Terrifically Two

My sweet Bonnie Girl turned two yesterday. Only potty training stands between the last of her baby days and the big kid years.

It feels like she went from this...

to this...

faster than I could say, "Just a few more minutes, my precious last baby."

But that's how it goes with kids, isn't it? Just when you get used to one stage, they are barreling onward to conquer the next.

Her birthday was an ordinary Wednesday. Big kids at school, Daddy at work, Bonnie and me at Target. She was slightly perplexed by relatives calling to sing to her. She had no interest in her gifts and when presented with a birthday cake for the 3rd time in a week, she still didn't do anything but stare, mesmerized, at the two flickering candles while her siblings blew spit all over the twin flames with the force of a tornado on a feather.

So, yes, it was an ordinary day on the surface but it was extraordinary to me. I love Occasions. It makes me happy not only to look back but also to project forward. Birthdays are perfect times to do both. That is why I ran my hands over her hair that is suddenly fuller and remembered her perfectly shaped newborn head. I watched her sturdy little frame run around the yard and marveled at how strong and tall she has grown since the first night we laid in my hospital room together, her swaddled tight and me glad the waiting to meet her was finally, agonizingly over.

As she went through the day oblivious to the importance of her birthday, I held her big-but-still-little body close, knowing that soon enough, she will brush off my kiss as she runs out the door to meet her friends and I smiled to imagine her doing so. I wondered who she will be, what she will enjoy, who will matter to her in 5 years, 10 years, 25 years. Whatever will be, I hope she will be happy. That is what I wished as her siblings blew out her candles for her.

Jack's wish for her?

I wished that she could be as good as me or even a little better. That would be really hard though.

Silly me, worrying that his anxious nature might negatively impact his self-esteem.

Natalie, always dramatic and ALWAYS Bonnie's biggest fan, spent the evening shaking her head with wonder and nostalgia, saying, "I just can't believe my sweet little baby is 2 today, Mommy. It went so fast." At best, The Madam considers me Bon's gestational carrier. More often than not, though, she forgets that Bonnie grew in me and seems to believe that Bon sprung forth from the air because Nat wished her into being. Hey, whatever, I'm just glad she never tried to smother Bon in her sleep like many predicted she would.

Nat's wish as she vigorously blew out her sister's candles?

I wished that she would get some words already, Mom!

You and me both, kiddo. You and me both.