My little one is two today.

They say time goes faster when you have kids. I never understood that, but now I’m living it. She’s two. Already, two.

 
And it’s true- time does fly and unrecognizable speeds as you watch your little one change before your very eyes from a tiny, needy newborn to a spunky, joyful toddler in what feels like mere hours. I really try hard not to wish for her to stay the same, to not to grow up, to never change. I’ve loved every stage so far, and after losing a friend at 16, I also try really hard not to take a day for granted. It’s easy to think that our children will be around long past us, but you see, even for children, tomorrow is never a sure thing. As sad as it may sound, I have no guarantee that I’ll get to have the little one with me for years and years, so I pray a thank-you prayer for each night that God blesses me with her company. And I also pray for many more years with her, but all the while, I want to absolutely cherish the moments I get with her. Two years with my girl, and she has blessed me immensely.

She is silly and smart and spunky and doesn’t miss a thing. She is talking lots these days, mainly in phrases, but she throws out a few sentences here and there. She’ll attempt any word you ask her, and she rarely forgets a word once it’s shared with her. My favorite phrase is when she’s misplaced something; it’s always her yelling down hall, “Are you, baby?!” or “Ball, are you?” She also asks, “Dada, doing?” and “Mama is?” when she wants to know where I am or what Eugene is doing. The most used phrase is definitely, “Mama, what is it?” I can’t do it justice without you hearing it, but trust me when I say she enunciates this to an extreme! Oh, and she mixes up her pronouns pretty much every time {although she’s getting a little better the last few days.} Usually when she speaks about herself she says “you” instead of “me.” For instance, if we ask her who went to Nana’s today, she answers “You!” meaning “me,” which – you have to admit – that’s a tricky concept since Eugene and I always say “you” to her referring to her. Or she’ll say “You hungry” meaning that she is hungry. Gah, English is complicated.

She knows basic colors really well already: red, yellow, purple, orange, black, white, pink, green, blue. She mixes up brown and black occasionally, but other than that, she has her colors down pat! She can count to ten on her own, with the exception of missing five every time.

She loves when the school bus passes our house, likes pointing out stop signs and stop lights, loves “whimming” {swimming}, flip flops, and doing anything outside. She loves books, band aids, songs {in particular Oh Happy Day from Sister Act II and Take Me Out to the Ball Game}, Curious George, slides and swings, balloons, baseball games, and carbs. {Ha!}

She’s brave and obedient, as long as she understands the reasoning behind something. If I can explain why or how something needs to happen, she usually does really well with it. She gives great hugs…if she’s in the right mood. She has recently transitioned to a big girl bed and room {I’ll post photos of her room later.} And believe it or not, she is fully potty trained – even at night. She’s been daytime potty trained for about 3 months, and nighttime for at least 1 month. At church, we’re told she’s the welcome committee for the other toddlers in the nursery. And she has great manners {so far}, usually saying “tank tu” at appropriate times and even when it’s appropriate but I don’t expect it. For instance, she thanked me the other day for taking out the trash! ;)

She’s not afraid to get dirty, but then wants to be cleaned up right when she’s finished. She loves to wrestle on the bed with her Dada, and gets thrilled when he takes her to visit his “doof” {aka school…not sure why she says doof, but always has.} She’s strong-willed at times, while totally laid-back others. We’ve experienced our fair share of tantrums lately, but usually they’re a result of her being overly tired, hungry, or teething. We all have our bad days; it’s only fair that she does too. She’s also testing her independence and control more lately. I expect this to be a theme over the next few months/year, but we’ll survive. :)

 

From the day she was born, she would play with her hair or my hair when she was tired and falling asleep, and this hasn’t changed two years later. {Something about a sleeping child is just so special, isn’t it?} She still takes a daily nap, about 1.5 hours on average. We’ve gotten rid of the paci for bedtime, but she won’t nap without one, so in an effort not to get rid of her still much-needed nap, we keep the paci only for naptime.

The best way I can describe her is that she is an absolute JOY. Eugene & I prayed while I was pregnant with her that she would be full of joy and would bring others joy. God answered that prayer magnificently. She is such a joy.

She’s not going to be the little one much longer. In a couple months, she’ll transition to being a big sister, and I think she’ll love that role as well. She’s already talking about how she will kiss her baby brother, rock him, sit with him, and love him. It’s hard to believe we’ve had two amazing years with her in our family already. I am so grateful that God chose me to be her Momma. What a privilege and a blessing!

Happy birthday to my sweet little one! You are so special to us, and so very loved.