Happy Birthday, Dear Hope

As the title of this post suggests, I am finally responding to the many prompts, "Did I miss Hope's birthday post...?" No, you didn't miss anything! In the excitement of preparing for, welcoming, and adjusting to the new baby, I have overlooked a few things in bloggy-land. Rest assured, we did NOT overlook Hope's real life birthday though! That would be downright pitiful, and we aim to avoid such things. So, without further ado, let's indulge in some birthday remembering...

Dear Hope,

It may sound cliche, but I'll say it anyway. How is it even possible that you're already TWO years old?!? We cherish you and enjoy each day with you by our side. The many changes that have taken place since your last birthday astound me! There are some obvious ones- now days you talk, walk, run, sleep all night, play in your imagination, listen to endless repetitions of your favorite books, chew your veggies, and wear undies.

...We celebrated together at Grandpa and Grandma Spears' after you and Eva spent the weekend there. Eva helped Grandma make this chocolate cake for you...

Of course, the subtle changes delight us too. We've seen your personality emerge more this year, and frankly, you've won us over. You are eternally cheerful, easily excited about all activities, and laugh off any insult. You are very emotional, and seem to have pretty good "EQ", often showing sympathy, sharing some one's joy, or simply observing the slight changes in some one's mood. Disciplining you isn't fun of course, but we find it to be very effective because of your sensitive nature. We always feel loved when you're around because of your sweet smile and soft, gentle eyes. It seems like others feel the same way too. We've been told over and over how much fun you are and how people are drawn to you. What a joy! ...Before any of us started singing, you burst into joyful, LOUD song, singing yourself "Happy Birthday" and ending with lots of clapping and laughing. You were so cute and funny that you sent Eva into fits of giggles...

You and Eva have had an especially important year, I think. A year ago, you two didn't really play together at all. As the year progressed, you started to show interest in her and joining her play. This, of course, was the beginning of some hard times. There were days when you two fought with each other tooth and nail, figuratively speaking (well, almost... :). You may be sweet, soft, and fun-loving, but you still like a piece of the action sometimes! No doubt, keeping up with your competitive and fast-paced older sister has required you to develop some backbone! However, despite all the little quarrels, these days you and Eva are completely dependent on each other and adore being together. You laugh at each other's jokes (simple and ridiculous as they are), go on all sorts of imaginary adventures together, and lovingly talk each other into eating your less favorite foods at dinner.

...After we all finally sang and you blew out your two candles...

Many nights Mom and Dad have to be rather strict with you two at bedtime since you love to "sing each other to sleep." We listen to you sing the Gospel Song, Isty Bitsy Spider, Jesus Loves Me, Trust in the Lord, and Mary Had a Little Lamb to each other, quietly sometimes and sometimes at the top of your lungs! Although this is of no real significance, each night at bedtime, regardless of the temperature, you insist on being smothered with as many blankets as we'll give you. Usually, that is four. And you keep them on until you fall asleep, then I find you kick them off, seeking some relief from the heat!

...opening some gifts with Eva's help at Grandpa and Grandma Spears' ...

We've had some hard times this year too. You weren't the healthiest kid ever, and I (mom) had to fight my worries about you. There was the infamous egg allergy reaction, which resulted in anaphalactic shock and a trip to the ER. There were also three solid months, December-February, of sickness for you. You rotated through various strains of stomach viruses, colds, fevers, and unconfirmed hepatitis A with no respite. You wouldn't even recover from one ailment before you would just transition to a new one. You and I were both exhausted after months of little sleep, lots of holding, and altogether yuckiness. Thankfully, your little immune system capitalized on that down time to (hopefully) make some major strides towards strength. The rest of the year has been basically healthy for you. Praise God!...Standing around with your friends Malachi and Hazel at the park waiting to go home. We had a lovely outdoor "friends" party planned, but the weather ended up being unseasonably windy and cold so we retreated to our house...

The summer was good for you- you loved swimming and playing in water, drawing with (and eating) sidewalk chalk, running around outside, and taking l-o-n-g afternoon naps. Some of your other favorite activities around the time of your birthday are playing dress-up as Mary Ingalls or a princess, caring for your babies, driving the blue car outside, playing "peoples" (little people), and tickling and wrestling with Daddy or Eva. You will sit and look at picture books for 45 minutes by yourself, and who knows how long you would listen to us read to you! Truthfully, you like pretty much any activity, especially active ones.

...A sampling of the crowded, but WARM, living room...

Now the trivial little details: You wear size 6.5 shoes, size 24 month clothes, and size 5 diapers to bed at night. Your favorite foods are cheese, strawberries, peanut butter, bananas, plain yogurt, avocados, noodles, baked potatoes, brown rice, and oatmeal with coconut oil and honey. If allowed, you would gobble up "goldy-fish" all day and you have a real penchant for chocolate!Your best friend is Hazel and you two raise quite a ruckus in the church nursery together. You love to play, and play rough(!), at aether's houses too. You speak really well for your age, though you still have many grammar and pronunciation errors. Some of our favorites are "I am-are" (I am), "opi meal" (oatmeal), "Eba" (Eva), and "oar port" (airport). Your favorite books are "The Napping House" and "Beauty and the Beast", your favorite toy is your little orange care-bear, and your favorite blanket is the soft, yellow one from Great Aunt Jodi.

...blowing out the candles with help from Hazel and Eva at our "friends" party...

Well little one, there's much more to say than I could ever write in a letter. We are thankful for you, blessed by your smiley face, and eager to watch you grow. Sometimes I wish I could just bottle up your squishy body and innocent giggle and keep you small forever. But then I know we would miss out on all the wonderful things God has in store for you in the next year! Happy Birthday, Hope!

With love and prayers,

Mom and Dad