Wow you are 5, how did that happen?

Happy 5th Birthday Gusser! Turning 5 feels like a milestone to me. It will be a big year for you! You will go to Kindergarten, learn to read, write, add and subtract. I think that this year will be one of your biggest in terms of learning and growing. We are excited for you!

I think I have enjoyed this last year the most! You are so much fun to be around and talk to. You speak very well and are able to have wonderful and interesting conversations. Dad and I have enjoyed watching you become the little man that you are. You are able to control your emotions and express your feelings and you do it very well.  Let me tell you one of my favorite "Gus" stories this year. Dad was making dinner and I think it was something you had never had before so we both were talking it up quite a bit. We were saying things like "you're gonna love it," or "this is super yummy." We serve you your highly anticipated dinner and you start bawling. You were crying so hard that I could barely understand you. When we asked you why you were crying. You said while crying "It did NOT meet my expectations!" Dad and I just looked at each other and started laughing. Like I said you really do know how to express your feelings. You may also hang around adults (mom) too much. 

We did some traveling this year. We went to Colorado to see Daddy Friends. You even got to see real dinosaur tracks. It was pretty cool. We got to go up in the mountains and we really enjoyed our time away. We hope to do more traveling this year. For your birthday we got you a map of the world. You can scratch off the places you have been. We hope by the time you are reading these letters that you have done some traveling. We bought you your own suitcase for Christmas and we plan on giving you the gift of travel. This was not something that mommy did much of in her life so I am excited for us to experience new cities and countries together!

You are really forming your friendships this year. You have so many friends at Junior Kindergarten and you are still good friends with Jake and Devon from your very first daycare. You have a crew that you hang out with at school and it is so nice to see you with your buddies! It seems like everyone knows you. When we walk you to school even the big kids say "Hi Gus!" Samantha is still the one you claim that you are going to marry. She has been the one for two years now. I admire your loyalty :). 

You can be very stubborn sometimes. You were learning about Dinosaurs at school and you were bouncing off the walls the whole week. You learned a new song and you decided that it would be funny to sing it loudly during nap time. Ms. Mages your teacher did NOT think it was funny. She warned you three times and it resulted to a trip to the Asst. Principals office. I was at a day conference and I came home to the notice below. I was NOT happy!!!!

This was your poster when you were Big Bear of the week, It had all the things you love. Dinosaurs, sports, superheroes, music and family:

I would say you had one of the best days of your 5 years this year. My friend at work, Anna heard that for career day you dressed up as a Fire Fighter and that is what you want to be when you grew up. Her brother, Fire Chief Steve Little invited you to visit his fire station in Chicago. Chief Little was amazing, he grabbed your hand and the two of you were off and explored the entire station. He gave you a CFD t-shirt, hat and a junior badge. You told all the Fire Fighters that the reason you wanted to be one is because they are heroes! You are really into Superheroes so you wanted to be a real life one. I have never seen such grown men melt. You really touched them but the best part was that you were completely genuine. Dad and I had the best time as well. We all agreed it was one of the coolest things we have ever done.

You and I had the opportunity to spend 4 days of Spring Break together. We stayed in town but I had a full week planned. One day we spent 6 hours at the Field Museum. We had so much fun seeing Sue the dinosaur 3D movie, we shrunk and viewed the underground world. It was so much fun. I learned two things about you this week. 1. You have a lot of energy! I was exhausted and needed to nap each day. 2. You are pretty cool. Of course I LOVE you but I really enjoyed hanging out with you. If I were a 5 year old, I would want to be your friend. That epiphany was pretty cool.

I also want you to know how amazing your Dad is. You were learning about the sun and the moon. At night you wanted to go look at the moon and you would ask us questions about space and we would talk about the planets. One morning you got up and your were upset the you did not get to see the sunrise. Dad said that on Saturday morning we would set our alarm and get up before the sun and drive to the lake so we could see it rise. We did and it was a great morning. We took off our shoes and walked in the sand it was freezing! Then we sat on the bench and watched the sky change colors and the day get brighter. Remember this story when you get mad a Dad. He has some really great ideas and would do anything for you.

It would not be an official post without mentioning Roxie. Your relationship with her is the same. She is getting older and slowing down a bit. She loves you very much but still keeps her distance. I catch her every now and again giving you a random kiss in the face. I love when I can see it. You always shout, Roxie just kissed me! Then when you try to go pet her she runs away. It is always on her terms. You both accept your relationship for what it is.

Here are some of my favorite photos:

This was Papa Steve showing you his skeleton with your cousins when we went to Dallas for New Year's.

I feel grateful that you are my son. You are a good person and have a wonderful character (just like your dad) and I am so glad I am able to see it come out. It makes me one proud mama! I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I must have done something right because God sure has blessed me. I often think about my boys (you and daddy) and wonder how two such wonderful people love me. I am grateful and blessed everyday! Thanks for the smiles, kisses and saying the words "I love you mommy." You mean the world to me Gus. Keep teaching me, keep learning and keep being good. 

Love you always,

Mommy

Happy 4th Birthday Gusser!

Augustus William-a name meaning “Great protector.” This was a big name with a big meaning for a little guy to live up. Even though you did not have any knowledge of this you seem embody it completely. You are the glue that holds us all together and keeps us going. You are such a sweet soul. Happy Birthday my dear son! I love you so much.

I cannot believe it was four years ago that you came into this world. Again, I will post as I always do the story or your birth.  Reading it each year brings tears to my eyes. 

Let’s talk a little about the past year of your life. First, you went to a new school. You started official full day preschool at Pope John 23. I was very cocky when you first started because you have been going to daycare full time since you were 10 weeks old. I thought this would be a piece of cake for you. Well, it wasn’t. We had a rough start. You and your new teacher, Ms Ruge did not connect at first. You would always tell Dad and I that you wanted to go back to Ms. Kelley’s class. Ms. Kelley was from your old daycare and personally I thought she was too hard on the kids, I may have called her the “B” word once or twice. However, I realized that you loved and craved the structure she had in the classroom. That you like and respect people who can tell you and show you the boundaries. Ms. Ruge is very sweet but she did not nearly have the control over the classroom as Ms. Kelley did. You would actually tune her out because the chaos overwhelmed you. Dad and I set up a meeting with her to find out what was happening. She set up a listening chart for you and we had a reward system in place and I am so happy to say that this really worked. You two bonded and now you love her and she understands you a whole lot better. She enjoys your personality and you enjoy being in her classroom.  Below is an excerpt of an email she sent to us.

From: Sarah Ruge

Subject: Gus

Date: January 28, 2013 5:38:12 PM CST

To: Jennifer Bell, Mark Bell

Hi Jennifer and Mark,

Gus had a great day today.  He was totally fine after you left this morning Jennifer.  Our priests Fr. Bill and Fr. Greg came to visit this morning and Gus was loving it!  They brought this bear puppet and talked to the kids about God.  He was so engaged in the conversation, it was so sweet.

Also, I had the funniest conversation with Gus this afternoon.  We were doing his sticker after school and he needed to use the potty.  He was taking a long time and I told him he needed to hurry up so I could take him to after care because I was getting ready to leave.  He asked me if my Mom was coming to pick me up.  I told him I didn't live with my Mom anymore because I'm all grown up so I live by myself.  Which ensued a very deep conversation.  He was just so shocked.  He said, "You don't have a family?!" I told him one day he will grow up and live on his own too.  Then he asked who will cook for him and read him stories and turn on the TV.  It was too funny. Usually the kids are shocked to hear that I too have a Mommy and Daddy, but he was shocked I didn't live with them.  Very cute!

Sarah

Gus we hope you will eventually learn to read, cook for yourself and master that art of the remote control. In the meantime this made us smile!

Humor continues to be very important in your life. You love to laugh and now you love to make other laugh. It amazes me how you really understand and get humor. You know what is funny and how to make people laugh. Ms. Ruge is the master at creating projects that allow you to answer and your Dad and I love your honesty.  Here are a few classics that we have added below so when you grow up you know just how you were.

This was the first one that came home. I laughed so hard. You were not my biggest fan and apparently you had an unhealthy obsession with TV. This mad me feel like a mean mommy!

 Then this little gem came home. We talked about putting your listening ears on, but the volume thing was all you.

 Next cam this one, again we were not sure where you came up with this one. Then we went to your friends Samantha's birthday and she had a baby brother named Joshua. 

 This was your Winter Wish! I thought it was sweet!

Finally this was Valentine's Day. I was super pumped that you were going to catch me a fish!!!????

We took a couple trips this year. One trip was on the 4th of July and we went to Dallas and it was hot, hot, hot!!!!!! You enjoyed swimming everyday in Hannah and Papa's pool, basically in 5 days you learned how to swim! You had no fear! It was so much fun to watch you.

Then for Thanksgiving we went to San Antonio. Papa Steve found a beautiful lake house for us to all stay at and we met your new baby cousin Phoebe. It was fun to hang out with family. 

So Gus to sum this all up you are handsome, kind and sensitive. You are the "Great Protector" of our family and your friends. You are the light of our lives and make us smile everyday! I never new that having you would bring me as much smiles as it has. Your Dad and I are so proud of you. Thank you for being you and I hope you never change. Thanks for the last 4 years! I love you so much! Happy Birthday Gusser!

Happy 3rd Birthday Gusser!

Dear Gus,

This has been a very big year! First of all we moved from our condo in the city to a house in Evanston in August. The move brought on a lot of “new” things for us all. For you mainly it consisted of new room, new school, new neighbors, new friends and new backyard. You handled the transition beautifully. You immediately made new friends and adjusted to your new school. Your new teachers even commented on how easy it was. You NEVER, not even once asked about our condo or your other school. That is your personality; you adjust pretty well to change. Change is inevitable in life so I consider that to be a great quality.

The holidays this year were so fun. You really got into everything about Christmas from the story of baby Jesus to Santa to presents. You loved putting up the Christmas tree and hanging the ornaments. We hosted Christmas with the Leber family this year and you got really excited to show everyone your new house and room. It was fun to watch. Santa paid us a visit on Christmas Eve before he went to deliver his presents to the world. You had a very good question when you met him and that was “Where are your reindeer?” It was precious and made us all smile. The next morning Santa brought you just what you asked for, a drum set and a T-Rex. Those gifts just about sum up what you are into and that is music and dinosaurs!

We went to Texas for New Years and celebrated with the Bells. You had a blast visiting. You were so much fun on the plane. Only one bad thing, you got sick with strep and ear infection but you bounced back quickly. It was a nice trip.

Hannah and Papa came in town to visit and to celebrate your 3^rd Birthday. We had two parties, one for your friends and one for the family. First your Dinosaur themed friend party…we invited everyone in your class and some close friends. Mommy sent dinosaur invites that read “You are invited to a Dinobration featuring GUSausaurus.” We had a prehistoric dinosaur egg hunt, a dinosaur piñata and enjoy lunch and cake. We rented a place right off of Kamen Park with a playground next door. The weather held out and you were able to play with your friends and run around. It was so much fun.

Then at around 3pm. The family came over to our house. We had about 30 people and enjoyed once again BBQ from Smoque. You played with Jimmy and Karly in your room and enjoyed being around all your cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles. With two parties as you can imagine there were a lot of gifts. You are enjoying them and we are cleaning out your toys to make room for the new stuff. You are so lucky to have so many wonderful and generous people in your life.

In general you are still very funny. You get humor and I laugh so hard when I hear you laugh at all the funny parts of movies and shows. You like to be happy and most of the time you are. You do however whine a bit and Dad and I are going to put a stop to that. There is no worse noise than to hear that whining.

You are about 75% potty trained. This was not as easy as we thought it would be. If one more person talks about how easy it was for them, I think I will scream. You get it some of the time, but if you are playing, watching TV or doing something that you do not want to be interrupted you do not care and will have an accident. We are working on it and your are getting better everyday.

We just went for your 3 year doctor visit. You were hysterical. You had Dr. Luu laughing out loud. When we got there you ran down the hall and screamed “Dr Luu, where are you? It Gussy!” Everyone in the whole office heard and was roaring with laughter. When we finally got to the exam room, you insisted on showing everyone your “Woody’ underwear. Then Dr. Luu came in and you gave her a big hug!!! She melted. Then you told her the names of all your dinosaurs. She started asking me questions and you would answer. For example…Dr. Luu: How is his speech? Gus: My speech is great! Dr. Luu: Does he speak in sentences and does he know a lot of words? Gus: I know a lot of words…banana, dinosaur, drums, cat, dog. Dr. Luu: (laughing) OK then, he is good on that front. She gave you a lecture on listening and having accidents and told you the importance of both. You responded well. When we left you told me how much you like her. It was an overall good experience (except for the urine sample, but that is a whole other blog post).

As always THANK YOU for being in our lives, and thank you for the joy you bring our family. We love you so much and enjoy each year we have with you. You are special to us and we are committed to being the best parents we can be.

All my love,

Mommy

P.S. As promised for each birthday I will read the story of your birth. This year it was not as painful but I still cried!!!! I love you!

Happy Birthday Gus!

Dear Gusser,

It has been almost a year since I wrote you a letter. Happy 2^nd Birthday little buddy! I cannot believe you are now 2 years old. Each day you grow up and get more and more like a little boy. Gone is my sweet little baby but here to stay is my sweet little man.

Wow what a year it has been! Here is a little about you. You are a true music lover. Music, songs, dancing, instruments they are all a huge part of your life. You have a gift and a talent and Dad and I are very curious to see if this will be one of those life long passions. First, you love to sing. You start the circle time at daycare just about each day. All the teachers have to do is ask you what song you want to sing and off you go. Then you try to get all your classmates to join in. Whether they are changing your diaper or taking you for a walk the teachers all tell me that you are constantly singing. Along with the singing comes the dancing. This cracks us up. You have started to hold your fingers in a #1 position and move your hands up and down while your body moves all over the place. You love to run, dance and sing and it is AWESOME to watch. You have a love for life. Dad and I think that in about 6 months we will enroll you in a music lesson or two. Whether it is piano, drums or something else we want to expose you to as much as we can. We just had a family vacation to St. Lucia for Papa Steve’s 70^th birthday. When we were there you heard the smooth sounds of a saxophone. You had never seen or heard one before. You went nuts, not only did you love watching the guy play it you loved the way it sounded. You would jiber jabber about it and get so excited we coined the term “crazy eyes” you just could not contain your excitement.

Another thing you like to do is talk! Yes, you are my chatter box. The good news is that you are very good at using your words and it is very easy to understand you. That doesn’t mean that you do not get frustrated time to time but you do really well. You made “Star of the Week” at daycare see below. I had tears in my eyes after I read it I was so incredibly proud of you.

If you cannot read it says "Gus has been exceptional in using his words. He encourages his friends in class and makes everyone feel very welcomed." Go Gusser!

This last year you and your beloved dog, Roxie have become best buds. It took awhile to get this relationship off the ground but you both have a wonderful fondness of each other. She is the first one in your room in the morning to greet you when you wake up. You still call her “Rockie” but Dad and I think it is cute. You make sure she is around us at all times and you care about her well being.

For the 2^nd year in a row I need to THANK YOU for all the joy and happiness you bring us. Dad and I agree that you have made us both better people. We really want to be the best parents we can be and that little smile of yours is an awesome motivator. Happy 2^nd Birthday Gus!

Dance. Laugh. Sing. Play. Love. Live.

All My Love,

Mommy


PS As promised for each birthday I will read the story of your birth post. Again with the tears.

Mozart or Mick Jagger?

What a surprise! We received this from the director at daycare...watch out Mick Jagger!



Hi Jennifer,

How are you and Mark? It is a while since we spoke and I just wanted to know if you have any concerns and hoping that you are having a great experience in the toddler room.

Yesterday during my monthly meeting with the music teacher we discussed the children individual musical goals and objectives, their progress and our next step at home and school. Gus was one of the children discussed. She wanted me to let you know that Gus is very interested in the musical instruments she plays, and he try to play the keyboard every time she comes in . He follow direction very well for his age and accurately repeat the beat with his instruments or the words to a song. She believe that it will be beneficial for him to participate in additional musical experiences outside of school. It appears that we have another Mozart in out midst, this is a definite sign of intelligence. If you need any musical program suggestions for Gus I will be happy to assist. Have a great day!

Mrs. Cummings

Education Director

I LOVE cake!

Gus' birthday was a success! Thanks to all family and friends.

One Year!

One Year!

Happy First Birthday my dear boy Gus! Wow, we made it! What a year it has been. We have all been through so much from watching you develop and grow to enjoying your charming personality, it has been a pure joy.

You experienced more in your first year than I did in 20. You went on several plane rides to Texas and Florida. You have traveled and have been on a plane, boat, car, truck and train. You have swum in pools, lakes and dangled your feet in the ocean. You have dined at over 20 different restaurants not bad for someone who really does not eat! You have experienced life and been exposed to all that your Dad and I enjoy doing, and you did this with a smile.

Each day we get to know you and see your personality we grow fonder and fonder. You are a real charmer, you know when and who to charm. This gives your dad and I such a giggle. You could be raging pissed off and if some pretty young girl comes into the room you are all smiles. You save your fussies for dad and I only. It is pretty funny. You flirt with the girls at daycare, you make new friends in church, and wherever we go you seem to attract people with your winning smile.

I am not with you each day so I rely on the girls at daycare and your daycare evaluation for a lot of information. We recently had another evaluation and we saved a copy for you, they call you their social butterfly they even said that you are flirtatious and charming. I had no idea these were innate qualities but this is not something you learned this is something you were born with. It absolutely amazes me. Your dad and I are not like this, we do not have these qualities, but when we see you using them it makes us smile!

Speaking of smiling, no matter how disappointed I am, how upset I am, how mad I am or how hurt I am-One look at you and one big hug immediately puts a smile on my face. It is my absolute favorite part about being a mother, in the last 365 days I have smiled each and everyday! I owe that to you. You always know how to make me feel better and you always remind as to what is truly important. You hug and kiss me at the exact moment I need them. You can sense this and it astounds me. Mommy’s little Angel, you are sweet, kind and have brought so much joy into our hearts and lives.

So yes this letter is a love fest, but one thing currently that I do not love is your recent eating habits. Quite frankly Gus you are a pain in the ass to fed. You hate to eat, you spit your food out, you rub it all over your face, you throw food on the floor and there is not much you like to eat. Hence, you are a little peanut! I have tried every food known to man, I think sitting and eating interrupts what you like to do best and that is play and be active. Eating cramps your style and it pisses you off. You hate to be confined to your highchair. You whimper, wine and because it is so uncharacteristic of how you normally act your dad and I scratch our heads and cannot figure out what has you so angry. The only time you eat well is when we dine out. We think it is because there is so much going on in the restaurants that it keeps you entertained. You are very lucky that mom gets a discount at Lettuce restaurant or else you would never eat!

You have taken a few steps and you are standing on your own freely, you still are not so confident walking and speed crawling is your preferred method of travel but you are very close. I bet any day now you will start doing laps around our house.

I re-read my first post, the story of your birth. I cried and probably will shed tears each and every time I read it. My plan is to read that every birthday of yours. It was an intense day but worth every minute. My favorite part of that day was that even though my blood pressure was way low and I was having major contractions and really not doing well, you remained calm and cool in my belly. Your heart-rate was so steady it puzzled the doctors. There were two blue lines on the monitor and your heart rate NEVER went above or below those two lines. Now that I know you, it was your way of telling me everything was going to be OK. I had some anxiety but you, you remained calm. Again this might sound strange but you have this amazing sense of being there for me-It is my promise to you that I will always be there for you in return. Our bond was strong even from your first breath. Augustus William Bell-I am so proud to be your mother and I thank God everyday for blessing me with such an amazing old soul!

Happy Official Birthday! I love you!

Mommy