Happy Birthday darlings. Not exactly the most flattering picture to ever be taken of my children, but I wanted a picture as soon as they woke up as two year olds. Where oh where did the time go? We took them to the doctor’s office just to check their weights. I wanted to know exactly how much they weighed the day they turned two. Ella weighed 24lbs.12oz. and Sterling weighed 28lbs.4oz. You’ve come a long way babies!
Just because it’s your birthday doesn’t mean you give Mommy a break. I swear, you would think I spent my days sleeping on the sofa while the kids ran wild. He actually pushed the step stool to the counter and climbed up in the time it took me to finish wiping Ella down with a wet washcloth after breakfast. This little climber is going to cause me to go completely grey headed!
Just a sweet picture of Sterling winding down before naptime.
Tonight we opened one of Sterling’s Christmas gifts. Isn’t it awful? He doesn’t have any idea if the gift we’re opening is a birthday gift or a Christmas gift! Anyhow, Michael assembled his little bubble mower for him, and away he went. He particularly loves the revving engine noises the mower makes as he pushes it across the lawn.
Yes, Sterling had a lawn mower, so of course, Ella needed one too. Glad we had an extra one handy, or we would’ve had tears on their birthday.
The night before last I was painting my toenails and Ella kept coming over to ohhh and ahhh over my “pretties”. Everything is a pretty to her these days. Her pigtails are “pretty”, her bows are “pretty” and now her fingernails are “pretty” too. We get such a kick out of her. If her bow falls out of her hair she’ll bring it to Michael or myself with the greatest look of distress on her face and say “Pretty! What happened?” or “Oh no! Pretty!” What can I say? She’s a girly girl. Just look at the way she proudly displays her ”pretty” nails!
So, I forgot to order #2 candles. Opps! Good thing we had last year’s #1 candles still kicking around in the junk drawer in the kitchen or I guess the kids would’ve been blowing out a lighter ala "Free Bird" style.
Look at that quivering bottom lip! Poor Sterling, he just couldn’t understand why Daddy told him “no” so firmly. He just wanted to touch the pretty flame!
No more tears...this boy loves cupcakes!
A 2-year love letter for my babies
Dear Ella and Sterling,
Today my loves you are two. The second year of your life has been no less exciting than the first. We started the second year with first steps and 8 teeth. We ended it with a mouth complete with second year molars (Sterling), running, hopping (one of your favorite things to do), climbing (another favorite), sliding down slides, talking, and even asking questions! How much you’ve grown! You’ve become these little people with such personalities. You both love animals and can tell me the sound every animal makes. You love chasing the cats shouting, “meow”. This is not the way to make friends with the cats. They don’t like loud toddler who pull their tails. Ella, you love to question things. “What’s this?” “What’s that?” “What’s wrong?” “Where’d it go?” “What happened?” You’re curious and determined. You are no shrinking violet. When you know what you want, you go for it and give it all you’ve got. Yet, as strong as you are, you are my lover. You love to kiss, cuddle and hug. You’re a consoler. When Sterling is crying, you pat his hair and say, “it’s okay”. You like spending long periods of time sitting on my lap reading a book, or resting with your head on my shoulder. The Ergo baby carrier was invented for you. There is no place in this world that makes you happier and more comfortable than riding in the carrier on my back. I love you from the top of your head, to the tips of your toys. You amaze me, and I am awestruck to be your mother. Sterling, you are my boy. I hope you’ll always be my baby boy. You love to run and do all things at full speed. This year you’ve grown phenomenally. You shot from the 5th percentile to the 50th percentile. You are so strong! You love all things that go. Some of your earliest words have been airplane, helicopter, car, truck, and bus. I love to watch your face light up in wonderment every time we watch a jet coming in for a landing, or a helicopter circle the house. You wave ferociously and yell, “Hi, helicopter!” You love your toy trains, and spend hours guiding them around the track. You’ve made your first girlfriend in little Evie Steele. No one elicits a scream and a dance the way she does. Just the mention of Evie’s name causes your hips to shake from side to side. It’s beyond precious. On occasion you’ll let me rock you to sleep. I savor these last few days of being able to rock you. I love how you bury your head into my chest when I’m rocking you. It reminds me of the hours we spent doing kangaroo care when you were a newborn. I love you from the top of your head, to the tips of your toys. You amaze me, and I am awestruck to be your mother.
We’ve become a team. I can count on you to hold it together. Gone are the days of infancy when we didn’t leave home without a pacifier and bottle to quiet you if you became fussy. You travel well. You’ve seen more of this world than some people do in their entire lives, and yet, you’ll only remember it through pictures. You hold multiple visas and a passport that dumbfounds every customs agent we’ve met. Your passport pictures were taken when you were only 4 weeks old. Yes, you look very different, and yes, they almost didn’t let you leave China due to this difference in appearance. We are a team. I often feel like it is us against the world. Our little family taking on whatever comes our way. I can count on you, and you can always count on Mommy and Daddy. We’ll always be there for you. I love you beyond anything I ever knew possible. You are the greatest gift I’ve ever been given. My life before you seems very materialistic in retrospect. Sometimes I wonder how I existed before there was you two. What was I doing in this world? I feel like I was born to be your mother. I have existed on this Earth so I may know you and have a hand in raising you and I can imagine no greater a responsibility and a privilege. I love you deeply my little two year olds. I hope you will always know love and follow your dreams. Never give up. Hold tight to one another. You are miracles and miracles never cease to amaze. Here’s to another wonderful and exciting year. You are my heart.
Love, Mommy
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