Dear William (43 months)

Dear William,

Today you are 43 months old!

The big highlight of this past month was our trip to Nicaragua (which you can read about starting here).  You were such a trooper throughout the entire trip.  I want you to know how proud I am of you.  There were a lot of little things that went wrong, and more often than not, you did not get to sleep or eat in a timely fashion, but you handled it like a pro.

On the bus from Moyogalpa to Mérida

 

 

You had fun playing in Lake Nicaragua and swimming in the pool of our hotels in Granada and Managua.

 

You enjoyed a traditional Nicaraguan juice baggie.

 

You managed to find a playground in Moyogalpa:

 

You didn't even bat an eye when we had to spend 8 hours by the dock, waiting for a boat that never came.  We ended up having to stay in Nicaragua and extra night because of the delay.

Asleep on the Che Guevara ferry when it finally came the next morning.

 

For the most part, I think you had a good time in Nicaragua, but you were scared of a lot of things that you weren't scared of when we were there last year.  You were scared of dogs and you cried whenever one came into your presence (which was often).  You were scared of ants and flies too.  You also became very, very shy.  You refused to play with the other kids and you wouldn't talk to anybody.  You just clung to mommy the whole time. This was difficult when I had to go run out to El Porvenir to wait for daddy on the day of the race.  Reina took care of you while I was gone.  She said you were very good and that you brushed your teeth when you woke up and ate a banana for breakfast.  But as soon as I got home, you cried and clung to me once more.  "I was so scared, Mommy," you whispered, and I felt awful.  I still feel awful about it, and I probably will continue to feel awful for the rest of my life.  I guess you got over it, though.  Later in the day when I was trying to get you to do something you didn't want to do (like wash your hands before dinner), you got very mad at me and said, "Mommy, I no like you anymore! I want Reina!"

 

When we got back to St. Louis, you had some Valentine treats waiting for you at school from your friends (Valentine's Day happened while we were gone in Nicaragua).  I took one look at some of those elaborate, hand made gifts in your stash and thought, Woah.  These parents have way more time on their hands than I do.  Obviously, they don't run ultra marathons.

 

The next weekend, we went to a play at COCA.  They had a troop of British actors performing a theatrical version of The Gruffalo, your favorite book!  It was very exciting.  Your BFF Sam went too, and you got to sit together.

 

Aside from all our big adventures this month, you have spent some time in general, being cute.

 

You did the absolute sweetest thing shortly after we got back from Nicaragua.  I had gone on a epic grocery-shopping trip to replenish our depleted cupboards, and by the time I made it home, I was exhausted and famished.  "I'm so hungry!" I said as I unloaded bags of groceries.  

"Oh!" you replied, springing to action.  You went to the cupboard, got out a small box of raisins, took out one raisin, and then came running over to me.  "Here you go, Mommy!" you said, handing me the raisin.  

How adorable are you!  And so kind and conscientious, to take care of your mommy.  Thank you, William!

Looking forward to our next adventures!

Love,

Mama