Molly is Two

My darling Molly,

Your second birthday has come upon us too quickly. I am overly emotional about this day because you are my baby and with each passing minute you are moving toward your true self, away from your dependence on me. And while I am proud of you and excited for you, it hurts.

I think this letter is supposed to me telling you about you. But everything about you is part of me. So I will interject my own feelings here and there.

When I was pregnant with you, we went to Lake Winnipesaukee and a friend's mother told me that she saw your impish face and that you would be trouble. And you are. From the moment you were born - 15 days early, to the first 13 weeks of your life where you screamed every day to the point that I tried cutting all known allergens from my diet and lived on Rice Krispies for a week. It didn't work. You just needed to get it out.

And today, you still, sometimes, just need to get it out. Trying to hurry you or ask you to do something before you are ready or before what you have set to do first is done, just isn't worth it. You know your own mind and you know how to communicate exactly what you feel exactly as you feel it. I admire that. I wish I was more like that -but at the same time, taking a deep breath and using your words might get you what you want/need faster and with less fuss. Just a thought.

Molly, you are a girl after my own heart, you love shoes. You love all kinds of shoes and they don't need to match, and wearing heels while you pretend to vacuum works, you carry it well. And who says you can't wear a winter wool hat in the middle summer? It looks cute on you. You pick out your own clothes with no room for negotiation. It makes our mornings interesting to say the least. But there is a trick, if I can get you downstairs and distracted by your sister or your daddy or Maxie, then you don't care what you wear. Well, until you remember you had an opinion.

"Where sister go" or "Where is Aubrey" or "What Aubrey doing" are some of the phrases we hear most from you. You love your sister. You love to know what she is doing, and try to do it. You love to hear what she has to say, and repeat it. You love to sit near her, to rub her back and put blankets on her, you love to play with the toys she has and you love to use what you learn from her and go off by yourself with your own game - but always looking back and making sure you aren't missing anything.

You love dolls and you love the new baby at daycare, you don't like when children cry and want to help and you love to be a caregiver. Today you told me it was "nigh-nigh time". You put a blanket on me, told me you loved me, and kissed me. It makes my heart warm to see you so loving and caring.

So while you drive me crazy and scream at the drop of a hat, you have the biggest heart and the most amazing capacity to love. And you can laugh. And you love to laugh, and often when you are laughing, you start screaming - but you still are happy at heart and a joy to be around.

Your daddy read this and says it makes you sound like a brat - you aren't. A bit challening and a lot stubborn and very independent. A lot loving, amazingly silly, a great sister and friend. You crack us up and you find beauty in everything you see and everything that is new.

I hope you have a great day and I hope the next year goes by just a little bit slower - for my sake.

I love you.