Dear Adrianne...2/8/12

{This will be the start of a new "series" of posts if you will, dedicated to my beautiful little girl, who I hope will someday be able to look back on how fondly I devoted myself to her and her little brother through these letters which I will publish here.}

I am so proud of you lately for being such a perfect and brave big sister. I love the way you cradle baby Rowan and how you try so hard to take such good care of him. It makes me so happy to know that you already love him. I know you will work very hard to look after him as the two of you grow up. I remember what it was like as a little girl, the feeling of having little boys to watch over. I felt so protective over them, and so proud to be their big sister. One of the greatest tasks was being assigned "bus buddy" for my brother at school. I had the great responsibility of walking him to class, and of course I also had to visit him in his class to check up on him whenever I could grab a chance.

You've been handling the big change very well. You certainly got a little disconcerted not to be the center of attention at all times anymore and you've gone through a couple of phases to show it for sure. But I am always amazed at how quickly these little phases of yours pass. You relapsed in potty training for a couple of days. You started throwing terrifying tantrums at the prospect of going to bed for a few nights. But always, these things pass and day by day you behave more and more angelically. You are simply amazing.

I'm starting to wonder whether or not I have a true genius on my hands with you. You are just so smart, I love bragging about you whenever I get the chance. "Oh, yeah, my little girl is potty trained. Yep, and she draws with a perfect writer's grip." Am I too proud? =) Well, I don't care if I am.

With love,
Mom