These are letters to Jack, my son, and my daughter, Audrey. You have given me the gift of motherhood. This is just a little gift back. I want to share my experiences with you of your childhood from my perspective of watching you grow - of being your Mom.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween

Jack,

You had a fantastic Halloween this year. We did so much leading up to it that the peak of the holiday - the actual trick or treating that we went on, was just another part of the Halloween experience.

You DID walk away with quite a haul.

I taught you how to sort them into piles of the same types of candy so you could be awed by how much you had received.These were the pumpkins that we carved this year. You picked them out at the pumpkin patch and we carved them based on some drawings you had made. One was of a happy pumpkin and the other pumpkin you named "Thunderstorm Eyes". I like that one very much!I have a tradition of taking a picture of you in front of your pumpkins.This year you conceded but only for a couple of seconds and under enormous amounts of protest.

Happy Halloween, Little Biddle!

Love,

Mommy

Friday, October 24, 2008

A Little More Real

Jack,


Today the new reality of our growing family became a little more real.We were waiting to tell you more about it until we confirmed the heartbeat. Is there a longer wait than that? Right now, it doesn't seem likely.The though process in this decision was basically that if we waited to tell everyone else until we confirmed it, there would be no risk of you finding out by a well-intentioned person that congratulated us when you were right there in earshot. I didn't want you to find out before we knew it was safe because I didn't want to have to put you through any potential heartache if the pregnancy wasn't viable, but it's no longer a question. You are definitely going to be a big brother.I'm sure these look the same, but they aren't. The baby was moving and the nurse was nice enough to try to capture that in these images. So, we told you about it and your initial reaction was to laugh. I don't know if you thought we were joking or not, but that's what I suspect. We sometimes get a little goofy at dinner and that's when we told you, so I should have expected that you would have your doubts. Also, I don't look any different to you right now than I looked last month or two months ago, so I imagine you are a little dubious that a baby is really in there growing and moving away. Your Aunt Kelly is pregnant right now, but in a way that is visible to you and we can even feel her baby kick. This is just too early to seem too real to you right now.

We have been calling the baby "VLB" which stands for Very Little Biddle. We have called you Little Biddle for years, so it seemed natural for the baby to become VLB. Anyway, the reality of this new little one still hasn't hit me. It seems a little surreal and I wanted to laugh along with you when I told you because I could understand the disbelief.

Wow. Another baby. Unreal.

Love,

Mommy

Thursday, October 23, 2008

School Halloween Party

Jack,
What kid isn't over the moon about their classroom Halloween party?
The parents were invited to stay late after school so we could have treats with you little ones and watch you play with each other in your costumes.You were proud to show us the things in your classroom that you enjoy the most - books, connectors, legos, etc...See?!?Plus you got to be Mr. Incredible amongst all your friends!The little girls in your class were impressed with the camera I had most of all, though, because they liked seeing the pictures of themselves...Which is just SO UNLIKE us girls!! :)

You are really loving playing with the flannelboard and putting stories together on it, but I have to say that it was very funny to see you flexing those huge stuffed muscles while trying to put together a story and the padding pressing into your cheeks as you played away....After a huge number of treats and with fingers colored in orange icing, we tried on your teacher's hat so you could be the Cat In the Hat Mr. Incredible.Let's just say that hat will never be the same again.Love,

Mommy

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Who You Gonna Call?

Jack,

It's true - I'm a fan of the 80's. LOVE THEM!But the latest preferences that you have been showing for some aged classics are not all my doing.Your Daddy and I will accept responsibility for your love of Woody Woodpecker who has long since been off the air, and the love you have of E.T. who is so old that when I watched the movie last, I was struck by the "technical" gadgets that they showed that were supposed to be progressive when they were working on E.T. They look like the Doctor's are watching a game of Tetris rather than monitoring E.T.'s vital signs, but you love them.But, this latest craze comes directly from your daycare tied in with Halloween. One of the teachers apparently brought in an old book of the Ghostbusters Movie along with the song.You have been telling me the Ghostbusters story ever since then complete with such detail that a part of me almost suspects they showed you the movie. You talk about Slimer and the Marshmallow man and the vaccuum cleaners that sucked up the ghosts and you will run around with imaginary guns and shoot the ghosts in the air.


But my favorite part is when I turn on the theme song and get to watch this.


Who you gonna call?!?

Love,

Mommy

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Pumpkin Patch 2008

Jack,

We all have our family traditions and one of ours is the annual trip to the pumpkin patch which also includes the pictures of you amongst the large pumpkins looking cute as pie!

These next ones were my favorites! I wish I could show them to everyone!Of course, we aren't the only family to have this tradition. It seems to be a universal type of tradition and our family is no exception.We sometimes are lucky enough to be able to combine our family tradition with the traditions of other family members and we get these cute keepsake photos:I hope you understand why you see so many of these pictures when you look through them.They are all impossible to resist and must all be preserved for always!

The whole pumpkin patch experience has changed a bit since I was a kid. I remember a playground full of wooden climbers and the big pumpkins to climb on, but the pumpkin patch of today is a fairground of sorts with rides and animals and so much to do.... The patch itself, though, is exactly as I remembered and expected it complete with the large grasshoppers jumping amidst the pumpkins in their jumbles of vines. You were an absolute wildman in the pumpkin patch.You ran through the pumpkin patch at top speed stopped only when a tangled vine brought you down in a full body tackle or when your foot pushed through a rotten pumpkin and I got to dig you out of the goo.I've said it before, but I have to restate - if they could make a pair of pants for a toddler that captured and stored energy - we could power our house - maybe even the neighborhood -with the amount of energy that pours out of you!And, yes, you DO detect a hint of jealousy there, because I would LOVE to be able to keep up with you step for step! I knew by this time that I was pregnant again, but we hadn't shared this with anyone, including you. Still I was sure that it was obvious to all the world which is hard to explain unless you've been there yourself. You just feel so different that you figure everyone else can tell, but I'm guessing I'm the only one that sees it when I look at this picture. I could say that our activities in participating in the fair environment of the patch were entirely for you, but it would be lying to say we didn't get something wonderful out of watching your enjoyment! Here's the World War I flying Ace intent on his mission....Giving a shout out...Familiarizing yourself with the equipment....Checking out what is coming up...Leaning into the turn....HI MOM! HI DAD! :)We tried this barrel ride next and I'm quite proud of myself for not hurling chunks everywhere because it did not make my stomach feel good.But there is no amount of motion that could make you sick. YOU LOVED IT!It was a wonderful day!

Love,

Mommy