Our baby turns THREE!

                                                    
 Dear Reagan~

I’m not sure I can bear you turning three. You have been such a precious baby, three means you are a preschooler. This was our first three-year-old birthday without a newborn sibling in attendance. You are for sure the baby though, I suppose I have no choice but to let you grow-up. You will always be my baby though.

What I love so much about you right now is not something I can capture on paper. It is your sweet little voice. The way you talk is heart-melting. Everything from the way you ask for a glass of milk, say your siblings names (Camden is Canden), to when you are being silly and doing want to talk so you make funny little animal noises are precious. Unbelievably cute just doesn’t even begin to describe it.

It sorts of pains me to talk about television in a birthday letter. We don’t really let you or your siblings watch much TV, but I would be skipping one of your favorite things from the last year if I didn’t mention “Monkey Show.” You are very passionate about Curious George. Almost every morning you watch it, thankfully it keeps you still enough for me to fix you hair. You giggle through it and never stop being delighted to watch George’s antics.

One of the silly things daddy calls you is hydro-girl. This is because you love water. Pouring water that you got out of the refrigerator back and forth between cups and bowls is one of your favorite things to do. You love taking showers, baths, and most of all swimming. You will randomly go and get your swimming suit out and want it put on for no reason. Grandma and Grandad gave you swimming lessons for your birthday. You will love them.

When we went to Disneyland this summer I thought it was going to be really hard to have you there. You proved me so wrong by being absolutely delightful. The entire experience was so much fun for you. You loved the fireworks, every ride you could go on, and the princesses. We realized when we were there that you hadn’t had much exposure to Disney because when you saw Mickey Mouse you would call him “mousey.” You weren’t scared of anything, we even went on the haunted mansion and you kept saying, “Is this scary?” I told you that it wasn’t, that it was just funny and you were good with it. What I have been shocked by is how much four months later you still talk about Disneyland. You can’t wait to go back, and almost every time you see an airplane you think it is going to Disneyland.

I know in your first and second birthday letters that I talked about how much your siblings love you. That hasn’t changed. You and Ainsley have an adorable relationship, Hudson steps out of his “cool” grade school boy role to so sweetly play with you, but you and Camden are changing. As the two younger kids you are now either partners in crime, or sometimes fighting. He delights in making you squeal and run away from the monsters he is always telling you about. Ainsley and Hudson give in to you and give you whatever you want. Camden doesn’t let you get away with that, and you don’t let him get away with anything either. You are far from a passive, or easy-going. You will not let anyone walk on you!

A couple of things I never want to forget are how you hold out your hand when you want to show us something, you point to it with your hand, palm up, with your fingers together. It is darling. I love how when the boys are doing something like jumping jacks or push-ups you do it with them- it is hilarious. I also love how enthusiastic you get about some things. You squeal with delight and jump and dance around. There is so much personality in that little body.

You have been looking forward to your birthday for months. Your siblings have been pumping you up about it forever. We woke you up for our traditional birthday morning cinnamon roll breakfast. You opened your presents, one of which was the monkey backpack that you have been looking forward to for months. You also got a princess dress from Grandma and Grandpa Seaquist that you love. Tonight Grandma, Grandad and Auntie Kate came over for dinner and to celebrate with you. You loved your presents, and were especially cute with a little music box that plays Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Grandma taught you that when you were so little and you still love to sing it with her.

Reagan, I am missing the sweet little baby you were. But I know I’m just going to love every part of watching you grow up. You are sweet, adorable, so clever, and so fun to be with. Your daddy and I love you so much and can’t believe how God blessed us with you and your sister and brothers. Above all we thank God for you and desire for you to love Him and glorify Him your whole life.

Happy third birthday Reagan Joy!

Love,

Mom

“May the Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

Opening presents in the morning- the long awaited monkey backpack.

Your brothers were very happy to help. 

Polly Pockets!

At dinner tonight-

So much personality in that little face.

Mommy's sweet girl!

Ainsley helps with presents- although you don't need much help. 

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Cupcakes!!

Make A Wish!

You got them out- with help from brothers on either side of you. 

Yummy!

Your princess dress from Grandma and Grandpa Seaquist. 

Happy Birthday princess Reagan!

Hudson's I Am Poem

In going through Hudson's papers that he brought home from school I found this poem he had written.

I am a good basketball player
I wonder how good I am at basketball
I hear a basketball
I see a basketball game
I want to be a good sport when we win
I am a good basketball player.

I pretend I am Michael Jordan
I feel like I am going to win
I tough the rim of the basketball hoop
I worry that I'm going to lose the basketball game
I cry when I get hurt in basketball game
I am a good basketball player

I understand I'm a good basketball player
I say I'm a really good basketball player
I dream that I made a basket from half court
I try my hardest in basketball
I hope my team wins this game
I am a good basketball player.

Ainsley turns 11!

“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” - Audrey Hepburn

Dear Ainsley,

11.

Count it all Joy.

Sweet girl. I love you. As you are growing up there is less I can write here. There is much more going on inside of you. This year was different. You spent a week at summer camp and my heart almost withered up and died from not hearing from you for that long. Your heart grew that week to about double its size from all the fun and love you found there. You can't wait to go back. I can't believe I will let you go again.

Count it all Joy.

There was hurt this last year. Girls learning how to be friends isn't always easy. Mean girls one day, nice girls the next. Yuck. It stinks to go through this sort of stuff when you are the kid, watching your sweet little girl go through it may hurt even worse. But you have grown through it all. And it is the right thing. To learn who you are and why you are that person. That is what this season of life is about. This year was the beginning of lots of years of changing from a kid to a grown up.

Count it all Joy.

You excel at so much. You feel deeply. You love well. You play hard. You think.

Count it all Joy.

You spend your time reading (you still love mysteries and have discovered Greek mythology type books which you love), listening to Adventures in Odyssey (I'm not sure there is a bigger fan out there), jumping on the trampoline (a favorite activity with your friends), and playing with your siblings (I think if Reagan was asked to pick between me and you she wouldn't hesitate in picking you!)

Count it all Joy.

Eleven years ago when I was holding a tiny little baby Grandma Seaquist and I talked about how we wondered what your voice would sound like. I was excited to hear what you sounded like, I didn't yet understand how wonderful it would be to get to talk with you as you got older and hear all the lovely and interesting thoughts that you have in your head.

Count it all Joy.

What a blessing has been the last eleven years Ainsley. I love you and, as always, pray that you would continue to grow into a great woman of God.

I love you so much Ainsley Grace.

Count it all Joy. Mom

11 years ago and this morning before school-

James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

New child to add to the chore rotation

Reagan has decided she can set the table. Monkey see, monkey do.

Nothing good comes of this...

she learned how to open the pantry door.

Camden's Big Game

Camden's pre-k/kgtn. basketball team got to scrimmage last night during half time of the Barlow varsity game. The high school kids chanting, "Little Pate- Little Pate" when Camden had the ball was a pretty cool moment. Very fun experience for a 5-year-old. (and his parents!) They even announced all the kids names and ran through the row of cheerleaders at the beginning.

Defense is what Camden is all about. We are working on helping him switch over to offense when his team has the ball, usually he just keeps, as he says, "defensing" his man. His first game was on Saturday and at one point when he went out he got put guarding this really cute little girl. Before the ball had even been put into play he was "defensing" her and she was backing away from him, and so he would just get close and closer. The whole time he is making these intense faces. It was too much for the little girl and before they started playing she turned and ran off the court crying. It should be a fun season to watch!

Happy Birthday Hudson!

Dear Hudson,

What a fun 8 years it has been with you. You started out this tiny little baby who slept perfectly and almost never cried, grew into a pretty wild toddler and pre-schooler, and have grown up into a sweet, independent full-on-grade schooler.

You are a kid who really has two sides. You are sometimes shy and quiet. I see you sit back and wait to see how something is going to turn out before you try it. You have no interest whatsoever in doing anything up in front of people. What is so funny is you have that laid-back sort of charm that you can't teach someone. It means that other kids are drawn to be with you because you sort of make them work for your attention.

It is the second side of you that is why they want your attention. You can switch from being quiet and shy into this silly, outgoing, pretty wild kid. You will laugh loud, talk a ton, and play really hard. You live to play with your friends. You come home from school and just want to go outside to find Colby.

I've noticed in the past year that you are really pretty artistic. For a kid who didn't really pick up a crayon until kindergarten this surprises me. You really like to draw right now. One of your favorite things to do is have me print out pictures of things on the internet (star wars characters, snakes, eagles...) and then you try and copy them. You shade colors well and have good perspective. Your handwriting... well.. that is another story. It could use some work!

You are really into the Oregon Ducks right now. You are definitely starting to align yourself with your daddy. You've of course always loved and looked up to him, but it is becoming different now. He's your role model, and he loves Duck football- so you do too.


I marvel at how completely "boy" you are in everything you do. Your whole birthday is a great example. This was your family party year so last Saturday we went swimming at the North Clackamas Aquatic Park. You took Jackson Glover with you and the two of you had an amazing time. You did the slides over and over and had crazy amounts of fun. You and Camden shared a cake that day, and you guys picked a dirt bike hill cake. For your birthday dinner tonight we had meatballs shaped like footballs, salad and bread. To top it off the cake you wanted was a bomb. I'm doing my best at parenting boys Hudson, so I did my best at making you a bomb cake. It said "boom" on the side of it and an actual smoke bomb on the top.


Your doing great in school, not that you tell us anything about school. You love your class and love going, but don't have much to report despite my probing questions. It is interesting because when you are in the right mood you can be very chatty and tell us lots of things, but on a normal day you don't tell us much about what you are thinking. You are in Mrs. Terveens class this year and she is a great teacher for you. It is pretty funny that you are in her class because I was job-sharing with her in a second grade class when I was pregnant with you!

My biggest worry for you is that you can be a bit of a follower. It is probably because you and Ainsley have always played so well together and she directs what your doing so it just comes naturally. One of my biggest prayers for you is that you will choose right and stand up for what you know to be true.

You are really a super sweet kid. From someone just hanging around with you initially they might not initially see how gentle and kind you are, but you have a soft, tender little heart. You are getting so tall and so grown-up, but you will still snuggle in my lap, even though you don't fit. That reminds me- I can't believe it has taken me until almost the end of the letter to mention how much you eat. Man, you are ALWAYS hungry. You eat so much and then are still hungry an hour later. It is crazy. I can't imagine what you will be like as a teenager because as a 7 year old you about ate us out of house and home. Your the tallest in your class and are taller than some of the kids in Ainsley's 5th grade class.

Daddy coached your soccer team this year and it was great. You did really well, and so did your whole team. It was so fun to watch you play and do well. What you are really excited about though, is basketball. You love basketball and are so excited to play. Daddy is coaching Ainsley's team and you go with them to practice most times. Your doing great. Last Friday night I went and watched a Barlow boys game and thought about how someday I will probably see you out there playing in high school. It is going to be fun to see what you do.

You are a wonderful boy Hudson. It is such a blessing to be your mom. I pray that God will fill in all the things that your daddy and I miss as we are caught up in the day-to-day work of parenting. My prayer for you right now is that God would grant you wisdom to make good choices and see that walking a life with the Lord is the greatest and most fulfilling way to live. Proverbs 16:17 says, "The highway of the upright avoids evil; he who guards his way guards his life."

Hudson, your daddy and I couldn't love you more. Thank you for being such a wonderful son and sweet brother to your siblings. We love you so much. I hope your eighth year is a wonderful one.

Love, mom.


This was outside setting off the smoke bomb from your cake.

Grandma and Grandpa gave both you and Camden remote control cars for your birthday and you love them!


The dirt bike hill from your shared party!

A hand-full. (as in 5)

Dear Camden,

Today you turned 5. And sweet boy, now you are officially a hand-full. And I couldn't love you more. As I sit down to write this, I don't know exactly what I will say, but with you I'm thinking it will pretty much write itself.

The thing that stands out about the last year is you starting pre-school. You are a Bruin Buddy. To say you love going to school would be a colossal (one of your favorite words) understatement. We didn't really know what to expect as far as how you would act at school, but evidently you are quite the little rule follower. You listen and obey. We are feeling really good about that.

You like girls. You play hard and wrestle and have lots of playmates who are boys, but you also love girls. You don't necessarily play with them, but you really like to take care of girls. We have had to have conversations about not hugging girls and holding their hands at school. You also love your cousin Eleison so much. Tonight after talking to her on the phone you cried at bedtime because you want to see her so much. A month or so ago we went to the Woodards (from church) for dinner and as we were getting ready to leave you asked if you could wear a pink shirt. We were so confused, because of course you don't own a pink shirt. After questioning you about it you explained that Abigail (their 5 year old daughter) likes pink so you wanted to wear pink so she would like you. You settled on drawing a pink flower picture for her. So cute.

You are a thinker Camden. Your mind is always going and trying to figure everything out. This has led to some interesting theology. You do fully understand that God should be the most important thing in our lives. You frequently say, "I love you, but not as much as I love God." Or you will say, "This is so great, but God is the greatest."

A good word to describe you is passionate. I know it is cliche, but about you it is true- if you are going to do something, you are doing it 110%. Good or bad. If you have something to say or do you usually feel very strongly about it and it is hard to stop you. You are SO opinionated. If you believe something, your mind rarely will be changed. This year for our Sunday School Halloween party daddy and I dressed up as Samson and Delilah. When we came out and you saw us you said, "I know what Samson and Delilah look like and it is not like that!" In the past few weeks you have been saying, "I have some advice for you." Then you let us know what you think we should be doing differently.

Your crazy smart. You love numbers and doing math problems. You are sounding out words and continue to shock us with your vocabulary. It is amazing. You are strong and coordinated. You came home from playing at Jalen's house this fall and said, "Hey, I can ride a bike without training wheels." Sure enough, you had gotten on his bike and without us ever teaching you, you took off riding.

You are an awesome kid Camden. Nothing with you is ever boring. People say to us all the time that it is going to be fun to see what you do with your life. Whatever you do it won't be something dull. You have more personality packed into your now 5-year-old body than most people ever have in their whole life.

Your choice for your birthday dinner tonight was hot dogs and Cheetos. It was interesting. That pretty much that sums up your whole life. You, my little love, are always interesting. I'm not sure we have ever worn you out. Your energy is without end. I so hope that your daddy and I can be the kind of parents that you need and deserve. As long as we can help you channel your energy and passion in the right direction, you will be amazing.

Happy Birthday Camden. It is such a honor that of all the moms in the world, God chose me to be yours.

"Grow in the grace
of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ.
Get to know Him better.
Give Him glory
both now and forever.
Amen."
2 Peter 3:18

School Days

School pictures:

Ainsley the 5th grader

Hudson the 2nd grader

Camden the big preschool guy.

Happy 2nd Birthday Reagan Joy!

Dear Reagan,

Here it is. TWO. As in technically not a baby. It doesn't seem possible that we have been this little family of 6 for two whole years. But much has happened since your last (first) birthday letter. Lets get to it.

You are a love. Always have been. So patient with so many people wanting to give you love and attention. I'm still amazed at your siblings devotion to you. I thought that this would be the year that someone (especially the someone closest in age to you, ahem...) would get frustrated and mad at you because you would get into their stuff and mess it up. You have of course become very mobile and capable of destruction this year. Amazingly there is almost no irritation with you. I try hard to protect your siblings creations to protect your relationship with them, but even when I fail as protector and you destroy something, for the most part there is no frustration. They all just love you so much that they want you to be with them. Amazing. Crossing my fingers it continues.

There is irritation when you scream in the car. Sometimes you just don't want to be pinned down by that darn car seat and you go ahead and let everyone know how you feel. Loudly. This brings great irritation because you drown out the radio/adventures in odyssey and make it difficult to read. It also produces in Camden the need to scream, "beeeeeequiiiieeetttt!!!!" which does little to stop your screaming. Just had to throw this part in so you don't look back someday and think it was all sunshine and roses everyday!

Ever since you started walking you have been a hand holder. Not really out of needing to be connected, but to bring one of us over to do whatever you want. When you bring us over you then shove our hand on whatever it is you want. Often it is to the pantry or refrigerator. Lately it is becoming to bring me to a book you want to read. There has even been a time or two that you bring me over to show me something that you just got into that you know you shouldn't have. Yeah for developing a conscience! For awhile when you first started walking you wouldn't let two people hold your hand at the same time. I think it was way too confining. That was before your siblings taught you the joy of, "one-two-three-WHEEE!" and now you love to hold two peoples hands so you can swing away.

Speaking of swinging, I think we have a little dare-devil on our hands. Faster and higher is better. And big wild slides.. you love them. It is fun to take you places because you will try anything. You definitely think you are a big kid. You think jumping on beds, couches, and if someone will lift you on, the trampoline is great fun. Your sweet little laugh is intoxicating!

You are also the first Pate child to learn how to climb out of your crib before the age of two. That sort of threw me at first. However you and I have come to an agreement that if you climb out, you get put in your little pea pod tent. You don't mind it, it is where you sleep when you are away from home, but you prefer your crib when here. Consequently you don't really climb out. I am still a bit shocked! Nice that you caught on quickly.

You are still a binkie and blankie girl. Two blankies to be exact. The funniest thing you do is when you are tired or needing soothed you put the little fringe part of your blanket up under your nose. I guess you are smelling it. Adorable.

"Dada" was your first word, but "mommy" wasn't far behind. You understood what we were telling you quite awhile ago, but saved talking until the last few months. Every animal until about 6 weeks ago was a doggie. In the past month you have been stringing words together to make little sentences. Your first sentence was, "where'd my binkie go?" Great. That is going to be fun to take away. When you call your siblings by name it melts their heart.

Your favorite foods are pizza, spaghetti and pancakes. I hate to admit that you have discovered, thanks to Camden, that you love the tv show Curious George. You lead me over to where the tv remotes are and say, "show" and "monkey." You do love books, or "bookies" as you call them. You don't really have a favorite book, but we try and keep you away from non-board books right now because you are fond of ripping pages of paper books and then bringing them to me and saying "open." Evidently you are a little confused between things like raisin boxes or granola bar wrappers and books.

I think our favorite thing about you that we have discovered this year is your funny little personality. You like to laugh and make us laugh. You know when you are doing something funny and delight in it. You are also so pretty and cute. People stop me all the time to tell me what a pretty little girl you are. Daddy especially loves your soft, golden blonde hair.

This morning your siblings woke you up so we could have breakfast as a family and open presents. You weren't super impressed with the whole thing. Tonight when we had birthday dinner and opened gifts with grandma and grandad gave you a birthday cake toy that you were obsessed with. You loved it so much you wouldn't open up anything else. It was great practice so you knew how to blow out the candles on your cupcake!

We love you so much Reagan Joy. It is so fun to watch you grow. You are so cute and fun right now that I want to freeze time and keep you this way forever. However, I know that I'm going to love what you turn into. I love every minute with you sweet baby girl.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you.

May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace.

Happy second birthday Reagan Joy.

Love Mom.