To the one in the middle

Dear, sweet Isabelle...

You are in the middle. I, too, am the middle child. And for some strange reason every time I think of that, I think of a book I read in second grade called "The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo." (Yes, it's a real book, look it up). Don't ask me why I think of it...I just do.

Izzy you are full of spunk. I can hardly handle it- in a good way. You are quick as a whip and have a zest for life that I don't understand...and I love that. I want to learn it from you. I hope that is possible. That you rub off on me instead of me rubbing off on you. The last thing I want to do is stifle who you are and your growth. Never lose the spunk. I love it.

When you smile, you get a dimple on your left cheek that is to die for. IT IS SO CUTE. You make lots of silly faces. In them, I see your dad when he was a little boy. And in them, I see your dad now, too. The two of you sure enjoy making goofy faces. They are much cuter on YOU! You are Daddy's little clone. I swear. Maybe that's why I can't get enough of your face. Because you remind me of him. And in case you didn't know, I like Daddy a lot. I know you and your sisters do too. I hope you know how lucky you are to have such a great dad who loves you and loves to play with you and be silly with you. Lots of kids don't have that. And I know all kids need dads. I am glad I chose him to be the father of my children and that you chose us to be your parents. We were a little surprised when we found out you were joining our family but Heavenly Father knew it was just right. I couldn't agree more. The transition to a family of four was natural. You had a built in friend in your big sister. You were my two babies. You came at the right time. Even if I didn't know it was in my plans.

You are a little mama. I love how you love babies. I think that is the one thing you get from me. I wish I could always have a baby. I am glad you were one of mine. You sure were a pill for the first 4 months you were with us. You cried A LOT. All. The. Time. You were especially fussy from about 11:30pm-3:30 am. Often I just held you and let you scream. It was tax season. And daddy needed his sleep so you and I spent lots of nights on the couch downstairs. That was an exhausting winter. But you grew out of it and soon found you LOVED to sleep. We used to lay you in your crib and bring you your bottle and blanket and you would just giggle with delight and anticipation that it was time for bed. I will never forget that! You still love your sleep most nights. You can somehow fall asleep even with Riley singing songs and reading books aloud from the top bunk over your head.

Riley started Kindergarten a few weeks ago and you miss her so much. I know she is your best friend. I know because you have said so. But I also know because of how much you want to follow her around, play with her things, and be in her personal space. I know because you do things to aggravate her- and that really just means you want her attention. She loves you too. She just expresses it differently. The two of you are very different, each your own person and that is so fun to see.

I see you growing up too fast. It is wonderful to watch you learn and grow but so darn hard at the same time. You are at a fun age and I wish I could stop time. Let's just stop growing and getting older, okay? DEAL! You speak so well for your age. (Except when you revert to that darn baby talk...) There are a lot of words that you don't necessarily use the right tense of or conjugate correctly and most of the time it is hard to correct because it is so darn cute. But soon you will learn and I will wonder how it all changed so quickly. I love your laugh. Keep laughing :)

You are so opposite of me in that you are so laid-back and free spirited. You have such a shy side to you. You are the cuddliest, coziest preschooler I know. I hope you will always want to snuggle your mom. I hope you know that I am just a person, who will make lots of mistakes like every other person. But I hope you know I still love you. Even when I might not be the best mom. I am trying. And I will try harder. Help me be better everyday. While you are learning about life, I am learning about being a mom. We should never stop learning and life allows us to go through different seasons to learn different things.

Your imagination is out of this world. You play so well with others and on your own. I love to overhear the things you come up with to play. Don't lose that imagination. Don't lose your love of books. You and Riley both love books so much. I am glad you let us read to you. If you keep reading that imagination will stay incredible.

I wrote a letter to Riley in a previous post...in it are a list of things I hope to teach you both. I want you both to know what your value is as a daughter of your Heavenly Father. It is so grat you cannot comprehend right now. We all have limitless potential for good. Be kind and loving. Have compassion. You are so precious. Respect yourself. And know that I am always here for you, to help you out with anything you may face. Life isn't without trials, that is a large part of why we are here, but it is also full of blessings beyond your comprehension. I love you, girlfriend!

Love,

Mommy