You're Two!!

Sweet Eden,

I can't believe how quickly the last two years have gone. But at the same time, it almost seems like you've been this fun and independent since the very beginning.

You have grown into a full-fledged toddler. You are constantly exploring, figuring things out (most recently, how to get your head (but not your arms) out of your night shirt) and learning new words! We really understand most of what you say now, even if some of your "words" are your own special language. You call any smallish, roundish fruit a "boobay" (blueberry) and - maybe my favorite - you call the vacuum cleaner a "back-a-roon". Other times, though, it is very clear what you're saying, like a couple of Sundays ago on the way to church when you very excitedly said, "Mama! Look! A bicycle!" You're also talking in simple sentences much of the time now, like a few days ago when you woke up and said "I want to ride bus", or yesterday in the midst of potty training when you said "Mama I pee couch".

You're learning the polite little phrases we say - you are surprisingly good at saying "thank you" (we very rarely have to prompt you) and pretty good at "please." Occasionally we will hear "'cuse me", but my favorite is "bless you" after someone sneezes (we didn't even teach you that - you picked it up on your own!).

You love to read books, and your current favorite is "Mr. Brown can Moo - Can You?" - you know every sound and point at all the pictures and name the objects. Recently when you get to the last page you say "How about you?"

You are obsessed with babies. You love to put your dolls to sleep. You will pick a doll up and pat its back, make a "shhhh" sound, and then cradle it, sing "Sunshine.... Happy.... Gray.... Yuh You.... A-WAY" and then lay it in its bed, cover with a blanket, and say "night-night."

You also love Nino, our cat. You ask at least three times a day to give him a "treat" and you have to give it to him in the same spot on the corner of the living room rug every time. He thinks it's a pretty good deal, except he has to wait forever to get the treat until the circumstances are just so.

You have your favorite people, who all we have to do is mention and you start going crazy. Of course, one is "Bubba", who has been a favorite for a LONG time. I love seeing you see him - your eyes light up and you never run faster than when you're running into his arms! He is six years older than you, and calls you his little princess. It's adorable how much you love each other! You also adore his older sister Hannah, and we can't talk about one of them without the other. Our new downstairs neighbors have a little boy you call "Baby" and you love his daddy "Dim" (Jimmy). You also find literally hours of enjoyment each day in standing at the window, looking out, and yelling at Bob, our next door neighbor - "Hi Bob! Hi Bob! Hi Bob!" (Also favorite - but not real: Caillou ("I want watch Caillou") and Elmo).

We gave you my old iPod Touch with a bunch of toddler apps on it, and you have that thing figured out. You can turn it on and off, start and stop apps, and play pretty much all the games without help (this is really great when you wake up at 5:30 am ready to play and Daddy and I are still sleepy - we can put you in our bed, give you your "phone" and you're good to go for another 30-45 minutes).

There are so many amazing things you do, so many things you love, I could sit here all day and not even list them all. Suffice it to say, you are incredibly fun and it just keeps getting better and better. We love just watching you interact with the world, and, as I always say, we can't wait to see what is next.

Love you Little Missy!

Mommy


P.S. This morning you went diaper-free for 6 hours. With ZERO accidents. Way to go, big girl!