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Transitioning Two's

Dear Madelynne:

Today you celebrate another wonderful year of life and it has been exciting and packed with new experiences and growth that are remarkable because of you! Your vocabulary has gone beyond more than just simple syllables like "da" to two-word sentences, like "I see!" or "I get!" Some favorite phrases I have documented are:

 "My hair!"
"I see ya!"
"Day-day (Damion) here?"
"I can't."
"Oh, man!" (Thanks to Dora)
"Where'd it go?"
 "Gank-you" (or an equivalent to gi-gi which is also "thank you")
"Yeah..." (in a questioning tone, amused, or matter of fact)
"Go-go and Boo!" (Dora and Boots)
"I help."
"Eat!"
"One, two..."
"High five!"
"Frog! Baby! Puppy! Kit Cat! Blankie!" (all your favorite lovies)

There are some things that we can't exactly understand, and the frustration you get from our incomprehension is comical. It must be hard to have a language barrier that only your toddler friends understand; but, soon enough, you will deep dive into the world of language with non-stop talking that we won't be able to keep you quiet. So, we're enjoying the world as you discover it and learn new words and things to say.

Your character has developed even more over the past year. You are fun and charismatic. You are extremely caring. We have noticed this when, at the park, you offer to help others or let others go first; you give out flowers as a symbol of your friendship; you help others climb on apparatuses that they can't quite get to because they are stuck or smaller than you are; you kiss and look for our "owies"; and even the sweet, simple question of "You okay?" shows that your heart is big and you are kind. These are all evident in the beginning of a blossoming personality that is loud, caring, energetic, sweet, and slowly becoming more and more defined. Granted, you throw some horrendous tantrums, you get mischievous, and can be a drama-queen, but these overshadow the budding personality of the loving and considerate little lady you are becoming.

Your year has taken you to learning new things at daycare, library story time, the park, and your travels to other parts of Washington, Colorado, and Wyoming. Your routine is simple: reading, watching Dora, painting, playing, being outside, and spending time with your family. You admire and love your cousin Damion and you have a treasured bond with your friend Avery from daycare.

At the start of the year you were beginning to walk by yourself and now you are running, jumping, and climbing all over the place. You reached basic milestones this year of brushing your own teeth every night before bed, drinking out of a "big kid" cup, sitting in a booster chair at the table, using eating utensils, and now, working on going to the potty! All these things are so simple and mindless to us adults, but they are huge stepping stones for you and it has been delightful to see you accomplish so much in such a short amount of time.

You love to dance and sing. You make up your own songs and love to have dance parties with music on my phone or a video on YouTube. One of your favorites to dance to are "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" from Just Dance! on the Wii, Psy's "Gangnam Style"---which you helped do a complete choreographed segment with Damion, and one of "our songs" is "Ho-Hey" by the Lumineers.  You help out by picking up your toys and cleaning the house. You love your pets and help with them, too. You are an amazing little girl.



It is apparent that you are well-loved, even when we are frustrated, tired, and drained from exhaustion of our demanding jobs. We cannot wait to see what your life as a two-year-old will bring us, and would like to rename this period the "Transitioning Two's". Because we know that sometimes you can be ornery, demanding, and frustrating when you don't get your own way. And other times you can be simply sweet, loving, funny, attentive,  a cuddle bug, and compassionate. So, whatever a new day brings, we're looking forward to this transition into full-fledged, toddler-hood and will try to handle it with grace, patience, and most importantly, an abundance of unconditional love.

 We love you! Happy Birthday!

Love,

Mom and Dad

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