January 8th, 2013

I'm sitting here at the table watching you and daddy playing on the floor with the dog. I should get down on the floor and play too, but we get to have you so little I guess sometimes I like to just watch you spend time with your dad. Right now your jumping on top of daddy's belly and the dog is jumping around the floor nipping both your feet and hands. It's moments like this I want to freeze and keep. It hasn't been easy times for us, maybe you remember and maybe you don't. By the time you will be reading this, you might not remember such a long time ago. Today your mom and dad got into another fight, don't worry its not unusual. Apparently you misbehaved in school again and your mom thinks we will let you have fun even though your supposed to be grounded. If we all ever really took the time to talk to each other, she would realize that you have it the most strict in this household. Which is a good thing. I know when your growing up you might hate us for it but trust me Steven, it is for you own good. So, when you got here we made you do all your homework and paperwork you refused to do in school. I wish I could tell your mom, "see, we care!" but I know it wouldn't do any good. I know it must be hard for your mommy to have to share you, to not have a whole family. But its hard for us too, with you being there all the time, and spending so little time here. I cant say as though it is entirely your fault that you behave the way you do. You have entirely too much freedom for a kid your age. At 6 years old, you have a :laptop, TV in your room with DVD player, game systems out the wazoo, a psp, a Nintendo DS and everything else. Its no wonder you act out. No one in that house wants to interact with you, they just want you to sit in front of a TV and be a zombie. We aren't perfect here either though, we sometimes let you watch more TV then you should, take you places to be with kids so your occupied and so on and so forth. EVERY parent does it but we are trying to have limits. I guess I just want you to know that we aren't trying to be mean parents, only try to make you appreciate nice things and interact, go outside, use your imagination. Rules and expectations make good kids into great adults. I want that for you Steven. I want the world and back for you. Even your step dad Richie was complaining to your daddy today about how your mom doesn't give you enough rules and how she needs to be strict, that its not our fault. I just feel like maybe if mommy would divide her time with you and the baby up you wouldn't be asking for attention in all the wrong ways. You are a good kid Steven, when you try you can be such a polite little boy. Sometimes you warm my heart when you give me random hugs and kisses and say thank yous and pleases. I know this so hard for you, and I know the road is only going to get harder as time goes on. I just want you to look back on these letters and know that we tried, that we love you, and I want you to know the reasoning behind the things we do. Lastly the thing I want you to get out of this is our side of the story, and how we felt. Living with your mom, you may hear a lot of things and be told things that aren't true. I'm going to do my best to tell you the truth, or at least my feelings so you have 2 sides of every story.