Happy 2nd Birthday, Eva!

Dear Eva Kate,
Happy 2nd Birthday! I've been thinking about what to write to you on your second birthday...what words to share with you....what pieces of memories I would want you to read later in your life.

I think I will start by describing your personality. Friendly. Funny. Strong. Fearless. Opinionated. Compassionate. That's pretty much you. You will be friends with anybody, you love laughing with us, you are so strong physically, you are independent and brave in most situations, you know what you want, and you care how people around you feel. That's how God has created you. I love who you are. 

Right now you weigh 22 pounds and stand 32 1/2 inches tall. You are a small two year old but your personality is so big you could never be overlooked. You have been a hungry girl all summer and eat all the time - and then you use all that energy to RUN, RUN, RUN! I know I've read that some kids don't officially run into later on into the preschool age, but I promises you that you run all the time. And you run fast. 

One of the hardest parts of being your mama right now is navigating through your toddler emotions. When you feel things, you feel them strongly. It can be so hard when you are crying over not getting what you want, but I want you to know that I am thankful even in those hard moments. You are helping me learn to be patient. You are teaching me to be humble. And most importantly I am learning more about God's great big love for me - for US - as I see constant parallels. Sometimes you want something that I know isn't best for you, and I have to say no in the moment because I love you. Sometimes I'm waiting for you to calm down so that I can bless you with something even better than what you thought you wanted. And that's just like God. So I wanted to share that with you in your letter so that one day when you read this you will know that I absolutely always loved your toddler-self, even through tantrums, and that one day if you are a mama too, you will hopefully keep that perspective. 

Your favorite things to do right now are to play outside, "cook" with your kitchen toys, take care of your baby doll, and use crayons or paint to make art. You are so cute when you are playing with your little toys. You also love to make a pallet and watch a movie. Your favorite movie right now is Monster's Inc. and you are a big fan of Elmo. 

You get excited and run to the playroom door when you see Daddy coming home from work. You like to knock on the door and then run around to the front door to greet him. Then you run away from him before he can tackle you with hugs and kisses. You and Daddy have such a beautiful relationship and he loves to make you laugh. We both know that Daddy is the funny one :) 

You recently moved out of your highchair and sit at the table in a booster seat. You made the move because you insisted on sitting in a chair right next to your daddy. You are becoming a bit more picky with your food....you would eat fruit all day if you could. Vegetables? Not so much. You do an okay job of at least trying to eat what we eat for meals. And since you eat all day long I'm sure you are getting plenty of good stuff in your tummy.

You are still a pretty good sleeper. Most nights you are down by 8PM and sleep until 8AM or so. You will take a nap for between 1 1/2 - 3 hours (if I'm lucky!) around 1PM each day.  You are doing a great job sleeping in your toddler bed, although lately you prefer to sleep on the floor sometimes. I laugh when I'm watching the monitor and I see you throw your pillow on the ground. As long as your sleeping, I don't care where it is.

Your vocabulary is exploding! Mostly you say 1 or 2 words together, but you talk to us all the time! If we don't understand what you are saying you just keep repeating it over and over (and over...) again until we figure it out. Some of my favorite words that you say are "come on," "smoothie," "birthday," and "monsters." You like reading and reading along with me. You also have started "singing" your own songs to yourself sometimes.

The day you were born seems like so long ago, and yet your first birthday only feels a few months away. Time has a funny way of passing. Each day I am truly thankful to have you in our lives. Being your mama is the best! You are my favorite little girl in the whole world.
love,
Mama