Regardless, he's still my baby and I love him so! He melts my heart!!...

My Sweet Love,

How are we here? …At another half birthday?! I can’t believe how big you’re getting…and how I am truly loving you more each and every day. Your so much fun and such a mess..you make us laugh EVERY day, and you have a sweet tender heart that easily shows itself to us and your “friends” here in daycare.  Your laugh is contagious, your little man swagger is hilarious when you strut your stuff…. and your opinion is loud and clear about most things! 

You have NEVER been a good sleeper, you still wake up in the night randomly and whine and now that you don’t use a binky anymore its made it more tough to get you to fall back asleep, it can take anywhere from 5-15 min usually. You are super high maintenance at bedtime though, you usually need a cup of milk or juice, your blankey and maybe another toy or stuffed animal. as far as naps go,  they're pretty obsolete at home. You will randomly fall asleep while watching a show on the couch or my bed, and sometimes in the car.. but not very often. 

You are still NOT a good eater, you would snack ALL. DAY. LONG. if I’d let you. but again because you are high maintenance its not just any snacks, your even picky with those, you prefer salty snacks over sweet. if we ask you what you want for dinner you will almost always say “chicken nuggets” or “toast”. occasionally you will ask for a an apple, orange, bacon, or rice.

Right now you love playing Super Hero’s, you like to dress up and you like to shoot and run around with the other kids here, you have started saying “kill” and “die” sometimes which we don’t like, so we are trying to curb that. you also like to color and draw, playdough, play outside and ride your scooter, and your new thing your have discovered is Lego’s! You will play in the bathtub for a good 30 minutes or more with your cars or Imaginext guys. You are not crazy about playing in water or swimming, you enjoy squirting it and playing in the water table but swimming is not your favorite thing, hopefully after some swimming lessons you will learn to love it!

You Enjoy certain TV shows, you like wallykazam (a word and letter learning cartoon on nickelodeon) Super Hero’s, Jake and the neverland Pirates, Little Einstein's, and Doc McStuffins are all your favorites right now! you love several movies too toy story is STILL your favorite but you also like Nemo, Cars, Hop, Bugs life and Wreck it Ralph are your top choices! and you could watch the same movies, OVER and OVER again!!! Some days, we watch lots of shows to survive…and sometimes you don’t watch any! if I’d play with you all day, you'd probably never request one show/movie. You like having my full attention! You are also still a great little singer and dancer. you LOVE the frozen soundtrack! and you can sing every word!!! its pretty precious to listen to you sing : )

Its safe to say you get sad and frustrated more than I’d like. You can turn on the tears at a moments notice and are a bit of a drama king. Your learning that crying doesn't get you what you want.. and whining doesn't either. Oh, last born momma’s boy! :  )

You LOVE to play with peyton and you miss her so when she is at school, I know you will be so happy when school is out so she will be home to play with you each day. We've always said that your “extreme”, your either the happiest, most joyful little boy… or you’re a mess! not much in between. but when your great, your great! So fun! so happy so loving and so very funny!

We adore you Brody Jay True. there are days you give me a run for my money, but in the end your my sweet, tenderhearted, flower picking, lovey little mister, And, you are always going to be SO very precious to me. Thank you for making me smile thousands of times a day and for giving your Brother, Sisters, Daddy and me every reason to look at each other and feel so blessed that you’re ours.

I Love You, Love Mommy!

BRODY: 3 YEARS OLD

My precious THREE year old,

How did this happen? How are you three? I look at you and literally could melt into a puddle on the floor. I still don’t believe that you are mine and that God has blessed us with such a precious, loving, strong willed, compassionate, remorseful, determined, beautiful little love. Daily, you amaze us by just being YOU! here are just some of the important things about you at 3 years old!

You are still not a great sleeper, it comes and goes. One month you will be fine and sleep through the night and the next month you will wake up whining in the middle of the night, not sure when or if this will ever change but we have finally just come to accept that it is just you and it may not change for a few more years. however you did just get a new big boy bed for your birthday so were hoping that helps! Embarrassingly enough, you still sleep with your binky and don’t like talking about not having it when you sleep! I don’t know when I’m going to be willing to tackle that! it really isn't fun and you of all 3 of my binky suckers I feel needs yours the most only because you rely on it to sleep, the girls loved their binky’s very much so too, but they at least slept through the night so once they fell asleep it was fine, you still put yours in your mouth through-out the night!

you quit taking naps about 6 months ago, pretty much the same age as the girls were, but if you wake up early there are some days I can get you to lay down and nap, the only problem with you napping is most of the time if you nap you are up pretty late, and I will say its nice you going to bed by 7 on most nights, so we don’t do naps most days!

As far as eating goes this is our #1 complaint with you! you are not a good eater at all! you were difficult from about 15 months and if anything you have gotten worse! you basically only like bread items!  for breakfast you will usually eat either, cereal, toast, muffins, waffle, breakfast bar, pancake, yogurt, or fruit! you will not TOUCH any kind of egg, which is so frustrating because the other 3 kids loved them! for lunch you will eat chicken nuggets, pb&j sandwich, grilled cheese, quesadilla, pretzel’s, mac n cheese, yogurt. and pretty much those are the same items you will eat for dinner, some nights you will just have a bowl of cereal, but you will eat cheese pizza, rice and bacon also! you will not eat any kind of vegetable what so ever no matter how much we try, we have begged pleaded, offered treats, everything but you will not even try them, well I guess no one ever died from not eating veggies. I have actually even shoved food into your mouth before just because I thought if you would lick it you might like it but nope it always gets spit out, you also wont eat any meat either unless its breaded chicken. its just so frustrating!

You play so well with toys! we love that you have an imagination and will talk to your toys and make sounds and interact with them, even come up with silly and fun things with them! you love your imaginext toys, and cars, you also recently have learned how to shoot nerf bullets with your gun you think that is pretty fun too! you enjoy puzzles and are so good at them! you still like me to read to you which I am so thankful for! you also love to paint and color!, you are enjoying your new scooter you got for your birthday also! you learned how to peddle your trike and have a blast with that inside and out! the funny thing is you also love dolls and barbies.. and we  know you get that from peyton because you love to pay with her all the time, but its ok you do love your boy toys as well!

You enjoy tv! and you have specific movies that get played over and over, they do change at times right now you love toy story that is probably your number 1 (you love buzz and woody so much) but you also still like nemo, cars and bugs life, as for tv shows, you still like yo gabba gabba, mickey mouse clubhouse, doc mcstuffins, special agent oso, jake and the neverland pirates and sophia the first!

as far as music goes you LOVE it you have from the time you were 12 months old!!! you dance and learnt he words so quickly it amazes us!!!! it is hilarious and priceless!

You are a very cautious and timid boy just like your big brother was, you don’t get rowdy or rambunctious you are very fearful and don’t like dark rooms, loud noises, rides or things unfamiliar! your big brother was exactly the same way! I’m pretty sure my girls were more wild than my boys! you also can be very dramatic if you get hurt but, thankfully, lots of love and a band-aid usually fixes it pretty quickly. you also get frustrated easily with toys if they don’t do something specific you are wanting them to do or if you cant figure out how to do it! your very vocal and can tell us what you are wanting so we have to help before you get too mad!

you are very much a mommy’s boy! you love daddy too and enjoy doing stuff with him but you are a mommy’s boy big time! and I’m ok with that! you also love playing with your sisters, and you love to play and wrestle with ryley you really like to tease him, as he does you! you also like playing with a couple of your friends caden is your best friend and you both play so well together I love it! You also enjoy being out of the house, you get stir crazy at home a lot, so I try to get you out of the house at least a few days a week. you are so good when we are out and about also! but you can become whiny and bored at home.

you do have some bad habits (I’m sure as most toddlers/preschoolers do:

*using your binky a lot

*You have the tendency to be bossy at times. We’re working on asking for something instead of telling us what you think you need.

*You still think you need a sippy cup to take to bed with you

*By telling us “in just a minute” instead of doing what we ask right away.
and *by making a HUGE mess with your toys!!!

*You refuse to use the potty (that’s soon to change)

BUT your good habits sure outshine them:

*You are polite, you tell us please and thank you usually always (we are working on telling strangers and others, but you are pretty shy)

*You are compassionate…to babies, people, animals, your toys! You just have such a sweet heart!

*You love and always want to help…help me cook, clean and more!

*You go to bed so well, when you are tired you ask to go to bed, you never fight us on sleeping

Oh, how I love you! I can’t imagine how you could get better! I recently looked at you and told you that I wanted you to stop growing and stay this little forever. You looked at me like I was crazy…but smiled at the same time! You are precious and full of so much innocence and life. It’s so humbling and rewarding to be your Mommy and I am daily thankful that God gave me such an amazing privilege! I love you, my sweet last born, and can’t wait to see how you change and grow and become even more precious in the next year! All I ask is that you never loose your love for life, your love for us, and your precious positive attitude! Thank you for being my sweet love!
I love you,
Your Mommy