{"id":793,"date":"2012-10-07T10:30:12","date_gmt":"2012-10-07T17:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thelorigans.com\/?p=793"},"modified":"2012-10-07T10:30:12","modified_gmt":"2012-10-07T17:30:12","slug":"a-letter-to-my-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelorigans.com\/?p=793","title":{"rendered":"A Letter to my Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Jackson and Ella,<\/p>\n

Today you turn 4 years old.\u00a0 It’s almost like you guys are actual people now and no longer my sweet little babies.\u00a0 There is so much I want to tell you two.<\/p>\n

\"Jack\"<\/p>\n

Jackson:\u00a0 My little man.\u00a0 You tell me almost everyday that you are no longer a baby or a big kid.\u00a0 You tell me you are a MAN!\u00a0 Yup, you tell me that you pee like a man, you eat like a man, and you go to bed like a man.\u00a0 I hate to break it to you, my little man, but you will ALWAYS be my baby.<\/p>\n

You can be the sweetest little boy when you want to be and then there are times that I just want to strangle you!!\u00a0 You can be very demanding when it comes to “asking” for things, but on the other hand, you are always the first one to get your sister something when she needs it.\u00a0 Even though you follow the typical toddler rules about every toy being yours, you still make sure Ella has something to play with after you rip a toy out of her hands.\u00a0 You want to be good.<\/p>\n

Right now, your favorite foods are hamburgers, green beans, and cookies.\u00a0 You love drinking water, but only if it has ice in it.\u00a0 The reason you started liking water with ice was because you saw Grandma Jane with ice in her water.\u00a0 You like to try new foods, and for the most part you like almost everything you try, however, it is a huge struggle to get you to eat your dinner.\u00a0 You haven’t always been such a good eater.\u00a0 There were times when the only thing I could get you to eat was spaghetti noodles or rice.\u00a0 It has been a nice change of pace.<\/p>\n

You LOVE super heroes!!\u00a0 If you see anything with one of the Marvel characters on it, you totally try and convince me that you need it because it matches all your other stuff.\u00a0 You like playing “superhero” with your sister, but I think it’s really just an excuse to try and beat her up.<\/p>\n

You just started preschool and are having so much fun.\u00a0 You like playing with the other kids, but you are still a little shy.\u00a0 You wake up happy most school days and you are super excited to go.\u00a0 Hopefully you always love school this much!<\/p>\n

I love you more than ice cream and cameras!!<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Ella\"<\/p>\n

Ella:\u00a0 My baby girl.\u00a0 You are such a little sweetie (most of the time).\u00a0 In the morning you wake up before Daddy goes to work, just so you can say bye to him and give him a hug.\u00a0 You like helping him pick out his clothes for the day and getting his shoes out of the closet.\u00a0 After he leaves, you crawl in bed with me and either go back to sleep or watch a show before brother wakes up.\u00a0 On the days you don’t get to say bye to Daddy, you are sad about it all day.<\/p>\n

You love playing with your brother, but you can kind of be a brat to him.\u00a0 You tend to tease him a lot and take thing from him.\u00a0 You also instigate a lot of fights and you like making him mad.\u00a0 On the other hand, if he gets hurt, you are the first one to try and help and you worry about him.\u00a0 You like helping him do things.<\/p>\n

You love anything pink!\u00a0 And Princesses!\u00a0 And Ballerinas!\u00a0 Even though you like to play in the dirt and fight with your brother, you are such a girly girl.<\/p>\n

You say some of the funniest things with the funniest expressions.\u00a0 It cracks me and Daddy up!<\/p>\n

Getting you to eat your food is a struggle.\u00a0 You hate trying new foods and really only like eating mac n cheese or grilled cheese sandwiches.\u00a0 Even if we make you your favorite foods, there are just days you won’t eat.\u00a0 Well, hopefully you get over that phase soon!<\/p>\n

I love you more than rainbows and cotton candy!<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"twins\"<\/p>\n

A friend of mine\u00a0 posted this and I thought it was rather appropriate:<\/p>\n

Here is the poem from the book Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury.<\/p>\n

Long ago you came to me,
\na miracle of firsts,
\nFirst smiles and teeth and baby steps,
\na sunbeam on the burst.<\/p>\n

But one day you will move away
\nand leave to me your past
\nAnd I will be left thinking of
\na lifetime of your lasts\u2026<\/p>\n

The last time that I held a bottle
\nto your baby lips
\nThe last time that I lifted you
\nand held you on my hip.<\/p>\n

The last night when you woke up crying,
\nneeding to be walked,
\nWhen last you crawled up with your blanket,
\nwanting to be rocked.<\/p>\n

The last time when you ran to me,
\nstill small enough to hold.
\nThe last time that you said you\u2019d marry
\nme when you grew old.<\/p>\n

Precious, simple moments and
\nbright flashes from your past-
\nWould I have held on longer if
\nI\u2019d known they were your last?<\/p>\n

Our last adventure to the park,
\nyour final midday nap,
\nThe last time when you wore your favorite
\nfaded baseball cap.<\/p>\n

Your last few hours of kindergarten,
\nthose last few days of first grade,
\nYour last at bat in Little League,
\nlast colored picture made.<\/p>\n

I never said good-bye to all
\nyour yesterdays long passed.
\nSo what about tomorrow-
\nwill I recognize your lasts?<\/p>\n

The last time that you catch a frog
\nin that old backyard pond.
\nThe last time that you run barefoot
\nacross our fresh-cut lawn.<\/p>\n

Silly, scattered images
\nwill represent your past.
\nI keep on taking pictures,
\nnever quite sure of your lasts\u2026<\/p>\n

The last time that I comb your hair
\nor stop a pillow fight.
\nThe last time that I pray with you
\nand tuck you in at night.<\/p>\n

The last time when we cuddle
\nwith a book, just me and you
\nThe last time you jump in our bed
\nand sleep between us two.<\/p>\n

The last piano lesson,
\nlast vacation to the lake.
\nYour last few weeks of middle school,
\nlast soccer goal you make.<\/p>\n

I look ahead and dream of days
\nthat haven\u2019t come to pass.
\nBut as I do, I sometimes miss
\ntoday\u2019s sweet, precious lasts\u2026<\/p>\n

The last time that I help you with
\na math or spelling test.
\nThe last time when I shout that yes,
\nyour room is still a mess.<\/p>\n

The last time that you need me for
\na ride from here to there.
\nThe last time that you spend the night
\nwith your old tattered bear.<\/p>\n

My life keeps moving faster,
\nstealing precious days that pass,
\nI want to hold on longer-
\nwant to recognize your lasts\u2026<\/p>\n

The last time that you need my help
\nwith details of a dance.
\nThe last time that you ask me for
\nadvice about romance.<\/p>\n

The last time that you talk to me
\nabout your hopes and dreams.
\nThe last time that you wear a jersey
\nfor your high school team.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve watched you grow and barely noticed
\nseasons as they pass.
\nIf I could freeze the hands of time,
\nI\u2019d hold on to your lasts.<\/p>\n

For come some bright fall morning,
\nyou\u2019ll be going far away.
\nCollege life will beckon
\nin a brilliant sort of way.<\/p>\n

One last hug, one last good-bye,
\none quick and hurried kiss.
\nOne last time to understand
\njust how much you\u2019ll be missed.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll watch you leave and think how fast
\nour time together passed.
\nLet me hold on longer, God,
\nto every precious last.<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Jackson and Ella, Today you turn 4 years old.\u00a0 It’s almost like you guys are actual people now and no longer my sweet little babies.\u00a0 There is so much I want to tell you two. Jackson:\u00a0 My little man.\u00a0 You tell me almost everyday that you are no longer a baby or a big […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","category-kids"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelorigans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelorigans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelorigans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelorigans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelorigans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=793"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/thelorigans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":815,"href":"https:\/\/thelorigans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793\/revisions\/815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelorigans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelorigans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelorigans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}