Three

Tonight Declan told me he loved me more than butterfly peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (yes, we cut most sandwiches into fun shapes) and a lot of hippos and ice cream. He told me I make his heart happy.

I haven't been able to write about his third birthday yet because I feel as though I can't do it justice. How do you put it into words when you have more love than you could possibly count inside of you? How do you express the joy felt every single day watching them breathe or smile or find the letter "D" on a sign? How do you talk about the fact that sometimes you don't want them to go to bed- you just want to lay next to them and hear all the amazing thoughts running through their head.

You can't. You can't ever get it right exactly. Everything I try to write isn't good enough and gets the delete button applied.

Declan,

My big boy. My boy that introduces himself as "Deckie the big brother." You have taken on the role of big brother so graciously and completely it is though you were destined to be Kiery's big brother. You run and climb and scoot. You eat so much, though you take your sweet time doing it. You are smart and kind. When you get upset you have learned to take a deep breath so that we can talk about whatever is bothering you. A kiss makes things better. When a kiss fails, you generally just ask for another kiss because more kisses will eventually make you feel better.

You say "It's a beautiful sunny day!" You have dimples and the humidity makes your hair curl even more. You don't have baby feet any more. They are longer but still recognizable with the freckle on the bottom of one of your feet. Every day is a new adventure as you are a cowboy, robot, dinosaur, Puss in Boots. You keep me on my toes and a smile on my face.

I know this is rambling, but I already warned you that words don't do you justice.

Declan. You make my heart so happy.