My sweet baby. You are a firecracker. You've been doing some hilarious, and yes, in-the-moment completely frustrating things lately. In an odd way, those things already tell me you're going to be a force to be reckoned with. You'll fight for what you want. You'll have an opinion and be brave enough to share it. There's a quote I love: “speak up, even if your voice shakes.” Well, here's the thing — your voice ain't even shaking.
These last few months your speech has exploded. You're talking up a storm. We're trying to capture every minute of it, because time is moving too fast.
So what have you been doing? Why is my hair turning grey and dad walking out of the room to take a deep breath?
You have a plastic cup with a straw attached. You love blowing into it to make milk bubbles — fun, except the milk spills over the edge every time. We'll say, “stop blowing bubbles, it's going to spill.” When you don't, we say, “okay, if you can't drink nice, give me the cup back.” You look us dead in the eyes, take your cup, and flip it over. Milk everywhere. With a smile on your face. Then you throw the cup.
Analyzing it as I write this: that's someone who doesn't like being told what he can't do. Someone testing boundaries, with a sense of humor and creativity. Someone stubborn, who'll fight for what he wants. And honestly, that could be a description of your dad. After sixteen years together, I have yet to see one thing that man can't do. Tell him no, and that's exactly what lights the fire to find a way to do it anyway. I love seeing that in you. I just hope, with time, you maybe don't throw the cup. That part can stay back there in toddlerhood. But the fire underneath it? I hope you keep that.
Quick story: we were mini golfing with your brother, Nana, and Papa down the shore. Warm day, no breeze. We were almost done and you both seemed tired. We said, “we can skip the rest if you're hot and ready to eat.” You said “YES!” immediately. Your brother said, “No, I want to play the last two holes.” I said, “okay, I'll carry you and your brother can finish.”
That was not the right answer. You picked up your brother's golf ball off the ground so he couldn't play. When we asked for it back, you ran to the nearest water on the course, threw it in, and walked straight toward the food. Lesson: don't mess with you and your food.
Stay spicy, stay strong, speak up for what you believe in, be creative and exploratory, and practice patience — it doesn't come easy to you. Don't cry over spilled milk. I love you so much.