"Let me love you a little more, before you're not little anymore."

My Dearest LB,

You have been absolutely hilarious lately.  I cannot help but look at you and smile (even when I should be correcting you).  Your personality is blooming, your imagination is insanely active, and you are turning into such a fully functioning little human.  You have gone from completely needing us, to being an independent little thinker.  It is so cool to see how much you have bloomed.  I am simply blown away by watching you grow up.  What scares me, is how much of myself I see in you.  While you are super cute, and funny to observe, you are so damn stubborn!!!  It literally can run me up a wall sometimes.  If you are not too interested in doing what needs to get done, you sure let me know it.  Each time you do, I am baffled by the fact that in just 2 short years you have become another person that I can argue back and forth with.  I love it! :)

Lately, your new thing has been to express how you are feeling.  You watch us closely, and are always questioning if we are happy or sad.  You wake up each morning, and tell me that you love me, and that we are best friends.  We will be sitting quietly, and you will tell me that I am cute.  If I watch a sad video, you tell me not to be sad, and try to make it better with your kisses.  I love all of these moments, and that they are starting to happen more and more.  Each time I hear your little voice say something so sweet my heart just wants to leap out of my chest.  When you do these things, I cannot help but ask your Dadda where you get it from.  Usually when you are being testy and stubborn and I ask, I simply get a "humph" noise.  However, when I asked where you are getting these cute little things from, the answer is always "us".  When he said that the first time, I had to stop for a second.  It made me so happy to realize that you are mirroring what you see.  I have always said that I want to make sure that the ones I love know, and hear how much they mean to me.  I guess I am doing a good job! :)

When you are so sweet, and say these cute little things, I cannot help but hope that it stays this way forever.  I never want a day to come, when I stop hearing how much you love me.  I want to be the person that you feel you can come to with anything that is happening in your life.  I dread the day when you become "too cool" for your old mom.  I know it'll be the teenage thing to do, but I pray that you skip it.  Besides, I will not be like all those other moms.  I will be a cool mom!!  (See what I did there!?)  I hope and pray that our relationship is strong forever, and that you always know that no matter what, I love you.  When I am gone, I want you to look back on your life, and never question how I felt about you.  Of course it is easy to say these things, but I promise to spend the rest of my life, putting those words into action.

You are, and will always be, the best thing that has ever happened to me.  I hope there is never a day that you cannot see and feel that.  So please, keep telling your Mommy how cute she is.  Keep telling her how much you love her.  When you go down the list of "Big" things (Big Momma, Big Back, Big Feet, etc.), maybe leave the "big butt" part out, just a suggestion of course.  The brightest parts of my day, are when I get to hear all of your sweet expressions.  Especially when I'm sweaty, out of breath, curled in a fetal position on the floor after a workout, and you place your hand on my cheek and tell me how cute I am!! ;) While you are doing all of that, I will continue to be your mushy gushy Momma that squeezes tight until you pop, sings backup to your Sunshine song, and covers your face in bedtime butterfly kisses!!

Until our next adventure!  I love you my Little Bear!!

Momma

"GRRRRRRROWWWL"