happy birthday clarie!

My Sweet Little Claire,

Today you are two. So hard to believe that two whole years have passed since the bright sunny spring day that your father brought me to the hospital for your scheduled arrival.

It has been a big year for you. You were slow to bother with the whole walking thing. This was fine since I was happy to hold you and your big sister was happy to bring you toy after toy. But at 15 months you took off running. The first steps you took were in pursuit of your sister and you continue to follow her often, just to make sure you do not miss out on any action.

Overnight, you transformed from a plump baby to a slim toddler on the go. You worried us a bit with your weight loss and lack of weight gain for a few months, but you are a healthy eater and it appears you will just be a petite little thing.

You have loved books since you were just a few months old. Now, you drag over book after book and eagerly climb into the lap of anyone willing to read to you. You love your letters. You recognize them all and excitedly point them out everywhere: signs, shirts, cereal boxes. You also know your letter sounds and often when you see a word you name each letter. I am not sure, my baby genius, but I think you may be teaching yourself to read.

You are a very happy, agreeable little thing. You wake up happy and whatever we do, you are happy. You want to do the right thing. You put trash in the trash. You put things back where you found them. When I ask you to stop, generally you stop. You also accept compromises. If you want one thing and I suggest another, you pause, consider the situation and exclaim "OKAY!".

To be honest, I did not know kids like you existed until we had you.

You do not particularly like conflict. When Abby gets in trouble you are very emphatic. You rarely get in trouble yourself, but when you do your little face crumbles.

You are not a thrill seeker. You are very cautious on the playground and avoid the slide entirely. Too scary, you say. You are very friendly and interested in other kids, but mostly you tend to stick close to me. You are not overly needy and you are good at amusing yourself, but you do like to stay close.

You are my little buddy. You happily accompany me on errands, cheerful even when I get grumpy. You make me smile. You brighten my life. You point out the little things that I miss like balloons outside a store or a flower in the grass. You remind me what is important and you teach me patience.

You have been looking forward to your birthday party for a couple of months now. You have no memory of your first birthday party, but you have attended several birthday parties recently and you are thrilled by the idea of a party for you. Almost every night at bedtime you ask about your party. You confirm that there will be an Ariel cake. And that you will get to blow the candles. Then you spend a few moments practicing candle blowing. From there your excitement grows as you image the color of the candles and the possibility of balloons. I can not wait to watch you enjoy your big day.

Happy Birthday, my little sunshine. I am grateful that I got the opportunity to be with you for this year.

I love you much,

Mommy