May 18, 2011
Isa-Belly-Boo,
You are a little person now. The baby is gone and we are ready to celebrate your 2nd birthday already. My, how you have grown in the past year! You have been walking for so long now that you are sometimes able to outrun Riley (and usually Rudy)! You are tall for your age. People always think you are already 2 or 3! You independence doesn’t really help. You want to do everything on your own! You would rather make a complete mess of yourself trying to use a spoon alone or eating with no help at all. (I think you get that from me). It’s hard for Mommy to let go, but I know I have to let you grow into your own person. You do care about messes though! (I think you get that from Daddy). If you get your hands dirty while you are eating, you will wait until someone gives you a baby wipe so you can clean up a little (by yourself) and then finish. You are good at cleaning up the toys after a long day of playing and making a tornado of a mess in the living room. Sometimes you even do better than Riley. You like competition. If I mention that he picked up more toys than you, you will run like crazy to try to get more. Mommy LOVES that game!
Here are some things that you loved this past year: Dora the Explorer (the cartoon and anything with her on it): you have a Dora doll that you sleep with every night and when Daddy takes you somewhere, he brings it in case of emergency! Fruit snacks; you and Riley always get to pick out your own box of fruit snacks when we go to the grocery store. Cholcolate milk (sugar free) in a sippy cup with your coozie. You will not use a sippy cup anymore without your coozie to keep your hands from getting too cold. We have created a monster! Chariot style shopping cart; you and Riley get to sit next to each other in this shopping cart and we can usually only find them at Super Target, but you like to buckle your own seat belt and look at everything while we shop. Bounce houses; you will ask all day long about bouncing (and use the sign language you made up for bouncing) if you know that we are going somewhere to bounce! Playing outside (you get this from Daddy); you would camp out for weeks at a time in the backyard if we let you! It’s a struggle to get you to come inside, so we usually have to tell you that you will get a bath if you come in. Baths; your favorite time of every-other-day. You and Riley bathe together and swim while squirting each other with bath toys and pouring water from a cup as Riley shouts “waterfall” as loud as he can! You always laugh about that. You also LOVE getting your hair fixed! You are so girly! Each morning I will sit you up on my sink and ask you if you want 1 bow or 2. You always say 2, so almost every day you wear pigtails. Whether or not you really have “bows” in, doesn’t matter, you always call it bows! I was never girly, so I expect that we will learn a lot about getting fixed up together in the next few years. You also love Ravioli. You will ask to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner some days. It is the messiest thing on the planet and yet, it’s your favorite. We’ve gone through a lot of bleach this past year! Talking on the phone is a favorite pastime of yours, especially if Riley says hi to Daddy, you need to make sure you talk too (got this from Mama). Coloring, reading books, playing with your baby, and riding the motorcycle on the driveway are also some of your favorite ways to spend the day.
Some things Mommy has loved this year: Your tight hugs. You squeeze long and hard and pat my back nobody gives better hugs than you (Daddy taught you this). When you say cheese for pictures. Sometimes you have your stubborn moments when you refuse to smile, but every once in a while you will cooperate and shout “cheese” for every picture and then ask if you can see the picture! When you say “know” for I don’t know. I’ll ask, “Where is Daddy?” and you shrug your shoulders and say, “know”. It is soo funny! When you turn into a dinosaur to scare everyone. You are so shy around strangers, yet if someone mentions that you better not scare them, a different child appears who uses a dinosaur growl and scary hands in the air to get them to laugh. You always laugh the most. When you say, “I wub you” (I love you). You just started saying it and it melts my heart every time. I could honestly listen to you say it all day. When you and Riley hold hands when we are out at the gym or the store. He’s very protective over you and will make you hold his hand so you won’t be in danger. You usually tell him no, but then grab his hand anyway. Your dimple. I tell you that I’ll kiss your dimple and you smile. You have the most adorable cherub face. You get compliments on your beautiful eyes all the time, but I still say your cheeks are your best asset!
It has not been all roses and sunshine. You are, after all, entering the “terrible twos”. You have already been acquainted with time out and here are some things that you have gotten in trouble for this year: Taking toys away from Riley, getting too rough with Rudy (he is only a tiny dog and much smaller than you now!), saying “No” to Mommy and Daddy, and not sharing or taking turns. You are quite the drama queen when it comes to you getting your way. You will not back down. Some of your tantrums have been quite lengthy, but you are learning that Mommy and Daddy do not back down either and in the end, you are just pretty tired and still don’t have what you wanted to begin with. You will learn to save your energy for fun things, but for now, we are letting you learn your way on your time. You are independent, but very smart, so hopefully it won’t take long.
You have recently started using a “big girl bed”. We took the front rail off of your crib so you can get in and out of bed all by yourself. You love it (of course). It only took you 2 days to get used to it. The first night was torture since you got out of bed crying 4-5 times, but after you realized that it wasn’t that bad, you did fine and you have been a champ ever since. You can get in the bathtub by yourself as well as into your car seat without help. You are so big and strong.
I didn’t think it was possible when you were so tiny in the beginning and I was so in love with you; there was NO WAY I could ever love you more than that. But, my baby, I do! The same as you have grown bigger and stronger, my love for you has grown bigger and stronger. I love so many things about you. I see myself in you, but somehow only those good things shine through (most of the time). I see lots of Daddy in you too. You are a very healthy mix of our best qualities. You are still my baby even though I am starting to accept the idea that you aren’t. You are always on the go and I’m always waiting to see what your next adventure will be. We will see what this next year brings you. I am so proud of you; all that you are. Happy 2nd birthday Isabelle Reese! Mommy and Daddy wub you so much!
Love,
Mommy
Such a big girl now!
Happy 2nd birthday baby!
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