The Letos’s welcomed me to their home on a perfect fall evening. This was officially my shortest commute ever, as the Letos’s are my neighbors!
They moved out from Baltimore City a year and a half ago. The first time their relator took them out to see the house, it just happened to be in the aftermath of one of our blizzards.
Sarah told me after the fact, ‘I saw a mom standing in the street photographing a big group of kids all sledding down a front hill having so much fun. I thought, this looks like a place I want to raise my child.’
Let me tell you, I froze my can off that year obliging every, “Momma, get a picture of me flipping off my sled,” “Ms. Jennifer, get a picture of me crashing into everybody.” All totally worth it!
Sarah, John and little Aeden have settled themselves into suburban living quite nicely. John quickly bought an old Ford truck, built a compost area, and can be seen chillaxing in his straw hat while riding his riding tractor to cut his grass through the summer. Sarah and John joke they should have their Christmas card be them with their truck and pitchforks, reenacting a Green Acres scene!
Country living has taken some adjustment though, when you are used to being in walking distance of Starbucks and the bustle of diverse city life around you, Carroll County life can take some adjusting! Summer nights can be very quiet out in the burbs! At first, Aeden didn’t understand why playground equipment wasn’t all communal property. I think he’s onto something though—I have often thought, ‘why do we duplicate the same stuff in every yard anyway???’
As I’ve gotten to know the Letos’s, I’ve been consistently impressed by the outpouring of love they show their little boy Aeden. They are his biggest cheerleader through this life and encourage him to persevere through the challenges he faces.
They have made sure he has all the OT, PT and Speech therapy services he has needed for years. Aeden has recently been diagnosed with Autism, which is a crushing blow to any family. But Sarah and John are prepared to meet these challenges head on and do whatever they need to help Aeden thrive. They are grateful to finally have a diagnosis, which allows them to best direct the help to Aeden that he needs.
Aeden, or “Aeden bomb” as he’s affectionately known here, is a funny little guy. He sometimes leaves notes for my boys in the mailbox and frequently seeks them out to play chase on the scooters.
Aiden’s absolute favorite toy is his scooter. This was a challenging thing for Aiden to learn, but he persevered and now is lightening fast on it! I think the coolest part about this is how his scooter can now be pointed to as an obstacle that he conquered! I love when kids are able to see areas of their life that were daunting to them and look back and say, ‘oh that’s easy for me now!’ This builds so much into them for the next challenge they face!
The Letos family has a lot of fun together, whether they are gardening, sledding, lighting off back yard rockets or hosting neighborhood water gun battles. There’s always some new adventure for the day right around the corner!
We ended the Letos’s session at dark around the fire pit John built. Aeden had a blast adding more and more sticks and then roasting marshmallows. Ahh, dinner, who needs it when there are marshmallows at your family portrait session! May you enjoy many, many family nights around this fire Letos’s!
