(picture taken on 2/23/11 at 12:49 pm-exactly 2 years old)Dear Evie, are you really 2 years old? Where has the time gone? I blinked and you went from a tiny, helpless newborn to an energetic toddler! Each day I feel like I love you more, if that is even possible. You are such a funny, sweet, happy girl. Your daddy and I are so proud to be your parents. I look at you and am amazed at how blessed I am to get the honor of being your mommy. You have developed your own unique personality. You are shy in new situations, but once you are comfortable, you become the life of the party. You are so sweet and loving and you give the best kisses when asked, complete with the "Mmmah" sound. I love it when I pick you up from daycare and as soon as you see me your face lights up and you run over to me and wrap your arms around me and exclaim "mommy!" and then you point to me and tell the other kids in your class that I am your mommy, like you are proud to have me as a mom. And that melts my heart, and I am taking it all in now because I know as you grow you will go through stages where mom is not cool anymore, but for now I am your favorite and that is all that matters! You are a bit of a perfectionist and like things to be just a certain way, and you get quite irritated when things are not going your way (I guess you took after mommy in more ways then I realized) You are talking so much now and you are so smart! You know most animals and the noises they make. You count to 1o with a little help, you can sing your ABC's with a little help as well. It is so fun seeing you go from a little baby that just repeats what we say, to a toddler that uses words to communicate. When I asked you what you wanted the other day you looked up at me with those big blue eyes and said "a drink of milk" as if you had been talking your whole life. You also like to grab our hands and say "come on" and direct us to where you want us to go. You have favorites now, like Mickey Mouse, your "baby bear", monkeys, cheese (especially string cheese), coloring and Little Peoples. Your favorite shows include Dora, The Fresh Beat Band and Wow Wow Wubzy, you also love your Elmo's Potty Time DVD, although you are not so fond of sitting on your own potty yet, but that will all come in time. You like music and will sing along when I sing to you before bed -and that by the way is my favorite part of the day when we sit in your room in the rocking chair and snuggle, read books, sing and say our prayers. You even will add your list of things that we thank Jesus for, sometimes they are quite random like when you thanked Jesus for our house, daddy's pocket and Elmo. But you are learning to pray and that makes me so proud. I could go on and on about all of the things that I love about you and all of the funny things you say and do, but I won't, at least not now. I will leave you with this one last thought. Although I tell you to quit growing and to stay little, I know that will not happen. You will continue to grow and mature, as you should. And though it is hard as a mommy, I will let you experience things in life and not try to keep you my tiny baby. Because as a certain person keeps telling me, it is like the movie Finding Nemo, if I say that I will never let anything happen to you ever, that would be selfish of me, because by keeping things from happening to you I am keeping you from good and exciting things as well. So my dear Evie, it is hard for me to say,but I want you to continue to grow into a sweet young lady that I already see in you. You will fall down sometimes and I will be here to pick you up and kiss your hurts but as you leave this baby stage I want you to know you are doing exactly what you should and that, my dear could not make this mama happier. I love you and had a great day with you today. Happy birthday my big girl!
