Ah my little girl. Every time I sit down to write about you I feel like I get tongue-tied. There are so many things I want to say but the words with which to express them continually elude me. Nevertheless, I don't want to forget this moment in time - I know it will quickly be gone. So I'll write to you sweetheart - I know that you won't mind if the words aren't quite perfect...
Dear Violet,
You're now two years, one month, and two days old. This age is you at your purest and most uninhibited. I'm reveling in your sweet innocence and dreading the days when you will become self-conscious and worried about what others think of you. Please hold onto that sweetness, that confidence, that innocence with all of your might my love. You only have one life to live. Make it one full of pure unbridled joy and love.
Here are a few (of the many) things that I love about you at two:
You currently have the most gorgeous Mel Gibson-style curls and you rock them like no one else could. Even if you have the craziest bedhead imaginable you shake your locks from side to side with perfect satisfaction and pride. And I love you for it.
You are a perfect contradiction. Miss Independent and Miss Mama's Girl all rolled into one. You want to do everything yourSELF (but let me hold your 'baby' finger, mama, while I do it) You love so many girly things - makeup, shoes, purses, hats, brushing mama's hair (you surprisingly take the task of styling others hair quite seriously). But your hair? Oh let it run wild and free and tangled and wispy! And as far as clothes go? You prefer your birthday suit any day to a frilly dress.
You make me laugh all day every day. When you burp you say, "NU
me!" in the funniest way possible. When your finger starts roaming toward your nostril I usually try to dissuade you, but every now and then I forget myself and ask if you're digging for gold...that is until yesterday when you pulled out a speck and proclaimed with glee, "Mama - GOLD!" Whoops. Every group becomes a family. If you have three rocks - Mommy, Daddy, baby. The prongs on your seatbelt buckle? Mommy, Daddy, me, Opa, Nam. Three nuggets in the toilet? Mommy, Daddy, ME! (Yep. Sorry TMI I know.)
I love how animated you get are when you watch movie clips or listen to an exciting book. While reading
The Little Blue Truck you scream, "Muddy muddy!!!" While watching
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, "Lulie - run! Edmuuuunnn - RUN!" Or during
Shrek, "Daddy - uh oh!" "Mommy, Daddy, neigh, diddy! Bad lady! Stop, laaaaadeeeee! Bubbles...POP!"
I love that you stall with all of your might before bedtime. Your favorite stall tactics:
"Mommy, hiiiiide!" as you disappear behind the curtains.
"Mommy, moh booook!"
"Mommy - Poppy, baby" (sing Hush Little Baby).
"Daddy, wah-duh" "No Daddy, two wahduh!"
"Daddy, up!" *makes kissing noise* (Daddy needs to come up and give me a kiss!)
"Mommy, paaaaat!" (Pat my bottom)
"No naaaah." (No pat right HERE)
"Mommy, woah liiiiighhhhtttt" (turn the light up please)
"Mommy moh pat!"
"Mommy, baby!" (Please put a baby doll in my crib) "No, two baby!" (No I meant the
other baby)
"Mommy, pee, poop!" (I have to go to the potty!)
Rinse. Repeat.
(Oh and my latest favorite - "Mommy, oweeee!" - Mommy, I'm going to pretend to have hurt myself so that you will come running.)
And when you sing yourself to sleep? That just makes my heart ache (in the best way possible).
Every day you learn something new, say something new, teach me something new. I never knew the patience I possessed until you became a two-year-old. I've learned how to slow down and pay attention. I had forgotten how magical it is to catch lightning bugs. I had completely overlooked the little white flowers in that grow in the grass. Because of you I meet new neighbors daily. I'm not really a dog person and I've met and petted more dogs than I ever thought humanly possible. I am outside more than I have been in years. I have conversations with random strangers on a regular basis. I jump into freezing cold pools and play outside in the drizzling rain. I hunt for acorns and pick berries. I dance and run and sing and twirl. You've changed my life in the most beautiful way and I am thankful every day for you. Thank you for being my little girl.
I love you more than all the stars. And that's a whole lot.
xo,
Your Mama
Posts
I've so been enjoying Katie's pregnancy journey - incredibly inspiring from her stylish maternity outfits to the sweet letters that her son Max has written to the new baby. I'm looking forward to her nursery reveal (which I'll definitely be sharing with all of you - thanks Katie!) and the birth of her little girl. See more photos from Katie's shower here, and visit her blog here.
It was the best of days. That sweet lazy morning time together when the light is just right and the air is just a little crisp. Omelettes and story books. Picnics and skipping stones over the lake. Hiking over roots and rocks (every one of which Violet had to step on). Holding hands and spending time - just the three of us. It was one of those days that you just want to soak up and hold onto tightly. 
