The Adster

Oh Adie, Dear Adie, in the past you've been such a mellow child, not getting into much trouble. You were maybe a little clingy or shy at times, but generally, I could count on you to not get into things you weren't supposed to. We hardly had to childproof the house. You didn't even really have tantrums for more than a couple of minutes at a time, and they were fairly rare. We could always reason with you, even long after you turned 2. You were a cinch to potty train and rarely had an accident.

Then, you had to share the attention we give you and, wow did your attitude change. Maybe it would have whether or not Chase had come. Maybe you've just hit your testing my boundaries stage. Maybe your body really did suddenly go from needing around 12-14 hours of sleep per day to only needing 8-10 (although somehow I doubt it). I can't imagine how hard it is on you to have such a huge change come into your life. I know someday you'll thank us for giving you a sibling, even if it isn't until you are adults ;)

This post, though, is in honor of all the things you do and say that still make us smile and laugh.

-You are a great counter. You consistently count from 1-10 (sometimes skipping 8) and you can get up to 18 with only a little prompting (we have 18 stairs).

-You can sing the ABC's and are starting to identify the letters and their sounds. You are really good at identifying A, D, H, M, O and S.

-Whenever someone seems sad or is crying, you run to them to give them hugs of comfort. You have always been very affectionate.

-You still love to draw and are somewhat starting to understand the idea of coloring in the lines (well sort of). You also love playdough.


-You like to get into mischief when I am feeding Chase and am less able to watch your every move. Some of the classic things you have done lately:

-Let yourself out of the house at 6 am to watch the construction workers from the porch (ok, this one wasn't funny and didn't make us smile when we discovered you were missing). Good thing we now have locks high up on the front and garage doors.

-Peel all the clementines I had on the counter and leave me a trail of orange peels leading up to the computer, so I could find where you left those little oranges.



-Bring your bathroom stool into the kitchen, climb up onto the counter and peel all our bananas while simultaneously playing with playdough, and our dirty dishes, in the sink.

-Pull every single one of your clothes out of your drawers and throw them on the floor. Plus knock the boxes stacked on top of your little drawers off so you could get to the box of Halloween costumes.



-You say some pretty funny and cute things (don't all parents think that about their children). A couple of my favorites are:

-When we tell you we can't do something at the moment, or something is not possible, you say, "Try hard!" and then make a grunting noise like you are trying to move something really heavy.

-You say, "Miss you too!" and hug people (or objects) you haven't seen for days (or hours) who you miss. You especially like to tell your green shirt that you miss it.

Ads, we love you and hope you get through this transition in one piece. I hope I do too ;) For every difficult moment with you, there are many joyful ones. Thanks for keeping us smiling.