Happy (Belated) Birthday Lovey

Dear Prayse,

I love you. I can’t tell you that enough. I love you so much. I had absolutely no idea how much life would change once you got here three years ago. And change it did! And all for the better! You are my sunshine, you are your Daddy’s heartbeat. You make our world go round. Nobody laughs as much as we do – you are just that funny.

Three years ago I thought you were stuck inside of me But then you came. And my life has been better since. We took our first ever family vacation. Just the three of us. We went to the beach, a whole 8 days just our little family. It was priceless. I have a ton of pictures that will eventually make their way here. You are so brave my friend to just sprint down to the water like you do – no mind that Mom and Dad haven’t even gotten out of their flip flops yet. We’d go from sand to ocean to sand to ocean to beach chair to pool to hot tub to pool to… this was our day for the most part the entire week And so much fun. The three of us needed that bonding time. No work (which you LOVED), just us being us, hanging out.

You are in pre-school now. I also have you enrolled in a cooking class as well as a phonics class. I see how you thrive with individualized attention, so while we can manage I’d like to keep you in these two. You LOVE making “your letter” – the letter P. And it makes me proud. I have no clue where other three year olds are at and nor do I care b/c I am just proud of you and everything that you are.

You are opinionated and will try to reason with us on every.single.little.thing. While annoying at times – I, for the most part, love it. You are having to use your brain and I have to admit, Daddy and I give in more than we should just because we’re proud you tried

You cannot sit still. In the least. Ever. Even when you sleep you don’t sit still. How you keep going is beyond me. But you are so darn athletic! Maybe I’m not supposed to say that at such a young age, but honestly girl! You’ve got it going on! So much that I have enrolled you for a once/week gymnastics class that starts in September! It’s far enough away that I’m not telling you yet but I cannot WAIT to go pick out a little leotard, put your hair up, and take you to your first class. It’s to the point where you are doing splits on our stairs… we need a bit more structure where you can learn new things and have FUN! I’m seriously giddy over the thought of it! I haven’t signed you up for dance quite yet, I wanted to start w/gymnastics and maybe private swim lessons before going hog wild over here.

You love to sing and dance though. You’ll be just walking through the house, singing and swinging those hips like it’s nothing. I LOVE that you feel the freedom to do so. We could learn a lot from you just through this one thing. Sometimes at night when I’m putting you to sleep (yes, I still stay w/ you while you fall asleep) – you’ll sing to yourself. I’ll just sit there and smile in the dark. I love especially when you start singing the old classic Bible songs.

We’re at a point where only you must pray at the dinner table. Kind of funny. The sweetest thing ever. And short. It’s usually a very simple, “Thank you for Jesus. Aaaaaaamen!” Makes me feel like I’m doing something right.

Your best friends are numerous – you are surrounded by people who love you. There are your friends at school – Alex (of course!) and Max and Gavin. These are the kiddos you’ve been with since you were 8 months old. You do actually have a few girls in your preschool… whether you play with them or not I have no clue. You never talk about them really. Except the one day Anna made a picture for you – I was touched Little girls always find a way to be friends. Big girls should watch and learn really.

And of course we can’t forget your BFF Jaxon! You also LOVE your Aunt Tara and her boys Easton, Brecken, and Baby Maddox. They teach you all sorts of fun things like jumping off the couch, wrestling… You absolutely love them. And of course we can’t forget the family. You definitely understand the meaning of family with Grandma-Great, Grandad, Grandma, Aunt Chelsea and Uncle Matt and a variety of cousins and Great-Aunts and Uncles. When we are in Arkansas you love it because you have so many cousins to play with! Hopefully you never ask their names because I really couldn’t tell you from one year to the next – there are so many! I love it. I’m trying to convince your Aunt Chelsea to give you another cousin to play with but so far it’s not working

You will someday be a fabulous Big Sister. I watch you with other babies and yes, you are three so you don’t quite get the perfect way to handle them – but you are so so good with them. It makes me proud. Don’t worry, Daddy and I are going to start working on getting you a little sister (or brother) here soon. I have to say though – that even though I am now ready to expand our family, I wasn’t before. I wasn’t because I didn’t want to share myself with anyone but you and Daddy. I have had such an awesome time getting to know you, I wanted “our” time. I want to keep that up too – one of the things that scares me about brothers or sisters for you is that our relationship and the dynamic will change. I love our relationship right now. I love that we get pedicures together, go “shopping” (kind of) together, go to the park, etc… I know it will continue, but the fear of the unknown can weigh heavy on your soul.

This is my prayer for you babe – that you will continue to just be you, to refine your spirit and never let anyone take the spark away. Some will try, I pray they won’t be successful. I pray that Daddy and I build up your confidence so that you know who you are. I pray that you will make a decision that Jesus is the answer to all of life’s problems. I pray that your confidence will also rest in Him and being a child of God’s. I pray that when you fall, you will continue to get back up just as you do now. Sometimes life’s falls hurt and take you out for awhile – it’s okay to rest and heal, just as long as you jump back in the game. Because this game, this game of life needs Prayse. You’re the only one who is you and God has great plans for you. I can see it. You are going to make a difference in lives, somehow, somewhere. Follow your destiny my friend, and when you are mad at me – come tell me. I promise to come tell you too. We can work through anything together as a family. Just don’t be afraid to come talk to me and tell me what you are thinking, what you are faced with, what you need – together we’ll hit our knees in prayer and work out a plan. You will NEVER be alone. Never settle. Never settle for a job that’s not going to get you where you want to go, don’t settle for friends who don’t mean well, don’t settle for a boy who is anything less than your father. There are many out there who will make the advance, you are too gorgeous for them not too – it is my job to teach you that there is more to life than a boy who will compliment those pretty hazel eyes of yours. Hold out for the really good one. God has him marked, he’ll come into your life eventually. Stay strong and stay who you are babe. If you stay close to the core of what make you “you”. You’ll conquer this crazy thing called life and come out victorious.

I can’t wait to watch. I love you.

Love,
Mama

(if you click on the pictures below they’ll open up into a larger gallery you can scroll through)