Terrific at Two Years Old

Hooray, I'm two!

We know it's cliche to even mention, but it's hard to believe that it has been two years since Kathleen was born. And it's somehow harder to believe that the tiny baby we met in a hospital in Kentucky is now our energetic, talkative toddler.

We celebrated Kathleen's birthday with her favorite dinner -- a pizza picnic! We even let her have a little soda in her sippy cup. But the pizza paled in comparison to the excitement of presents. Kathleen deftly opened her gifts, cheerfully inspecting everything. It's amazing to me that last year she hardly understood the concept of presents, because she was all over it this year!

Kathleen tried on her new dress with matching purse, flipped through her new books, and took her new animal toys for spin. She also opened up her "Whose Baby Is It?" puzzle and promptly set to work, wowing us with her ability to identify animals and put together pieces.

After dinner and some playtime, we brought out the cake. Kathleen understood about the cake and candles, too. We'd barely told her to blow the candles out, and she'd done it. In fact, she was so quick that we almost missed the photo altogether, settling for this shot of extinguished candles and closed eyes.

We hope her wish comes true!

Kathleen's arrival was the answer to our prayers, and our lives with her have been a blessing beyond words. In the past two years this little girl has taught us more about joy and patience and persistence and love than we'd ever known. Hearing her say, "I luff you," watching her hug her baby sister, seeing her grow and learn and become the person she was created to be is humbling and harrowing and delightful. We love you, little girl, and we thank our God for you each and every day -- but today especially. Happy Birthday, Kathleen!