You turned two yesterday! Two! I can't believe it. Although its what all mother's say, I just can't believe you've gotten so big, so fast. This last year has brought so many changes in you. You have hair, for one! Beautiful golden curls that you will loathe ten years from now and everyone coos over now. 95% of the time are a good girl, complying with most of my requests with an enthusiastic, "OK Mommy!" The other 5% of the time, the times when you make up your mind about something (and usually its that you will not wear shoes/diapers/dresses that day) your stubbornness is, quite frankly, exhausting. You spent a good hour at Gammie's house screaming your head off because we dared to say you could not go in the pool without a diaper. No amount of ignoring, sternness, time outs, cajoling, or trickery was going to deter you. When you finally gave in (albeit through compromise, you wore a diaper, but not the swim diaper I wanted) you were all smiles, hugging me and telling me "Thank you Mama, thank you" Later that day you made me put a swim diaper over your regular diaper while you watched cartoons. You thank me for everything. When a song comes on the radio you like you say from the back seat "Thank you Mama!" You'll take your dirty diaper off yourself, hand it to me and say "thank you Mama." If Daddy brings you something most times you still say "thank you Mama." Drives him nuts. After "thank you mama" you next favorite phrase is "Okay Mama" or "Okay Daddy" even if you have no intention of actually doing what you are agreeing to. Daddy asked you to stay in the kitchen with your drink today. "Okay Daddy!" you said, oozing sincerity and enthusiasm as you walked right out of the kitchen. You've started to mimic me. When Fin wakes up from nap you coo at him "Awww, Didju wake up Pippin? Diju have a goo nap?" When you see dogs or cats you say in the exact right pitch "Awwww! Sooo cute!" over and over. You love playing with Fin, but your equally happy making anything you can find two of "kiss" and swaddling and rocking your babies. You pack enough personality for ten people into your tiny frame and charm the pants off of most everyone you meet. Today at a birthday party when I suggested we go say hi to the birthday girl before we played, you said, "OK Mommy!" and ran over to a large group of women (whom none of us knew) walked into the middle of them and said, "Hi! Hi! Hi!" At the party we went to last week, you pulled all the leis off the table and wore them all. All thirty of them. You will eat
anything I give you. Especially if it happens to be a small example of that particular food. In example, we made brussels sprouts and one happened to be very small. Daddy gave it to you and said, "Look Sissy its a baby one" You immediately snatched it up and cuddled it and kept cooing "Awww its a baby one!" and ate three all together. You jumped up and down in your seat when you saw my ceasar salad (out of which you will only eat the romaine lettuce). Anything tiny is deemed "a baby one!" and you say it in the high pitch tone people use when talking to babies, and even make hand motions like you want to pinch it, its so cute. This past month you want only to sleep in my bed. This would bother me if you wanted me to be in bed too, but you don't care. And we've given up since, even if we put you in your bed, without fail when I go up three hours later there you are, tucked in tight in the middle of our queen size bed. We simply pick you up and put you in your bed, where you stay till about four in the morning and sleepily wander into our room, climb over me, bring the blanket over you and say "Hi mama, hi mama" before falling asleep again. You've lost a little of your bravado on the playground. You won't go on slides anymore. You still scare me to death on the swings, throwing yourself as far forward as you can go in the bucket seat, flinging your arms back and flapping your hands, "I'm fwiiinnnggg! I'm a butterfly!" You've developed a keen imagination, usually having to do with something "scawrrey!" In the car you'll gasp "Oh! A wwwwiiion!" "A lion?!" I'll say "Yeah! Outside!" you'll whisper, terrified, eyes wide in mock horror. You crack your brother up when you do that, and you know it. You're smart, and you pay attention. While I've been trying to teach you colors, you've been studying when I talk about letters with Fin. You can point out and identify about half the alphabet, without hardly any instruction from me. You can "count" though it usually sounds like this "one, tree, fibe, six, seben, eight, one, TWO! yeah!!" You love puzzles and always amaze me at how good you are at them, putting pretty abstract shapes into the correct spots, and taking the time to get it in right. You know all your shapes, even pentagon ("tent-ta-gon!"), you say triangle, "tri-ang-gil gil." I could go on for days trying to tell you who you were at two. It seems an impossible task. But everyday you make me fall in love with you a little bit more. Every time you yell out "MAMA!" when I walk back into the house and throw your arms around my neck my heart grows bigger. And every time you hug me and say "yuv you mama yuv you" it makes my throat grow tight and eyes tear up a little bit. You and your brother spoil me with your love, and I could not ask for anything more in my life. I'm so glad for every moment we've had together and couldn't be prouder of my little girl.
Happy Birthday Baby. Mama loves you.