It's Gobbles Time!: Two!

I'm so excited to be

Sofia da firrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs!

Moo. The cow says Moo.

-A mashup song by the Lobster

Dear Little Lobster Roll,

I say this in every letter I write to you or your brother, but I can't believe how quickly time is going and how much you are growing. You are two years old!  A big girl but still a tiny munchkin, - you weigh in at 24 lbs and are 34" tall. Yes, that is the same weight your brother was at a year, his height at 18 months. So, despite having the appetite and taste buds of a grown man, you are only around the 30th percentile.

Along with those grown man statistics, you have the sass of a teenage girl. Right now at school we're going through a bit of a phase where every week we're getting notice of you biting someone. Of course, you seem to have an excuse - C hit me so I bite him. I bite E but I said I sorry so it's ok. Your teachers have been patient with you so far, telling us that you're often frustrated as you speak to the other kids and they are not responding back with sentences at your level yet, so you decide to chomp down. One time, you told a kid I don't like that! and you looked at your teachers for reassurance. They praised you for using your words, but the next thing they knew you bit the kid anyway. Lobster girl, I am so torn between being happy that you are a little toughie and worried that you're a "mean girl".

You have enough silliness and intellect to counteract that sass, as you are always making people smile and laugh.  We have to constantly remind your brother not to crack up tooo much at you because you're turning into a ham.  (A ham? We're not gonna eat her?! - Gobbles). You have so much personality in a little package, half of the things you say I just don't even know where it comes from. You speak with such confidence and also check in with everyone else. I'm having fun, Mommy, are you having fun? You even corrected Gobbles one night at dinner. We were discussing what the letter of the week would be, as the current week's was 'P'. We asked him what came after P. As he thought for a second, you shouted out P-Q! Of course your brother got mad with you giving out his answer, but we considered it payback for all the colors he's taken your chance on. Not that we need to quiz you on colors any more, since you have them down now, along with the aforementioned alphabet, counting to 20, and all the random singsongs from school. In your future we have shapes and spelling your name, which is going to be ever so frustrating, I'm sorry little girl!

This year, you began asking for a Sofia the First birthday party as soon as the last crumb was eaten from Gobble's cake. You discussed how you would have a Sofia cake and it would be purple and you would have your cousin Poozers there. So we did just that, a small family get-together with Sofia throughout. Your brother helped make your cake and decorate it with the tiny pearls the day before your party. He did point out, as he did with my birthday cake, that you will probably be so disappointed that the cake didn't actually say Happy Birthday on it. But, I'm not too sure you noticed. Your party lasted all day with two rounds of pizza and cake plus lots of hugs. You had a bonus this year in that on your actual birthday we had a snow day (completing the snow trifecta, a snowstorm on Gobbles' party day and my birthday as well this year). We gave you your present at breakfast so you could enjoy it all day. Gobbles had also helped us put together that, your toy kitchen. I'm not sure what you were more excited for, the actual toy or the fact that it was pink, but regardless, you and your brother had a grand time playing (and fighting over) the kitchen all day, with only a few birthday time-outs in between.

Finally, the day after your birthday you brought brownies to school to share with your friends. A few days later, you told me how your pal G sang to you then took your cake and blew out your candles.  You told it with such conviction that, even though they don't do candles at school, I had to ask if G really did steal your cake. Of course she didn't, and there you were again just creating elaborate stories. Creative or manipulative? It's too early to tell yet, but I urge you to stop telling your teachers that Gobbles hits you, because you know that's not true. He puts up with your love slaps and bites like a champ but has yet to lay a hand back on you. Oh my Lobster Roll, your terrible twos have begun.

I'll end with this, a blurb I actually wrote in time, on the evening of your second birthday after putting you to bed:

Tonight when I went to check on you and cover you up I heard you whisper Mom! with just a little bit of urgency. In the dark I saw your little arms reach up towards me, I didn't even hesitate to scoop you up. "Let's sit" you said, so I headed over to the glider with you on my shoulder. I cradled you in my arms like a baby, and for once you didn't fight me. I stared into your wide open eyes and we rocked and rocked. You sucked your thumb abs twirled my hair with a steady smile that got bigger when you reached your pinky out in attempt to pick my nose. I embraced the moment until you gently pointed back to your crib. Time for nap, you whispered and I placed you back in your crib. You lined up your two dolls as well as two Minnie Mouses, asked that your princess blanket cover the whole group, and said goodnight. I wished you happy birthday one last time and closed the door, knowing just a little bit more of my baby will be replaced by a little girl tomorrow.

My Little Lobster Roll, your Daddy, Brother, and I love you all so so much. I wish I could slow down time just a little and keep you this age a little while longer, where it's still socially acceptable to pick your nose and eat it and have it be cute.

Love you forever,
Mommy