Bode: 39 Months

Dear Bode,

Happy New Year to my big boy!  You had a blast this Christmas, singing carols ("Frosty the Snowman" being your fav) and looking at Christmas lights ("Rook at those Crismas rights!" you'd say).  The best part of this Christmas? --how completely sweet and thankful you are: on Christmas morning, when you saw the tree and what Santa had brought for Christmas, you shouted, "Thank you, thank you, Santa!"  and every time you opened a present, you'd thank the person personally (even though the person was not in the room with us).  You are so completely sweet and thankful for everything that comes your way ("Oh, pajamas! Thank you, thank you, Grandma.").  Your daddy and I turned to each other during Christmas and asked each other, "How do we keep him this way?"  Your joyful, thankful little self made Christmas so much sweeter.  Not to mention that your expectations are so low.  You asked Santa for books, cars and diapers for Gianna.  That is all you wanted.  I know that some day soon, the list will be a mile long and include many electronics (and probably not a single book).

My favorite memory of Christmas happened at Aunt Dawnie's house.  You and Aunt Dawnie started to sing "Frosty" but then you both decided that everyone should sing.  So Aunt Dawnie led you into the living room where everyone sat, and announced that Bode would like everyone to sing "Frosty the Snowman."  I've never seen a group of adults come together so quickly.  I smiled, laughed, and teared up a little watching our family gather around and sing "Frosty."  You had a big smile on your face, and were so happy to 'lead' everyone in singing your favorite carol.

You say a lot of funny things these days.  I have to remember to write them down.  At night, after you've gone to bed, your daddy and I love to compare notes on what you've said and done during the day.  One day your daddy was tickling you, and you asked him to stop tickling you. He would stop, but then start tickling you again.  Finally, you sternly told your father, "I've told you several times..." which is of course, what I often say to you when you aren't doing something I've asked you to do (like clean up your toys).  Another time, we were in the kitchen cooking and Daddy announced that I was going to run a half marathon.  We thought you'd be excited for me. Instead, you frowned.  You shook your head "no" slightly and said, "No, Mommy, no.  No, you can't do that."  Well! My immediate reaction was, "How can this little guy tell me what I can do? And how dare he limit my ability to run a half marathon?!!"  But then after some prompting, we discovered that the reason you didn't want me to run a half marathon was because you thought I was going away.  After we explained that you'd be there with me (well, kind of), you felt much better about it and said, "Well. That would be good."
You are a rock star at puzzles.  You love doing puzzles and "search 'n find" picture puzzles. You're also a (good) backseat driver, often warning me, "There's a stop sign, Mommy. You have to stop!"  when I am driving.
You went to ski camp this holiday.  You never tired of going out and skiing. In the morning, we would ask you if you wanted to go skiing and you'd always respond, "Yes."  In fact, the ski instructors all said that you had the BEST attitude.  Even the guy in the rental shop would smile when you walked in and call you "Mr. Willard" because it was like you owned that ski area, with your smile and enthusiasm to get out there and "make pizza." Your great attitude is no surprise to me and Daddy. Thanks for being so much fun this Christmas holiday.  I look forward to the new year we have ahead of us.

Love,

Mommy

xo