The littlest lass is two today

Helena Jane. You are our delight. I looked back at pictures from last year and am amazed at the changes in you. You got a mouthful of teeth this year! And a full head of curly, curly hair! You run and talk and slide and play! You EAT lots and lots and lots. You finally hit 20 pounds and we turned your car seat forward-facing a few weeks ago. You slowly weaned from breastfeeding and stopped completely about a month ago when you decided that books before bed were a much better use of our time. Some things haven't changed, for which I am grateful. You continue to be a tremendous sleeper. You still request your sleepsack (sleezak), even though it's too short and you can unzip it and take it off. Most mornings when I go in to get you, you have it slung behind you like a cape while you play with your two bed friends, Puppy and Baby. You still have such a sunny disposition. You rarely cry, though you have decided that the sound of a leaf blower (even at a distance) requires a Time of Weeping followed by a Time of Prolonged Consolation.

You got 31 birthday presents: the 30 balloons that I blew up last night and tossed on the floor of your room this morning, and a stuffed ladybug from the Grandparents Pate that shines constellations onto the ceiling when it's dark. You really love balloons (boos, you call them) and balls and babies (especially my old dolls, Mandy and Jenny). A favorite new activity is Baby Eat:


You love to take walks (tegga wok? you inquire upon awakening) and baths:
This was a special birthday bath--you usually take one by yourself while the other two finish dinner. You will never be satisfied with that again after this rollicking good time. You adore Harper and Hudson, though your technique for getting them to notice you needs a little polishing. Presently, you seem to think that grabbing whatever they are playing with and running away with it clenched in your tight little fist while squealing with glee is great fun. They do NOT concur.

You enjoy all of our friends and especially relish the nurturing attentions you receive from June and Izzy.

You like an outing of any kind, but I think you might prefer the park lately, because you love to slide. On your tummy:


You have just started to talk and put sentences together in the last couple of months. You like narrating Harper's every move, much to her dismay: "AH-Poo has HAT! AH-Poo EAT! AH-Poo go OUTSIDE! AH-Poo SHOES!" You pronounce your name "Yah-yah" or "Yeh-yah", Hudson is "Uh-seh." It is an absolute requirement that you receive kisses (sisses) from all members of the family, including Sasha, before you go to bed. You like to say, "NO NO Sasha!" and "Good girl Sasha!" and Sasha likes to chase you and make you giggle like crazy.

I don't even know what your favorite foods are because you eat everything with equal joy. I thought maybe you had developed some ambivalence toward broccoli, but tonight at dinner, you discovered it on your pizza and said, "num, num, num BROCKI!" like it was a special, special treat.
No birthday cake this year, but you were a big fan of the oatmeal muffins at breakfast. Hudson helped you blow out the two candles. "Hot!" you exclaimed, with a little reproach in your tiny voice. Then we sang and you said, "Ah-boo BUD-EYE" to yourself all day long. You do like to sing and your go-to melody is always the "ABC/Bah Bah Black Sheep/Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" tune.

Well, it was supposed to snow today and I was going to count that as your 32nd present. Alas, there is no snow. But I hope you know how much we do celebrate your coming, little one. You make everything brighter.