Dear Mercedes...

Dear Little Mermer,

This letter is for you...

Today has been difficult. With your brother throwing up, and your other brother needing to be nursed, I think you felt a little left out of the mommy time and nurturement. You've been fussy. At one point, while I was stroking Joshua's back after the fourth or fifth time he threw up, you came up and nuzzled your way in between my arms and laid your head next to my hands. You said, in your own little Mercedes' language that sometimes needs decoding, that you were "sick" and wanted cuddles too. It was then that I realized that lately I haven't been as good about giving you your time with me. You've been growing so fast, right before my eyes, as they say, and I can understand why you'd be upset that the lap that was yours for nearly two years had been all of a sudden taken away from you and replaced with infant feedings every two hours. I need to try harder to make special time for just you.


Yesterday was a perfect day. We celebrated your birthday, even though yesterday was really your daddy's birthday. I was a little stressed that morning because I was trying hard to decorate the house for your birthday party and you kept wanting to eat the decorations (they were candy--so I can't blame you).

You had your friends from nursery come to help you celebrate. We decorated crowns. We played "pin the crown on Princess Mercedes". We had Daddy make balloon crowns for everyone to wear. We passed the bean bags, danced, ate cake and ice cream, and we opened presents. You had so much fun. The other girls wanted to look at your neat presents but you weren't too keen on sharing them just yet.

Later, we had a water war with the Gaskins next door and played in your new little pool. It was so much fun watching you play with your brother and friends.

You are so much fun to be around. You're so full of personality that I think sometimes your little body is too small to adequately express your big emotions. So, yes, there are sometimes tantrums, and yes, there is the occasional trip to time-out. But you're a great kid. Sometimes I can get exasperated and throw my hands in the air as if to say, "I don't know what you want". But, I do know that I don't want to dampen your spirit. Heaven knows you've got a lot of it.

I want to teach you how to use your stubbornness in a good way. A friend of mine put it perfectly, she mentioned that perhaps the Lord needed stubborn spirits to fight the battle in the last days. The Lord needs strong spirits in His army to fight the spiritual battle--to stand up for what's right in this confused world. Like she said of her own daughter, I don't want to break your spirit. As your mother, I really am doing my best to teach you how to use your drive, that fire inside of you, to accomplish great things. Who you are is amazing. You are happy, really smart, beautiful, strong, a problem solver, resourceful, and nothing short of amazing--I admire the passion you display.

You love your daddy. I don't know when you became a daddy's girl, but you are. Sometimes I wish you'd enjoy me as much as you enjoy his company. But, it's okay. He loves that you love him so much and it does my heart good to see you interact so lovingly with your father.

You love going on walks and playing in the park. You're quite good at climbing on anything there is that you could possibly climb on. You love to sing and dance. You sing "twinkle twinkle little star" really well... but I always have to start out with "catch a falling star and put it in your pocket" first (as a lead in to twinkle twinkle") when I sing it to you. This always makes you smile so big.

You love to be read to. I was waiting a long time for that to happen. You love blueberries. You love it when Joshua makes you laugh. You're really motherly to Luke. You love late night cuddles and lullabies. You're so cute when I am getting ready in the morning--you always want a little bit of makeup on too. You love to wear hats (if it's your idea).

You love getting sympathy for your owies. You love having your hair played with. You love to jump--that's your new favorite trick. You get excited when I ask if you want to go outside. You know how to take your clothes off and would prefer to not wear any clothes at all. You can sometimes even dress yourself and put your shoes on. Like me, you hate bugs. And, when I am at the computer when you're awake, you feel that need to be on my lap "helping" me type. You say, "Joshua" in a way that sounds like "Salsa".

I love your laugh, but I have come to notice that when you laugh good and hard, it's never a good thing because you are absolutely up to no good.

I love you princess! Keep being all that you are... I will try my best to keep up!