Cici

My darling, cici,
You are such a joy. There's not a moment that I want to forget. And so I want to capture all that I love about you in this moment - yesterday was your birthday. Two. Wow. Two. Where did it go? I don't want to take a moment for granted.

Before we get into the details, here is a photo for each month so far...

Before we even met, we loved you:

And here we are. Eating birthday cake on April 2nd, 2016.

What to remember in this moment:

• You love your babies. Such a motherly instinct. Apart from occasional throw down on the hard wood, your babies are well cared for. And when you see real ones out and about or at Susie's (or Judy's, as you call her), you want to talk to them, hold them, SEE them ("IwannnSEEE").
• You love shoes. Your shoes, Barbie shoes, baby doll shoes, sissy's shoes, mom/dad's shoes. Shoes in stores. Shoes on other people. "SHOE!!"
• You love to color. "Lolly" means you are asking draw or color on something. You will use crayons, but much prefer markers, pens, pencils. You do well to color only on paper, but as Susie mentioned last week, that's not always the case. I hear you made a big art piece on her living room wall.
• You love colors, though all fall into either the "Blue" or "Lellow" category (and not always right between those two).
• You are the most polite child in the history of the world. Always quick to say, "Thank you" when handed anything. Lip kisses all around. "Peez". Hugs. Blowing kisses. "Hi!" with smiles and waves to complete strangers. Playing with babies across the restaurant (peek-a-boo and various noises to make them smile). 
• You are shy. You often freeze and refuse to move when walking into a crowded room. You raise your shoulders and duck you chin, giving your best Chris Farley impression. You smile politely at people who point out how pretty you are, but are silent and still, in hopes that you might disappear perhaps.
• You LOVE to sing. "E-I-E-I-O", "Let it Go", "Love is Strange", "Row row row your Boat", "Twinkle Twinkle", "Wheels on the Bus" - just to name a few of your favorites.
• You love animals. You squat and pat your knees in hopes of calling the birds over to say hello. You point it out when you see a "doggy" or a "kitty" or "owl" (which is what you call every type of bird) or "neigh neigh" (yep, a horse). You make animal sounds. You even pretend you're a doggy. It's our tradition now at daycare drop-off that you get down on all fours and I pat your head and say goodbye. You bounce up and down like you're panting as I walk out the door and blow kisses to you.
• You love to dress up and dance in the living room with your sister. Well, I don't know if you love it as much as your sister. But you go along with it and seem to enjoy yourself.
• You eat well. Sounds like you eat better for Susie these days. But if we have spaghetti, it's a clean plate with no having to remind you to eat.  You love your "shake shake" (pediasure). And your "Juuuw" (juice).  When you get hungry, you let us know by saying either "High Chaugh" (high chair) or "Foo" (food).
• You're learning your A,B,C's. Not quite there, but so close.
• You love to play outside, but we aren't out there as much as I would like.
• You love your sleep. What kid loves to go to bed? Rarely do you ever argue at all about bed or nap time. You sleep with a nightlight, your two "Bee-bee"s (baby blankets with polka-dots), your baby doll ("Baby"), "Doggy" (Clifford the big red dog), and "Kitty" (the grey kitten that Gwen used to sleep with.
• You don't even get mad when you wake up. You usually just look around, suck your poor worn out left thumb, and sing quiet songs. Then there's the occasional holler for "Mommy?" - "Daddy?"  - "Sissy?"  We walk in, you roll over, say "Hi", and stand up, trying to carry all your li'l arms will allow.
• You love toys that make sounds, to stack stuff, to build, to drive the remote control cars (as long as you're off the floor where they can't get you). You love to hide in the closet. You love to crawl under the kitchen table (and that grosses me out because I don't mop as often as I should). You love your Barbies, your baby dolls, play doh, coloring, and running back and forth through the dining room.
• You LOVE to brush your teeth. You would do that 10 times a day. Not so much when mom or dad does it - you like to do it yourself.  Come to think of it, you're getting that way about a lot of things (getting dresses, putting on shoes, going up and down the stairs, walking instead of being carried, using fork and spoon, using big girl cups. My baby is growing up!
• You love to laugh and to make others laugh too. Your smile full of chicklet teeth is so contagious. 
• You are so very loved, my darling, cici.

Looking forward to many more years with you, my love.