Countdown to 2!!!!

Annie Louise – 

You, my love, are 23 months old...almost 2 years old.

I won’t even say it, you already know what I’m thinking…you are growing up too quickly.

I think this month you have grown developmentally more than you have this entire year.  I am absolutely blown away at how much you are learning each and every day.

This month, we entered the “what’s thaaaat?” and the “who’s thaaaat?” phase.  And yes, you stretch out the “thaaaat” – cutest thing ever.

Anyways, you are so curious.  You want to know about everything – the who, what, when, where and especially why.  And I love it.  Just to watch your eyes and your face while we are doing any task – you are so interested in it.  Most of the time, it follows with a “I do it.”  You’ve seen us do it, and you just know you can do it, too.

Independent isn’t even the right word.

You are officially huge.  Like massive.  Most of the time, when we meet someone new, they ask, “she’s how old?”  They cannot believe that our not-even-2-years-old daughter is that tall.  You definitely have your daddy’s genes.  

Your vocabulary is growing and growing.  You repeat everything we say, and you are starting to put words together to form short sentences.  You love to boss the dog, Turner, around all the time.  And you say “no, daddy!” anytime he does anything to you (and you sound like a British gal when you say da-ddy!).  You are so cute!

You love shoes, hats, hairbows, clothes – definitely a girly girl!  You pitched a horrible fit the other day to wear your pink fedora – I guess this is the first of many fights we will have over clothes!  

Baby dolls are your favorite.  You love to bounce and “ssshhh” and pat and rock and sing to those sweet babies.  I know when the time comes to welcome baby #2 into our lives, you will be the best big sister. 

You are such a picky eater right now.  BUT, you always ask for cookies, marshmallow or “ice ceam samwiches” – all the time.  You want to sit at the table now, the highchair is not your favorite…you really look like a big girl sitting at the table.

You still love to sing songs – “wheels on the bus” is our favorite right now, and to watch your sweet face light up when we sing just makes my day.

We’ve been making it a ritual to pray before meals and before bedtime, and I could just melt when I see your little hands pressed together and eyes squished tightly…I hope you will grow up understanding the true power of prayer.  What a beautiful gift. 

You are an absolute blessing from God, my sweet daughter.  Even on the hard days, I know this.  I will never, ever, ever stop thanking God for letting us take care of you – you make me want to be the best person I can be.  Everything makes sense when we are with you.  I can’t wait to celebrate your big 2^nd birthday!

Love you, mama