dear chace

my dear sweet chace,

happy 2nd birthday. you are officially a toddler, though you have been acting like one for the past few months.

i can not believe that you are two. i do not know where the time has gone. the day of your birth is still so clear in my mind and in so many ways it seems like yesterday that we were meeting you for the first time. there are a couple of things about that day that i will always be in awe over. you were born on valentine's day, the holiday of love, a holiday that is all about the heart. your brother was born on thanksgiving, so i could not believe that my second born also chose a holiday to enter the world. today is also congenital heart defect awareness day. you entered the world heart healthy, but seemed to recognize that there are those who do not have a healthy heart. finally, the same doctor delivered cooper, was on call and delivered you ( it should be noted that he was scheduled to deliver you 8 days later). the significance of the day was not lost on him.

in the last month your vocabulary skills have continued to improve. you are a little magpie and talk non stop, stringing words together to make a sentence. you can sing you abc's and count to 10. i am convinced that you have learned this from my iphone. you can identify a wide range of animals, your favorite being the coyote. you love hot wheels and can spend hours racing cars, good thing your father likes racing cars as well. your favorite food is oatmeal. you would eat it 3 times a day if we let you.

you continue to love school. we observed your classroom this month and were in awe to see you thrive in your learning environment. you were so proud to show us your work and all the things you were able to accomplish by yourself. you loved washing the windows.  we are working on potty training. you love getting a blue m&m when you use the potty. i say whatever works. you have moments when you flex you will, but i know that is age appropriate. it is in those moments that i see myself and have a better understanding of what i put my own mother through. i hope that having a strong sense of self will serve you well as you get older.

chace you are such a gift. you were born on a day that is all about the heart. your birth did so much to heal our hearts. each day with you is a gift and so it is appropriate that this day of love is also the day of your birth. there is not anyone or anything in this world that i love more than you.

happy birthday my sweet love.

mama