Letter to Miley

I am copying my sister, Gelsey, here and writing a letter to Miley on her 2nd birthday. Thanks, Gels, for the good idea!

Dear Miley,

I cannot believe it has been two years....two years since you were first placed in my arms, and looked up at me with your curious little eyes. In some ways, it feels like you have been with us forever, but other times it feels as if these last two years have gone by in a flash. You are growing up so fast, but you are still my little baby. If you can, I would appreciate it if you could slow down a little bit on the growing up thing. :)

Independent is one of the first things that comes to my mind when I think about how to describe you. You are 2 going on 20 and fight fiercely to do everything for yourself. You try to brush your teeth by yourself, and become upset when I try to help you. You like to "buckle" yourself into your carseat, wash yourself in the bathtub, push carts, and many other little day-to-day things that sometimes I wish you would still let me help you with! You are not afraid of anything - you will go down big slides, put your face in the water while swimming or in the bath, climb on anything you can reach, and you will run around in new places trying to take it all in. Occasionally, you will check to see if Mommy and Daddy are around, but then you are back to doing your own thing. You are still as curious as ever. You love exploring, pointing things out, and saying "Dat?" to ask me what the names of them are. You can't get enough of this game, and I love that I get to teach you all of these things.

I can definitely tell that you are approaching the "Terrible Twos," but most of your tantrums have to do with what I said above. You are stubborn, like your mom and dad, and you just want to do your own thing, and you don't want us to get in the way of that! Most of your tantrums are easily taken care of with hugs and kisses, and the occasional time out, but afterwards you move on and are as happy as ever. As hard as this age is, I think it is *maybe* a good thing that you are fighting for what you want. I hope this is a characteristic that sticks with you throughout life, and helps you with many important decisions. Fight for what you believe in, buggy, but maybe try to help me out when it has to do with me getting you the wrong snack or something. :)

It is a good thing you are so sweet most of the time, because it doesn't make it so bad dealing with the said tantrums. You dish out hugs and kisses like it is nobody's business. Most of the time, we ask you to come give us a hug or a kiss, but there are a few times where we will be playing and you just run up and give one of us a great big, bear hug! Those are definitely my favorite. You also love to hug and kiss your friends...so much so that you are a little overbearing for them at times. You are such a little lover. You are always trying to hold someone's hand (your friends, or babies at church) and like to walk around while clutching hands.

You are talking more and more everyday. It is amazing to see the difference between last year and this year. I think this is such a fun age, and I love getting to hear the cute ways that you say your words. It is so nice to be able to communicate with you more. I can ask you a question, and you can answer with a definite "Uh-huh" or "Mo (no)". You love saying "Hi" and "Buh-bye" to everyone we meet, and we often have many strangers saying hi back when we are out and about. A few of my favorite words or phrases that you say are "Pwease (please)" "Bwiss (bless you, always said when someone sneezes)" "Buh-bo (bubble)" and the few names that you know so far.

Within the last couple of months, you have definitely become GIRLY! You like to watch as I put your bows in your hair everyday (and you like to point at your bow holder and say "Bow" to make sure I remember to put one in!). You are never without a bracelet, and if I would let you, you would want to wear all 5 of the ones you own. You love to pick out which one you wear for the day, and want to make sure that there is always one on your wrist. You recently had your toenails painted for the first time, and you made sure to point them out to anyone who would listen. You have a daily game of pulling out every single pair of mommy's high heels and trying them on and walking around the apartment in them.

You are getting more and more into imaginative play, especially with your baby doll. We can no longer leave the house for any reason without your baby and doll stroller in tow. You also try to feed your baby, give your baby drinks, and you like me to wrap up your baby in a blanket, and then you will sweetly hold her and rock her. It melts my heart to see you being so caring and loving to your baby. You will also take little toy cars and say "Vroom vroom" as you drive them around. And you also love your little toy purse (or one of mommy's real purses). You carry it around, and will always make sure to put on the bracelet that comes in it.

We have been very lucky with you, because you are not a picky eater! You will generally eat whatever you are given, which makes life easy for this mama. The only thing you have an aversion to is milk, and we are hoping that we can help you overcome that soon. :) You love any and all fruit (bananas, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, watermelon, pineapple, etc.). You also love cheese, oatmeal, daddy's crepes, beans (any kind...black, pinto, kidney, you name it...), meat (hamburger, chicken, ham, turkey, etc.) and many, many other things! You also of course, love the occasional treats you get like ice cream or cookies from the bakery when we are shopping.

We are also lucky that you are a good sleeper. You go to bed everynight around 8:00 pm, and you wake up in the mornings between 7:00 and 8:00 am. You take one nap in the afternoons that usually lasts between 2 and 3 hours. You usually don't fight us too hard about going to bed, but I think now that you are older you are realizing that it is more fun to be up. However, it usually just takes reading you a few books, snuggling for a while, and giving you your lovey to settle you down. You lovey, oh your lovey. I don't know what we would do without it. Your lovey is your little purple security blanket, and it comforts you if you are ever upset or sad about anything. Whenever you have it, you pop your first two fingers of your right hand in your mouth and you are as content as can be. While you are sucking your fingers, you sort of rub your lovey under your nose. If we are snuggling at bedtime, you will sometimes hold it up under my nose, or daddy's nose, as if to say, "See? It feels so nice!". We love that you have something like that to make you feel safe and secure, and make sure we have it with us everywhere!

You love being around other kids and love playing with anyone who will give you attention. You get so excited when we go to your cousins' house, that often when we pull up in their driveway you are squealing with excitement and trying to get your carseat unbuckled. You love running around after them, and you love that they give you so much attention when you are with them! You best friend is Jack, and if you even get the slightest clue that we will be seeing him, you spend hours saying "Gack" over and over and over. You will even say that if you THINK we are going to see him, even if we aren't. You two sure like to play together, and you occasionally have little fights over toys, but you kids are two peas in a pod and love hanging out together.

You are the apple of your daddy's eye. It is so sweet to see how he interacts with you, and how much he loves you. You have him wrapped around your little finger, and he would do anything for you. You also think that your dad is pretty cool. You love watching for him to come home in the evenings, and will always run up to him with a big hug when he walks in the door. You love to dance with him, have him throw you on the bed, and play anything you can with him.

As for me, I can never express how much I love you. You have shown me a whole new kind of love, that can only be felt by a mother for her child. I can't remember what life was like without you. You bring so much joy and fun and energy into my life, and I love every little thing you do...every smile, every word, every laugh, every inch of you from your long hair to your little bitty toes. I am sad that you are growing up, and are not so much my baby anymore, but I am excited to watch you grow and change into a kid, a teenager, and an adult (just not too fast!).

Your daddy and I love you to the moon and back, and we hope you have the very best year being TWO!

Love, Mama