Dear Gibson,

Today was your end-of-school-year Dance Festival.  It's been totally funny to watch you practice your dance to "It's a Small World."  I love you, but you are one of the funniest dancers I've ever seen.  And I mean that in a good way!  Let's just say that your dancing skills are a little less Mexican and a little more Gringo.  That being said, you did a great job in the dance.  You do have great rhythm, which is why you'll make a great drummer someday.  You can't see yourself very well in the video, but it's proof that I was there and sometimes that is the only parenting points you get in a day.  Showing up points.  The crazy thing is, that in one week you'll be done with Kindergarten and on to First Grade!  I remember that time of my life very well, and it's hard to believe that now its my own son moving into grade school.  Ahhh, well.  I'll try not to get too emotional about it.

You're the one in the red shirt and Hawaiian lei, by the way.

Love,
Mom

Garbage.  I can't upload the video.  It's too long.  I'm so good at taking video!  Sorry about that, bud.  Just know that it was very, very cute and that you did a great job.  Love you!

Dear Gibson,

Today you lost your first tooth!!  It was only loose for a day, but you really wanted it out.  We tried before church, and I learned that Daddy has a very weird way of pulling teeth.  He doesn't pull; he flicks.  Needless to say, it kind of hurt you.  Part of the problem is that your adult tooth has already grown in behind the baby tooth.  You look like a shark!  So there wasn't really any traction on the baby tooth.  Anyway, you fiddled with it all through church, and when we got home it was ready.  You told Daddy he had one more try and then you were going to have Grandpa pull it.  Daddy flicked it one last time, and sure enough it popped right out!  You were excited, but a little freaked out at the same time.  You cried.  It was so adorable!  So here we go into the next phase of your childhood.  I'm not ready!  Now your smile has a little hole in it.  We had pictures after that, and you made sure to put your lip down just a little so your tooth hole showed. 

Good job, buddy.  Now you can wait for the tooth fairy to come!

Love,
Mom

Dear Gibson,

I think you might be a baseball player!  You've been playing catch with your dad lately, and you have quite the arm!  Today I asked if you are going to be a pitcher, and you said no - you're going to be a baseball thrower and hitter.  Ok, then!  Sounds good to me!  But you still have to learn to play the piano.  And play percussion in the band.  Deal?

Love,
Mom

Dear Gibson,

My goodness, it's been a long time since I've made the time to write you.  I'm ashamed!  You can see now why New Year's Resolutions are difficult to keep.  There's just not enough time in the day sometimes!  OK, there is, but lately your dad and I have been hooked on a show called "Bones" and that has taken a bit of a priority.  We're so obsessed that we've made you kids sit and watch episodes with us.  Probably not the best material for kids your age, but hey - I've never claimed to be mother of the year.  We're justifying it by saying that maybe it will inspire you to someday be a forensic anthropologist.  Anyway, a lot has been going on that someday we'll be able to talk about but in the meantime, there are a lot of things that I can't wait to write down for you.

Lately, you've been really beasty.  Almost as beasty as Georgia, which is really saying something for my mild-mannered little boy.  What's the deal?!  Let's just hope it's a phase and it passes quickly.  No matter what goes on during the day, though, you are always my sweet boy and I love you more than words can express.  More than air.  As you grow and change, I hope you always remember who you are and the powerful example that you are to our family.  You have the ability to soften hearts, and that is the most amazing gift I can think of.  You soften me every day.

I love you very much.

Love,
Mommy

Dear Gibson,


I have to first apologize to you.  I am a distracted mommy.  I have lots going on, and sometimes most of the time I end up spending too much time on other things and not enough time playing with you and Gibson and being a good mom.  Today I got home from work a little bit early and needed to go to the store to pick up a few things.  You and Georgia were fighting in the car, no surprise there.  I was feeling overwhelmed, and then I saw a playground.  I promptly pulled the car over and said, "Who wants to play on the playground?"  You went crazy.  It's not that you've never played on a playground before, but this was out of the blue - a special surprise.  We played for almost an hour.  I took off my shoes and we went down the slide together, we climbed the tree, we took pictures, we played tag.  It was a really wonderful hour.  I didn't make it to the store, but I got everything I needed from you and your brother.  I needed to spend some time with you.  No distractions, no email, no phone - just me and my kids having fun together.  I promise I will try harder to be the kind of mommy that I really want to be and know that I should be.  I watch how fast you are growing and can't figure out where the time has gone!  Spring is almost here in full force, so I hope we have lots of opportunities to just play together.

Love,
Mommy

Dear Gibson,

Over the weekend, we went swimming.  Call it mid-winter blues, call it get-the-heck-outta-dodge syndrome...we needed a break.  So we got a hotel and spent hours and hours and hours at the pool.  I'm pretty sure it's the longest you've ever been in the water.  And you loved it!  You got over your fear and actually learned to swim underwater!  I was (and am!) so proud of you!  We will have to do that again, soon.  It really was so fun!

A split second of control...

and then the fight breaks out.  Typical.

Big fish.

Love, Mommy

Dear Gibson,

I have been a neglectful mother.  The past couple of weeks have been particulary challenging for me personally, and I have not cared for you like I should.  The hardest part of being a mom lately is stepping out of myself and my own trials and showing you the happy mommy that you deserve.  I owe you a sincere apology.  Let me tell you about some of the things that have been weighing on my mind, in hopes that someday these lessons will help you understand me a little bit better.

I have a calling in the church that I love.  But with this calling has come a lot of contention and hurt feelings.  Someone said some very hurtful things to me in a public situation, and my heart was broken.  I have never been so humiliated and broken in all of my life.  My confidence was shaken, I was filled with anger and hurt.  I was consumed with the ins and outs of this situation, and spent more time in hot baths than with you and your sister.  Throughout all of this, I have learned several things. 

1.) We are all human, and all make mistakes.  That being said, we need to be careful in how we speak to people and use constraint, especially when we are angry. 
2.)  Being the bigger person can sometimes make you feel very small.  Doing the right thing is almost always harder than following your first instincts (like telling someone they can just take their you-know-what and shove it)! 
3.)  Forgiveness is easy - forgetting is much more difficult. 
4.)  Your world doesn't have to end just because I felt like mine did.
5.)  The only opinions that matter are mine, my family's, and the Lord's.
6.)  Apologizing when you were the one that was hurt can be very difficult.  But sometimes you have to grease the skids.

The list could go on, but I want you to know that I have been prayerful and humbled.  I hope I can take the lessons I've learned and be a better mother, friend, daughter, sister, and church member.

Thank you for being patient with me.  Thank you for making me smile in spite of myself.  Thank you for being amazing, as you are every day.

I love you.

-Mommy