Oh.....time.....where does it go?

Holy cow.

I don't work 5 days a week anymore....only 3.

I don't have a child requiring all of my attention anymore.....she has a playmate.

I don't have an old camera anymore......I have a much fancier one.

I don't update my blog anymore.......ummmmm......

What's my excuse?

Pure laziness.

I must confess.

I have a friend with THREE children who manages a perfect blog with frequent updates (you know who you are)....why can't I do it too?

However, now that I don't worry about Kennedy killing herself by falling down the stairs as much and I consider Lily to be fully grown at this point, I should take the time to come downstairs and update my pictures and the adorable lives of my sweet, sweet girls.

If uploading pictures is just too much to handle, then perhaps I should turn this into a collection of love letters for Lily and Kennedy. I've experienced so many wonderful, out-of-body, tears-to-the-eyes moments lately which are promptly followed by a period of chastizing myself for not being a better record keeper of these two precious lives.

So here it goes.....my first one:

Dear Lily Bug,

You are a pistol and I love it!

I love and hate how you can say octupus correctly now. No more "opatuses" around.

I love how I am able to sit down with you, get you to look in my eyes, and reason with you. Yes, I know you're only three, but if I'm able to calmly discuss the rationale for not grabbing things from other people or hitting your parents or taking a Sharpie marker to the inside of mommy's car....you are actually able to listen and comprehend.

Perhaps you're fooling me which is highly possible, but I'm a sucker and I believe.

I love listening to you sing songs. Every. Single. Song. Of. Every. Single. Movie. You've. Ever. Seen. Your memory amazes me. You don't even need to be watching the movie to bust out a tune. One of your faves from a cd is "Paw Paw Patch" which I had to completely ruin one day to get you to sit on the freaking toilet by singing "Poo Poo Patch."

Hey, it worked. You did what you needed to do.

I'll continue to contribute to your potty humor if I have to.

I'm not ashamed.

I love how everyone is your "friend."

"Hey, friend!"

"HEY!"

"FRIEND!"

"Come play with me!"

You can be a bit bossy but, of all people, I get it.

More than anything, I absolutely adore the constant, unsolicited "I love yous" you give out to me, to Kennedy, to Bear and especially to your sweet Daddy. Out of the blue you will proclaim your love to all of us which is so incredibly sweet and sometimes your timing is impecable. Such as when you've "accidentally" spilled something or when you "didn't mean to" push your sister down or when you've had an accident in your pants.

I'll take the sweet-nothings all the same.

You have my heart.

You ARE my heart.

And I love every single bit of your being.

Love,

Mommy

Dear Kennedy,

You are my child.

You are DEFINITELY my child.

I love your goofiness. You will be doing something you're not supposed to be doing and look at me with the most heart-melting smile and end it with a bit of a giggle. This is probably why you've been allowed to crawl all over the coffee table but Lily never was.

I love how snuggly you are. You can't just sit next to us.

You have to sit ON us.

And when we hold you, you bury your sweet face into the nape of our necks.

There's just nothing better.

I also love to listen to you sing....."Doo Dah, Doo Dah, Doo Dah."

AKA "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King.

However, when I try to join in you look at me, hold your hand up and say, "BOP!" (Stop.)

I love how you love your big sister. You look for her in the mornings. You follow her around throughout the day and you love to play chase. Oh and how she loves you, my sweet girl. Lily gives you kisses and will ask for hugs. Of course you run to her with open arms and you two embrace each other. It's such a quick action that I have yet to capture it on tape.

(Sometimes I feel like a photographer/videographer for the Discovery Channel.)

I love that you're so independent. You like playing with and following around after Lily but you have always been able to entertain yourself. You know what you like and you'll go after it.

If Lily were to take it from you, you let her know she should have thought twice.

And I don't stop you.

You are the absolutely perfect completion to this family and we never even question what if.....because you were meant for us.

Life just would not be the same.

I love you with all that I am.

Love,

Mommy