Mommy's Second Birthday Note

Dear Natalie,
I can hardly believe that it is time again for me to write to you on your birthday. You have changed so much this year! You are no longer my little baby, but my little girl.

We have watched you grow:

from the bottle to a sippy cup
from needing a hand to walk to wanting to race across the room
from barely being able to say a few words to forming sentences
from discovering a few foods you can eat to discovering there are only a few foods that you won't eat
from just noticing Pumba to ordering him around and loving on him
from screaming at drop off at day care to wanting to call your friends on your play phone at home
from no comprehension of church to getting excited about dancing to the music and putting your hands up to praise Him
from having no real concept of clothing or shoes to choosing outfits and attempting to put on your own clothes and shoes
from enjoying music to creating your own; from sharing a few giggles to purposely repeating something that you find hysterically funny just so you can laugh again
from no concept of numbers or letters to loving to count, say your ABCs and begin to identify both
from playing with a few toys for only a few seconds to being able to play actual games and pretend
from listening to a few favorite stories to reciting your favorite stories with me
from only a few sloppy kisses and sleepy hugs to tons of them throughout the day
from only being able to receive the words I Love You to saying them without prompting
from having no concept of manners to saying please and thank you constantly and even a bless you after a sneeze
from no hair to....well, a tiny bit of hair...ok, that one we still need to work on!!

You truly are my little girl and I enjoy every moment with you. I love being silly with you and making each other laugh like crazy and say "oooooh, funny." I love when you are so sleepy and begin giving me the longest kisses ever. I love hearing you say, "Hi Mom!" when I enter a room. I love watching you play with other children...you are always so sweet and have never demonstrated anything but kindness to others- I hope this doesn't cause you pain as you move into the big two year old room! I love that you cannot fall asleep until you put your arm up my sleeve as I rock you to sleep---some may say that I shouldn't rock you any more, but I wouldn't give up that time with you for anything! I love watching you "swim" in the tub on your belly. I love being able to figure out what you have been trying to say for the past 3 minutes before I finally get it. (Like this morning you were holding onto a little Christmas elf and you said "Off." I asked you what you wanted off. You repeated, "Off." I told you that I didn't know what you wanted off. You stated one last time with a ton of stress on the sounds "Aaaauuuufff!!" Finally it clicked! OH! Elf! Yes, you have an elf, don't you?! You smiled at your silly mommy for finally getting it. And of course there was the time that you identified that a broken cracker was in the shape of a triangle. I got so excited that you applied that learning that I pulled out a square one and asked you, "Natalie, what is this?" You crinkled your nose, looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Cracker.")
I guess I have started to ramble, but there are so many things that I never want to forget about you and all of our time together. You mean the world to me and could not be more proud of the little girl that you have become. I will never get sick of hearing you say "Hold You" when you want to be in my arms. I know that phrase will go away too quickly and I will miss it from that moment on.
I pray that this year will bring us continued joy, learning, fun, excitement, and love as a family. I know that this year will have a lot of new and challenging roads as well. You have already learned about time out and tried it out a few times! You are learning that you have an opinion and a voice, so now you are learning when you can apply both. You are learning about the potty...you aren't too keen on it except as a different type of chair at the moment, but I know that will change this year too. As we face all of these new roads ahead, I will cherish every moment. You are my angel...my beautiful girl. My love for you will always grow. I love you Natalie Lynai. Happy Birthday.
Love,
Mommy