Happy 3rd Birthday to you, my very special little boy. You are turning 3 on 3/3, lucky numbers, lucky day. And, though I hope that is true for you, it is really me who is the lucky one. Because, Decker, you are my son and your kind soul and sunshine filled eyes and funny sense of humor and wise ways are my, are all of ours, lucky gift today and every day.
In the last year, you went from a long, curly-haired toddler to a short, straight-haired big boy with an incredible amount of awareness and know how. It is almost as if all of the baby in you was stored within those curly locks. Last summer, when they landed on the barber's floor, we had no idea that they would not grow back nor that your babyhood was being swept up with them.
2 year old Decker with curly hair
You are fun, Decker. Moments, days, can be so easy with you because you make it fun. Your voice is filled with excitement, and your steps bounce with positive energy. You understand things you are told, like to follow most rules, are careful in the way you do most things, and are happy to just be with whomever it is you're with. You can play quietly by yourself building towers or guns (😳) out of Legos, racing cars, or making me your special Mac and Cheese for lunch. We can play together doing these same things, or working on a floor puzzle, or more recently, playing games like memory match. One of us has a very good memory and can find the match easier than the other- do you know which one? Before bed you like to play Beyblades and see which blade will spin the longest. You love to play with "my guys," whether it be hide n seek, more gun games (😳) or the push game on the beds. Sometimes you'll sit and watch them play X-BOX. They'll give you the extra remote and you'll think you're playing along too. I just love it when you're all together.
Lego Tower
Just the guys hanging out
And, of course, there's Netflix. YouTube. And, OnDemand. Each available on the TV, the iPad, and the phone. Each of which you can navigate to and through on any device to find any of your favorite shows. On Netflix you usually opt for a movie: The Secret Life of Pets was the top choice for quite some time until we watched Sing as a family movie and you decided you liked the singing animals. It took some convincing to get you to try something new but when we finally did you spent a few months watching the original Toy Story which had every one of us stopping to watch a few scenes each time it was on. What a great movie!!! Your most recent choice is the Emoji Movie- originally watched as a choice for all but rose to the top of your watch list due to the poop emoji. Nothing could be more amusing to a 3-year-old than a sarcastic poop emoji. At least not to this particular 3-year-old who finds it absolutely hilarious to use the word doody in just about every sentence. Calling everyone a "doody butt" gets a laughing reaction from your brothers who encourage your behavior in the house. Somehow you seem to understand that you can't use that language (or build or play with fake guns) outside of the house or at school. You tell me "I know, never play guns or use potty talk at school." And somehow, I am ok with this fine line.
Your language goes well beyond doody butt, however, with an extensive and developed vocabulary and a diction that is so pronounced that conversation with you is easy. You even like to talk on the phone and can ask and answer questions with ease and clarity. You know the alphabet song and sing it correctly most of the time, but are still learning your letters. You have a particular fondness for "H" pointing out each Capital H that you see. You also point out each "D for Decker," "T for Turner," "R for Ryder," "C for Chase," and "E for Ethan," with enthusiasm. It is funny, though, because so often you will point at a letter and proclaim it is a D but then when you say what it is for, (Turner, Ryder, Chase, etc.) you will associate the correct name to the letter, which is never a D. You like to sing and be sung to though I think you are learning that I am as bad of a singer as they come.
Your favorite food is cream cheese and jelly sandwiches which verifies you are my son. You also enjoy cereal, soup, and Go-Go Squeeze. You still love drinking milk, though prefer chocolate milk to "reg milk" whenever we let you have it. Drinking milk is an activity for you. You take your cup and your "banks" and go sit and cuddle the corner of the blanket while drinking the full cup without taking a breather. You will negotiate for more milk, "just a little bit" you'll say as you squint your eyes and pinch your thumb and forefinger together. Then, without hesitation, you will go into the fridge and grab the chocolate syrup and the milk, and then a spoon to stir it. You make it difficult to say no.
You are funny. Funny because you are a little boy and little boys say funny things. And, you're funny because you're you and you happen to be funny. And, silly. And, exposed to sarcasm and comedy regularly. You understand the concept of jokes even if you don't always get the punchline and you know when we are being silly with you,sarcastic with you, or simply teasing you. Nobody laughs harder at one of your brother's jokes than you and nobody makes any of us laugh nearly as hard as you do.
Silly boy
In school you have Ms. Fern and Ms. Nicole and enjoy going three days a week. You mention the kids in your class quite often and will hopefully continue to grow up with these kids- Phoebe, Grace, Val, Jonathon, Casy, DJ, and Jaxon. You still spend Fridays with Uncle Mat and most other days dull in comparison. And, most Tuesdays, are still mommy day, which is by far my favorite day of the week. We spend a lot of time at the hockey rink and you seem to enjoy the game. In addition to playing mini-hockey with your brothers, you never seem to mind sitting through a game, nor the cold. Though it's true, your favorite part is the Zamboni.
First Day of School in the 2's
Over the course of the year you enjoyed the rides at Great Adventure; spent a weekend in Wildwood and loved being on the boardwalk; took an 8 hour car-ride to Buffalo for a hockey tournament (what else!!) You were great in the car-ride (though I admit I was worried), fantastic at the hockey games, loved running through the hotel well past your bedtime, and though you couldn't appreciate the beauty of Niagara Falls in the winter, you were a good boy, repeatedly said how beautiful it was, and just went along for the ride. We were all happy you were there.
Wildwood
Niagara Falls
The most remarkable thing that happened this year is that the Eagles won the Superbowl. We watched the game at our house with the Benjamin's, the Klaus' and the Van Aken's. We celebrated during the entire game, cheering on our favorite birds. Then, a few days later, we took you (and the whole family) down to the art museum to enjoy the world champion's parade. You may not remember any of it but this was Philadelphia's first superbowl championship and, someday when you're older, you'll be happy to know you were in some way a part of the special first one.
Our Eagles Superbowl viewing party
An important lesson learned during Superbowl LVII
Eagles Parade
You love to hear what I call your song, Can't Stop the Feeling, and will ask for it by requesting "my song." When you hear music you love to "wiggle wiggle" and will often tell us to clap our hands.
You are fun, you are funny, you are sweet, and you are oh so smart.
Wiggle Wiggle
We celebrated you turning 3 multiple times. First it was the Sunday prior with your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousin. By request we had ice cream cake that had cars on it and you ran around playing hide n seek and other games and toys with Max and Leo. Then you celebrated on Thursday with your school friends. Finally, today, on your birthday, we celebrated together. You woke up to balloons tied to your door. We spent the morning watching your brother's play some basketball then we did our traditional hibachi meal (lunch this time) before going over to the Little Pod. There you had the devoted attention of your brothers for 2 straight hours of play time. You and they had the best time and I loved watching them be with you so attentively. It was a really fun day.
Happy 3rd birthday
Balloons at your door
Hibachi lunch
Making a wish
Brothers who whack moles together, stay together
You are 37 inches and 29.8 pounds. This is over 3 inches of growth and 2.5 pounds of weight gain since last year. You are slight in your build and your little 3 year old body reminds us all of Chase at the same age. Although you pee on the potty on demand and have control over your poops you are not expressing an interest in wearing underwear just yet. We've promised you a big boy bed when you are out of diapers and this is not a bribe that is speeding along any desire for you potty train. You won't let us help you when you eat and though you can use a "boy boy" cup (big boy cup) you still prefer your milk sippy cup and your blue sippy cup for your juice or water. You are a good boy at bed time in spite of the phase of not sleeping we all endured last fall, and you have a fondness for the bath that makes bath night pretty easy.
It is mind-blowing how big you are getting, how fast it is happening, and how you are skipping steps just to catch up to the "guys." But, one thing that hasn't changed since the day you were born is that you are truly a light in all of our lives. You bring joy and smiles to all of our faces. In the hectic of our days, as we run from place to place, and bicker over homework and chores and activities, each one of us is calmed when we see you; each one of us wants to greet you with a hug and a kiss and a smile; each one of us wants our chance to play with you, hang out with you, be with you. Because, you are a gift, a joy, a true ray of sunshine. Turning 3 on 3/3 may be a lucky day but, as I said, it really is all of us that are the lucky ones.
Happy 2nd birthday!! 2 years happy. To say how hard it is to believe, though true, seems unnecessary because the passage of time continues to blow me away. As does watching you grow and become your own person. Yesterday, when I asked you if I could take a picture of you on your last day of being one, you stopped mid-step, said Yes, then gave me a great smile. Perhaps you knew what I was talking about because, typically, I can't take pictures of you because the minute you see my phone you want it. You must have it. You will whine and cry until you get the "phoney." You can use it like a pro, finding your favorite apps, your favorite YouTube videos, and swiping any texts that come in right off the screen.
Today you woke up to balloons (one of your favorite things) and hugs and kisses and the surprise of Mom-Mom Jill, who had spent the night. Then you spent the day with Uncle Mat (another of your favorite things) before coming back home for a quick dinner and cake before heading out to synagogue for Chase and Ryder's gimel shabbat. You had cake. We sang to you. You were happy. You also celebrated with cupcakes and your friends in school yesterday. And, next weekend we will celebrate with your grandparents, your aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Last day of 1
The last few weeks you have been every bit the two year old you now officially are. Adding new words to your vocabulary on a daily basis; crying if we tell you no; throwing books and other things across the room; touching everything; climbing most things; finding fascination in the smallest things; repeating the same things, daily, whether it be a routine or an episode of your favorite show; and laughing and making us laugh with ease.
Aunt Amy reminded me this morning that the day you were born it was a cold and dreary day. There was an ice storm outside (that caused her and the girls to have a 2 hour ride to meet you) and a blizzard was en route. I wasn't fully aware (or at all aware) of what was doing outside. But, as Aunt Amy said, you were the only ray of sunshine that day and, Decker, at 2, you continue to be just that- A constant light in the room! As the world perpetually changes- in our family we have had job changes, divorce, more babies born, bat mitzvahs, and more- in the world, we have had war, and economic volatility, Trump has, somehow, become our President and more- and yet, Decker, no matter what is going on around us you remain to be this little pocket of joy that can be taken with me where ever I go and, ultimately, joy gets spread. It is quite a gift you have and I am beyond honored to be the person you call mommy. Justin Timberlake wrote a a song called Can't Stop This Feeling, which I love. In the song he refers to the Sunshine in his pocket. That is you, Decker, everyday. I love this song.
You are becoming quite the talker and are always saying new words and sometimes stringing two or three together. You are constantly choosing a new word you hear from any of us to mimic, and add it to your vocabulary. You say many words perfectly, and have come a long way from "ball" and "bubble", but you also have your own word for many things and if someone doesn't know your language they will have no idea what you are referring to. For example, you know a dog when you see one. You can point to one, chase after one, find one on a page in a book, or choose the dog puzzle but you always call a dog a "far far." It is hilarious and I sometimes find myself calling dogs farfars, as well. Two weeks ago we were in the Poconos with Uncle Rob, Aunt Jamie, Max, Leo and Sulky. We had a great time and you spent a good amount of time chasing Sulky around the house calling "far far, far far." You also know the shape star but consistently call it "high" while putting your hand up to the sky. I assume you got this from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star because I always point up to the sky at the line "up above the world so high." There is also Bah-bah-bah, which is banana, and should not be confused with Babba, which is Yo Gabba Gabba and "bebe" is actually what you say for a go-go squeeze, which you love. Although you used to call milk,"Achun" you have recently learned to say it properly and can ask it for endearingly by saying "milky." If you want to watch Imagination Movers, one of your favorite shows, you say "Tat-a-Tat" and refer to the book "Blue Hat, Green Hat" only by its hilarious point of "oops!" Balloons are "La-loons" and though you can say "Cake" perfectly clear we should not confuse it with how you ask for ice cream, which is "cuuk." You can say "Chase" and "Ry-yer" but Turner you called "Cock-er" until just the other day. When you want to draw or color you will say "d" but when you ask for the markers it is "these."
And by far far I mean dog
He finally get's it right! "Turner"
But, communicating with you is easy, even before you had so many words you had a way of letting us all know what you wanted or needed. Whether it was a pull to the finger or the look in your eye or the motion of your hands, we always knew. And, now, as you string the words together to form near sentences it is such joy when you sit on the floor, look me right in the eye, tap your open hand on the ground next to you, smile, and say "sit. come play." And, when I do it is always great fun that eventually leads to us laughing and you lifting your arm in the air and hitting the ground as you bend over, your way of saying "that is hilarious!"
You are a master at puzzles and have learned to match your colors and shapes flawlessly. Although you typically answer blue first for most colors you know blue, red, black, purple and yellow by name. You can only say the shapes "heart" and "high" (star) but can place all of the shapes into the proper sorting holes or puzzle spaces without fail. You love books and enjoy the Barnyard Dance and "swinging your partner," "sliding with sheep," "Bowing to the horse," and "Leaping with the frog." You also love Barney and watch the show and read our Barney book every day. You like "choo-choo's" and kicking and throwing balls. You like jumping on the small trampoline"boline" and playing basketball. You love the marble run (and so do I) and playing with the toy kitchen.
Three days a week you go to school with Ms. Donna and enjoy being with Grace, Casey, and Phoebe- whose name you say constantly. On Friday's you still go to the best school around, Uncle Mat school, and are not easily dragged away on Friday afternoon. And, Tuesday is my day with you. My favorite day of the week. The one day I know I get to spend some one on one time with you and I love it more each week even if it is sometimes overtaken by errands.
You have your little "tricks" that you like to do, probably because it makes us laugh. When you want to watch Teletubbies you stomp your feet on the ground; if we tell you to be a gorilla you pound on your chest; or an elephant, you do a raspberry noise while moving your arm like a trunk. You can be a monkey with an "ooh ooh aah" and a giraffe by blowing up your cheeks and sticking out your tongue, a face you learned from the Charlie Monkey book. You know what a rooster says, and will imitate the "cock a doodle doo," always with a pointed finger in the air, and your "meow" sounds very much like a real cat. But not all of your tricks are animal related. You can hang from the pull-up bar, and ask to do so regularly. You like to play "whoa" which is jumping on and being pushed down on Turner's bed. You like to hide in the cabinet of your dresser, ask me to close the door, then crack up laughing when we knock on the door and open it up. Often when we open it you are using the cabinet bar as another pull-up bar. You can dab, but you think to dab is to wave, and explode fist bumps and give high fives. You love to watch your favorite shows in the same spot in the living room. You take the black chair and knock it over and sit in between the leg bars. Every time. It is rather adorable. You love to watch and to feed the Froggy and the Fishies and have made it a part of your bedtime routine. You love the "Barney, Follow Me" book and will follow me as I follow Barney's moves. Your favorite part is when we do "scared as can be" which we imitate by putting the tips of our fingers in our mouth as if we are shaking. When you go to sleep, usually without much hassle, you insist on your blanket having the design side up, and I have to blow lots of kisses under the blanket and trap them so that they can tickle your cheeks all night while you sleep. And, every single car-ride includes you taking off your shoes and your socks and, many times, chucking them across the car!
Your television viewing spot
You often make us repeat our words by saying "Heh?" and then, when we do, and you finally get it, you smile and say, "oh!" You love to say "BYE" very loud and wave your little hand. You say "Daddy, Bye" in the morning as we head out to school and then give an elaborate and adorable "BYE" to all of the teachers at Bright Eyes when I pick you up. You delight in your brothers, who always make you laugh, and they are enjoying this new stage you are in as you are responsive to their little tricks. They recently told you to "go tell mom you pooped your pants" and in to the kitchen you came running "mommy, pooped pants." These 3 words had your brothers in stitches, which made you not only crack up but repeat the sentence again and again. You have learned the word "fart" and laugh when you hear one, or even just the word. You are quick to entertain and once you get a response of laughter from any of us you will continue your little act. You do silly dances and make daring moves (like jumping from the glass table to the couch) and your brothers and their friends get an absolute kick out of you. They've taught you to play knee hockey, only you don't have to get on your knees, and to try to play Xbox. You've also learned golf from Uncle Mat and, you love trying to talk to Alexa. She doesn't respond to you yet but you crack up when we tell her "Simon says Decker you are cute" and she says "Decker you are cute". We repeat this game with many adjectives. When Alexa plays the Barney song or the Mickey Mouse song your eyes widen as if it is a gift just for you.
You skip when you walk, which makes me skip also. Your voice rises on the end of every word just making whatever you are saying sound so very happy (like the pocket of joy that you are!) Your smile is refreshing and your eyes are bright but there is nothing better than your laugh. You laugh with your whole body and crack up into hysterics and it is impossible not to crack up also. You weigh in at 27.2 pounds and stand at 33 3/4 inches. It isn't always easy being the 4th son in our house. We are very busy, often on the go, and our days are filled with a certain level of chaos even when things are calm. You are sometimes forced to fend for yourself, and we will find you playing nicely, doing puzzles, coloring, or looking through books. I'll see you, and wish that I could join you for longer than a moment, and feel a little sad when I walk away to do laundry, start dinner, help with homework, run a carpool, clean up the kitchen, or anything else that someone needs, but I am happy that you are independent and content and happy. And, Decker, you should know that no matter what we are doing, how busy we may be, how loud things can get, how many errands we must run, that you are loved beyond measure every single moment of every single day. You bring all of us joy and laughter and a sense of peace. You are the embodiment of good things, of true things, of real happiness and love, and I am thankful every single day for what you add to our family, to our lives. I do not take credit for the joy that you are but I am certainly proud to be your mommy. I love you Decker and I can't wait to see what this year brings.
Growing into the birthday shirt
Decker with his brothers and his "other brother, DT" on the frozen lake
Typically it is steps, beds, chairs he jumps off of- this is nothing
He didn't make the shot but he is working on that form
18 months, happy. Although it is true I don't get to write these letters monthly, or even quarterly, it is also true that every month that passes, passes by happy.
The thing about you being a year and a half is that it is one of the most difficult phases we must deal with as parents. I say this even amidst the mouthiness of tween-agers and the social issues that come along with being in 5th grade. It is possible that I am forgetting, for the moment, about three year old tantrums, but we will go with this phase being the most difficult, being that we are in it, for purposes of this letter. You are everything I expected from a toddler, everything I remember your brothers being...only more. You are a climber, a mover, a shaker, a toucher, a feeler, a jumper, a runner, and a literal button pusher. You have a physical capability that is amazing, and though I have grasped your capability and have almost embraced it most people are scared to death when they see how you climb to the top of the jungle gym and stand on the end, or walk parking curbs like a balance beam. You can unscrew lids, do zippers, open doors, and are working on the buckles of your car seat. You are unbelievably strong and can hold your own in a tug of war with daddy or I or any of your brothers. You mimic their every move and have shadow practiced your baseball swing and throw, your hockey swing, even a frisbee toss. You try to dribble a basketball and do so pretty well considering, well, that you are one. You can throw anything with straight projection and good velocity and can do so with both hands. And, you are one hell of a little soccer player; capable of dribbling with both feet, kicking mid-stride, and striking a ball directly into a goal which is always a followed with both hands in the air and a "yyyaaaayyy!"
To the masses it's your eyes, your curls, your face that gets noticed and, literally, stops admirers in their step. And, there is no doubt, that your blue eyes are bright and shine from your happy soul; your curls are long, and flowing, and enviable; your face is soft and pretty and dimpled, but to all of us who know you we understand that those physical attributes are not what make you WHO you are. You are a light in a room, a bounce in a step, a rare blooming flower on a warm winter's day. You are made up of a blend of unique and wonderful joys, like the look of delight that settles on your face and your smile with each small accomplishment. You are the way you excitedly nod your head for even the most simple of Yes's. And, it is the way you throw your head back, with your mouth open, and give a full belly laugh that causes laughing fits to anyone around you. It is your persistent need to do and to learn and your impeccable understanding of words you can not say. It is the way you grab a hold of my hand and take me to where ever it is you want to be and the way you smile when you see someone you love and give "huggies" upon request. It is the way that you applaud small joys. And how, at a call for kisses, you pucker up your lips and will grace whatever lips come your way or how you suck in your cheeks to pucker up for fishy kisses. It is your "heh?" that is repeated after everything that is said to you, that should be annoying yet, coming from you, is somehow cute even if it does make me question your hearing. It is the way you lay your head on my shoulder when you're ready for bed and will tap your hand on my back as we sing through the "D-E-C-K-E-R" song. It is your love for books and the way you grab a few and crawl onto my lap to read them. And, it is your love for puzzles and your need to keep trying until you solve them. It is how you follow your brothers around and watch everything they do, and even more, it is the way they are with you- how you can get them to stop, to quiet, and to embrace you even when they are mid-moment of boy hyper. It's all of this that makes you Decker and, though I take no credit for these attributes (they were truly gifted to you,) I feel privileged every day to have an opportunity to watch you grow and help cultivate the personality that is brewing and the person you are becoming.
Decker, at one and a half, you love books, and balls, and bubbles, and iphones. You can navigate my phone swiftly and easily finding your apps within your folder and swiping right through each game. Unforyunately, however, you will throw an absolute tantrum if we take it away from you. You love the playground. The swings always get you laughing and you can never get enough of the sliding board. You like yogurt, love your milk, and love applesauce. You prefer to feed yourself with both spoon and fork (in spite of the mess that causes) and are improving with that skill each day. You sleep well, and often times will point right to your crib when it is time to go to bed. We will lay you down on your soft, blue blanket and you will outstretch your arms and grab the ends and pull them in to your chest to cuddle. It is just the cutest thing I have ever seen, and quite funny, since you are not a cuddler...not at all. No, you do not like to cuddle (though you are happy to give hugs) and don't really like to be held, as you want to be able to be moving and doing at all times.
We took away the iphone!
You have a few words you use regularly; more and milk (both said while also using the sign); ball, and book and dad. You say "Ry-yer" which is what you call all 3 of your brothers (though you used to call all 3 "Seis".) Most of the other words that you have said; yes, fish, banana, bubble, lawn mower, Turner, Mama, you use sparingly. Much like I remember Ryder being at a similar age, you seem to learn a word and then store it in your mind. You will start to use them all, possibly at once, at a later date. For now, you communicate quite well with a string of grunts and noises and points and always seem to get what you need.
At 18 months you weigh 24.4 pounds and are 32.5 inches long, though that length is inaccurate considering you wouldn't sit still long enough to measure. You are light but solid and strong. Your muscles have a definition that many of us could only wish for and you are coordinated and graceful in your movements.
We are busy and often on the go. Between work and school and activities I often feel I don't get enough time to just be with you and that is why I cherish the Tuesdays that we have together. And, though Tuesday is my favorite day, as I get to be with you, I am pretty sure your favorite day is the time you spend with Uncle Mat! No matter how busy or how hectic our life can be,you are the calm in our storm, the light in our day. You keep me on my toes and are always in to something and I can't wait to see what is to come as we go through the days together.
I love you so......
First day of school
By the lake
Your Friday's with Uncle Mat!
One day, you pointed and grunted at this picture of daddy and Cousin Jaime until I handed it to you. Once I did, you looked at it, pointed at daddy and said "Da" then you pointed at Jaime, looked at me, and gave Jaime a kiss. You know who he is without ever meeting him!!!
