Dear Whit & Davis: You’re Six!

Posted in Davis, Twins, Whitaker by Liz

Hey boys – you’re six now! It’s crazy to me to think how much you’ve grown up. It feels not long ago that you were teeny preemies in the hospital, and now you’re rambunctious, strong little boys.

We did it big for your birthday this year! You had a joint birthday party at the Maumee Indoor movie theater with your best bud, Max. We invited your whole class and watched Sonic 1. You guys had a blast running all around the theater with your classmates.

Some other highlights from this past year were our family trip to Cancun for Mimi’s 70th, watching you both start to play basketball & baseball, and celebrating your graduation from preschool.

This year you boys started really becoming your own separate people with your own separate interests. For a long time you guys almost seemed like one unit, lovingly called “The Brothers,” who did everything together and liked all the same things.

Lately, though, your interests have started to diverge and you even have been making more of your own unique friendships. While this has sometimes led to more sibling fights and disagreements, I think it’s good for you to explore your independence.

Whitaker you are my loud, physical, ACTIVE boy who has a heart of gold. You are the first one to offer something you have to a friend if they want it because you love to make people happy. The other day we went to the Lucas County Fair and your buddy Max couldn’t eat the ice cream because of his allergy. While all the other kids got their ice cream, you quickly said “I want to wait until we find a place Max can eat so he’s not left out!” You have a very sweet heart.

Like most six-year-old boys, you are extremely active and loud. You proudly proclaim “mom at least you can always hear me from the back of the car because I’m so loud!” Haha! You are just full of energy and sometimes it is too much for you to contain.

Despite being in the 99% for height and being built like a little muscle man, you currently have little interest in sports. You’d prefer to spend your days swimming at the pool, playing with your friends, or jumping on the bounce house in the backyard. You are very social and like to be around your friends playing pretend, ghost in the graveyard, or tag.

Although at times you are rough and tumble, you still want mom and dad near you most of the time. Of all the kids, you have the hardest time when a babysitter does your bedtime and can get scared to try new things.

This summer we went to the lake house and you were afraid to swim in the open lake. After some coaxing, I got you to jump in with me and you loved it! I am hoping little by little you start to face your fears and build confidence as you do.

Whit you are a great kid, with a big heart. I can’t wait to see how you grow this year and what new experiences you have.

Davis, you are still my snuggly guy who frequently asks me to “snuggle me.” You like when I scratch your back and tickle you. You have a sweet, happy demeanor that I adore. Sometimes you’ll just walk by me and flash a huge smile as you go.

While your brother is loud, you can be so quiet that I have to ask you to repeat yourself 5x before I can hear you (sorry your mom has bad hearing!). You are a gentle soul who can spend hours outside, looking for monarch eggs, playing with sticks, and generally being lost in your own magical world.

You found a competitive streak this year and loved participating in swim team, baseball and golf. With this competitiveness, you’ve started comparing yourself to your brother. You often ask when you’ll grow as tall Whitaker. I just tell you to focus on your “personal best” and that everyone grows at a different pace!

You have gotten really into your own unique hobbies this year including origami and rubiks cubes. You say you want to “be a cuber” and pretty much always have a cube in hand. It’s pretty impressive how you learn algorithms and focus until you solve them.

You like to try new things and put yourself out of your comfort zone even when scared. At the lake this summer, you worked up the courage to go on the jet ski with me and we went all the way to 27 mph! You were so excited.

You make friends easily and are usually the first one to approach kids at the playground and organize a game of tag. One of your classmate’s moms told me her daughter said “That Davis is as sweet as a kitten!” and I totally agree. You are made of sugar and honey!

Six is going to be a big year for you both. You are starting kindergarten, will learn new skills like how to read, and will start your first real competitive sport – cross country! I can’t wait to see how you grow, mature, and continue to be great little boys.

Your Dad and I love you both so much. While the two of you can drive us absolutely up the wall with your crazy antics – like your nightly wrestle mania matches – we love the fun, laughs, and chaos you bring to our house. There’s never a dull moment and someday I will miss it all.

We feel so lucky to be raising little boys and know you’re going to grow up to be wonderful men. Keep being the best you that you can be.

Love always,

Mom

24May2021

Dear Whit and Davis: You’re Five Years Old!

Posted in Davis, Whitaker by Liz

My sweet, sweet boys, today you are five! It’s hard to believe five years ago I was laying in a hospital bed with severe preeclampsia waiting to deliver you. I was so scared and anxious in that moment because it was so early (34 weeks), but I also had a peace in my heart. I knew deep down that you would be safe and that it was time for you to take your place in our family.

When you were born I was thrust into the life of being a boy mom. I honestly thought I would have all girls and was unsure of my ability to mother boys. I didn’t know if I’d be able to relate to boys or understand what your little hearts needed from me. For a lot of my life I felt disconnected and misunderstood by a lot of the males I was around, whereas with women I felt seen for who I really was.

God clearly had a plan in mind because now I am a mom to three boys! And the uncertainty I had about being a boy mom have disappeared. I very quickly was able to see you boys for who you are deep inside, sweet, sensitive, loving souls. And the love you show me absolutely melts my heart – it’s true what they say, “boys love their mamas.” The experience of raising you two and Alden has opened my heart to the joys that come with having sons.

After getting gipped for your fourth birthday (due to Covid), I wanted to go BIG this year. Your fifth birthday became more like a birthday week! Last Friday we hosted most of our family for a joint First Communion / Birthday party for Lila and you. We had a delicious brunch catered, two cakes and beautiful weather to enjoy being together outside in our backyard. You loved running around with your cousins!

Then you celebrated your day at school with little goodie bags for your classmates. On Friday we hosted our close family friends over for a party with a magician! (Magic with Eli) You absolutely LOVED the magic show and were laughing so hard the whole time. I loved seeing you enjoy yourselves so much! You’ve been surrounded by so many people who love you this week, which is exactly what I hoped for.

Whitaker, this year you have grown so much both physically and emotionally. You are a good six inches taller than most the kids in your class and are seriously made of pure muscle. I can barely pick you up anymore because you’re built like a brick! Thankfully you love my piggy back rides.

You have shown what a natural athlete you are this year playing basketball, soccer, volleyball and t-ball. You pick up sports very easily and I foresee a future of cheering for you on the sidelines (which I will LOVE). You are always climbing and jumping off the furniture, wrestling with Davis or doing your silly dance moves (which always make me laugh).

While you are bold physically, you are my most sensitive kiddo. You have a tender little heart that can get bruised easily. I always say that “Whit is a little lover,” because you show your love for others easily. At school it’s common for you to tell your teacher and classmates that you love them, which melts everyone’s hearts. And while you have a hot temper sometimes, you want so badly to make those around you happy. You feel absolutely awful afterwards when your hot emotions take over. I always tell you that “you’re still learning and it’s okay to make mistakes.”

You discovered video games this year and love playing them with your brother. You are extremely focused and persistent when you have a goal in mind – like beating a game. It actually really impresses me how determined you are when you find something you really care about.

You are Mario-obsessed and will play for hours with Davis pretending you’re inside the games you love. My favorite time is when you two are completely engrossed in your pretend play and I can just observe and listen to your little creative storylines and collaborative play. It’s truly amazing to see how close you two are. You play all day long and rarely fight or get sick of each other. I can’t imagine how wonderful it would have been to grow up with my best friend every day!

Davis, out of all my kids, you have grown and matured the most this year. You suddenly want to know how everything works and are constantly building or taking something apart. Your interest in numbers, letters, puzzles has exploded and you’re taking in knowledge at a very fast rate. Everyone who knows you says you have an engineer’s mind, which I think takes after your Grandpa Batman.

Emotionally you have become much more adaptable, in-control and aware of your emotions this year. You are noticing how others are feeling around you and showing your empathetic heart. You particularly are in tune with Whitaker’s feelings and often are the first one to try to comfort him when he’s upset. Like the other day when I was taking a “time out” with Whit in his room and you came up and tried to cheer him up with some of your ice cream. You have a very loving, nurturing heart, sweet boy.

You still love transformers, but have also discovered a love of legos. You are able to build complex lego sets meant for 8 year olds and complete transformers with 30+ steps. You even took apart a lego set and rebuilt it perfectly with no instructions, which sort of blew my mind! You also love playing pretend and are often begging Whitaker to play with you. Usually you are the one “directing” the game you two play – coming up with challenges and storylines for you both to act out.

You’ve had a wonderful year at school this year after struggling the year before. Both you and Whitaker get nothing but great behavior reports and are progressing so well with your social and academic skills. We decided to have you guys do Kindergarten Readiness vs going straight to Kindergarten, and I think it’s going to help you be even more confident and prepared. I have a feeling you’re going to be a very smart boy who excels in school.

You are still my most snuggly child, which melts my heart. You will often plop yourself down in my lap or ask me to tickle you. I love being so close to you and dread the day you no longer want to cuddle. I love lying with you and Whitaker at bedtime, reading books, singing songs and drawing letters on your back. Will you do me a favor and promise to always let me hug you even when you’re grown up?

You boys have blessed my live in more ways than you’ll ever know. I feel like I finally understand how the “boy brain” works, and love how complex, sweet, caring and sensitive you are underneath the loud, physical exterior that comes with being growing boys.

My hopes for both of you is that as you grow, you don’t hide away that sensitive, loving side of yourself, because to me that is the most beautiful part of you both. Don’t ever be afraid to let your emotions show or to ask for help when you need it. The world needs more love, kindness and empathy, which you both have so much to give.

I hope you both know Daddy and I will always love you unconditionally and completely. There’s absolutely nothing you could do that would change our love for you. Have a wonderful time being five, my loves!

Love always,

Mommy

25Jun2020

Giveaway: Get $100 a Watermelon Session with Brittany Ann Photography

Posted in Davis, Kids, Lila, Liz's Life, Whitaker by Liz

Summer is in full swing here in Ohio! Our kids have been enjoying getting outside, going to the pool and playing tennis. Even though this summer looks different than years past due to COVID, we are making the most of the beautiful weather.

One thing I wanted to do was capture the kids in a photo session, so when Brittany from Brittany Ann Photography offered to do a watermelon mini session I jumped at the chance. The photos turned out so adorable and the kids had a blast!

Brittany does such a fantastic job of capturing the kids personalities. She’s so good with the kids that I honestly didn’t do a thing for this shoot! And can we also talk about how Lila looks 16!?

Brittany Ann Photography is offering one of my readers $50 off their Watermelon mini session (normally $175) PLUS $50 in print credits! The session must be booked by end of August.

To enter, follow @brittanyannphotos on Instagram and comment below with your kids favorite summer fruit. I’ll pick a winner on July 3rd!

19May2020

Dear Boys, You’re Four Years Old!

Posted in Davis, Twins, Whitaker by Liz

Dear Whitaker and Davis,

A few weeks ago you guys turned four years old! We had grand plans to throw you a big birthday party with a magician, but the coronavirus pandemic foiled our plans. Instead, after 56 days of isolating at home, we decided it was safe enough to spend your birthday with Grammie and Gramps.

You both were SO HAPPY to be out of the house visiting your grandparents. They as usual made the visit lovely for you, with special toys laid out all around the house, big wheels in the garage and all your favorite foods ready. I was so relived to see both of your happy, sweet spirits return while we were there. At one point, Davis, you said “I’m so happy here.”

The morning of your birthday, you woke up (Davis at 2:45 am from excitement!) to gifts, cake, balloons and transformer decorations, because if there’s one thing to know about you right now, it’s that you LOVE transformers! We ate a breakfast of cinnamon rolls, eggs, bacon and fruit before you tore into your presents (surprise! More transformers).

It was a great end to your third year. Honestly, three has been a tricky year for you guys in many ways. A new sibling joining the family, starting school, then your beloved preschool teacher abruptly leaving and finally a global pandemic completely halting your life. So many big changes happened this year, that any one would struggle with, let alone a little three year old.

Three is a big year already with a lot of milestones. You both became more independent, yet still wanted to be little. In fact leading up to your fourth birthday, Whitaker, you asked me “Do I have to become a big guy on my birthday?” I reassured you that you have a lot more years as a “little guy” before the pressure of growing up is upon you.

Despite all the changes, one thing remained consistent this year, and that is your brotherly bond. I feel bad at times that I group you two together (like writing you one blog post vs two separate), but in reality you two are still very much a package deal. You love being together, playing transformers for hours. When I try to do “special time” with you separately, you both ask where the other one is and why did I leave them at home!?

Although you’ve got that amazing twin bond going on, you both are very different in many ways.

Davis, you are our little builder. You love playing with legos, connecting blocks and other toys that require you to use your imagination to build something. I think that’s why you love transformers so much, because you can use your hands to change and morph them into something new. Your focus and concentration amazes me – you already can complete transformers that are 20+ steps meant for 10 year olds.

You are still my sweet snuggler and are content to lay with me watching a show (usually transformers). It absolutely melts my heart when you let me hold you, because your siblings are far too active for that. I will miss that time together so much when you get older and don’t want your mommy as much.

I’ve realized this year that you are far more sensitive than I ever thought. You pick up on things that other kids are oblivious to. No small detail passes you by. You are the kid stopping to notice the roughness of the tree bark, or the feather underneath the grass.

This also has meant you have stronger emotions to things like the coronavirus. You ask me a lot about the virus, when it will end and why you can’t go to school or go to all the places you love. While my heart hurts seeing you struggle with these big feelings, I know this sensitivity will be an amazing asset for you as you grow up. You’ll be the man who is a empathetic husband, father and friend.

Whitaker you have grown up so much this past year and yet in many ways are still my baby boy. You enjoy your creature comforts and honestly find the whole school thing a little bit uncomfortable. Pretty much every day you would cling to us at drop off and start your day crying a bit. The teachers assured us that you warmed up quickly, but let’s just say the stay at home order from the pandemic was a welcome change from you!

You are such a BOY it’s almost funny. My friends laugh at all my Instagram stories showing you scaling some part of our furniture, making giant messes or just being your loud, boisterous self. Before having boys, I thought all that gender stuff was mostly conditioning, but you have shown me that it can be absolutely just inherent!

You are a strong little guy and have such coordination. Before your fourth birthday you were riding a bike without training wheels. I can see a future in athletics for you for sure. Beyond your physicality, you also love playing transformers with Davis. You love making up little story lines and I’ll often hear you mumbling to yourself followed by a “blast! blast!”

Oh and if you can’t tell by these photos, you spent most of your third year of life naked! lol. You definitely make your preferences known and can be extremely persistent in what you want. This will serve you well later in life when you won’t let yourself be peer pressured. I have a feeling you’ll be the person who always knows what they want in life.

I am so excited to see what this year brings for both of you. If your experience is anything like your sisters, I think you’ll love being four. For her things just sort of “clicked” shortly after her fourth birthday and life for everyone got a lot easier.

My hope for both of you this year is that you know how much you are loved and that no matter what challenges come your way, you are capable of overcoming them. You’ll have your family cheering you on every step of the way.

We love you both so much and are so glad we get to watch you both grow up together.

XO,

Mommy

A Batty Life

Finding My Way Through this Crazy World

Category Archives: Whitaker

Dear Whit & Davis: You’re Six!

Dear Whit and Davis: You’re Five Years Old!

Giveaway: Get $100 a Watermelon Session with Brittany Ann Photography

Dear Boys, You’re Four Years Old!