Dearest Elaina, 7/25/12
Two
ears, two eyes, two hand, 2 feet and 2 years.
Whew…..thankfully and gratefully you made it to two years old still
intact! J Even though there were plenty of spills and
splats along the way that could have prevented that! This year has gone by so fast. I’ve tried desperately to hold onto our
special moments. The smell of your
little body snuggled up next to mine (I never thought you would learn to like
to cuddle but you do!) the way you like to hold my hand when you are going to
sleep, the way your slip you hand into mine when we are walking to and fro and
even how you clamber up on the chair in my bathroom because you want me to
brush your hair. These moments are ever
changing but I I drink them in like warm sunshine because I know they can be
gone in a flash.
I cannot
believe my wobbly little infant is a full blown walking, talking, climbing
bundle of energy. I’m so so grateful you
continue to be a fantastic sleeper because I need my shut-eye to keep up with
you during the waking hours! I love how
you continue to be a morning person even though your mommy isn’t and you never
hold it against me. I love how you ask
for “daddee” with a puzzled look on your face
even though he has already left for work and I think it’s so sweet how
excited you are to greet Chaco and Hobbes when we go down for breakfast. Not sure who gave you that “morning” gene
cause it wasn’t from us!
You
still LOVE to study everything and everyone but are much more approachably
these days. You do act a little shy
around strangers but with a little bit of persuasion (and I’m not saying
what...”balloons”) almost anyone can win a smile. I think that smile is well worth a bribe
because your whole face lights up when you grin that dimpled smile.
You
amaze me every day at all the new things you can do and say. I now understand why it is impossible to
record every cool thing your kid does cause it’s just impossible to write down
100 things a day. You physically are
growing like a weed. Your vocabulary is
taking off even though half the time we simply just can’t understand what you
are trying to tell us….poor girl! Daddy
and Mommy are taking bets on whether you are gonna be a leftie, like daddy, or
a rightie like me. You have perfected
the art of a meltdown. It starts with a
WAIL that you swear there must be blood involved and ends with you becoming a
dead weight and dropping to the floor.
We are trying to learn to ignore miss drama queen when she rears her
obnoxious head! People don’t realize
what a chatterbox you are until you warm up to them. Pretty much the only time you are quiet these
days is when you are up to no good. Like
pulling every piece of clothing from your draws and closet into the middle of
the floor or deciding the TP needs to take a bath in the toilet and then back
in the basket like nothing happened. You
definitely do need your quiet time. I
watch with fascination as you play happily with your cousins but soon you are
off by yourself. You do this at home
sometimes too. You are happy to remind
me to “shhhh, be quiet” by turning your
head away from me and sticking your fingers in your ears. I quickly became aware that at this point you
are just over stimulated and just need to turn everything off.
You
recently fell in love with a short white dude.
At first I thought it was his dark haired companion but quickly realized
that isn’t who brought a smile to your eyes. Donald is his name and even though he doesn’t
have his own show and he has to share the limelight with his pal Mickey you are
okay with this. Somehow you also believe
that “Minnie” (what it sounds like you are say but it’s really Mickey) should
be available 24/7 on anything that resembles a TV. What an age we live in because it really is
almost available like that.
When
you aren’t trying to convince me to turn on “Minnie” you are putting on your
shoes (yes, by yourself, even though they end up on the wrong foot), getting my
keys and coming to tell me you are ready to “go”. I have NO idea where you want me to take you
but normally you just want to be outside.
You don’t mind spending hours in the sweltering heat and get so mad at
me when I tell you we need to go in. You
love playing with Chaco and riding horses.
I had hoped you’d enjoy riding but I had no idea your love for it would
be so visible at a young age. You
continue to be inquisitive and try playing with toys in a new way. I love watching you already play “make
believe” with your favorite lovies. I wish I knew what goes on in that head of
yours.
You
continue to stretch me in ways I never knew.
You certainly have added a few new gray hairs to my head with your
stubbornness and your “DO IT MYSELF” attitude….even when you can’t. (Your daddy will say he knows where that came
from). I finally figured out what to do
with a one year old and now everything is changing again. We have new challenges on the road ahead of
us. Potty training is just around the
corner and I am running from it with all my strength. You started taking it into your own hands by
taking off your PJ’s and diaper for me each morning before I knew you were
awake. It is obvious that you want a
clean diaper as SOON as you go and have no patience to wait. I thought we had foiled you for the
moment but you figured out how to get
off the tape we’d wrap around you so we started putting the diaper on backwards
but this morning you had it half off.
I’m really not sure if I am ready for this challenge but here we
go! We also are learning a new
dance. How much will mommy let me get
away with? You can be very sneaky when
you are doing something you aren’t supposed to and it get’s challenging to
catch you in the act. It amazes me to
watch you in a mirror watching me and waiting.
Waiting till I turn and catch your eye and then you do something
bad. You are a thinker and a processor
and it has been a challenge for me to figure out how to get through to you some
days. Some days I wonder…”doesn’t she
know I will never give up correcting her?”
And I sometimes wonder if you are thinking “doesn’t she know I will
never give up trying her?” That’s okay
peanut. I guess that is what being a
parent is all about but some days I wish I could just call up my mom and say , “I’m sorry” LOL.
I’ve
learned so much this year. I’ve learned
consistency doesn’t always lead to obedience.
That being a good mom doesn’t equal a well behaved child (I least I pray
it doesn’t). That the moment I treat you
like a trained monkey and try to get you to “perform” you will laugh behind my
back, stick gum in my hair while still looking cute and innocent. You’ve taught me…no scratch that….you are
teaching me the depths of patience, the strength of true love, and the
consistency of prayer. You taught me to
see the simply things of life are often the most beautiful. That everyday tasks can be joyful and that
nothing is better than a good ‘ole chase followed by a tickle fest filled with
laughter.
My prayer
for you is that you continue to grow strong and beautiful. That you come to understand we actually like
to say “yes” better then “no”. That
your stubborn streak can be used for good and to glorify Christ. That you come to understand that we
discipline and challenge in love even though it may not seem like it. That we remember to always ask for
forgiveness when we have wronged you and that the Lord covers and protects you
when we do not BUT… most of all… that the Lord draws you to Him and you come to
understand His love for you.
Peanut,
I love you more then you will ever know.
You are my sunshine on a cloudy day and my rainbow in the sky. I will sing the Itsy, Bitsy Spider or the
ABC’s everyday of the week to get you to smile.
That I will never truly try to scare you ---only enough to make you
laugh and run away shrieking with joy.
That I will kiss every booboo 1000 times if it will make the pain go
away. That I will drive to the moon and
back to get your beloved “D.D” or “Gray” so that you will have a peaceful
night’s sleep. I pray I am letting you
walk a little bit farther off to let you be alone to explore, to grow, but it’s
so very hard my little one. I want so
badly to keep you small and tuck you in my pocket and keep you warm and safe but
I know this cannot be and soon you will turn THREE. (didn’t mean to rhyme there) Let’s not think about that right now. You have bikes to learn how to ride, fire
flies to catch, words to learn and tantrums to throw…lol. I love you peanut. You still catch my breath every morning when
the sun hits your face. I don’t know
what I did to be so very blessed.
Hugs
and Kisses and Eskimo Kisses,
Mommy 
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