Dear Sarah,
Can it really be true that you are two years old? I was thinking about you the other night as I was laying in bed, and I realized that you’re growing up so fast I feel like I’m missing the whole thing - even though I’m right here the whole time! And then I cried. The emotion came out of nowhere. It hit me with such force and clarity and I suddenly found myself scrambling, grasping desperately for more time with your one-year-old self. But even as I processed these thoughts, another thought hit me - my one year old had faded away months ago without my even noticing. As words became sentences and songs; as toddling became walking and running and galloping and skipping, one-year-old you slipped away. And I didn't even notice.
When I stopped crying, I snuck into your room to look at you. And soon, (even though I knew your Daddy would be mad at me if I created a scene in the middle of the night), I found myself lifting you out of your bed and carrying you to the rocking chair. You blinked sleepily at me and then snuggled into my chest and we rocked for a long time. I held you and kissed your forehead and brushed your hair out of your face and thought about how truly, deeply amazing you are.
You are such a source of pure joy and delight. Your personality has really come shining through in the past year. You are extremely funny, and you love making people laugh. You have this amazing shrieking giggle you make when you are cracking yourself up, and it has everyone around you laughing, too. You're very compassionate, as well. You always say "bless you" when someone sneezes, and then you walk over, pat them on the leg and say, "Okay?"
Every day you astonish me with a new skill you’ve picked up. One day you just started counting your blueberries (two, three, four, six, seven, eight, nine, ocho, cinco) as if it was totally normal. You got all your colors mixed up until suddenly, you got them all correct. (Well, you always got pink right, but that’s because you guessed that everything was pink.) Your communication is astounding, which is also totally awesome because now we can chat – about airplanes, shapes, hairstyles, you name it.
I'm not sure where you picked up your dance moves but they are…um…unique. Awesome and unique. You love to dance with me in the time we have together between when I pick you up from school and when Daddy gets home. You usually want me to turn on "Berkner" and we dance and stomp and whirl around together like crazed lunatics.
Your top favorite phrases right now include: “yep,” "no way," "that’s silly," and "stop it." “Stop it” is usually applied when I’m singing or when I’m moving through a book too quickly (you really like to spend a lot of time looking at the covers and pointing out all the fascinating little details you discover!). Your little independent self also does not like it when you don't get your way. You have mastered the art of a fit, and I'm really working on mastering the art of putting an end to it. For a person so small in stature, your volume is truly alarming.
The past year has held many milestones for you. You learned to walk well, run, jump (well, almost!), climb up and down stairs, throw a ball, color, and feed yourself well. You don’t sit in a highchair to eat. You sleep in a toddler bed with your “entourage”- Dora, Noni, Blankie and Po-Doo. You have all of your baby teeth (although all 4 of your two-year molars are just barely poking through your gums), and your hair is so long we have to put it into “piggies” to keep it out of your face (and food!).
You learned how to play pretend and will often crawl across the room barking like a puppy, growling like a tiger, or hissing like a snake. You love to play games, especially chase (“Daddy, chase me!” or "Mommy, chase Sarah. NOW!"), hide-and-seek, and tickling (“Mommy, tickle ME!”). You love books, which you call “stories,” and you can sing “You Are My Sunshine” and “Falling Down” (London Bridge). You have been singing to yourself more and more, and you will just bust out a tune whenever the mood strikes! You love to play with Grace, Jack, and Finley. You call Grace “Gracie” and Jack “Jackie.” Finley is just Finley.
Your vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. You can clearly say the names of all of your friends at daycare, but you still call Veronica “Ca.” Uncle Adam ("Ah-mem") loves you, but I think he’s anxious to hear you say his name the right way, too – especially since you mastered saying “Megan” sometime around Christmas! Other words I love to hear you say are “coot!” (cute), “strawbees” (strawberries), and “rib-ip” (ribbit). You say, "Hey, guys?" whenever you need your Daddy and me both focused on you. You also say thank you (“tank oo!”) whenever anyone helps you. It’s adorable.
You love to eat ice and drink water from Sonic cups. You love stickers, stamps, coloring, wearing your backpack, catching bubbles, drawing with sidewalk chalk, and pretending to drive Mommy’s car. When you want to get Pickle to do something, you try to snap your fingers by pinching your fingers together and making a clicking noise with your tongue. You make the same clicking noise to the rhythm of the turn signal when we’re in the car.
You love to wash your hands, but you don’t love to brush your teeth. You love bath time and call it “tubby.” You love bubbles and your duckies, and you HATE to get out of the tub. When bath time is finished, you cry “my wadda” over and over and go all boneless so that I have to carry you out of the bathroom each night. We drain the tub after you’re in bed because it’s too traumatic for you to watch your water disappear.
You don’t want to ride in strollers or carts (“I walking”), but when you get tired or need a hug you grab my leg and say, “Mommy carry!” You love “Kita” (Nikita, the polar bear at the zoo), slippies (your Loch Ness Monster slippers), and wearing hats and shoes (Mommy’s as well as your own!). You are always trying to help or be involved in whatever Daddy and I are doing (“I help, too!”). When we’re doing something you enjoy, you giggle and demand, “Mommy, gen!” (again).
You are a great climber and will perch on top of your changing table or push a chair over to the counter at every opportunity. You love to play with balloons, and you are really into catch right now (sometimes you warn us, but mostly you just throw things at us and then yell, "Catch!"). If you want me to give you something like a snack or a toy, you hold out your hand and say, “Mommy, I catch it.” Your favorite toys are your Cozy Coupe, puzzles, Mommy’s phone, baby dolls, your backyard playhouse, and anything you can “drive.” You love watching Dora and will frequently answer Dora’s questions correctly. You also like watching The Fresh Beat Band (“Kiki, Kiki!”), The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That, Curious George, Dragon Tales, Shaun the Sheep, and Diego.
Your favorite foods include pretty much any vegetable (especially avocado and bell pepper), most fruits (especially apples and any kind of berry), mac and cheese, string cheese, and chicken nuggets. You still love milk and water but want nothing to do with juice. Recently, you’ve been requesting “pink donuts” for breakfast every weekend.
You are very demanding, and you like to order us around. You try tell us where to sit and whether or not we’re allowed to pass through certain doorways. You try dictate when we should sing, what we should eat, and when you should go to bed. Most of the time, you don’t get your way, but every now and then I give in to your requests. The other day, we were listening to the radio in the car on the way home from school and you yelled up to me, “Dance, Mommy!” So I danced. In my rear view mirror, I saw your head of curls bobbing along to the music. All of a sudden you smiled and said, “Mommy happy!” I smiled back and told you that I was, then you said: “Mommy happy, and Sarah happy!” I teared up at your little statement because, while I hope you’re a happy little girl and that I’m doing things right, nothing beats hearing it straight from your mouth.
You do make me happy, my sweet child - happier than you know. I’m so happy you’re my daughter. You started and ended the year as a toddler, but have somehow transformed from baby to girl. You are amazing. I love you every inch of you. Forever. For always. No matter what.
Love,
Mommy
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