A little bee told me....

...someone had a birthday!

The theme for her party was bees, because for some reason Charlotte really likes them. She calls almost all bugs a bee. And when she sees a bee she always wants to hold it. We did inform her this is not a good idea. However, we saw no harm in a little bee themed party, complete with a bee costume we got at a garage sale.

Aunt Lisa hates bees (and by hate, I mean really really really hates them). But she did not hate this cuddly little bee with a pretend stinger and bobbly antennae. I mean, how could you?

The little bee makes cookies with Uncle Travis (or Pavis, and Charlotte calls him).

A good year for presents for Charlotte--a package of cheese sticks and a tupperware of fresh peapods...what more could a girl ask for? Actually, she got some other very wonderful gifts that she loves--a school bus, a "waterpillar" sprinkler, a little bear-shaped rocking chair, art supplies, sheets for her new toddler bed, a train, and some books. She didn't quite get the concept of opening all the gifts one after another. She wanted to play with each one as she opened them, so it took forever. She was happy as a clam.

I love making fun shaped cakes. If you live near me, ask me sometime to make you a cake in the shape of something. I will gladly do it.

A little bee family picture.

Daddy taught Charlotte this face. It is modeled after a face our friend Mikkin makes.

Mama let Charlotte bite the side of the cake...

A piece for the birthday girl!

Charlotte turned 2 years old on Sunday, July 5! Hard to believe how fast the time has gone, yet it feels like she has been a part of our family forever. She has grown so much, and has learned so many things. I've seen some other people write a letter to their kids on their birthday, and I like that idea, so I'm going to steal it.

Dear Charlotte,
You just turned two last weekend, and we had such a nice birthday party with some family. Grandpa Mark and Grandma Cindy and Aunt Kate came from Byron, and Aunt Lisa and Uncle Travis drove up from Iowa. Aunt Laura/Uncle Justin and Uncle Charlie/Aunt Olivia couldn't make the trip out, but they all called and sent cards to wish you a Happy Birthday! Grandpa Randy drove down from Delano to celebrate with you. We missed Grandma Carol Ann so much. She would have loved to see you prancing around in your bee costume, showing off your singing. She would have held you in her lap and read to you, and she would have watched with joy the way that Grandpa Randy adores you. She always said with a proud smile, "Your Grandpa loves you so much!" Just this week you were talking about Grandma Carol Ann being sick, and so we talked about how she is with God in heaven now, and she's not sick anymore. Then I told you that she is dancing and singing now, so every time we ask you what Grandma is doing, you say "dance." Little Charlotte, we pray that you will remember your Grandma Carol Ann, even though you are so young now.

Charlotte, you are becoming such a big girl. You are fun and goofy, strong-willed and opinionated, but so sensitive and compassionate, too. This week you were running down the sidewalk and yelling, when all of a sudden you stopped, put your arms out in front of you, and started dancing and bouncing to a song only you could hear... I couldn't stop smiling. Your sensitivity is becoming more apparent too, as you will stop everything to make sure someone is ok if they look sad. You make a very empathetic face, ask "are you ok?" and come to give a hug. You noticed in church on Sunday that some people near us were crying and you couldn't stop watching them and asking me if they were ok. You have such a sensitive heart, and we pray that this will be a gift later in life.

Now that you have your own opinions, we have a lot of "disagreements" about everything from eating dinner to going potty to getting ready for bed to playing with toys. The words "no" and "mine" are frequently heard. Usually you can be easily distracted, but you certainly try our patience on a daily basis. Your Grandpa Randy likes to rate your tantrums on a scale from 1 to 10, just like he and Grandma Carol Ann used to for daddy and Uncle Charlie when they were little boys.

Your communication skills are improving by leaps and bounds. Every day new words are coming out that we didn't think you knew. Some of the better ones include: peanut bubbo (butter), peatods (peapods), cheese stick, funny car, funny papa, i feam (ice cream), school bus, pummer (cucumber), Bama Cinny (Grandma Cindy), Papa Ranny (Grandpa Randy). You also repeat just about anything you hear, so we have to be careful what we say around you now! We spell a lot of words too, because you listen carefully! Hopefully you won't learn for a while that when we spell something, it usually means something good that we don't want you to know about!

You can carry a tune! Your favorite song is Baa Baa Black Sheep/Twinkle Twinkle/ABC, since they all have the same melody. You just sing "da da da da" for the words, but you are exactly right on the notes. If someone sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, you can finish the last word of each line. You can also do that with Yankee Doodle, except you finish the lines "Stuck a feather in his....head, and called it....Daddy!!!" You know that Daddy isn't the right word, but you think it is so funny and laugh while Mama corrects you with "macaroni!" You also like the song Mary Had a "Yittle Yam," as the words go when you sing it. :) You surprised us the other day when daddy asked you to say "X" and you said "Y, Z." You are listening and absorbing everything!

Charlotte, you are a dear. I am trying to imprint your big blue eyes and silky blond hair in my memory forever, because I know you will be grown up before I know it. I know that you won't want to sit on my lap and "cuggle" or "wead" stories for too many more years. You will only pretend you are a slippery seal in the bathtub for a little while, and your speech will eventually become more clear and less funny. Your spontaneous dances will give way to self-consciousness and restraint. But we have so much to look forward to in the coming years, and I can't wait to see your sunny personality continue to develop, your compassion grow, your musical ability flourish, and our family grow closer together.

Daddy and I are so glad you are a part of our lives. We chose your middle name "Neema" because it means "blessing" in Swahili. We wanted your name to speak powerfully over you life, like names do in the Bible. Over the last two years, you have certainly been a blessing in our lives, and to all of your grandpas and grandmas and aunts and uncles. We pray that your life will continue to be a blessing to many, many people.

I love you Charlotte!

Love,
Mama

Two years ago...
We didn't know if you would be a boy or a girl, how big you would be, or if you would be healthy.
We didn't know how your birth would go, or how we would handle all of the changes in our life.


And then you were born, and you fit in our arms and our life just right.