TO MY TWO YEAR OLD, TAE

My Sweet Boy, 

You are turning 2 on Sunday and my mind can't help but think back to the moment I first held you in my arms. You captivated my heart from the first second and my love has only grown since then. You've grown so much since your first birthday and each day is so fun to watch you learn and take on the world. You started walking, talking in both Portuguese and English, and your personality has blossomed. 

You truly are the happiest little boy, you bring a smile to everyone's face that you come into contact with. Your laugh is has changed throughout the year depending on your mood and the moment-- from a tee-hee-hee innocent laugh, a hearty belly laugh, to an almost evil cackle.  When you laugh you make yourself laugh even more.  Your smile lights up your eyes and you get high dimples on your cheeks that melt my heart.  I can't help but smile when you laugh at something because your laugh is contagious. You have a smile on from the moment you wake up until we lay you down to sleep.

You are a sensitive soul. When an animal or someone on the TV gets hurt you show empathy with a big, "Oh no!!" and your hands on your cheeks. Every time we walk by the dance store, you exclaim, "Oh no!" because the mannequins are missing their heads.  You aren't scared to make friends, you will hold anyone's hand and walk with them on our daily walks. I pray that you continue to have and show empathy for others. This world is full of people who are different than you, but we are all human and trying the best we can. Be kind, you never know what someone else is going through. 

Last year I learned so much from being a mama, and again I go back to what God is teaching me as your mamae. Our relationship has continued to mirror God's and our relationship.  No matter what you do or how mad I am at you, I love you and want the best for you. I can't help but forgive you , just like our heavenly father forgives us. I also am learning to be consistent when I discipline you. God disciplines us because of his love for us, and I discipline you for the same reason. Through being your mom I have come to appreciate God's love for us even more than before.

I want to thank you for helping me grow as a person. I stick to what I said last year, being a mom is the hardest thing I've ever done, yet the most amazing.  You have taught me how to be patient, be consistent, show my emotion and hold it back when appropriate, humility, and how to be selfless.  I'm still working on all these things, and promise I will always try to better myself for you and Elea.  You both have stretched my heart beyond what I thought capable. When you fall, my heart stops. When you succeed my heart swells with pride.  When you learn something new I am astounded at how your little brain absorbs everything.  

Now for some things that you have done/are doing that I want to share with you.  You still sleep in your crib, and boy do you love sleep.  You are content just sitting in there to wait for us to get you in the morning.  You love our friends, Jenn and Josh, you get so happy on Sunday Linners.  You are starting imaginary play--feeding your stuffed animals, playing with your cars, and cleaning the house (you call this Alice after the apartment's cleaning lady). You love Tico and Pete, the two men who bring our water, you scream, "Tae, Tae, Tae" when you see them because they do this too.  You love to be outside, so we go on family walks almost daily.  While we walk you LOVE to stop and explore.  You are the sweetest big brother, you search for Elea every time you wake up, enter the apartment, or move to another activity.  You help get her diapers and give her kisses.  You still love books, Bita is your current favorite. You point out all the details on each page, or you breeze through it not caring about the story or the details.  You love to dance, and you put your own little spin on it--either with a stomp of the foot or a Brazilian point.  You do so much more, but those are some of the things that stick out and I don't want to forget.

This next year has a lot of change on the horizon and I know you will handle it like a champ. You constantly amaze us with your aptitude to pick up new things. We love you to the moon and back.  Te Amo Amor!

Love,
Mamae

TO TAE ON YOUR 2ND BIRTHDAY, FROM PAPAI

Dear son,

There was a quote from someone who said the days are long and the years are short. It is so true, as I think it was only yesterday I wrote an email to you for your first birthday. Alas, here we are and I hope I can put some thoughts together which will help you in one way or another.

Now, I want to try to add a little structure to these emails as I look forward to writing many of them in the future. My hope is you will be able to see your growth and progression easier from year to year by me adhering to some guidelines. 

I started with a question and asked "what would I want to know if my parents sent me an email?"It took me a while, but I came up with the central idea of highlights. Highlights of your life, our family, and the world. To cap it off, I plan on writing you some of the greatest lessons I have learned in my life, so you can take these and hopefully learn from them to improve yours. Well let's get into it!

There was so much growth for you this year, and I am not just talking about your physical growth. First, you learned how to crawl, walk, run and jump. Additionally, you began talking in both English and Portuguese. You are a quick read and have figured out how to manipulate the iPad almost by yourself. The only you can not do is log on, but I feel you will have mastered this by the next email I write to you.

In terms of our family, we also grew in many ways. First, your mom and I received jobs at our "dream School" in Shekou, China, and we will be moving to there this coming August. We are so excited to share all the experiences, but also to show you the world. Mom and I have grown so much living abroad, and want to give you this same opportunity. There is also the small matter of your baby sister, Elea, joining our family. She arrived on 12/02/2017 at 12:38 PM. You were not so sure of her at first, but have naturally taken the role of big brother already.

The world has also seen a lot of changes as well. Donald Tump was elected president of the US, which created much division in the country and the world. We are hoping things work themselves out, but he stands for a lot things your mother and I do not and want to teach you and your sister to see everyone eye to eye, and give everyone respect, even if they are different from you. This is a life lesson that we hope you learn, to share Christ even if you disagree with people.

Now for more life lessons. Before I do this, wanted to share a special moment we had this year. We really started to connect one day when you and your mom were painting. I remember going over and you putting your hand to mine and it was like we both saw into each others souls. Although the experience lasted seconds, it has been imprinted into my memory for eternity. Life is the accumulation of small moments, and I will cherish this one for all my days. 

Ok, now to the lesson. I want to share with you to EMBRACE life. Embrace means not to change or resist it. There are so many beautiful things God presents us on a daily basis, but often time we can not see them as we expect everything to turn out a specific way and try to control every aspect of our lives. I will discuss these matters when you are older and can comprehend them better, but know to EMBRACE what life presents you with. 

For example, I feel I expect too much of you, and at times find fault with what you are doing. However, this takes me away from being a better dad, and this is not what I want. What I do want is to suffer when you suffer, laugh when you laugh, and not hold you to the yardstick of the experiences of my life. 

Well, that is it for now, but happy 2nd birthday my dearest son!

Love you forever,

Dada aka Papai