love letters

dear C,
today you are two years old. or 24 months old. which means that two years ago today, you were in my tummy. actually you were in my pelvis. you staked your claim on the lower pelvis at about month seven and you weren't budging. hey, real estate is a good investment. most of the time. securing your 1/3 of the available space left a comfy 2/3 of space for your lovely sister, R. and she wasn't staying still. at. all. so you hunkered down. and on november 17, 2006 you were ready to vacate. move on. out. but R had other plans. since this day, you have seen that R sometimes has plans other than yours. and i'm sorry about that. but what's gonna work? teamwork! in the last year, which makes up a whopping 50% of your total life, i have seen this hunker down mentality continue. you zero in on what you like and you focus. lately you are really into trucks. you love the trucks. frequently when we're in the car you'll point them out. you even can tell the difference between diggers and bulldozers. cranes and loaders. what? who knew? now we all know. sometimes you'll follow your truck shout-out with a "big one." so we know it is a big digger. not a mini digger. which does also exist, we all now know. this year you have learned that if you lose an eyelash (of which you have at least 1 million and they flap like snuffleupagus) you get to blow on it and make a wish. your sweet "thank you" while touching your chin (saying and signing) couldn't be any cuter and i have yet to turn down a "please" request when you say it in this little sweet voice and rub your chest, signing. you always notice when R is not around. sometimes she bolts off to another room. sometimes that other room might be time-out. you want to be with her. you have a love of jumping up. and down. and off the bed. "good catch mommy." of course we'll do it again when you say that. you are a budding artist. you could spend all day with some paints. or play dough. or markers. or crayons. you love the stuff. you said your first sentence this year. "i did it." which has been said 3,596 times since. you are so proud when you do something yourself. what a joy you have been this year. you are the sunshine of my life. i love you. xoxo, mommy

dear R,
my sweet ladybug. today you are two years old. or as you would say "twoooooooo." two years ago you were in my tummy and you decided if you went with C's plan, you would be several minutes younger than him. that wouldn't do. you needed to get out as close to oldest as possible. so there you were. one minute later. one minute younger. one minute louder. you cooed for the first 48 hours of your life. the sweetest little coooooo. and you haven't been quiet very much since. you have a lot to say. or sing. lately you are really into the singing. and you. are. good. sister. you don't just sing. when you're singing, you're eyes sing. your hands sing. your face sings. your head sings. even your hair sings, somehow. and you know the words. to a lot of songs. your current hit list includes "my cherie amour" by stevie wonder (modified to include your name, of course), "lucky star" by madonna, and "maniac" by um, flashdance. because the actual singer is irrelevant. it was part of flashdance. one day you just kept singing "may (pause) may (pause) may (pause)" and your silly mommy and daddy couldn't figure out what you were singing. then it hit me. when you hit the "before" part. you're always a ringer at the end notes. and at the grand finales. you shake your head, give some jazz hands, and hit the big one. it's awesome. this year you went from walking to jumping with two feet and running circles around all of us. fast. you are really fast. you have this amazing giggle that comes from your tummy and brims through your face and seems almost too big for your little body. and i just want to record it and play it back over and over. you have rekindled your love with the swing. which you took about a year off from. now you love it again. sometimes in the yard you will stay on the swing for half an hour (telling mommy to sit in a chair to push you. or stand. or push your feet.). you really love C. when you go to get your drink you always bring C his. and when he is getting his diaper changed you will bring him toys or books. your first sentence, which was this year, was "whe's C?" you don't like when he is away. sometimes he sleeps a little longer than you at nap time and it is hard for me to keep you out of the room. sometimes i'll say "ok, let's go check on C. very quiet." and you will say "got. it." and then we go in and you run to C's crib and say (yell) "C!" you also love your friends. every single day you run through your list of people you love. friends, mommies, daddies, etc. eitan, elaine, caden, josha, lauren, pilar, jason, chuck (cat), linus (cat), grammi, papa, florida, bryce, sister (ivy), jo, ryan, baby (colin). you remember everything. every little detail. you have really developed a love and appreciation for shoes this year. if someone's shoes are left on the floor, you go and get them and either give them to the person to put on or you put them on yourself. but someone must wear them. you can just flip through magazines and look at pictures of shoes. or babies. or anything. you also are into your doll's stroller, which you have loaded up with several purses on either side. this year you have been a bright, shining star for me. i love you. xoxo, mommy