My "Baby" Is 2!

Dear Pumpkin,

Happy Birthday, Doodle. By the time you had woken up this morning, we had passed your “official” birthday (you were born before 6 a.m. – an early bird right from the start!), so you’ve been two all day so far. You were so excited to see your brand new tricycle, a Dora the Explorer DVD, and – the best part of all – the purple bouncy ball! There were other small things, but you didn’t seem to notice or care about them. And you spent a good chunk of the morning in the trike box, which I should have expected: it’s just the right size for sitting in.

You are amazing – and my goodness how you’ve come so far from last year. For starters… you have teeth. Your first tooth didn’t start poking through until days after your first birthday, so you spent a good chunk of this year teething (lucky us). You have this unstoppable appetite and love to eat – and you tell us when things are “ummy” or “uck” – cheesecake: ummy.

You may not know it yet, but we’re going to be ditching your pacifiers soon, and I imagine you’re gonna be pretty ticked off about it. It was so easy with your sister – she didn’t much care about the paci – but you? You LOVE it. Right now, you only get your paci for naps and night-night. I tested out cutting the tip off a paci a few weeks ago – and you were so mad at me: “Pacipier broken. Mommy cut it!” I may end up having to do that for the rest of them, just to get you weaned off those crazy things (why didn’t I do this sooner?!). You’ll be pretty peeved, and I anticipate that bedtimes are going to be rough for awhile. Lucky me.

You have gone potty on the potty two times now – yesterday, when you went, I had to tell you NOT to put your hands in the pee, and NOT to play with it. Daddy said, “But it’s sterile!” I think he was just trying to gross me out. It’s never a good idea to play with pee. Keep that one with you – it’s a life lesson.

When we’ve asked you what you want for your birthday, you keep telling us, “Ice cream”, so, ice cream you will get. I picked up some green ice cream, per your exact specifications (picky like mommy already).

You are fearless and you are brave and you love to explore and test your limits. Consequently, I spend a lot of time chasing after you – you sure do keep me busy. You love the slide, the playground, and you are learning to love the water. You spent much time in the water in Traverse City last weekend – even climbing right up to the top of the slide on the dock, and sliding right into dad’s waiting arms in the lake. Barely any hesitation at all!

I don’t know where this year went. I started it with a baby, and now I have a toddler. I love to watch you as you grow and change, and become even more amazing. Happy birthday! We love you!

Love you with my whole heart,
Mommy