Happy Valentine’s Day To My Precious Babies…

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways….

1. I love the way that you stand at the side of my bed at 7 am waiting for me to open my eyes. I love how you wait only about three seconds before you rub your hand on the side of my face and whisper “Mom, can you come downstairs with us” 

2. Mario, I love how excited you are when it is the weekend.  I love how you ask the question “Is it a school day?” and when I answer “no”, you smile so wide and we can see joy bursting throughout your tiny body.

3. Maria, I love your empathy for people and things.  When we watch a show on animal planet and a poor animal is killed, you feel a deep sense of sadness and ask questions about why the animal couldn’t fend for itself and why the predator had to eat the animal.  When you see a person that looks like he is down and out, you want to help him.  You ask if I have anything to help him.  When I complain about the person in front of me at the grocery who is taking so long, you remind me that she could be having a bad day or have something wrong with her that doesn’t allow her to move as fast as me.

4. I love how you both care so deeply for each other even if you get into fights everyday.  You never go to bed mad at each other.  I love how you have to give hugs to one another every morning before you leave for school. 

5. Maria, I love how you always call Mario your “little buddy.” Mario, I love how you call Maria “Ria.”

6. I love how you yell for dad when you get home from trips with me, and when you hear him, you run to him and give him big ol’ bear hugs. 

7. Mario, I love how you have such a passion for hunting like your cousin, Mario and your dad.  I love how you enjoy hunting shows, and have learned how to shoot so that you immediately kill your prey and they don’t suffer.  I love how understand the circle of life at age 4!

8. Maria, I love how you are so animated and possess a wild, uninhibited spirit that allows you to be yourself no matter where you are and who you are around.  I love your raucous laugh and big smile.  I love your blue eyes. 

9. I love how you both fall asleep in Maria’s bed like two angels in a Raphael painting.  Maria’s golden hair swept to the side; Mario’s baby face and red cheeks lighting up the canvas.

10. I love how you appreciate family and enjoy your time with grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins.  I love how you beg to hear stories about times when you were little – real stories about how you acted and your first words and what you liked to play with, and who you liked to hold you.

11. Mario, I love how, at age 4, you have mastered the Ipad and the Iphone.  I love how you can download an app and within ten minutes, describe the entire premise behind the app to me (i.e., there are dragons and you have to fight off the main dragon because he leads the other dragons….).

12. Maria, I love how, at age 6, you have mastered more than games on the Ipad.  I love how you use the video like an amateur cinematographer capturing some hilarious moments in our lives.  You have an eye for the camera, my love, and I have a feeling we may be seeing your name on the big screen one day.

13. Mario, I love how you don’t give up, especially when it comes to sports.  You will play a Wii game over and over until you have it down.  You will swing a bat 100 times until you connect with the ball.  You are a perfectionist in more ways than one (your clothes must still sit perfectly on your body before you will start your day), and I have a feeling we will see you on ESPN catching a line drive and making a double play.

14. I love how you take care of one another whether it be nursing the other when he or she gets hurt or it is agreeing to watch a show that one of you is not too fond of watching.  I love how protective you are of one another.  Maria, you will stand up to anyone that teases your little brother and Mario, you will confront anyone on behalf of your big sis.

15. I love how you sit so close to me when we read books at night.  Mario, I love how you snuggle with me on my lap and make a million comments as we read the book.  Maria, I love how you let him make those comments without one complaint. 

16. I love how you both can throw a frisbee; I see ultimate frisbee in our future!

17. I love the smell of you whether you’ve just taken a bath or haven’t had one in two days.

18. I love how you always think you can wrestle dad and win.

19. I love how you always indulge me and let me take your picture.

20. I love how much joy and wonder you have brought to your dad and me.  Our lives were full before we chose to have you but after you were born, our lives filled up in so many different ways that we would have never known of had we chosen not to become parents.  You opened our eyes to new way of loving; would we have ever understood how a heart can encompass such a range of emotions for such a little creature?  Ache so heavily for your well-being yet burst so happily at the sight of your tiny hands and feet?  Watching you grow every single day is a gift; seeing the world from your eyes is a treasure; hearing you express yourselves is fascinating.  We believe in you, Maria and Mario, and we love you to the moon and stars and sun and back. 

Happy Valentine’s Day 2012!