Our Baby Girl is TWO!

Dear Madison,

Oh my, Baby Girl, two years old?! I simply can't believe it! I guess my "baby" is officially growing up. *tear* Just remember- no matter the years, I will always call you Baby Girl! ;)

You have grown up so much in the last year. You're taller, more independent and have more hair! Yay! Still not a whole lot of locks, but what you have is simply beautiful! Your smile melts our hearts, and with your fun loving personality it really doesn't take much for you to show off your pearly whites!

Speaking of teeth, you now have 16 chompers, and you love to brush them! You can say soooooo many words! I can't even begin to list them. You have even started saying 2 and 3 word phrases, and you have wonderful manners! You say "peas" and "tank ooo," and you even say "scuse me" when you need me to move out of your way or if you toot or burp! It's hilarious!

You became a Big Sister this year, and you ROCK at it! You are so sweet to Reid. You like to rock him in the rocker and say "shhh!" when he's sleeping. You try to put his paci in, but it's more of a "shove this thing in his mouth" technique so I try to intervene quickly (thanks for helping though!) You give him about twelve hundred kisses a day (I get slightly jealous, I'll admit,) and you squish hug him any chance you get. I never would have believed how good you are with him. It's a beautiful thing to see how much you love him already! Your favorite thing is to get right in his face and say "Hi-yah buddy!" So cute!!



You gave up your paci this year and have never looked back! Even though Reid uses one, you know it's for the baby and not you...so mature! We moved you into your toddler bed (that was heart wrenching for me) and you loved it. At first. Then Reid was born and it's taken us a good 6 weeks to get you to stay in your room for the night. We are still working on that. (Secretly I'd be ok with snuggling with you every night, but all the "experts" say I'm not supposed to do that. Boo.)

Things you love:
1. Minnie and Elmo (notice they are in a dead tie.) You watch Minnie at home and Elmo at Nana and Pa's house and would do so 24/7 if we let you!
2. Fruit Snacks. Our day is officially ruined if we leave the house, and I forget the fruit snacks. They stay stocked, and I'd make a midnight run to restock if I had to!
3. Anything with tomato sauce. You still eat pretty much anything, but chicken is a least favorite- too dry. However, if it was covered in tomato sauce you'd probably eat it in 2.3 seconds!
4. Bubbles and balloons. They are just so fun, no explanation needed.
5. The slide at the park. You call it "wee," and tears come pretty fast when we have to leave the wee.
6. Stickers. You put them everywhere! I even found them on our bathroom drawer knobs. I guess you figured we needed fancier hardware. ;)
7. Baby dolls. A recent favorite, I'm assuming brought on by the arrival of your little brother.

Things you can do:
1. Talk A LOT!
2. Understand A TON! You do so well with directions, too!
3. Run and "fly" ;) Still working on jumping- one reason we started gymnastics this month- which you LOVE!
4. Hang from a bar and swing. Which we discovered in gymnastics.
5. You can poop and pee in the potty, you just choose not too. You did it 3 times and then just stopped. I guess you knew how much I'd miss changing your diaper. ;)
6. Independent and pretend play. It is SO cute! You put things to "sleep" like your Elmo, Minnie, balls, spoons, etc. You name it, and you've put them under a blanket and said "night-night." You also use your kitchen phone to call people- mostly Chase and Boo, but every now and then you venture out and call different people.
7. Buckle your own seat belt. No worries, we still do a double check.
8. Sit at the table in a booster seat instead of a highchair and drink out of a regular cup. The sippy cup is still our go-to cup most of the time, but you do very well out of a grown-up one.
9. Eat pretty much anything. You can demolish a cheeseburger like nobody's business! The organic ones, of course!
10. Sing and dance. You're a show stopper already!

I know I've probably left a lot out. You've grown so much over the past year. You are an absolute joy to be around! I have loved every single second of being your mom, even during your hilariously quiet tantrums. You are so funny, so sweet and so stinkin' smart!! I thank God each and every day for blessing us with you and for each day He allows me to spend with you. Having you in my life has made me a better person, and I know God has some big plans for you. You will bless so many people, and I'm so excited to continue to watch you grow!

I love you sweet baby girl!
xoxo
Mommy