Miss Belle is TWO!!!

Last weekend, Miss Belle turned two years old! When my husband and I went to bed that night, talking about what a blessing she is to us, we both said we didn't really know how to describe her. After a moment of silence, my husband hit the nail on the head. Everything Miss Belle does she does with every cell in her body. There is no in between with her. If she is loving you, she is loving with everything she has in her. If she is playing with you, she is only paying attention to you. If she wants something, she uses all her energy to get it and contrastingly, if she doesn't want something, every cell in her body will let you know (which is where it can sometimes get ugly). She is one of the most passionate, sweet and joyful kids I have ever seen. She also has one of the strongest wills I have ever seen. We plan with everything in us, to turn this will to Christ, which will put her in good company with other strong-willed saints like St. Paul. I am so excited to watch her grow, and seeing the girl she is becoming is such a joy.

Some things I want to remember about her at this age:

She asks "Why?" ALL the time (really pronounced 'aiy') She also uses the word "Aiy" for "yes" which  makes it really entertaining to watch people respond to her.

Every morning when she wakes, the first thing she does is find a pair of shoes to put on. She LOVES shoes. Particularly other peoples shoes. If she sees me put on a pretty pair she smiles with excitement and says, "OOOOOOO!!!!!!!" and laughs with joy. I have no idea where the shoe fetish lies in the gene pool (I don't have one), but she got it.

Miss Belle also loves purses. She carries one everywhere. When people come to our house they know to put their purse on top of fridge or the little purse snatcher will take it and carry it around for the evening.

She is one of the toughest kids I have ever seen (thanks to her brother). From the day she was brought home she has been rolled on, pushed and played with as if she was much older than she is.  If there were some kind of baby wrestling match I would put money on her.

She loves to give, what we call, "nose kisses". If you ask her for a kiss, she will grab your face, say "nose" and kiss you on the nose. It's rare to get a kiss anywhere else.

She idolizes her brother. Everything he does, she copies. The two can hardly stand to be separated and will always stand up for one another in a group of children.  

One of my favorite qualities about Miss Belle, is how she follows me everywhere. She doesn't care what I'm doing, it's enough to be at my side doing it. She is NOT entertained by television in the least bit! She could care less if that purple dinosaur is dancing and singing, she would rather be doing something hands on. I don't think she has ever sat through a television show...maybe not even five minutes of one.

Miss Belle, your birth was only a foreshadowing of the joy you have brought and are bringing every day to this family. I love you and am so proud to be your mother! Happy 2nd Birthday!