Birthday Girl!!

Well, Dakota officially turned 2 this weekend! I can't decide right now if I want to attempt this post simply because at this very moment I am listening to this dear little girl scream, "Mommy! Mommy!, Mooooommmmy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"

Sometimes she just needs to do that as she falls asleep. I was asking Greg this evening where I went wrong. From the moment she made her entrance into this world she has been more attached to me than any of my other kids. Even as a baby she would scream her head off when ANYONE else tried to hold her or pick her up. Even Greg.

I guess this isn't the best way to start a birthday post, but yet it IS all very true and very much a part of her personality.

We had fun celebrating. And there is so much to celebrate about this little toddler girl!

I was looking at pictures of her when she was Adelynn's age, right at about 41/2 months. She was so strong! She was up on all fours looking as if she was going to take off crawling. I knew she was always strong and built "tough." She also has such a great adventurous spirit about her. She always loves to try new things, even if she is no where close to being "big" enough. I don't know how many times she has "asked" to ride Micah's motorcycle in the garage. It seems as if every time it catches her eye she runs over to it begging to get up on it.

She has always been, and still is incredibly LOUD. A fact that I have gotten very used to these days. She just is. I don't even know if she realizes what a whisper really is.



She is starting to love being read to, but rarely sits in my lap for the story. Rather, she usually places herself somewhere on the couch where she can move around quite a bit or even be upside down as she listens. She often though will bring me a book and ask me to read it to her.

She loves to play outside, ride her bike, scream, get into mud, swing, scream, slide, swim, jump, run, scream, dance, be silly, oh yeah, did I mention she loves to scream?



She screams when she is happy, sad, frustrated, excited, determined, annoyed, or in need of something. Bottom line: she is loud. She is incredibly fun and full of energy. Greg and I have a joke that if we could bottle up her energy and sell it, we could be millionaires (better yet we could use her energy for ourselves :-)

She is exciting to be around, has the best expressions, and gives some really great hugs. She does like to cuddle every now and then, and when she does I want to cherish those extra special moments she chooses to be still.

Some of most favorite moments are when I tuck her into bed. She has started to say "I love you." Although it sounds more like, "ove yew!"
She also has started to pray. She folds her hands together and tightly closes her eyes and with quite the exaggerated facial expressions she starts babbling and babbling, ending with a loud, "MEN!" (Amen).

She is still so sweet to the baby and has never been anything but gentle and kind to her. She also gets very concerned with Adelynn when she is sleeping and has to go check up on her in her bed every now and then.

She is probably my biggest challenge, so far, but such a GREAT joy. I cannot imagine my life without her and cannot wait to see the little lady she will become. It makes me so sad to think how quickly two years can vanish. Don't get too big Dakota!
You are loved more than you know and we are incredibly blessed that you are a part of our family.
Happy 2nd bithday!