Hello my little Miss,
Oh how I love you! You are two and a half now (your brother often reminds you), and you bring a whirlwind of sunshine and sweetness and craziness to our little family.
You, my little Belen, are an adventurer. You couldn't care less where your loved ones are, or even if you're in familiar territory. You look at the world and dive in, without hesitation and without telling your mother where your are going.
Your brother often brings you back to us, and as long as he says "ready, set, go!", you are usually willing to come.
But mostly, you'd rather be out exploring. Chasing ducks, watching rocks and sticks splash in the water, petting flowers and saying hello to puppies and people passing by.
Sometimes you are very quick, and I have a hard time finding you. This gets me in trouble, and is the reason we've decided we won't be staying at this apartment complex much longer; neighbors keep calling the office saying you've gotten too far from Mama and our landlords sure don't like that.
One day I thought you had escaped outside, but turns out you crawled under a pile of warm clothes fresh out of the drier and fell fast asleep.
Chasing you gets crazy, but if you keep this love and sincere interest in your own world for the rest of your life, I won't be sad to continue chasing you throughout every bit of it.
You have
so much patience; I am often amazed at what you put up with. I see you interact with grumpy kids, frustrated playmates, uncles teasing you, and grown-ups telling you "no". Your response to me is always, "Mom, wait," even if my voice gets raised. You already talk to me like you're the calm, put-together teenager who knows quite a bit more than those around her. The other day I asked you to come to the grill with me so we could check on our dinner. You patted my arm and replied, "Can't, Mom. Watchin' duckies." You are so deceptively sweet in your defiance, it's hard to get mad at you, and not a soul believes me when I tell them you can be difficult.
And unless it involves your brother (because you two know exactly how to push each others' buttons), you take criticism and direction with complete indifference. Even someone trying to get you to look at the camera doesn't seem to phase you.
I love your will of iron.
But you certainly are not indifferent to people. Your adventurous nature and pleasant disposition make you friends easily. Everywhere we go, you find some little girl to follow and mimic, and before long you are giggling and running with new playmates.
You also love playing on your own. Electronics and shows only hold you attention for so long before you wander off, and I find you in your room playing with trains, your baseball bat, (you always ask if it's time for "Belle's ball bame", since we go to Mac's a lot these days) princesses, and My Little Ponies. They prance and jump and say, "Happy [to] see you," to one another. And they love taking "bathies" to get "buggies" out of their hairs.
You love to put on a "princess", and get ecstatic when you find Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast on anything. "Wook Mom," you tell me, "Princess Belle! Like me!"
Your other favorites would undoubtedly be Anna and Elsa from Frozen. You ask for "Anna Hairs" almost every single day, and I love to see you smile at yourself in the mirror once your braids are in place. I hope you always like what you see when you look at yourself! I just think you are the most beautiful girl in the world.
You also love to eat. Junk food, preferably. I like junk food too, but I do try to steer you towards things that will keep your body strong and your mind sharp. Avocados are something you would eat every single day, by themselves or with pretzels. You love hummus and yogurt and eggs, peaches and apples and berries of all kinds, and are getting better at crunching on plain veggies every now and then.
But if you had your own meal planning to do? I'm pretty sure you would have cereal, raman noodles, and sweets every single meal. We don't let you do that, but we definitely enjoy treats together.
Like oreos.
And lemonade and Slurpees.
But no matter what you're eating, it must be accompanied by every single colorful piece of silverware we own.
And if I say, "No food," you take matters into your own hands and have no problems feeding yourself. (Capes must help you scale the dishwasher ... it shocks me every time I find you up there.)
You are so very smart, I am always impressed by you. Mac helps you learn numbers; I often hear you counting in your room together. You can get up to ten without a problem, and work on the rest daily. You love finding letters, but most all of them are "R"s and "L"s to you. When I ask you about colors and shapes, you'll try a couple of times, and then turn it on me. "Mom's turn. What color this one?" You are quite the caretaker.
What amazes and humbles me the most about you, my two-year-old Belle, is how much you love me. You take my face in your two little hands. You tell me things and ask if I'm okay. You mimic everything I do, if not to your toys and Mac, then right back at me. When I try to tickle your back and tell you stories, you tickle my back and talk to me. You love our boys, but I constantly hear you telling Dad and Mac, "No, Mommy do it."
I hope I can be everything you need me to be, sweet girl. Thank you for helping me to grow into someone better than I ever thought I could be. I love you!
Love,
Mom
