Second Birthday

Sweetcheeks, originally uploaded by JenSig.

Dear Isla —

I fell woefully behind in doing monthly updates for you, so it's been a couple of months since my last one. This weekend you turned two (or. as you like to say, "two minutes"), and I am just completely blown away by the little person you are becoming.

You know pretty much the entire upper case alphabet, and all your numbers from one through twelve. Recently, we were playing with this little wooden clock, where the numbers are on differently shaped and colored blocks. We had laid all the blocks down on the ground, and I was asking you where certain numbers were and where they go, and you would locate the correct number and put it into the clock face. We put in the two and the three, then I asked you about the six. which you found and placed with a happy grin. Then I asked you where the nine was, and you looked around you for a minute, trying unsuccessfully to find the "nine" block. Finally you took the "six" block out and turned it upside down, telling me, "nine." Clever, clever girl.

You absolutely LOVE to sing and dance, and you know most of the words to the theme songs of your favorite TV shows, like "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," "Little Einsteins." and "Jake and the Neverland Pirates." I absolutely love to listen to you singing (and humming, when you don't know certain parts) along, and you wiggle your butt and dance a little happy jig — unless you suddenly become aware that you have an audience, in which case you become suddenly a little bit embarrassed and won't perform. (This is why I have yet to get any video evidence of you in action.)

You talk SO much, all the time, just like your sister did before you. All day long I am treated to a running commentary of the day's activities, and you LOVE to say "bye bye" to things — like when we leave the house you wave and say, "Bye bye, house! Bye garage! Bye lights!" (This last is because of all the Christmas lights — another thing you absolutely adore.)

You are sweet and affectionate, eager to give hugs and kisses and "loves," and you are quite a little mother to your babies and stuffed animals. You got a little puppy for your birthday, a stuffed toy that walks and barks and whimpers, and you just love to cuddle your puppy close, carrying it around with you under one chunky arm.

This morning I took you for your two year checkup — as has been the norm with you for some time, you are WAY off the chart for height — at 38 inches, you are two inches taller than Edie was at the same age, and SHE was considered tall, too. You are wearing mainly 4T clothes now, and people just can't believe you are only turning two! I think your size and the fact that you can speak so well make people think you are older than you are.

One of the things I had been wanting to do with you by the time you were two was to get rid of the binky — you had become WAY to dependent on having that thing in your mouth, something I never had to deal with with Owen and Edie. So recently we just began to tell you that you could only have it at bedtime (or naptime). It only took a day or so of you fussing, and now every morning when I go to get you from your crib, you hand me your binky and say, "bye bye, binkie!" I know that this probably means you could get rid of the thing entirely, but I'm just so proud of you for handling the separation from the "plug" so very well.

I say this all the time — but I just feel like I have been so very blessed with all three of my sweet babies — you are a complete ray of sunshine in my life, baby girl... your smile just lights up my world.

Happy birthday, little monkey.
Love, Mama