Thursday, March 25, 2010

Our Birthday Princess








So we had the Birthday Girl's birthday/Easter photo shoot on Wednesday. Sophie was really cute in her birthday outfit and Easter dress. When I gave her a cupcake to eat as part of the birthday photo shoot, I really wasn't thinking (have I mentioned that I've been waking up at 4am a lot lately??) and I put a big "2" candle in the middle of it, unwrapped the cupcake paper and handed it to her. She took a huge chomp right down on the "2" candle - it was a riot!! I wish the photographer had captured that for us but we were both laughing too hard, I think. Poor kid. I'm sure she didn't actually ingest any wax. Even with the cupcake, she was a little sedate and shy and had her hand in her mouth a lot. Still the photographer managed to get some cute shots and we got these great 2 year Birthday Princess photos to show for it now!

Sophie also got to see the Easter Bunny that day and again, she was very very shy with him. We've actually been doing dry-runs where she wants to see the bunny, gets up real close to the bunny but won't actually sit near him or sit on his lap or anything. She knows the bunny is for good because he gives out lollipops (or at least one bunny did though she still wouldn't go near him) and will bring her jelly beans on Easter but the hesitation and trepidation are very real this year. Quite a difference from last year when she couldn't get enough of the bunny and was pushing kids out of her way to get to him.

Some birthday packages have been arriving in the mail and now when Sophie sees any package arrive she excitedly says "presents???" She tears through them now and then is ready for more! Jim and I were reminiscing about how not so long ago we were saying, "Oh we can't wait until she really gets it and can open presents herself and understands." Well, she gets it now alright.

Tomorrow the REAL festivities start with Daddy coming home from work early and a special birthday dinner with Dee Ree and Pop Pop. Then Saturday more birthday fun with her big kid party at the Please Touch Museum. We're looking forward to all of the fun and the cake and celebrating with so many of our family and friends.

On the eve of our daughter's second birthday, I have powerful memories of being in very rapidly progressing labor (oh, right about now). I simply cannot believe how quickly these two years have gone, how big our little baby has gotten, how smart and sweet and kind and loving she is. I find it astonishing what we have already gone through together as a family in these two short years and how much we have learned and yet also how little we know still. We are forever amazed by the depths of our love and adoration for our little Sophie-girl. She surprises us and blows our minds multiple times daily with how quickly her mind works and how funny and independent she is already. I am often equally amazed by how much we still have to learn about patience and letting go and also dealing with the agony of worrying about the health and well-being of our sweet angel girl. These two years have been such a wild ride and now we're about to make the ride even more interesting soon. All I know is that every sleepless night, every moment of gut-wrenching worry and concern, every gray hair added is worth it a million times over when you have been blessed with a daughter as sweet and funny and smart and beautiful as our little Sophia Grace. And to all of our family and friends who have so generously lavished our little girl with love (and candy and dresses and "presents!!!!") we are so grateful to you for making her feel so very special and so fully loved.

2 comments:

David W. MacDougall said...

Very nice pictures. Not nearly as much fun as being there would have been. Sorry we're missing this birthday.

Kiera said...

Happy Birthday Sophie!