Two

Two forgotten (although soon to be remembered) memories:
-The complete exhaustion resulting from an unending string of sleepless newborn nights
-The tiny-ness of newborn clothes and diapers

Two favorite phrases:
-Leese luf (love) Mommy!
-No way Jose!

Two favorite foods (in reality, impossible to narrow down):
-Birfday cake (any dessert)
-Edamame. I've yet to see another 2-year-old shell and devour these as expertly

Two favorite books (also impossible to narrow down):
-The Little Mouse, the Big Hungry Bear, and the Red Ripe Strawberry
-The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Two favorite games:
-Hide and Seek: Says "I go hide!" and runs off to a hiding place, of which she has a very small and predictable repertoire. Then runs back to me as if she has forgotten something, and says "Mommy count 1-2-3". Giggles madly when you go through the process of looking for her, and helps out by answering during your rhetorical hunt: "Is Elise behind the couch?".. "Noooooo". Is Elise under the table... "Nooooo". One time I guess I didn't give her enough time to find the perfect place so she came running back out to me-- "No, no Mommy count to hundred!". Clearly picked up the phrase from her sister?
-Playing birthday, always hers. 
"Leese birfday comin up!" 
When is your birthday, Elise? 
'Cember tenny Nife! (December 29th)
Proceeds to loudly sing Happy Birthday to herself

One of the few times in the past 2 years I've caught her without a smile: Getting picked up early from school with a fever

Two hints of two-dom:
-Laughs raucously when corrected. Makes discipline challenging at times. 
-Mostly a great sleeper, but went through a phase of standing up in crib, stripping down to nakedness, throwing everything overboard, and screaming for my assistance

Two behaviors I'm really proud of:
-Follows instructions and most corrections really well: When told not to do something, she typically gives a cheerful and accomodating "Ok, Mommy!"
-Almost flawless with Please and Thank you. Getting better at Yes, ma'am and Sir instead of "Dah" (Yeah)

Two things that melt my heart:
-Before I leave her room at bedtime, she always asks, "Hug Mommy? Kiss Mommy?" Perhaps it's a ploy to delay bedtime. But it's a clever and very effective one, indeed.
-That smile. Oh, that smile.

Two pieces of evidence that she's one of two (soon-to-be-3) of the most brilliant kids on earth:
-After initially being concerned that her vocabulary wasn't on par with Elle's freakishly precocious language skills, E2 completely caught up in a matter of weeks. This kid, who had barely uttered a few words other than Mama and Dada was playing in the playroom one afternoon and started taking her clothes off. "What are you doing?" I asked. To which she replied perfectly intelligibly and rather matter-of-factly: "It's hot in here!" From that moment on, it was full sentences, with words I had no idea she knew, nevertheless could string along in context. Now she communicates like a mini-adult, with this incredible wit and cleverness that makes us all crack up over and over again.
-She knows her abc's, can count to 10, and can "read" several books. (The former two are completely to the credit of Oak Ridge Weekday School). Like her sister, Elise loves to read, and often insists on doing it herself. She remembers enough words on each page to somewhat make sense, and follows the lines of text with her finger like she's seen Elle do when reading. When the final page is turned, she proclaims triumphantly, "The End!" and typically follows with, "Leese read it again!"

Too many laughs to count.

Too much love to put into words.

This was the first of two plates. My 2-year-old eats like a teenage boy.

Too much personality to capture.

Two parents (and one big sister) who never knew what they were missing until she came into our lives.

Two girls who bring more joy to my life than I ever thought possible.

Two incredible years of being your Mommy.

Here's to many many more birthdays spent together. 

Happy birthday Sweet Elise- We Love You!