This past Saturday you turned two. How is it that just yesterday we brought you home from the hospital and now you're already using full sentences and dressing yourself? Sometimes I feel like it's just not fair that life passes by so fast and I don't get nearly the chance I'd like to enjoy and fully savor each and every moment I have with you. You are such a fun girl to be around and your personality just continues to blossom with each new day. You're talking more and more and now using full sentences at times. We try to review your numbers and letters most days and I was so proud when I caught you counting to ten the other day when you didn't think I was looking. You have a few special "loves" these days, which include Spongebob Squarepants, the Gingerbread Man, and baseball. Your love of Spongebob came when we found a little figurine in a cereal box. From then on, you slept with Spongebob and wanted to take him with you whenever we ran an errand in the car. Your love of the Gingerbread Man started with your gingerbread man pajamas that you ask to wear most nights. Then, you recently discovered the Gingerbread Man storybook, which you have me read over and over and over again on most days. Some mornings you get so distraught when we have to take off your gingerbread man pajamas to put on daytime clothes, and the only way you'll calm down is if after they're off, you can "hold it" - clutch the pajamas to your chest for most of the morning. As for baseball, I think your love for it grew from your love of hats. One day you discovered a baseball hat of Cy's that didn't fit him yet, and you claimed it as your own (which you would like to do of most of his things if you had your way). You wore that baseball hat almost every day, and from there discovered what a baseball bat was, and then your daddy introduced you to your first baseball game on television. Now if you have to go to bed when baseball is on TV, you give Mommy and Daddy kisses and then go give the TV a kiss too before you head off to bed. But, only if baseball is on.
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| Charlotte enjoying the gingerbread man cookie batter for her birthday cookies. |
You do have a couple typical toddler habits. One is your fascination of boogies. The other is your desire to "do self" everything. The combination of the two happened a couple weeks ago. I was changing your diaper and saw you had a boogie in the corner of your nose. I went to pick it and you got rather agitated, calling out, "Do self! Do self!". I said, "You want to pick your boogie yourself?" You said, "yes, put back, do self!", and you had me put your boogie back into your nose so that you could then, very satisfyingly, pick it out yourself. You want to do most things yourself, and lots of times if we give help unsolicited, you make sure you "undo" whatever was done and do it yourself from the beginning of the task, unassisted. Even to the smallest thing, like a couple nights ago, when I was tucking you in, I lovingly brushed your hair out from your eyes, and you got a little frustrated and said, "do self!". You brushed your hair back over your eyes, then proceeded to brush your hair out of your eyes "self". I try to let you do as much as possible on your own, start to finish, but also try to encourage you that there are times when you will need help and you need to learn how to ask for it.
You've never been terribly free with your affections, but you have definitely become a bit more cuddly in the past few months. One of your first phrases was, "up please", so that we'd pick you up and show you all that was happening on our level. You still want up and often ask for hugs now. You love cuddles with your Daddy after your nap time when he's home on the weekends, but still request that I put you down for bed. We will pray and then I sing you your nightly request - "Jesus Loves Me". Often you then request me to say goodnight to all your animals on your bed too, which can be a bit time consuming, as there is Puppy, Puddles, Ducky, Sally, Sammie, Baby Doll, Teddy Bear, Dolly, Spongebob, and even Blankie. One day while you were playing on your own, I saw you say "night night" to all your animals, one by one, turn on the sound machine, and then walk out the door and close it behind you - just as I do for you each night.
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| Charlotte in her favorite gingerbread man pajamas. |
Your world was a little shaken with the addition of your little brother, although over the past six months, you've slowly begun to warm to him. Whenever we're out in public and come up to someone new, the first thing you do is point to Cy and say, "This is Cy!", with all the smiles of a very proud big sister. Most nights you won't go to bed if I don't let you "kiss Cy" first; so, I lower you into his crib to give him a little kiss while he lay there sleeping. You two just started sleeping in the same room, and although I know at times you really can't stand him even touching you, I have a feeling it will be difficult for you the day you two no longer share a room. I often hear you calling out sweetly, "quiet Cy", if he wakes up at night or in the morning and starts crying. If I have to do something in another room and I hear Cy crying because he's been left alone, I ask you to go in and keep him company. You hurry off to your brother, lay right next to him and start chatting away. He in turn loses the tears and gets a big smile on his face. You definitely have a way of lighting him up - he really does adore you. You are also more and more willing to share as the months go by and are learning that we are a family who loves one another and shares our things with each other. I'm glad sharing has never been too difficult a task for you. You always wanted to share from a very young age, and will even share your last piece of desert without us asking. I know it's different with a little brother who has all of a sudden intruded upon your life, but you've been facing the task well and getting better every day.
My hope and prayer as you grow older is that you would look back on this time in your life and know you were deeply loved. More importantly, that our love for you helped lead you to your Heavenly Father, who has a love for you that far surpasses any we could ever give you. I hope we're able to show you daily how very much He cares for you and that the purpose for all we do in your life and for your life is to give Him the glory. I pray that one day you will have a faith and knowledge of our Lord so great that it puts ours to shame. That one day we will be learning from you and you will be encouraging us to remember how very big He is. I love you so much Charlotte. More than you will ever know. But our Lord loves you far more. You are ultimately His and your Father and I have the great blessing of being entrusted with your care for the time you are here with us. You are my little love. My sweetheart. My sweet pea. I love you Charlotte. Happy Birthday.
Love,
Mommy
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