on the eve of your 2nd birthday...

to my beautiful, headstrong, cuddly little girl,

you cannot believe all that you have taught me in these two short years. i have learned a bit of humility, which comes in handy when there is a meltdown in public and no matter how much i plead with you your tears seemingly overshadow everything. i have learned take a step back and enjoy each day even if it means there is dirty laundry in the basket and crumbs to be vacuumed (just a little though, because i cannot stand the thought of things needing to be done and just sitting there). you have taught me to hold on tight to every step you take developmentally because i know all too well that in the blink of my eye you will be all grown up and no longer want or need me to rock you a little bit before bed each night. although i try my hardest to remain steadfast in my parenting and not let you get away with more than your brother ever did, once in a while you catch me at a weak moment and i cave.

i love how each morning you insist on sitting on my lap while you watch your show. how even though i would never not give you the same thing i gave jack, you make sure to let me know you want it too over and over until i finally give it to you. how you play so nicely with your dolls, always making sure to cover them with a blanket and feed them. how despite my thinking i could fool you, you are no fool when it comes to your lovey and you immediately knew the imposter, threw it down and said "wrong one!" how even though we drop jack off at school all the time you still ask where he is and when he'll be home. how you sing along to all the songs and make the cutest little face while doing it.

happy birthday daley olivia!

i love you to the moon and back....

love, mama

christmas take two!

daley was a lot of fun at christmas this year. she really seemed to understand a little bit of what was going on and certainly made it clear that she wanted to be included! of course i have zero nice pictures of her in her dress because it was too late and she had a meltdown over something ridiculous, but alas i can't remember at the moment!?

however, i had so much fun watching her get to experience all the mayhem:)

waiting to come down christmas morning...i have very fond memories of waiting on those steps with great anticipation!

she really likes her chair apparently....

pint-sized super hero!

daley loves to play pretend these days, so when jack suggested super heroes (even if she has no idea what that is) she was totally game! she is also obsessed with wearing jack's sunglasses, and it has made for some interesting outfits these days.

she had so much fun at the museum, and unlike jack who was very reserved and kept asking me if he could touch things (poor kid, i guess i need to let him live a little), daley went right for it. she didn't even think twice about it which is so indicative of her personality.

she has such an imagination these days, and can often be found singing along to the music. of course, we have to go through 15 songs on the ipod before she will agree to it, but at least its not the wiggles or fresh beat band-lol!

batman and robin

sugar and spice...

naughty or nice!

i have been practicing a lot on daley and jack...it has gotten to the point where i need to bribe them so they let me take their picture!? i had daley convinced she could try the candy cane we used as a prop, if she would sit in a certain spot and just let me shoot away. i knew that once i let her try it, she wouldn't like it, and sure enough she told me it was "too spicy!"

some cute pics did come out of it, and some of my favorite are with the piano. you can't actually tell, but she was pretending she was schroeder from charlie brown and was singing jingle bells--too cute!

my *almost* two year old...

i took daley out this morning after we dropped jack off at school to take some pictures of her for her upcoming second birthday. i am going to completely breeze over the fact that she is going to be two and share some of the pictures from this morning...how can we not get outside when it is 60 degrees here!?

i have been frustrated as of late with my "focus" issues, so i have vowed to practice, practice, practice...only time will tell if i'll get it right! alas, some cute pictures did come out of said frustration...

two balloons for the two year old!

snowman is sick...

everyone is sick or has a tummy ache these days in daley's world!? it is really kind of funny, she gives them kisses and then they're all better! it is usually followed up with "snowman, i love you." could she be any cuter!?

here are some pictures from our tree excursion...

giving the snowman a hug

i just love this one, even if it is a bit overexposed

daley, daley, daley....

she is such a sweet, strong-willed, precocious child! she will hug your leg and tell you she loves you, and then turn around and hit you all in the same breath. just tonight she hit my arm, immediately asks if she can kiss it (to make it better) and then looks at me and goes "no worries!" ugh, i was so confused by the whole chain of events that i didn't even know how to react to that one!? i really need to get my priorities in order with her because i have a feeling she will be testing me for the next 20 years!

as evident in these pictures...she is both sweet and spicy (but not "too spicy" as she would say)!

my little ballerina!

at the risk of sounding incredibly cheesy, i have been daydreaming about this day since daley was born-her first ballet class! hard to believe she is old enough to take said class, but alas the time has come and she had her first "baby ballet" class this morning. she looked absolutely adorable, and although she was shy, she really seemed to have fun. the class incorporates some traditional classical and nursery rhymes, and let's just say they had her at "itsy, bitsy spider!!"

i was trying to get her to look into the mirror, but its tricky when there are tons of people and she won't leave your side!?

taking it all in...

little miss sunshine...

daley is not! she really is tough to please these days. one might assume it is because she is not feeling well, but i'm going out on a limb here when i say that i do believe it is mostly her temperamental demeanor. she can often be seen walking from room to room whining "hold you, hold you mama." in other words, she wants me to pick her up and continue on with whatever it is i am doing, because you know cooking and going to the bathroom are wicked easy when you have an unnecessary appendage!?

on another note, she has these moments of pure sweetness where she will be sitting quietly looking at books and singing old macdonald, twinkle twinkle or rock-a-bye baby. it quickly erases the above and allows me to forget all of my frustrations.

i was also amazed this morning when she was sitting next to me looking at a book, and all of a sudden started counting. she has been able to count for a while, but today she counted to 15 without any help or prompting!

i love you mama!

this is the best phrase in the whole world, especially when it comes unprompted! daley has been coming up to me and hugging my leg while saying she loves me, and it *almost* makes me forget what a bear she has been lately. it really is too bad that teething has such a profound affect on her. i was certain once the last eye tooth popped through, we would have a much less temperamental girl on our hands, but recent findings would prove otherwise as it looks as though we are moving onto 2 year molars-ugh. she just walks around with both hands shoved into the back of her mouth and i feel so bad for her. we've been doing a lot of frozen peas and berries as the cold seems to help a bit. i almost considered scotch last night when for the hundredth time yesterday daley had a meltdown. i thought better of it, but mostly because we didn't have any in the house-lol!

on another note, the bickering has begun in this house. all will be content and quiet, and then someone is yelling or crying these days. it is so frustrating because i feel like i'm playing referee rather than mom! i'm well aware that this is just the beginning of all this...it might be time to go back to work!

daley has been my muse as of late for my class, so i will post the plethera of pictures i have taken of her...poor jack gets the shaft this time because he seems to always be at school when i do this!

apple picking!

here are some more pictures from our apple picking adventure! oh and some of my favorite little princess (a certain little one loves to play dress up. the girlier the better!?)...

you wouldn't know it, but daley got right in and starting waving and saying "bye mom, see you later!"