Happy Birthday Sweet Bea

Dear Daughter,

Today is your Birthday and I have to say that this past year has been nothing but delightful.  2010 has brought so many changes in you and we've watched you develop from a baby to a little girl which is definitely my favorite developmental stage so far.  Last year all you did was copy Henry in playing with cars and dinosaurs and now you are busy taking care of your baby dolls and pushing them around in your stroller with flip flops and sunglasses on.  You love accessories, especially shoes, but most of the time you only have one shoe on and it's on the wrong foot.  You get frustrated when they don't stay on and start to throw a tantrum but are quickly pacified when I tell you to just ask for help, which you do, and I fix whatever you're having problems with.  You are still a pretty obedient child and usually do what I ask you to do, however, when you don't want to do something you say "no" in such a cute way that we end up not even caring that you say no to us! Henry still has the habit of stealing things from you without asking which really makes you mad, but no matter what it is, as soon as he gives it back to you and asks nicely if he can have the item you are quick to share it with him.  You then remind him to say thank-you.  Thank-you is something you say all day long.  You really love giving things to me -- garbage, snotty tissues, anything of mine you find around the house, etc, and when you give it to me you say, "thank-you mommy" over and over again until I thank you.  You are still a very tidy child and always join in to help me clean up the house.  You particularly like to help sweep and run to get your broom and dustpan when I start sweeping the floor. You don't like that your tools don't work very well and get mad when the dirt doesn't go up into the dustpan like mine does, but with a little help you're overjoyed when you get to carry a load of kitchen gunk over to the garbage.  You love playing in the water and I frequently find you upstairs sitting on the counter top with a flood on the floor as you play in the water.  You don't mind getting water in your face and love to make Henry laugh as you put bubbles on your face and pour water over your head to rinse them off.  Your favorite word is "poopy" and you try to make everyone laugh by saying it over and over in different combinations like "poopy doggy" an "poopy, eeeeww".  You really don't like poop in your diaper either.  My biggest problem with you is that every morning I come to get you out of your crib you have completely stripped down and are naked in there just hanging out reading books.  I never know when you wake up because you never cry and are perfectly content to sit and play in your crib for hours.  Sometimes when you take your diaper off, you have poop in your diaper, or poop and pee in your crib which means that I'm constantly washing all your blankies and sheets.  You are famous for taking your diaper off anytime, anyplace and I'm always chasing you down to re-clothe you after you strip down.  You have a killer underbite and love to make it worse to make people laugh.  Bea, one thing you also love to do is sing, just like Henry.  You and Henry are always singing one song...the ABC's.  You don't know all the letters yet but you constantly sing "ABCB Baby B, Baby, Baby CBB" and so on.  One day all three of you were singing independently in the back seat of my car and it brought joy to my heart to hear all your little voices.  Your favorite food is probably tomatoes and you can be seen at any time of the day picking and eating tomatoes from the garden.  You love pasta with pesto and tomatoes, but still pick out the mozzarella saying, "mommy, no" to me.  Some day you will love it!  You are still my best sleeper and have continued to take super long naps and sleep for hours and hours at night.  Just the other day you slept 13.5 hours at night and took a four hour nap during the day.  Granted we just got back from California and are on a weird schedule but how many waking hours was that? 7? You are one sleepy girl!  The thing you love the most, though, is your baby sister.  You love her to death and spend your whole day trying to get access to her.  You always climb into her pack-n-play and try to bounce her, put her binkie in, pick her up or even gouge her eyeballs out.  Clementine usually smiles at you as you stick your face into hers, but always ends up crying as you squeeze the life out of her or smash your head against her head.  I can't wait for the day when you two can play together and I'm praying that you two become best friends!  Bea, you still have a really stylish haircut and everywhere we go you attract attention from people, young and old, saying how beautiful you are and how much they love your haircut or your eyes, or your smile.  You are super friendly and will let anyone hold you and don't hesitate to copy anything I tell you to say to people.  On our trip out to Utah a month ago, Henry poured apple juice on your head while I was getting my hair cut and it was a sticky mess but one of the stylists, with nothing else to do, ended up taking you back to get your hair washed in the washing room and brought your back to get your hair blow dried and styled.  You were a perfect angel and just did everything she wanted you to do.  By the time we left, the whole place was in love with you and made all the single girls want to get married and have kids so they could have a darling little girl just like you.  Bea, you are such a little angel and I am so blessed to be your mom.  You bring peace and love into our home and we love every moment we spend with you.  Thank you for being such an important part of our lives. 

Love,
Mommy