Two years ago today my prayers were answered.  God gave us you- a beautiful baby girl.

I can’t believe that two years have already passed.  Right after you were born, while we were still in the hospital, I remember a nurse coming in to see if we needed anything.  She told me how beautiful you were and she told me to cherish every single moment with you.  She said, “It seems like only yesterday I was down the hall having my own baby girl.  Now she is all grown up with her own children.  It goes by so quickly.”  And it does go by quickly.  The days turn into the weeks, the weeks into months and the months into years.  Two of them already.

If I could just slow down the time for a little while, I would want to slow down these days.  You are so much fun and your little personality is just fabulous.  You make me laugh every single day with your funny sense of humor.  Sometimes when you do something silly you look at me and grin and say, “My is funny Mommy.”  And then we laugh.

You are like a little sponge and you are learning so much so quickly.  You can talk in full sentences and carry on conversations with us.  You are such a smart little girl too.  You know all of your colors and shapes and almost all of your letters.  Your memory amazes me and so often you will repeat something to me that I told you days or weeks before.  Of course, this means that Daddy and I have to remember that anything we say around you will probably be repeated.

You love books so much and you will sit and listen to stories for as long as someone is willing to read them to you.  I am no longer able to skip pages in books when I’m trying to hurry and finish because you have many of the stories memorized.  You will tell me, “No.  Wait.  My need to go back.”  Then you go back and find the page that I tried to skip.

You seem to have an endless supply of energy.  You go and go non-stop.  You love to grab my hand and say, “Let’s run Mommy.” or “Let’s bounce Mommy.” And if I hesitate you will tell me, “It’ll be fun, fun, fun.  Come on Mommy.” 

Being a mommy is the hardest job in the whole world.  Some days are long and hard and seem like they will never end.  Some days seem like one tantrum after another with you wanting to do everything by yourself, “MY DO IT!  No help Mommy. MY DO IT!”  But I know it’s because you’re learning and you want to be able to figure everything out by yourself.  Even though being a mommy is hard work, it is also the most rewarding job in the whole world.  And even though you have your moments, most days are filled with fun times and laughter and I wouldn’t trade a second for anything else in the whole wide world.  Your beautiful smile, your sweet little giggle, the sound of your voice and hearing you say, “I love you Mommy.”  Those are the only payments I need.

Sometimes I just sit back and watch you play.  I wonder who you will grow up to be and what you will be like.  I wonder if I am doing everything I can do to give you the best life possible.  I wonder if you will be happy and if you will make the right choices.  Every day I pray that you will grow up to be healthy and happy and that you will love Jesus.  Nothing else matters and I hope I am teaching you that. 

Sometimes while I am watching you play I think about how much I love you.  And how I love you so much it is often overwhelming.  And sometimes I start to get a little misty eyed and it doesn’t take long before you notice and say, “Don’t be sad Mommy.  Okay?”  And I tell you that I am very happy and you give me a hug and say, “Mommy is happy.”  Then you grab my hand and say, “Come on Mommy, let’s bounce.”  And off we go with you forever holding my heart in the palm of your little hand.

I love you my Little Miss!  Happy 2nd Birthday.

Love,
Mommy

One of these days, you’ll shout, “Why don’t you kids grow up and act your age!”
And they will.

Or, “You guys get outside and find yourselves something to do . . . and don’t slam the door!”
And they won’t.

You’ll straighten up the boys’ bedroom neat and tidy: bumper stickers discarded, bedspread tucked and smooth, toys displayed on the shelves. Hangers in the closet. Animals caged. And you’ll say out loud, “Now I want it to stay this way.”
And it will.

You’ll prepare a perfect dinner with a salad that hasn’t been picked to death and a cake with no finger traces in the icing, and you’ll say, “Now, there’s a meal for company.”
And you’ll eat it alone.

You’ll say, “I want complete privacy on the phone. No dancing around. No demolition crews. Silence! Do you hear?”
And you’ll have it.

No more plastic tablecloths stained with spaghetti. No more dandelion bouquets. No more bedspreads to protect the sofa from damp bottoms. No more gates to stumble over at the top of the basement steps. No more clothespins under the sofa. No more playpens to arrange a room around.

No more anxious nights under a vaporizer tent. No more sand on the sheets or Popeye movies in the bathroom. No more iron-on patches, rubber bands for ponytails, tight boots or wet knotted shoestrings.

Imagine. A lipstick with a point on it. No baby-sitter for New Year’s Eve. Washing clothes only once a week. Seeing a steak that isn’t ground. Having your teeth cleaned without a baby on your lap.

No PTA meetings or silly school plays where your child is a tree. No car pools. No blaring radios or forgotten lunch money. No one washing her hair at 11 o’clock at night. Having your own roll of Scotch tape.

Think about it. No more Christmas presents out of toothpicks and library paste. No more sloppy oatmeal kisses. No more tooth fairy. No giggles in the dark. No knees to heal, no responsibility.

Only a voice crying, “Why don’t you grow up?”
and the silence echoing, “I did.”

…Erma Bombeck

Time goes much too quickly.  Turn off your computer and enjoy your kids this weekend! 

(Come back Monday though for an exciting announcement!)

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom to see more Wordless Wednesday participants.

Check out my latest giveaway for a Tamagotchi- there will be 3 winners.

I have an exciting announcement that I’ll be sharing next Monday- October 6th.  Be sure to come back so you don’t miss out!

I didn’t realize that this would start so young.  I thought I had a couple of years left where I could pick out cute little outfits for Hailey and she would happily wear them.

Not so.

Usually I let Hailey pick out a shirt to wear and then I will find her a matching skirt or pair of pants to go with it.  So, the other day Hailey was getting dressed and she picked out a cute little purple shirt to wear.  I pulled out a pair of tan pants to go with it.

“It doesn’t match.”  Hailey told me.

So I showed her a couple of other choices.  All received the same response, “It doesn’t match.”

Hailey wearing her cute purple shirt with her pajama bottoms while looking through her drawer to find something that would match.  As you can see there are several pieces of clothing already thrown on the floor because, “It doesn’t match.”

Holding up a pair of pants to see if they match.

Here is what Hailey finally decided on.  A purple shirt with red pants.  Which she wore all day… right up until we had to go out in public.