I've Always Loved You Best

My dear WWD, I've always loved you best because you were our first miracle. Everything you ever did was--and still is--marvelous, extraordinary, prodigious, amazing. You are such a sweet, precious soul, and so patient and persistent with your parents' absurdly high expectations for you!
And thanks for getting us up that parenting learning curve. What a rookie mommy I was when you arrived! I was just sure they were making a mistake letting me take you home from the hospital. But you survived--including your first bath, which we completed while reading the "What to Expect The First Year" chapter on how to give a bath, and also coming home to a house full of boxes and very little furniture because we'd just moved in three weeks before your birth, and then spending a week on Hank's fold-out couch because I'd flipped the whole-house electrical circuit while your dad was out of town, then thought our power was out all that time. I read every parenting book I could find while nursing you, until I finally realized that they contradicted each other and I had to rely on--yikes--my own common sense!
You are my twin soul in so many ways, W. We think alike, share our goofy sense of humor, and both love history, literature, and religion in school. It definitely appears that you're blessed/cursed/stuck with the Anderson body shape, also!
WWD, I am so, so proud of you. You are growing--much too quickly, of course--into such an amazing person, and I am so thankful that God has trusted me to be along for the ride!


My sweet, amazing MRD, I've always loved you best because you are--unbelievably--a girl! From the very first minute, you were pinked-out from head to toe. Also from the very first minute, you were proficient at defending yourself from your devoted big brother.
M, you have always startled me with your amazing wonderfulness. You have always been wise far beyond your years. You have inherited your father's penchant for organization, your mother's color-coordination and party-planning skills, :) and we haven't figured out where you got your big blue eyes!
You are such a brave, sweet little social butterfly. I remember when you were about three, you would go up to other little girls at the playground and introduce yourself "Hi, my name is M. R. D. What's yours?" I hope you will always have such wonderful self-confidence!
Thank you for being such a sweet mini-mommy for your little brothers. You are my co-pilot, so many days! I am so proud of your plans to have a big family and take such good care of them. I hope I'll be right next door to help with those precious grandbabies!! But in the meantime, sweet M, don't grow up too fast! I love you so!


Oh my precious KLD, I have always loved you best because your arrival was so very special. What a sunny summer morning that was, and what a quick, easy labor! And there you were--my tiny precious little Texas girl, with brown hair and brown eyes of all things! You were born on the day of my dear Grandmother's funeral, as if you were keeping her spirit alive. So much drama was going on for us the year you arrived, sweetie, and you kept me focused throughout that crazy year.
Speaking of drama, K., you certainly seem to have absorbed a lot of that tendency! You keep things lively around here, that's for sure. You are so full of energy, fire, and spirit--and so smart, we have to work hard to keep you from getting bored!
You got the middle-child spot, sweet K, and I hope that can be a good thing for you! So far it seems that you get to be a big kid when it suits you (staying up for late movie nights), and a little kid when it's convenient (chore assignments!). W and M, at least, think that's a pretty good deal! You love nothing better than staying connected to your mommy--especially at night, when you still sleep best with an "arm"!! Your fierce independent streak--can't imagine who you got that from--keeps you from getting lost in the crowd around here.
What a privilege it is to be your mom, sweetie. You are my precious "Tootch"!! I can't wait to see you grow up into the special woman that God has planned for you to be.


J-man, I have always loved you best because you always keep us smiling! You've had your wacky sense of humor forever, my precious boy, along with your adorable curls and huge brown eyes. You are irresistible, and so much fun to hang out with.
My precious boy, you just have so much energy and enthusiasm for life! You always take things at full tilt--luckily for us all, you do seem to be outgrowing your unfortunate tendency to break everything you touch! It is so much fun to discover the world through your curious eyes. From space, to knights and castles, to archery, to monster trucks, to soccer and chess, you are full, full, full of life and joy.
J, I don't know if I can give you up to school for kindergarten next year. I will miss you too much! But so far in 4K, you love school so very much, I'm betting you'll take to kindergarten like a duck in water. Just don't change, sweetie guy--you are so precious and special and such a sweet, wonderful YOU!


Sweet MPD, I have always loved you best because you are our baby. How much joy and love you have brought to us all! You are our precious little blessing--our own little "fiat" who helps us all stay focused on what's important in life.
Not that anyone's calling you a baby, at least not if you have anything to say about it. You are Right In There with the rest of the gang, especially imitating JPD in all things (oh no!). Fiesty and opinionated, getting ready to be a Terrific Two with all your might, you are our sweetie boy who loves to give kisses and hugs. You love your bath, your Nummy Bear, riding in your stroller, your Grandma, and eating upside down pizza. You let your sisters take good care of you--sometimes, and you good-naturedly ride around to everybody's sports and activities with patience and--mostly--good cheer. We are having so much fun watching you learn to talk, and deciphering your sweet little one-year-old pronunciations.
MPD, even someday when you are six feet tall, you will always be my baby, and I love you so very much!

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HAPPY 2010 TO MY SWEETIES!!
I can't wait to see what adventures God sends to us in this new decade!!