Smooch-a-roo is TWO!

Remember two years ago when I gave birth on the night of Christmas Eve?  Thirty-one minutes before Christmas to be exact.  Odd how I am sitting here in a similar "waiting" phase of full-term pregnancy.  (39 weeks today, and already 3 - 4 cm...but not in labor.)  Busy though this season is, in oh so many ways, and I am a terrible blogger lately, I cannot pass by our precious Smooch's second birthday without highlighting it here. 

Dear sweet Smooch,

I can't believe how quickly two years has flown by!  You have brought a certain sunshine into our lives that we can no longer remember being without.  Unlike your sister, you seem like you are on the path to be a slightly more stereotypical two-year-old, full of strong opinions, fire, and even occasional back-arching tantrums.  But usually you are as sweet, cuddly and charming as ever.  Here are some random things about the freshly turned two-year-old YOU:

You love to be the center of attention.  While subtle, you try to get people to look at you and fall captive to your spell.  The more someone gushes, the more you seem to like them.  Conversely, you typically don't care for people who seem apathetic to your presence.  Basically, you act like you believe that when you walk into a room, people should notice.  And often they do because you bring your sunshine with you.  You are difficult to discipline because you are pretty good at charming your way into and out of things.

You love babies.  More than the average little girl.  It's almost the only thing you consistently play with, and if there are no babies to be had, you will play with another toy (like an action figure or barbie) as if it was a baby - feeding, rocking, and cuddling it.  For this reason, we are a little extra excited to see you meet your new baby sister when she comes.  You LOVED meeting your baby cousin M last week at Christmas time.  Even if she cried when you held her, you grinned like you were in heaven.

You are adventurous.  You love when Daddy throws you into the air as high as he can.  He gets some of your best giggles by horsing around with you.

You are not afraid to stand your ground - something I admire about you.  Yes, this means you stand your ground with Daddy and I, but it also means that you are not afraid to stand your ground with children who might otherwise try to control you.  Just remember that hitting and pushing is not a good way to demonstrate your resolve or to retaliate. ;-)

Everybody says you look like me.  And you do...or one of my siblings, depending on the moment or the particular expression on your face.  For the record, you have Daddy wrapped around your pudgy little pinky finger...but don't tell him I told you.

Some of your favorite things in the world are to swing and slide.   Since it's the middle of winter, we take you and your sister to the little play place in the mall where you go down the slide over and over.  I'm pretty sure you would never tire of either!

You are very into social cues, like saying hi to people when you walk into a room, giving hugs at appropriate times, saying sorry if you hurt someone, and other friendly behaviors.  Oh and saying "cheese" any time you see a camera. 

You know your colors for the most part, and you love to count to 15 (or something).  These are skills you learned thanks to reading a certain Curious George book over and over and over.  You also make hilarious, wonderful animal noises.  And when you get excited, you twirl your feet and repeatedly squeeze your fingers to your hands.  You have also been known to tremble with excitement.  You basically wear your heart on your sleeve, because you are equally dramatic when you bump your head or suffer some other injury or injustice.

You are also becoming quite the talker.  Much of your jabber still requires interpretation for others, and you stump even Mommy and Daddy at times, but you are quite a fluid little speaker.  "Nee nee" is what you call your snuggle blanket because you didn't used to be able to say "blankee."

You LOVE your sister, and for the most part the two of you play very sweetly together.  I love the way you randomly come up Princess and hug on her.  She just so happens to adore you as well, so it works out pretty nicely.  

You are a snuggle bug.  When Daddy comes home from work, after the celebrating, you usually like to hunker down with him on the couch while I finish getting dinner on the table.  You love to rub your hand on the back of his head to feel his hair, and you snuggle with my hair too.  If your "nee nee" is not available, Mommy's hair is your next choice, but you will even rub the hem of a shirt between your fingers if in a pinch.  Some of my favorite moments are first thing in the morning.  You usually wake up before Princess and you pitter patter your way out to the living room, where I scoop you up and we snuggle for a few minutes before we face the day.

  

Happy Birthday to our not-so-little girl!  We treasure you and cannot wait to experience a lifetime of days with you in our lives.  

Love, Mommy