You are TWO!

Dearest Amelia

Where do I even start. How do I even attempt to take all of you- your spunk, energy, giggles, quirks, coy smiles, and your well, let's say 'variable toddler moods'- and put it into this little letter to you? Each time I write I feel this way but this time is even more so with your birthday being today. It's amazing to me how you make each day so much sweeter, richer, fuller. Some days are hard. They just are. You are learning what you can and cannot control in your life. You are exploring boundaries and pushing them here and there, checking for where there is give and take. You are testing me to my limits and making me grow into a better Mommy, wife, and person.

Some fun things you are doing right now...

You started counting to ten last week. On Monday you went to ten but skipped nine. By Wednesday though you had it straight and your pronunciation is quite advanced, I'm proud. You also used to just say "kkkkk" really cute when saying okay but just last week you say the full word now. You're working on your colors but you don't have them down yet. For awhile there you knew white and loved to tell me whenever something was white, but that's faded some now.

You are really into opposites right now. I hope I never forget when we had been working for weeks to learn the difference between nose and toes. The words sound so similar you'd had a hard time with it. I was in the kitchen and suddenly you come racing down the hall- Mama! Mama! Nose! (and you point) Toes! (and you point). I was super excited for you! Such a big girl. Then the same thing happened when you learned to tell a fish from a whale. Totally adorable. You also like to say Up! and swing your bunny up high then Down! and swing bunny down while you're in carseat especially. Oh and you were also learning duck verses goose and my goodness you say goose so cute!!! I love your voice and how you say things.

A couple of weeks ago we took a trip to Idaho. You and I drove to Spokane and picked up our friends Chris and Sydney and the next day went on to Idaho. We got to see family and friends and had a lot of fun. On the way home we had quite a bit of snow through Montana and we stopped at a rest area because you needed to get those wiggles out. It was absolutely freezing, it was snowing, the wind was insane and here you were begging me to get out and run. So I put your coat on and I thought ok this won't last long. I was sure wrong! You ran, squealing with delight, from end to end of that rest stop. You kept going to the area with the most snow and there you were crouched down touching the cold white stuff and asking me questions about what it was. This is where I think your obsession with white things came from!

Last Sunday I was getting ready for church and after I was all ready to go I came in to wake you from your nap so we could make it to 1:00 sacrament. After I got you dressed you noticed my necklace and insisted you needed one as well. This surprised me because you haven't really seemed to care much about my jewelry or wearing any yourself. So I picked a necklace out for you from my box that matched your dress and I thought well this won't last long. Well again I was wrong! You were so responsible with it and didn't take it off and on or anything and kept it on the whole time. Then we came home and put our church clothes away and took off our necklaces and you didn't even protest, I was proud of you.

Something kind of cute you did last weekend. We were at the table eating breakfast of eggs and toast and Daddy put salsa on his eggs. Well you decided you needed salsa, too. I didn't want him to give it to you because I thought it would be too spicy. But you insisted and I gave in. You loved it and begged for more! I think you are going to be a spice junky like your Daddy :)

You are quite opinionated about, well, most things haha but you like to sing songs in the car and you especially like to choose the song. If I ask you what song you want to sing I get silence. Then I name song after song as you yell NO! after each one until I get to the right one. You like Old MacDonald, Twinkle Twinkle, Row Row Row your Boat, ABC's, Blue Sky Over my Head, By the Sea, Patty Cake, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and probably a couple more I can't think of at the moment. We enjoy singing songs together quite often and it brings me a lot of joy.

Your memory is incredible. Sometime at the beginning of March we went to our friend's, the Anderson's, home for dinner. They have a little girl your age and you two have always hit it off. Anyway, two weeks ago I was going to borrow a small stroller from them for the day so we stopped by for a moment. As soon as we pulled up to the house you screamed your little friend's name shrill and happy as ever. It amazed me that you remembered her house from the outside when we hadn't been there in two months. You also are starting to remember events better. About a month ago I took you to the local co-op where they were having a 'customer appreciation day' and had all sorts of animals there as well as lots of baby farm animals. They had baby goats, baby pigs, a baby horse only 2 weeks old, calves, ducks, chickens and chicks, geese, turtles, lizards, snakes, baby bunnies with their mama, and a white turkey. They had some of them in pens you could go in and pet the animals, especially the babies. It sure made me laugh that you more readily interacted with the snake and lizards than you did the baby bunnies. Anyway, then I took you to Arbor Day and we saw even more animals- you even got to pet a baby Great Horned Owl. It was such a cool experience. They had bees in this tall glass viewing structure that was neat, too. Anyway, after Arbor Day you took a nap and when you woke up that was the first time you'd ever asked about something from the morning. You talked about the baby cows for a long time afterwards and even brought it up to Papa when you FaceTimed with him later.

Some things haven't changed at all. You still obsess over shoes and even though you grow out of them quickly and probably only need one pair for play and one pair for church, you currently have about 9 pairs. They make you happy so they make me happy. You still play with your beanie babies a lot- the bunny the most by far then the kitty and the red bird you kind of ditched. That's okay, though. I'm learning your likes as we go along :) You're still a great eater. It's rare I can't find something you'll eat for dinner. You especially like pot stickers and can eat as many as I can at dinner. You've recently discovered Pb&J sandwiches and those are a great back up if you decide you don't love the new dinner I tried. Last week I made the yummies chicken pot pie I've ever had. Seriously, it was a fantastic recipe. You wouldn't touch it. I even tried to bribe you by showing you candy saying if you ate some you could get the candy. Nope. Not changing your mind- not for anything. You certainly have a stubborn streak and some days I feel like I have a constant song play in my head, "pick your battles...la la la...pick your battles....pick them well!!!". Probably seems silly but it helps me keep things in perspective and remembering to ask myself, is this struggle worth it? I feel like there's a lot more peace in our home when I can keep myself balanced in this way as you push boundaries and...yeah...see paragraph one :) Your vocabulary has....absolutely exploded. I tried a few weeks ago thinking I could write down all the words you are saying. HA. No. No I could not. There were too many to keep up. It's a lot. And you say new words all the time that I don't remember teaching you. I'm sure you learn an incredible amount when you are at school/daycare, which is a definite perk!

Sweet girl, we are at the Oregon Coast right now on your birthday trip. You are enjoying the ocean, having our friends Dan Holly and Ev with us, and having Mommy and Daddy around 24/7 for almost five full days. We wanted to take you here because yes you like toys but we thought you'd enjoy this experience even more. It was such a good decision for us. I'm so glad we are here together. I love you and seeing you as happy as you are here makes my heart almost burst. Tonight we will open a few gifts and we will eat cake and sing Happy Birthday to you my darling. I love creating these memories with you and although when you are grown you may not remember each of them, just ask me and I will tell you how loved you are, how our world revolves around you, how your birth family loves you, and what you were like at this stage. I sit here and think back to this exact day two years ago when I had the extreme honor of watching you be born into this world. To be laid on your birthmother's chest and as I stood there watching her hold you I thought how beautiful you were. How perfect. This morning when you got up I told you all about the day you were born. It amazed me that as I spoke you stood perfectly still and looked right into my eyes, captivated. I told you all about your birth-day and I will keep telling you about it for your whole life because it's so important. You are a special little girl, Amelia. Heavenly Father has a beautiful plan for you and although I can't comprehend it completely, I know He loves you more than anyone. Grow close to Him as we are teaching you to do, and He will guide you.

I love you my little sweetheart. Thank you for filling my life with light, purpose, and joy. Here's to surviving your two's! Cheers!!!

Love
Mommy
oxoxox