Dear Bella, YOU'RE TWO!

Dear Bella,

Happy Birthday Bella bean!  I cannot even wrap my mind around the fact that you are already TWO years old?!?  How is that even possible!  I feel like it was just yesterday when we were bringing you home from the hospital with so many mixed emotions, over the moon excited about our newest little love but so unsure of what to expect as we navigated through our daily lives with 2 children under 2.  We did it though and apparently felt pretty good about it because we welcomed your little brother into our family 3 months ago and now are living our crazy lives with 3 children 3 and under!

At 2 years old, you are TINY, but you are FIERCE.  The famous Shakespeare quote, "Though she be but little, she is fierce" was 100% written about you Miss Bella.  You are a petite little thing and you get that from your Mom-mom in heaven.  I actually think that you resemble her a lot, from  your physical characteristics to your personality traits.  You are the sweetest little thing, but can flip that switch pretty quickly if something or someone (usually Addie) upsets you.  You may or may not be known to sneak a hair pull when your big sister least expects it, the 2 of you are really going to give your dad and I a run for our money as you get older.

At 2 years old, you are your sister's shadow.  The 2 of you have really bonded over the past several months and I love watching you finally be able to play together.  You are each other's best friend and when it's good, it's so good.  The 2 of you laugh and run around and it's amazing.  But, you still are sisters and you fight like sisters as well.  Each day is full of a lot of highs, some lows, and several time outs, but no matter what has happened throughout the day you always end with the sweetest bear hug before bed.  Then we repeat it all over again the next day...

At 2 years old you are so CAUTIOUS, CAREFUL, SWEET, and INNOCENT.  You are the complete opposite of your sister, she loves to jump in head first no matter what the task and you prefer to sit back and watch and then if and when you are comfortable participating you do oh so carefully.  I rarely worry about you hurting yourself because you have carefully weighed all of the consequences before you do something and very rarely will you put yourself in a dangerous situation.  I can't thank you enough for that because most of the time I am outnumbered 3 to 1, so I appreciate at least one of you being careful :)

At 2 years old, you love FAMILIARITY.  You love what you know and know what you love.  You hold those you love very close to you and you love big, but you aren't a fan of unfamiliar faces.  You make new people work hard for your affection and attention and always prefer a small group setting compared to a large party.  But once they get the Bella stamp of approval they are in your circle for good!  The same goes for new things and new experiences, you either love it or you hate it, there's no in between with you.  You are a girl who knows what you want and I admire that about you.

At 2 years old, you are a FASHIONISTA.  Bella, you are more obsessed with shoes than I ever have been in my life.  You love to put them on and take them off.  You love to buy new shoes.  You love to play with other people's shoes, especially your dad's slippers or any pair that belongs to Addie.  You love shoes so much that we bought you your first pair of Hunter rain boots for your birthday and you couldn't be more thrilled.  You also love your new purse, tutus, and having pretty bows in your hair.  You are a complete girly girl and I love that about you.

At 2 years old, you have become very TALKATIVE.  All of a sudden you have SO much to say and you talk all day long.  You have opinions about everything and love to tell me what you want to eat, where and how you want to eat it, which shoes you want to wear, and what you want from Starbucks - which is usually chocolate milk.  You are a sponge and are learning new words and phrases at lightning speed, which has made for the sweetest conversations between you and your sister.

At 2 years old, you are obsessed with your baby dolls and care for them just like I care for Noah.  You love playing hide and seek and chasing your sister around to tickle her.  You have a thing for all types of transportation and your eyes light up when you see a choo-choo train, boat, plane, or truck.  You also love to play with all of the above things, especially your trains and your cozy coupe car.

Bella, you are the sweetest little girl and I love everything about you.   I love your smile, your hugs, and the way you lay your head on my shoulder.  You have the most contagious laugh and just hearing it makes my day better.  Bella, I hope you have the absolute best birthday because you deserve it!  I love you to the moon and back Bella bean!

Love,
Mommy