Dear Shane,

As I thought about what to write in this letter to you, hopefully the first of many to come, I wondered what I should write about. That silly thing you said the other day about Bella? That your favorite color is green? But I could barely concentrate as you walked around the room, singing {really, yelling} into a temporal thermometer that you turned into your microphone. It’s just one of many, many ways that you remind me of, well, me.

Whenever I see your eyes light up at the sight of an animal, or I hear you ask for the thousandth time to go to Mickey Mouse’s castle {what you call Disneyland}, I am constantly reminded that the apple doesn’t fall far. You love doing “pages” {worksheets, like dot pages, tracing, and even mazes}, working on crafts & projects and love learning- and while you’re currently nervous about starting preschool in the Fall, I know that once you are there you will thrive.

You have close friends- several of them- and you know them all by name. You now know how to make up your own games with them and you can actually hold conversations with each other, many of which you repeat back to me once we get home- it’s what us Mommies could only imagine back when you were all toddlers. You have your first crush & while I think it’s adorable, I have to admit it terrifies me a little. I’m so not ready for you to be a grown-up, and I was really hoping you’d believe in cooties for just a few more years. But again, the apple doesn’t fall far- don’t tell Daddy, but I had my first kiss when I was your age. {Don’t get any ideas.}

{That’s you pretending to be a bear in soccer class}

While you often remind me of myself, I see a lot of Daddy in you, too. You always have a joke to tell or a silly face to make, and you’ll do anything to make me laugh. You excel at sports, and while your soccer class is more about playing silly games than actual skill at this point, you still seem so very in your element on the field. You got your first guitar for Christmas & while you have no idea how to play it, you already sound better than I do when I try to play.

I am proud when I see bits of myself in you, and I admit I tear up when I realize how much you are like your Daddy, another man I love so much. But above all else, I love that you’re YOU. You have qualities that are all your own- even the traits that we’ve given to you now have your own unique twist. You have your own opinions on things, and you know very well what you want. You have specific favorites- everything from a favorite shirt to a favorite animal to favorite foods- and you want to be surrounded by those favorites constantly. With each passing day, you continue to define who you are, &I love that person more than anything.

Love,
Mommy

This post is a part of a new meme I’m participating in called “Letters to My Son” where myself & a circle of bloggers will be writing monthly letters to our children. Be sure to check out the next blog in the circle, A Mom’s Impression!