Happy 2nd Birthay Winnie

Dear Winnie,
Happy 2nd Birthday, sweet girl. It feels incredibly surreal for my last baby to already be two years old. Did I snuggle you enough? (hopefully). Did I get enough videos of you toddling around? (Probably not). Do we have record of your little voice and your first words and steps and moments? (I sure hope so). Two years, lady. I love you more now than I did then, which always seems so impossible, but it's true.
First - please note the date on this, and accept my apology. Don't misunderstand this as a "you're the third child" thing - simply put, October kicked my ass and I honestly feel like I am just now, feeling caught up. This little letter was never far from my mind. Here I am, one month and two days late, to tell you that you are still pretty great and we are so proud of you.
So. What are you doing at two years old?
You are a chatting machine, speaking full sentences and clearly enough that most people can understand you. You rarely stop talking. Also, you whine kind of a lot. Um, please and thank you, stop doing that. 

 
oh this sour little face cracks me up

Your gross motor skills are out of this world. You can run fast and with coordination, you can do a full somersault, jump with two feet off the ground, leap like a frog, balance on one foot to put your boots on and climb, slide and swing with the best of them. Its INSANE to watch. I have to say, its impressive. How do we channel this so you stop using me as your personal jungle gym? Just asking!
You love babies. Real and fake. You are so gentle and kind to your "babies" (stuffies) and love to cart them around, talk to them, feed them, put them down for naps and just generally take care of them.
Your favourite tv show is Daniel Tigers Neighbourhood. You know that it comes on as soon as we drop the other kids off at school, and you use that as your personal tv time. It makes for a nice quiet half hour every morning.



You and food are best friends. You love to eat almost everything, with the exception of a lot of meat. Its very easy to feed you.
You formerly were a very good listener, but you have recently adopted a few bad habits from Maizey and Jace, so occasionally, your listening skills take a hit. It's definitely something we work on a lot.
You are still sleeping in your crib, even though you do know how to climb out. Most mornings you quietly play until someone comes to tell you that you are allowed to get up, at which time you climb out yourself. Sadly, last night, you decided you can get out whenever you want and chose 1:00am and 3:00am to do so. Tomorrow, your crib will be turned into a toddler bed and I would be lying if I said that it didn't make me (a little) sad. The end of the crib is definitely the final end to the baby stage. *wipes a single tear from my cheek*
You are working on potty training. You do very well, most days. Other days - your little stubborn side kicks in and my GOD you are stubborn. We will keep patiently and diligently working, but you are truly doing amazing at it.


taking her baby for a walk

You have the cutest little sense of humor and try to make us laugh, which is always fun to watch. You also love to copy the other kids, saying what they say after they say it. One of our favourite things to do as a family is listen to music together on Youtube, each of us taking our turn to pick a song. Without fail, after every song, Jace exclaims "MY TURN", even if it is not his turn. You picked this habit up, and always yell "MY TURN" ... it gets a good laugh out of us. We always let you choose your song by looking at the cover photo for the song. You for sure know your favourites, Saltwater Gospel by Eli Young Band, Always Be by Tim McGraw and May We All by Florida Georgia Line (which, no joke, has the saddest music video of all time). You ADORABLY announce before a lot of songs "I wuv this song. I really wuv this song" .... which is straight out of  my mouth. I am glad you picked up that saying rather than one of my other choice phrases. haha
You are free and easy with your love - you snuggle, give hugs and kisses, say "I wuv you" and gently hold hands all the time.







Winnie the pooper, we sure do love you. Dad and I quietly said to eachother just last night, while watching you and Maizey and Jace laugh and play together, that we can barely believe this is our life...that we created THIS. Three kids that actually really love one another and like to be together, with of course, the usual sibling bullshit thrown in there.
You are without a doubt, the absolute best addition we could have added.
You are so so so loved.
I can't wait to see what this next year brings for you and for us.
We love you baby girl. My hope for you is that you always feel it.
Happy second birthday.
xoxox
Love, Mom and Dad.